I have done some more research
about the causes of emotional disorders and I will now touch on the two causes
that I mentioned in the previous post. The two causes left to discuss are ‘home
and community’ and ‘school’. I found most of my information about how a child’s
home and community can greatly influence emotional disorders by reading the
information provided here:
According to this site, “Environment
and culture are the context in which behavior unfolds” (Maag, 2000). “Rarely
does a single negative experience lead to or aggravate emotional problems, but
combinations of poverty, abuse, neglect, parental stress, inconsistent
expectations and rules, confusion, and turmoil over long periods of time can do
so” (CDF, 2004; Hosp & Reschly, 2002). From the research I have done about
this issue, I have found the poverty is one of the most commonly mentioned
factor in children with emotional disorders. More students that suffer from
emotional or behavioral disorders are living in poverty than not, but I wouldn’t
go as far as saying poverty causes emotional disorders, but the two are
definitely correlated.
The last possible contributing
factor that can cause an emotional disorder in children is school. When I read
about how this could cause an emotional disorder, I expected to mostly read
about bullies and how the students being bullied are affected by them at
school. Surprisingly, bullies were not mentioned what so ever. Instead, I found
out that schools and teachers influence emotional disorders in children and can
improve or worsen a child’s condition. I’ve always believed that teachers can
play such an important, if not the most important, roll in a child’s life and
that a great teacher not only cares about academics, but the emotional, social,
and overall wellbeing of the children as well. What I found really grasped my
attention and brought back several negative experiences that I had in an
elementary classroom. The education website stated, “Problems can get better
because of teacher’s actions or worse for the same reason”. Unfortunately, my
experience in one classroom from the past proves this statement has validity. I
witnessed students being belittled and made fun of by a teacher on a day to day
basis and often heard parents saying that their children were afraid to come to
school. I won’t go into detail, but I can say from my experience that schools
and teachers can absolutely affect students and their emotional stability in a
negative way. I decided to browse the internet for articles about teachers who
are cruel or unprofessional to students. I found numerous articles on this
issue and wanted to share this one:
At the end of the article, the
boy’s stepfather says that his son had been tormented for 149 days at school
and now they have to look into getting his psyche checked. I can only imagine
what these parents went through after hearing the video tape of the teacher
belittling and embarrassing their son. It is such a shame that people like this
get hired to influence the children who are our FUTURE. The damage is already
done to this child and no matter what punishment the teacher faces, the
emotional scars the boy has will last with him for a long time if not forever.
It is devastating that some teachers abuse the power they have over children
and that these children can be affected for years. I will look more into this
and plan on eventually turning my focus towards how teachers can positively and
negatively affect students in the classroom and/or cause emotional distress in
children.
You found some interesting information. It could take you in several different directions. eg. the effects of bullying on children with emotional disorders and how their families cope. I look forward to seeing where you go with your blog.
ReplyDeleteMegan,
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned school as a contributing factor, I also assumed you were referring to bullying. I would never have considered that school would be a factor. It is unbelievable that teachers can be so cruel and do so much harm to a child, especially to the extent of causing an emotional disorder!
I also had not previously considered the effects of poverty in relation to emotional disorders, but I can see how it could definitely contribute to a child developing an emotional disorder. Now that I think about it, there was a child in another 3rd grade class at my internship school who had a severe emotional disorder. He lived with his aunt and his twin lived with grandparents because his parents were incarcerated. While I am not positive, I believe that his family was impoverished, judging from the shabbiness and ill-fit of his clothes. He often fell asleep at school because his aunt and her boyfriend/ friends would stay up late partying. I wonder what his life would have been like if he had been born into a better situation. Would he still have had an emotional disorder?
I am enjoying your blog and am learning a lot from your posts!
Sarah L.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the story about the third grade boy! I am so intrigued by stories like these and wish there was a clear answer to your question. I don't think there is a definite "yes or no" answer to "would he still have had an emotional disorder?" and this question has actually been debated for many years and leads into the thought of "nature vs. nurture". On one hand, you have people who say that this child would have had an emotional disorder no matter what his family situation was because it is a genetic disorder (nature). On the other hand, you will have people who argue that environmental factors play much more of a role than genetics and if this child would have had a stable family life, then he would not have developed an emotional disorder (nurture). The nature vs. nurture debate goes much farther than simply emotional disorders, but it also involves many other psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, addictions, sexual orientation, etc. If you want to know my personal opinion - I would have to say that I am 100% 50/50. I absolutely think that this child would have been able to control his emotional disorder much better if he was brought up in a stable home or may have not even shown any symptoms of the disorder until much later in life. However, I do believe that genetics plays a role and if I were to make an assumption about this child's parents, I would say that they have some kind of psychological disorder themselves, or even the child's grandparents. All children are different and have different experiences which can also affect an emotional disorder in children. I'm so glad you asked that question because it really got me thinking about nature vs. nurture which is something I would never have thought of on my own and I could write my whole blog on just that alone!
-Megan :)