Psychosocial Development in

Middle Child hood

Chapter 10
Prepared by: Group 1
The Developing Self
•The self-concept becomes more realistic during middle childhood, when
according to a neo-Piagetian model children from representational systems.
•REPRESENTATIONAL SYSTEMS – the third stage in the development of self–
definition, characterized by breadth, balance and the integration and
assessment of various aspects of the self.
•INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY – Erikson ‘s fourth stage of psychosocial
development in which children must learn the productive skills their culture
requires or else face feelings of inferiority
•Emotional growth is affected by parent’s reactions to display of negative
emotions.
•Emotional regulation involves effortful control.
The Child in The Family

•School – age children spend less time with parents and are
less close to them than before , but relationships with
parents continue to be important, culture influences family
relationships and roles.
INTERNALIZING BEHAVIORS behavior by which emotional
problems are turned in word (ex. Anxiety and depression )
EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIORS behavior by which a child acts
out emotional difficulties (ex. Aggression and Hostility)
The Child in The Family
•COREGULATION a stage that can include strategies in which parents exercise
oversight but children enjoy moment to moment self-regulation
•The family environment has two major components: family structure and
family environment
•The emotional tone of the home, the way parent’s handle disciplinary issues
and conflict, the effects of the parent’s work and the adequacy of financial
resources all contribute to family atmosphere.
•Development of coregulation may affect the way a family handles conflicts
and discipline
•Poverty can harm children’s development indirectly through it’s effects on
parent’s well being and parenting practices
The Child in The Family
•Many children today grow up in non traditional family structures other things being
equal, children tend to do better in traditional two parent families than in cohabiting,
divorced, single parent or step families
•Children’s adjustment to divorce depends on factors concerning the child, the parent’s
handling of the situation, custody and visitation arrangements, financial circumstances,
contact with the non custodial parent and a parent’s remarriage.
•In most divorces the mother gets custody.
•Joint custody can be beneficial to children when the parents can cooperate. Joint legal
custody is more common than joint physical custody.
•Children living with only one parent are at heightened risk of behavioral and academic
problems, largely related to socio economic status.
The Child in The Family

•Studies have found positive developmental outcomes in

children living with gay or lesbian parents.
•Adopted children are generally well adjusted though they
face special challenges.
•The roles and responsibilities of siblings in non industrialized
societies are more structured than in industrialized societies
•Siblings learn about conflict resolution from their
relationships with each other . Relationships with parents
affect sibling relationships.
The Child in the Peer Group

•Peer group in middle childhood are children

who play together.

•Has the same or close age and of the same sex.

I.POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF
PEER RELATIONS
Positive Effects
•Develop skills needed for sociability and intimacy, and gain
sense of belonging.
•Children are motivated to achieve, and they attain a sense
of identity,
•Learn leadership and communication skills, cooperation,
roles and rules.
•Children can gauge their abilities more realistically and gain
clearer sense of self-efficacy. (Bandura,1994)
I.POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF
PEER RELATIONS
•Learn how to get along in society.
•Learn how to adjust their needs and desires
•It offers emotional security
•Same-sex peer groups helps children to learn gender-
appropriate behaviors and incorporate gender roles into
their self-concept.
I.POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF
PEER RELATIONS
Negative Effects
•Reinforce prejudice: unfavorable attitude toward
members of certain groups outside one’s own, especially
racial or ethnic groups.
•They tend to be biased toward children like themselves.
•Prejudice and discrimination can do real damage.
•Targets of discrimination may show symptoms of
depression or conduct problems in the next 5 years.
II. POPULARITY

•Humans are social creatures, and such our relationships

have profound effect on our outcomes.
•Popularity tends to influence future adjustment.
•Positive nomination – children who can easily say who
they like to play with and like the most.
•Negative nomination – children who can easily say who
they don’t like to play with and don’t like the most.
II. POPULARITY
•Sociometric popularity – a measure that is composed of tally that has
positive, negative, or no nominations.
•Children can be unpopular in one of two ways.
•Some children are rejected, and they receive many negative nominations.
•Some unpopular children are aggressive; others are hyperactive, inattentive,
or withdrawn.
•Unpopular children are often insensitive to other’s children feelings and do
not adapt well to new situations.
•Average children in their ratings do not receive an unusual number of either
positive or negative nominations.
III.FRIENDSHIP

•Children look for friends who are like them in age, sex,
and interests.
•Strongest friendships involve equal commitment and
mutual give-and-take.
•Children learn to communicate and cooperate.
•Friendships deepen and become more stable in middle
childhood, reflecting cognitive and emotional growth.
•Girls tend to have fewer, more intimate friends than boys.
III.FRIENDSHIP

•Selman’s stages of friendship

•Stage 0: Momentary playmateship (ages 3-7) –
undifferentiated level, children tend to think only about
what they want from a relationship.
•Stage 1: One-way assistance (ages 4 to 9) – unilateral level,
a “good friend” does what a child wants the friend to do.
•Stage 2: Two-way fair-weather cooperation (ages 6 to 12) –
reciprocal level, involves give-and-take but still serves many
separate self-interests.
III.FRIENDSHIP

•Stage 3: Mutual level (ages 9 to 15) – children view

friendship as a committed relationship that incorporates
more than doing things for each other.
•Stage 4: Autonomous interdependence (beginning at age
12): interdependent stage, children respect friends’ needs
for both dependency and autonomy.
IV. AGGRESSION AND BULLYING
•Aggression declines and changes in form during the early
school years.
•Instrumental aggression – aggression aimed at achieving an
objective.
•Hostile aggression – aggression intended to hurt another
person
•Direct aggression – engage more in boys
•Indirect aggression – engage more in girls
IV. AGGRESSION AND BULLYING
•Aggressiveness is promoted by exposure to media violence
and can extend into adult life.
•Aggression becomes bullying when it is deliberately
directed against a target: a victim.
•Proactive – done to show dominance, bolster power, or win
admiration
•Reactive – responding to real or imagined attack.
•Cyberbullying – posting negative comments or derogatory
photos of victim on a website.
Mental Health
-Usually refers to emotional health
Common Emotional Problems
Disruptive Conduct Disorders
- Aggression, temper tantrums, defiance,
argumentative, hostile, and deliberately annoying
behaviors
- Common in ages 4-5
Mental Health

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

- Pattern of defiance, disobedience and hostility towards adult authority figures
- Lasting for at least 6 months
Conduct Disorder (CD)
-Persistent, repetitive pattern of aggressive, antisocial behavior violating social norms or
other people’s rights
School Phobia and Other Anxiety Disorders
School Phobia
-Unrealistic fear of going to school
Mental Health
Separation Anxiety Disorder
-Excessive and prolonged anxiety concerning separation from
home or from people
Social Phobia
-Extreme fear and avoidance of social situations
-Commonly referred to as social anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
-Anxiety that is not focused on a single target
Mental Health

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

-Anxiety aroused by repetitive, intrusive thoughts, images or
impulses
Childhood Depression
-Mood disorder characterized by prolonged sense of
friendlessness, inability to have fun, or concentrate
-Fatigue, extreme activity or apathy, feelings of
worthlessness and thoughts of death or suicide
Treatment Techniques

Individual Therapy
-A therapist sees a child one-on-one
Family Therapy
-A therapist sees the family together and observes the
family members’ interaction
Behavior Therapy/Behavior Modification
-Uses principles of learning theory to eliminate undesirable
behaviors or to develop desirable ones.
Treatment Techniques
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
-Seeks to change negative thoughts through gradual exposure, modeling, rewards or talking to oneself
-Most effective treatment for anxiety
Art Therapy
-Therapy that allows one to express through art materials or multimedia
Play Therapy
-Therapy that uses play to cope up with emotional distress
Drug Therapy
-Administration of drugs to treat emotional disorders
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
-Used to treat OCDs, depressive and anxiety disorders in the 1990s
Stress And Resilience
Resilient Children
-Children who can weather adverse circumstances and can function well despite challenges and threats
Protective Factors
-Influences that reduces the impact of early stresses
The two most important protective factors are:
◦ Good Family Relationships
◦ Cognitive Functioning

Other protective factors are:

◦ Child’s Temperament or Personality
◦ Compensating Experiences
◦ Reduced Risks