Socioemotional

Development in Middle
and Late Childhood
Presented by:

Par, Nerlyn G. Esperas, Gail Laurence Pedrezuela, Jana Jen

 What We'll Talk About
Today's The Developing Self
Guide
The Child in the Family
The Child in the Peer Group
Mental Health
 The Developing Self
REPRESENTATIONAL SYSTEM
Neo-Piagetian terminology and the third stage in development of self-concept, it is
characterized as broad, balance, and the integration and assessment of various
aspects of the self which contributes to the development of self-esteem.
INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY
According to Erikson’s psychosocial development theory, it is the capacity to learn
productive skills to achieve goals or feeling of inadequacy and incompetent.
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Awareness and understanding of our own and other people’s feelings.
 The Developing Self
EMOTIONAL SELF-REGULATION
Effortful control of emotions, attention, and behavior which is influenced by
cultural values.
TWO TYPES OF EMOTIONAL REGULATION
1. LOW EFFORTFUL CONTROL
Children become visibly angry or frustrated when interrupted or prevented from doing
something they want to do
2. HIGH EFFORTFUL CONTROL
Children stifle showing negative emotion at inappropriate times at
inappropriate times.
 The Child in the Family
1. COREGULATION
Parents exercise general supervision and children exercise moment-to-moment self-
regulation in controlling behavior.
2. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN FAMILY DYNAMICS
Ways in which parents socialize their children reflect important cultural values
3. FAMILY CONFLICT
Presence and exposure of child to family discord and conflicts
Two types of responses :
a. Internalizing Behaviors - Emotional problems are turned inward; such as anxiety or depression
b. Externalizing behaviors - Child acts out emotional difficulties and it is turned outward;
such as aggression or hostility
 The Child in the Family
4. EFFECTS OF PARENTS’ WORK
Includes both parents work but mostly focused on the mother.
The more satisfied a mother is with her employment status, the more effective she is
likely to be as a parent.

5. POVERTY
Affects parenting style, whether children go to school and the neighborhood they live in
affects physical health, behaviors, mental health, and cognitive and intellectual
development.
 Family Structure
Includes parents’ relationship, the quality of their parenting, and creating a favorable
family atmosphere
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAMILY STRUCTURE
1. ONE-PARENT FAMILIES
Families resulted from divorce or separation, unwed parenthood, or death.
2. COHABITING FAMILIES
Parents or couple lives together in the same house but not married
3. STEPFAMILY
Usually formed when divorced parents remarry or one parent marry someone who
is not the biological parent of the child also called as blended family.
 Family Structure
4. GAY AND LESBIAN PARENTS
Raising children born of previous heterosexual relationships, or adopting a child
or use of surrogate mothers
5. ADOPTIVE FAMILIES
Consists mostly of infertile people, single people, older people, gay and lesbian couples,
and people who already have biological children have become adoptive parents.
TYPES OF ADAPTION
Agency adoptions - confidential, no contact between the birth mother and the adoptive parents
Independent adoptions -made by direct agreement between both parties
Open adoptions - both parties share information or have direct contact with the child.
6. DIVORCED FAMILIES
Family Structure
Parents are separated due to the termination of their marriage relationship
ADJUSTING TO DIVORCE
Child’s relationship with the noncustodial parent may suffer and cause anxiety and antisocial behavior
CUSTODY, VISITATION, AND CO-PARENTING
Maternal custody or Paternal custody
Joint Physical Custody - the child lives part time with each parent
Joint Legal Custody - share the right and responsibility to make decisions regarding the child’s welfare
Cooperative Parenting - active consultation between a mother and a nonresident father on parenting
decisions
LONG-TERM EFFECTS
Poorer psychological well-being Greater chance of having a birth outside marriage
Afraid of making commitments Likelihood to end up in divorce
Lower SES
Sibling Relationships
Having a warm and supportive relationship with your siblings provides
better adjustment, social competence, and emotion regulation.

Younger siblings have a high tendency to imitate their older siblings and
it has a negative impact especially when older siblings elicit bad behavior.

Risk factor of sibling warmth is that there is also a high chance that a
sibling would introduce antisocial behaviors to the siblings they feel
closer to. For example, using drugs, smoking, drinking alcohol, and other
behavior that constitutes delinquency.

High Sibling conflicts can develop into internalizing, or externalizing

problems
 The Child in the Peer Group
Postive Aspect
Aside from playing together, close friends are motivated to solve
problems and feel comfortable opening up to each other. Children
can assess their skills and develop a clear sense of self-efficacy
through peer groups

Negative Aspect
It becomes unhealthy when it turns destructive and causes
children to act against their better judgment. Furthermore, peer
groups may also foster prejudice or display negative attitudes
against outsiders, typically people who belong to particular racial or
ethnic groups.
Gender and Peer Groups
Groups of boys are into gender-typed Girls are more into cross-gender
activities activities like team sports

Boys choose competitive, rough-and- Girls favor private chats, friendly

tumble play connections, and shared secrets

They are not overly focused on Girls like friends with high empathy and
empathetic characteristics optimism

Same-sex peer groups teach children gender-

appropriate behaviors and help them
assimilate gender roles in their self-concept.
 Popularity
Popular Unpopular Standards
for
children children Popularity

Have strong cognitive ability, May be bullied, neglected, It can be measured

excellent academic violent, hyperactive, sociometrically or by
accomplishment, social
inattentive, withdrawn, or perceived social status. It
problem-solving skills, can also be influenced by
friendliness, and indifferent to the feelings
of others. cultural norms.
assertiveness.
 Children tend to
look for friends Boys tend to have
who are similar to more friends,

Friendships them in terms of

age, sex, activity
level, and
whereas girls
tend to have
closer friends
interests.

Children distinguish
among “best friends,”
“good friends,” and
“casual friends” on
the basis of intimacy
and time spent
together.
Aggression and Bullying
Aggression Types
Instrumental: Achieving objectives, common in preschool.
Hostile: Intending to hurt, often verbal (Dodge, Coie, & Lynam, 2006).

Gender Differences
Boys: Direct aggression.
Girls: Social or indirect aggression (Card et al., 2008).

Types of Aggression
Proactive Aggressors
Use force for rewards, deliberate, not out of anger.
Reactive Aggressors
React aggressively when provoked, e.g., hostile attribution bias.

Hostile Attribution Bias

Tendency to perceive others as trying to hurt one and to strike out in retaliation or self-defense.
 Aggression becomes bullying when it is deliberately,
persistently directed against a particular target: a victim.
Bullying
Deliberate, persistent aggression against a victim.
Types: physical, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying.
Gender Differences in Bullying
Male: Overt, physical aggression.
Female: Relational aggression (Boulton, 1995;
Nansel et al., 2001).
Common Emotional Problems
Disruptive Conduct Disorders
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD): Negativity,
hostility, and defiance.
Conduct Disorder (CD): Repetitive, antisocial
behavior.
Anxiety Disorders
oSchool phobia : Unrealistic fear of going to school.
oSeparation anxiety disorder : prolonged anxiety
concerning separation from people to whom a person is
attached.
oSocial phobia : Extreme fear and/or avoidance of social
situations.
oGeneralized anxiety disorder : Anxiety not focused on any
single target.
oObsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) : Anxiety aroused
by repetitive, intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses, often
leading to compulsive ritual behaviors.
Childhood depression
Mood disorder characterized by such symptoms as a prolonged sense of friendlessness,
inability to have fun or concentrate, fatigue, extreme activity or apathy, feelings of
worthlessness, weight change, physical complaints, and thoughts of death or suicide.

Treatment Techniques
Individual Psychotherapy: One-on-one counseling.
Family Therapy: Analyzing family dynamics together.
Behavior Therapy (Modification): Encourage desired behaviors.
Art Therapy: Expressing emotions through art.
Play Therapy: Using play to cope with emotional distress.
Drug Therapy: Medications for emotional disorders.
Stress and Resilience
Stresses of Modern Life
David Elkind: Children face adult pressures, grow up too soon.
Exposure to adult problems, frequent moves, and busy schedules.

Children's Responses and Resilience

Responses to Traumatic Events
Initial stage: Fright, disbelief, grief.
Later stage: Regression, emotional distress, anxiety.
Resilient Children: Weather adversity, bounce back from trauma.
Protective Factors: Reduce early stress, predict positive outcomes.
THANK YOU!
BA Psychology 2A