Chapter 13: Middle Childhood: Psychosocial Development
Cognitive coping
- Disasters take a toll, but factors in the child (especially problem-solving ability), in the family (consistency and care), and in the community (good schools and welcoming religious institutions) all increase resilience -A pivotal factor is the child's interpretation of events (Lagattuta, 2014). Cortisol increases in low-income children if they interpret circumstances connected to their family's poverty as a personal threat and if the family lacks order and routines (thus increasing daily hassles) -When low-SES children do not take things personally and their family is not chaotic, resilience is more likely. -Overall, children's interpretation of circumstances (poverty, divorce, war, and so on) is crucial. Some consider their situation a temporary hardship; they look forward to leaving childhood behind. If they also have personal strengths, such as creativity and intelligence,
Causes and consequences of bullying
-Bullying may originate with a genetic predisposition or a brain -abnormality, but when a toddler is aggressive, parents, teachers, and peers usually teach emotional regulation and effortful control. ^However, if home life is stressful, if discipline is ineffectual, if siblings are hostile, or if attachment is insecure, vulnerable young children develop externalizing and internalizing problems, becoming bullies or victims -Peers are crucial. Some peer groups approve of relational bullying, and then children entertain their classmates by mocking and insulting each other (Werner & Hill, 2010). On the other hand, when students themselves disapprove, the incidence of bullying plummets -Television makes it worse. Programs designed for children often include admired characters with sharp tongues and high status—and the screen never shows the effect on the victims -Age matters. For most of childhood, bullies are disliked; but a switch occurs at about age 11, when bullying becomes a way to gain social status ^In addition, some behaviors that adults might consider bullying are accepted by children as part of social interaction, and some social dominance has been part of human development for centuries. - If children think teachers are clueless, punishing the wrong person for the wrong thing, that does not help the real victims.
Conflict
-Some researchers wonder whether children are emotionally troubled in families with feuding parents because of their inherited genes, not because of what they see. ^Perhaps the parents' genes lead to marital problems and then their children have those same genes. >If that is the case, then family conflict is not the source of the child's problems. -researchers found that, although genes had some influence, witnessing family conflict and experiencing divorce had a more powerful effect. It correlated with externalizing problems in boys and internalizing problems in girls
Prevention of bullying
-simply increasing students' awareness of bullying, instituting zero tolerance for fighting, or putting bullies together in a therapy group or a classroom -Another strategy is to talk to the parents of the bully, but this may backfire. ^Since one cause of bullying is poor parent-child interaction, talking to the parents may "create even more problems for the child, for the parents, and for their relationship" -In fact, the entire school can either increase the rate of bullying or decrease it. ex./For example, a Colorado study found that when the overall school climate encouraged learning and cooperation, children with high self-esteem were unlikely to be bullies; when the school climate was hostile, those with high self-esteem were often bullies -Again, peers are crucial: They must do more than simply notice bullying, becoming aware without doing anything to counter it. In fact, some bystanders feel morally disengaged from the victims, which increases bullying. -Efforts to change the entire school are credited with recent successful efforts to decrease bullying in 29 schools in England, throughout Norway, in Finland, and often in the United States. ^Among the aspects of successful programs are role-playing and cooperative learning, so bystanders become likely to intervene. -Further, the head of the school needs to encourage all of the teachers to focus on social interactions, not just on academics. ^Punishing the bullies might backfire, in that they may gain respect among their peers for defying adults. > If adults target overt bullying, the result may be more bullying where adults might not see it, such as in bathrooms, the edge of the playground, the social media.
Criticisms of Kohlberg
1. Kohlberg has been criticized for not appreciating cultural or gender differences. ex./For example, in some cultures, loyalty to family overrides any other value, so moral people might avoid postconventional actions that hurt their family. -Also, Kohlberg's original participants were all boys, which may have led him to discount nurturance and relationships, thought to be more valued by females than males 2. Overall, Kohlberg seemed to value abstract principles more than individual needs and to prioritize rational thinking. -However, emotions may be more influential than logic in moral development (Haidt, 2013). ^Thus, according to critics of Kohlberg, emotional regulation, empathy, and social understanding, all of which develop throughout childhood, may be more crucial for morality than intellectual development is 3. Later research finds that cultural contexts as well as maturation are important, with politics and religion having a major influence (Haidt, 2013). -Considering both age and religion, one study of mainline and evangelical Protestants in the United States found that children of both groups were similar in that fairness was important and individual rights and needs were considered
Needs of children in middle childhood
1. Physical necessities. Although 6- to 11-year-olds eat, dress, and go to bed without help, families provide basic needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter. 2. Learning. The prime learning years are in middle childhood: Families can support, encourage, and guide education. 3. Self-respect. Because children from age 6 to 11 become self-critical and socially aware, families can provide opportunities for success (in academics, sports, the arts, and so on) or shame. 4. Peer relationships. Families can choose schools and neighborhoods with friendly children and then arrange play dates, group activities, overnight trips, and so on. 5.Harmony and stability. Families can provide protective, predictable routines within a home that is a safe, peaceful haven. -Ironically, many parents move from one neighborhood or school to another during these years, not realizing that frequent moves may harm children academically and psychologically ex./ military families
Kohlberg's Levels of Moral Thought
1. Preconventional moral reasoning is similar to preoperational thought in that it is egocentric, with children most interested in their personal pleasure or avoiding punishment. 2. Conventional moral reasoning parallels concrete operational thought in that it relates to current, observable practices: Children watch what their parents, teachers, and friends do, and they try to follow suit. 3. Postconventional moral reasoning is similar to formal operational thought because it uses abstractions, going beyond what is concretely observed, willing to question "what is" in order to decide "what should be."
Dominant ideas about resilience
1965 All children have the same needs for healthy development. 1970 Some conditions or circumstances—such as "absent father," "teenage mother," "working mom," and "day care"—are harmful for every child. 1975 All children are not the same. Some children are resilient, coping easily with stressors that cause harm in other children. 1980 Nothing inevitably causes harm. Both maternal employment and preschool education, once thought to be risks, are often helpful. 1985 Factors beyond the family, both in the child (low birthweight, prenatal alcohol exposure, aggressive temperament) and in the community (poverty, violence), can be very risky for children. 1990 Risk-benefit analysis finds that some children are "invulnerable" to, or even benefit from, circumstances that destroy others. 1995 No child is invincible. Risks are always harmful—if not in education, then in emotions; if not immediately, then long term. 2000 Risk-benefit analysis involves the interplay among many biological, cognitive, and social factors, some within the child (genes, disability, temperament), the family (function as well as structure), and the community (including neighborhood, school, church, and culture). 2008 Focus on strengths, not risks. Assets in child (intelligence, personality), family (secure attachment, warmth), community (schools, after-school programs), and nation (income support, health care) must be nurtured. 2010 Strengths vary by culture and national values. Both universal ideals and local variations must be recognized and respected. 2012 Genes as well as cultural practices can be either strengths or weaknesses; differential susceptibility means identical stressors can benefit one child and harm another. 2015 Communities are responsible for child resilience. Not every child needs help, but every community needs to encourage healthy child development.
polygamous family
A family consisting of one man, several wives, and their children. -an acceptable family structure, although polygamous families are atypical everywhere. In the United States, polygamy is illegal, and rare.
Extended family
A family of relatives in addition to the nuclear family, usually three or more generations living in one household. -Usually the additional persons are grandparents; sometimes they are uncles, aunts, or cousins. Shared households are common in some nations but less so in the United States. ^Rates vary depending on family culture: Extended families in the United States are more frequent in low-income, African American, and immigrant families.
Nuclear family
A family that consists of a father, a mother, and their biological children under age 18. -Other two-parent structures include adoptive, foster, grandparents without parents, stepfamilies, and same-sex couples. -Probably the most complex structure is the blended family, with children from each of two remarried parents, who often then have a baby of their own. - Blended families are idealized in the media, but relatively few children live within them
single-parent family
A family that consists of only one parent and his or her children. -Rates change depending on the age of the child: Infants and adolescents are more often in single-parent households than are 6- to 11-year-olds.
aggressive-rejected
A type of childhood rejection, when other children do not want to be friends with a child because of his or her antagonistic, confrontational behavior.
withdraw-rejected
A type of childhood rejection, when other children do not want to be friends with a child because of his or her timid, withdrawn, and anxious behavior.
Cumulative stress
Almost every child can withstand one trauma. Repeated stresses, daily hassles, and multiple traumatic experiences make resilience difficult. -The social context—especially supportive adults who do not blame the child—is crucial. ex./ An example from the United States comes from children living in a shelter for homeless families (Cutuli et al., 2013; Obradović, 2012). Compared to other children from the same kinds of families (typically high-poverty, single-parent), they were "significantly behind their low-income, but residentially more stable peers" in every way -The probable reasons: Residential disruption, added to other stresses, was too much. ^ They suffered physiologically, as measured by cortisol levels, blood pressure, and weight, and psychologically, as indicated by lower school achievement and fewer friends. ^Again, however, protective factors buffered the impact: Having a parent with them who provided affection, hope, and stable routines enabled some homeless children to be resilient.
Signs of Psychosocial Maturation over the Years of Middle Childhood*
Children responsibly perform specific chores. Children make decisions about a weekly allowance. Children can tell time and have set times for various activities. Children have homework, including some assignments over several days. Children are punished less often than when they were younger. Children try to conform to peers in clothes, language, and so on. Children voice preferences about their after-school care, lessons, and activities. Children are responsible for younger children, pets, and, in some places, work. Children strive for independence from parents. *Of course, culture is crucial. For example, giving a child an allowance is typical for middle-class children in developed nations since about 1960. It was rare, or completely absent, in earlier times and other places.
Friendships
Friendships become more intense and intimate over the years of middle childhood, as social cognition and effortful control advance. -Six-year-olds may befriend anyone of the same sex and age who is willing to play with them. -By age 10, children demand more of their friends. They share secrets and expect loyalty. -Compared to younger children, older children change friends less often, become more upset when a friendship breaks up, and find it harder to make new friends. ^Older children tend to choose friends whose interests, values, and backgrounds are similar to their own. By the end of middle childhood, close friendships are almost always between children of the same sex, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status >This occurs not because children naturally become more prejudiced in middle childhood (they do not) but because they seek friends who understand and agree with them. >Gender differences persist in activities (girls converse more whereas boys play more active games), but both boys and girls want best friends. Having no close friends at age 11 predicts depression at age 13 -If parents focus only on academic accomplishment, they may seriously harm their children's friendship networks.
preconventional moral reasoning
Kohlberg's first level of moral reasoning, emphasizing rewards and punishments.
conventional moral reasoning
Kohlberg's second level of moral reasoning, emphasizing social rules
postconventional moral reasoning
Kohlberg's third level of moral reasoning, emphasizing moral principles.
Kohlberg's Three Levels and Six Stages of Moral Reasoning
Level I: Preconventional Moral Reasoning The goal is to get rewards and avoid punishments; this is a self-centered level. Stage one: Might makes right (a punishment-and-obedience orientation). The most important value is to maintain the appearance of obedience to authority, avoiding punishment while still advancing self-interest. Don't get caught! Stage two: Look out for number one (an instrumental and relativist orientation). Everyone prioritizes his or her own needs. The reason to be nice to other people is so that they will be nice to you. Level II: Conventional Moral Reasoning Emphasis is placed on social rules; this is a parent- and community-centered level. Stage three: Good girl and nice boy. The goal is to please other people. Social approval is more important than any specific reward. Stage four: Law and order. Everyone must be a dutiful and law-abiding citizen, even when no police are nearby. Level III: Postconventional Moral Reasoning Emphasis is placed on moral principles; this level is centered on ideals. Stage five: Social contract. Obey social rules because they benefit everyone and are established by mutual agreement. If the rules become destructive or if one party doesn't live up to the agreement, the contract is no longer binding. Under some circumstances, disobeying the law is moral. Stage six: Universal ethical principles. Universal principles, not individual situations (level I) or community practices (level II), determine right and wrong. Ethical values (such as "life is sacred") are established by individual reflection and religious ideas, which may contradict egocentric (level I) or social and community (level II) values.
what children value
Many lines of research have shown that children develop their own morality, guided by peers, parents, and culture (Killen & Smetana, 2014). -Some prosocial values are evident in early childhood. Among these values are caring for close family members, cooperating with other children, and not hurting anyone intentionally. ^Even very young children think stealing is wrong, and even infants seem to appreciate social support and punish mean behavior -As children become more aware of themselves and others in middle childhood, they realize that one person's values may conflict with another's. ^Concrete operational cognition, which gives children the ability to understand and use logic, propels them to think about moral rules and advance their theory of mind
Shared and Nonshared Environments
Many studies find that children are much less affected by shared environment (influences that arise from being in the same environment, such as two siblings living in one home, raised by their parents) -than by nonshared environment (e.g., the experiences in the school or neighborhood that differ between one child and another). ^Almost all personality traits and intellectual characteristics can be traced to the combined influence of genes and nonshared environments, with little left over for shared influences. ^Traits that some people believe arise from family circumstances, such as psychopathology, happiness, and sexual orientation also can be traced primarily to genes and nonshared environment, not families. -The analysis that nonshared influences are powerful was correct, but it is not true that siblings raised together share the same environment. ex./ For example, if relocation, divorce, unemployment, or a new job occurs in a family, the impact on each child depends on age, genes, and gender. ^Moving to another town upsets school-age children more than infants; divorce harms boys more than girls; poverty hurts preschoolers the most; and differential susceptibility is always relevant.
Moral development
Middle childhood is prime time for moral development. -Many forces drive children's growing interest in moral issues. Three of them are (1) child culture, (2) personal experience, and (3) empathy. - The culture of children includes ethical mandates, such as loyalty to friends and keeping secrets.
Developing Moral Values
Over the years of middle childhood, moral judgment becomes more comprehensive. Gradually children become better at taking psychological as well as physical harm into account, considering intentions as well as consequences. ex./ For example, in one study 5- to 11-year-olds saw pictures depicting situations in which a child hurt another in order to prevent further harm (such as stopping a friend from climbing on a roof to retrieve a ball) or when one child was simply mean (such as pushing a friend off the swings so that the child could swing). -The younger children were more likely to judge based on results—if anyone got hurt that was wrong—but the older children considered intention, so some hurt was acceptable. -When the harm was psychological, not physical (hurting the child's feelings, not hitting), more than half of the older children considered intentions, but only about 5 percent of the younger children did. ^Compared to the younger children, the older children were more likely to say justifiable harm was OK but unjustifiable harm should be punished
Divorce
Regarding divorce, thousands of studies and several opposing perspectives need to be considered, analyzed, and combined—no easy task. Among the puzzling facts that need interpretation are: 1. The United States leads the world in the rates of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, with almost half of all marriages ending in divorce. 2. Single parents, cohabiting parents, and stepparents sometimes provide good care for their estimated 40 million U.S. children, but children usually do best living with both of their married, biological parents. 3. Divorce is a process, not a decree: It affects academic achievement and psychosocial development for years, even decades. 4. Custody disputes and outcomes often harm children. Noncustodial parents, especially fathers, often become less connected to their children.
Bullying
Repeated, systematic efforts to inflict harm on other people through physical, verbal, or social attack on a weaker person. -It occurs in every nation, in every community, and in every kind of school (religious or secular, public or private, progressive or traditional, large or small). ^Victims are chosen because they are powerless, with many possible traits. -Bullying may be any of four types: Physical (hitting, pinching, shoving, or kicking) Verbal (teasing, taunting, or name-calling) Relational (destroying peer acceptance) Cyber (bullying that uses cell phones, computers, and other electronic devices) -The first three types are common in primary school and begin even earlier, in preschool. (Cyberbullying is more common later on, -A key word in the definition of bullying is repeated. Almost every child experiences an isolated attack or is called a derogatory name at some point. ^Victims of bullying, however, endure shameful experiences again and again—being forced to hand over lunch money, to laugh at insults, to drink milk mixed with detergent, and so on—with no one defending them. >Victims tend to be "cautious, sensitive, quiet . . . lonely and abandoned at school. As a rule, they do not have a single good friend in their class" -Male bullies usually physically attack smaller, weaker boys. Female bullies usually use words to attack shyer, more soft-spoken girls. Young boys can sometimes bully girls, but by puberty
Bully-victims
Someone who attacks others and who is attacked as well. (Also called provocative victims because they do things that elicit bullying.)
Resilience
The capacity to adapt well to significant adversity and to overcome serious stress. -Although early experiences are powerful, some children seem unscathed by early stress. They have been called "resilient" or even "invincible." ^Current thinking about resilience, with insights from dynamic-systems theory, emphasizes that no one is impervious to past history or current context >Differential susceptibility is apparent, because of genes and early child rearing, preschool education, and culture. As Chapter 1 explains, some children are hardy, more like dandelions than orchids, but all are influenced by their situation 1. Resilience is dynamic, not a stable trait. A given person may be resilient at some periods but not at others. The effects from one period reverberate as time goes on. 2. Resilience is a positive adaptation. For example, if parental rejection leads a child to a closer relationship with another adult, that is positive adaptation. 3. Adversity must be significant, a threat to the processes of development or even to life itself, not merely a minor stress.
Adults vs Peers
The conflict between the morality of children and that of adults is evident in the value that children place on education. Adults usually prize school and respect teachers, but children may encourage one another to skip class, cheat on tests, harass a substitute teacher, and so on. Three common imperatives among 6- to 11-year-olds are the following: Protect your friends. Don't tell adults what is happening. Conform to peer standards of dress, talk, behavior. -Clothing choices may seem like mere social conformity, but children may elevate it to a standard of right and wrong, not unlike adults who might consider immoral a woman who does not wear a head covering, or does wear a revealing dress even.
industry versus inferiority
The fourth of Erikson's eight psychosocial crises, during which children attempt to master many skills, developing a sense of themselves as either industrious or inferior, competent or incompetent. -Erikson noted that the child "must forget past hopes and wishes, while his exuberant imagination is tamed and harnessed to the laws of impersonal things," becoming "ready to apply himself to given skills and tasks" -Overall, children judge themselves as either industrious or inferior—deciding whether they are competent or incompetent, productive or useless, winners or losers. ^ Self-pride depends not necessarily on actual accomplishments but on how others view one's accomplishments. -Social rejection is both a cause and a consequence of feeling inferior (Rubin et al., 2013). The culture that is most salient in middle childhood is the culture of children, especially from peers of the same sex. -As children become more self-aware, they benefit from praise for their process, for how they learn and how they relate to others, not for static qualities such as intelligence and popularity. ^This encourages a growth mindset. Instead of being told that "failure is not an option," they are encouraged to "fail again, fail better" >Self-conscious emotions (pride, shame, guilt) develop during middle childhood, guiding social interaction. During these years, if those same emotions are uncontrolled, they can overwhelm a healthy self-concept, leading to psychopathology
Child culture
The idea that each group of children has games, sayings, clothing styles, and superstitions that are not common among adults, just as every culture has distinct values, behaviors, and beliefs. -Jump-rope rhymes, insults, and superstitions are part of peer society. So are clothes: Many children reject clothes that parents buy as too loose, too tight, too long, too short, or wrong in color, style, brand, or decoration. -Language is another manifestation of child culture, because communication with peers is vital. -Independence from adults is acclaimed. Peers pity those (especially boys) whose parents kiss them ("mama's boy"), tease those who please the teachers ("teacher's pet," "suck-up"), and despise those who betray children to adults ("tattletale," "grasser," "snitch," "rat"). Keeping secrets from parents and teachers is a moral mandate. ^Because they value independence, children find friends who defy authority, sometimes harmlessly (passing a note in class), sometimes not (shoplifting, smoking).
Family structure
The legal and genetic relationships among relatives living in the same home. Possible structures include nuclear family, extended family, stepfamily, single-parent family, and many others. -Legal connections may be via marriage, years of cohabitation, or adoption. -Genetic connections may be from parent to child, or between siblings, cousins, grandparents and grandchildren, and so on.
Social comparison
The tendency to assess one's abilities, achievements, social status, and other attributes by measuring them against those of other people, especially one's peers. -Ideally, social comparison helps school-age children value themselves and abandon the imaginary, rosy self-evaluation of preschoolers. The self-concept becomes more realistic, incorporating comparison to peers and judgments from the overall society -Affirming pride is an important counterbalance, because, for all children, increasing self-understanding and social awareness come at a price. -Self-criticism and self-consciousness rise from ages 6 to 11, and "by middle childhood . . . this [earlier] overestimate of their ability or judgments decreases" (Davis-Kean et al., 2009, p. 184) while global self-esteem falls. ^Children's self-concept becomes influenced by the opinions of others, even by other children whom they do not know
Family function
The way a family works to meet the needs of its members. Children need families to provide basic material necessities, to encourage learning, to help them develop self-respect, to nurture friendships, and to foster harmony and stability. -Some families function well; others are dysfunctional. Some family functions are needed by everyone at every age, such as love and encouragement. -Beyond that, what people need from their families differs depending on how old they are: Infants need responsive caregiving; teenagers need guidance; young adults need freedom; the aged need respect.
Unpopular children
There are three types of unpopular children. 1. Some are neglected, not rejected; they are ignored, but not shunned. 2. aggressive-rejected 3. withdraw-rejected -Considerable change in social status occurs among children from year to year, as the class composition changes. Teachers can make a difference, if they are warm toward the disliked child -Both aggressive-rejected and withdrawn-rejected children misinterpret social situations, lack emotional regulation, and may be mistreated at home, which increases the risk of rejection at school ^Unless they are guided toward friendship with at least one other child, they may become bullies and/or victims.
Self-concept
Throughout the centuries and in every culture, school-age children develop a much more realistic understanding of who they are and what they can do.
Family trouble
Two factors impair family function in every structure, ethnic group, and nation: low income and high conflict -Family income correlates with both function and structure. Marriage rates fall in times of recession. ^Divorce itself becomes less common, probably because it is costly to divorce, but home foreclosure increases the rate of family dissolution. >Low SES correlates with many problems because "risk factors pile up in the lives of some children, particularly among the most disadvantaged" -If economic hardship is ongoing, if uncertainty about the future is high, if education is low—all of these may increase adult hostility and stress -If wealthy parents pressure their children to maintain high achievement, the stress can lead the children to use drugs, commit crimes, and fail in school—all of which are more common in children of very wealthy parents compared to parents with average income
Family Structures (percent of U.S. 6- to 11-year-olds in each type)*
Two-Parent Families (69%) 1. Nuclear family (56%). Named after the nucleus (the tightly connected core particles of an atom), the nuclear family consists of a man and a woman and their biological offspring under 18 years of age. In middle childhood, about half of all children live in nuclear families. About 10 percent of such families also include a grandparent, and often an aunt or uncle, living under the same roof. Those are extended families. 2. Stepparent family (9%). Divorced fathers usually remarry; divorced mothers remarry about half the time. If the stepparent family includes children born to two or more couples (such as children from the spouses' previous marriages and/or children of the new couple), that is a blended family. 3. Adoptive family (2%). Although as many as one-third of infertile couples adopt children, they usually adopt only one or two. Thus, only 2 percent of children are adopted, although the overall percentage of adoptive families is higher than that. 4. Grandparents alone (1%). Grandparents take on parenting for some children when biological parents are absent (dead, imprisoned, sick, addicted, etc.). That is a skipped generation family. 5. Two same-sex parents (1%). Some two-parent families are headed by a same-sex couple, whose legal status (married, step-, adoptive) varies. Single-Parent Families (31%) One-parent families are increasing, but they average fewer children than two-parent families. So in middle childhood, only 31 percent of children have a lone parent. 1. Single mother—never married (14%). In 2010, 41 percent of all U.S. births were to unmarried mothers; but when children are school age, many such mothers have married or have entrusted their children to their parents' care. Thus, only about 14 percent of 6- to 11-year-olds, at any given moment, are in single-mother, never-married homes. 2. Single mother—divorced, separated, or widowed (12%). Although many marriages end in divorce (almost half in the United States, fewer in other nations), many divorcing couples have no children. Others remarry. Thus, only 12 percent of school-age children currently live with single, formerly married mothers. 3. Single father (4%). About 1 father in 25 has physical custody of his children and raises them without their mother or a new wife. This category increased at the start of the twenty-first century but has decreased since 2005. 4. Grandparent alone (1%). Sometimes a single grandparent (usually the grandmother) becomes the sole caregiving adult for a child. More Than Two Adults (15%) [Also listed as two-parent or single-parent family] 1. Extended family (15%). Some children live with a grandparent or other relatives, as well as with one (5 percent) or both (10 percent) of their parents This pattern is most common with infants (20 percent) but occurs in middle childhood as well. 2. Polygamous family (0%). In some nations (not the United States), men can legally have several wives. This family structure is more favored by adults than children. Everywhere, polyandry (one woman, several husbands) is rare.
Parentification
When a child acts more like a parent than a child. Parentification may occur if the actual parents do not act as caregivers, making a child feel responsible for the family. -Children suffer if they feel burdened and unable to escape, but if they feel helpful and adults respect their contribution, they may be resilient. The difference depends partly on community values
Family stress model
holds that any risk (such as low income, divorce, single parenthood, or unemployment) damages a family only if it increases stress on the parents, who then become less patient and responsive to their children.
