Kyle Lewis

Professor Bengi Sullu

PSY 3059
15 December, 2020
Final Exam

1. Mistreatment and abuse of children is a real problem that persists in the contemporary

world and it does occur. This issue is not one with straightforward and/or immediate solutions as

this may still continue to be a problem, although it can be minimized. A way of making

significant progress towards preventing child abuse is to figure out possible factors that have

potential to result in it and even increase the frequency of the issue.

Risk factors are characteristics of a child or caregiver that may increase the likelihood of

child maltreatment.

■ Alcohol abuse (caregiver)–The compulsive use of alcohol that is not of a temporary

nature.

■ Drug abuse (caregiver)–The compulsive use of drugs that is not of a temporary nature.

■ Financial problem (caregiver)–A risk factor related to the family’s inability to provide

sufficient financial resources to meet minimum needs.

■ Domestic violence (caregiver)–Any abusive, violent, coercive, forceful, or threatening

act or word inflicted by one member of a family or household on another. In NCANDS,

the caregiver may be the perpetrator or the victim of the domestic violence.

■ Alcohol abuse (child)–The compulsive use of alcohol that is not of a temporary nature,

includes Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and exposure to alcohol during pregnancy.

■ Drug abuse (child)–The compulsive use of drugs that is not of a temporary nature,

includes infants exposed to drugs during pregnancy. (Child Mistreatment 2017).

Alcohol and drug abuse by both child(ren) and caregiver(s), economic instability of the

caregiver(s), and abusive behavior (or antagonizing) of the caregiver(s) can be factors of
mistreatment of children. Alcohol and drug abuse can damage the mind and body, lack of money

can make it difficult to raise and provide for children as well as even strain the mood of the

caregiver(s), and conflict-triggering conduct of the caregiver(s) can hurt children and sour their

happiness. All of these factors in one way or more can lead to degradation and even violence

towards children which also worsens child-caregiver relationships. Understanding these possible

factors and reducing them may not necessarily eliminate child abuse, but doing so can definitely

lessen the problem.

3. Education in elementary school is a pivotal stage in the development of children and how

well they learn is affected by the quality of that level of education in learning environments.

Vygotsky believed that learning and development are active sociocultural processes that serve as

or add onto foundations for the growth of children (Sabo 4), and according to Brofenbrenner,

“Children from homes or classrooms affording greater opportunities for communication and

decision-making not only exhibited greater initiative and independence after entering high

school, but also received higher grades. Family processes were considerably more powerful in

producing change than classroom procedures.” (Brofenbrenner 728). How actively engaged and

the level of interaction with children and teachers, as well as the presence of parents in their

respective aspirations for education, factor significantly into the quality of elementary school

education; those factors greatly boosted the efficiency in learning and growth of children in

elementary school.

4. The important element of children’s education is whether they acquired new information

(what they realize and find out themselves for the first time) and can even apply what they

learned. Test scores for example are a valid method of evaluating the knowledge of children as

they can convey what they learned and whether they improved or not. There is another example
measuring participation which would also show that they are learning. As an elementary school

teacher, assessing performance and development would be on the basis of tests and in-class

participation.

5. Adolescence is a stage of maturation in the development and growth of humans. Erikson

theorized the purpose of the adolescence and made the connection to figuring out oneself during

that stage, which James Marcia expands upon with coming up with four kinds of states of

identity regarding paths and methods for them.

Erikson believed that the primary psychosocial task of adolescence was establishing an

identity… Identity diffusion… characterizes those who have neither explored the options,

nor made a commitment to an identity… Those in identity foreclosure have made a

commitment to an identity without having explored the options… Identity moratorium is

a status that describes those who are activity exploring in an attempt to establish an

identity but have yet to have made any commitment… Identity achievement refers to

those who after exploration have made a commitment. (Lally, Martha, Valentine-French,

Suzanne 233-234).

Erikson’s theory suggests that adolescence is a stage in which developing humans should finding

and planning out the rest of the lives, and Marcia goes further on his (Erikson) theory and defines

different states which indicates the decision (or lack thereof) of how those lives would be lived.

Identity diffusion means that neither a future nor the kind person to be has been decided on,

while identity foreclosure means one knows who he or she wants to be but is uncertain how.

Identity moratorium means that one is figuring out his or her future but has not finalized a

decision, while identity achievement means one knows his or her future to pursue as well as how
to do so. I would say that I fall under Identity achievement to some extent, as I know I want to

work and office job studying people, or a sociology-related desk job.

8. The key time of developing humans is when they mature and finally start to concentrate

on their respective futures. My parents and grandparents are from different times and their lives

started to take off (independence and deciding on the rest of their lives) much earlier than I am

doing. I am apart of my generation which is more laxed and dependent, and our lives were

already set up to be experienced because of previous generations; previous generations of people

did not live in times that were as advanced and were not as privileged. Like my grandparents and

parents, I would like to work a career I enjoy that just makes enough money to fulfill wants and

needs, and marriage would be nice to be apart of. Where I differ from them is my uncertainty

about marriage (I do not really need it and I do not know if it would even happen) and that I was

not just working different jobs because I had to. Generations disconnects and shifts like this can

be evidenced. According to “Emerging Adulthood”,

As recently as 1970, the median age of marriage in the United States was about 21 for

women and 23 for men; by 1996, it had risen to 25 for women and 27 for men. Age of

first childbirth followed a similar pattern. Also, since midcentury the proportion of young

Americans obtaining higher education after high school has risen steeply from 14% in

1940 to over 60% by the mid-1990s… marriage and parenthood are delayed until the

midtwenties or late twenties for most people, [and] it is no longer normative for the late

teens and early twenties to be a time of entering and settling into long-term adult roles…

[but instead are] more typically a period of frequent change and exploration. (Arnett).

For me, I am still wondering whether marriage and finding a partner is for me, but I have decided

on working; these crucial life decisions are made up for later in life akin to my generation.