Families and Peers in Social Development Essay

Discussion Question:

For your required weekly discussion posting you may respond to and elaborate on previous postings or reflect upon the material covered in this course and make a posting relevant to that.
Module 7: Families and Peers in Social Development
Goals

After completing this module, you will be able to do the following:Families and Peers in Social Development Essay

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Explain how a child’s family influences adolescent behavior and development.
Characterize the changing family in a changing social world.
Discuss peer relationships and the influence of friendships.
Practice supporting fact-based statements by citing and referencing material from the reading as well as from any outside sources.
Overview

This module examines the role of families and peers in the social development context.Families and Peers in Social Development Essay

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Child Development: Chapters 14 and 15

According to developmental theories, adolescence is characterized as a growth period where formation of identity is addressed. Familial influence occurs through the creation of life and genes such that, children tend to inherit some traits from parents which positively or negatively influence morals and behavior (Santrock, 2014). As development occurs, parents create the environment which a child tends to be raised in. During this period, the personality and intelligence of the child are heavily influenced by direct and indirect interactions depending on set values and expectations (Santrock, 2014). The role models provided by the family define the blueprints and set boundaries that promote clear guidelines needed to deal with issues in other areas. Children tend to maintain these morals to adolescence and even adulthood. Families and Peers in Social Development Essay
Families comprise of different members with very different needs, obligations, resources and perspectives. With time, the existent characteristics of individual family members change in terms of social, economic and cultural contexts. These changes indirectly shape the overall health status and well-being of individual family members (Santrock, 2014). Today, there has been a rapid increase of single-parent families with the majority being headed by the mother (Santrock, 2014). As children get older, the likelihood of families living as a single-parent family tends to increase. Another change is that of mothers entering the labor force. In the recent years, there has been a notable increase in employment among married women which positively and negatively impacts the development of children and adolescents.
Friendships and peer influences have major impacts on social influence and adolescent development. When peer interactions are positive, children tend to obtain a wide range of behaviors, skills and attitudes which they live with throughout the period of adolescence to adulthood (Santrock, 2014).Families and Peers in Social Development Essay

Reference
Santrock, J. W. (2014). Child development: An introduction. (14 Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN-13: 9780078035333 Families and Peers in Social Development Essay

Question Two:
It is essential for children to have healthy psychological development, and this can be affected by many situations. At home, children are affected by their family dynamics, various parenting styles, and sibling relationships. Their peer relationships, friendships, popularity, and even social networks also impact their psychological development. In order for them to have a strong psychological development they often need to have created healthy relationships with both members of their family and their peers (Siegler, DeLoache, & Eisenberg, 2011).Families and Peers in Social Development Essay
Families contribute to children’s psychological development every day. One way is the dynamics of the family, or how they work together as a unit. The other members of a child’s …show more content…
Children, especially younger, can sometimes spend more time with their siblings than any other children. As children age they will experience a change in who their friends are and their parental relationships but siblings tend to be a constant factor during psychological development (Siegler, et al., 2011). The peer relationships children have also contribute to their psychological development in many ways. The relationships that children develop with one another can be both beneficial and detrimental to their psychological development. Friendships can be beneficial because they provide support, validation, and can help to develop necessary social and cognitive skills. On the other hand, being perceived as unpopular, being bullied, and having friends with questionable values can harm a child’s psychological development (Siegler, et al., 2011). Children who are perceived by others as unpopular are more likely to be bullied by their peers (Lease, Kennedy, & Axelrod, 2002). Friends often provide emotional support and a feeling of self-worth, which can often work to protect children from the affects of bullying. Families and Peers in Social Development Essay

Adolescence is a significant developmental period for teenagers because of the adaptations they are forced to comply with including physical, emotional, cognitive, and social changes. Adolescents are given various developmental tasks that are often difficult to perform while they are facing stressors such as these changes. One task involves finding one’s self or identity. The adolescent’s identity is a construction of drives, abilities, beliefs, and individual history (Marcia, 1980). In addition to searching for personal identity, it is important for the adolescent to establish autonomy within his/her social context. As their peer interactions change, their family relationships do as well.
On the other hand, adolescents that are raised in households with parents that are unresponsive and inflexible, have a tendency to develop feelings of frustration and apprehension. Siblings within the family context can also have a critical impact on the adolescent, influencing both their ability to adjust and promote social maturity. Having close and strong bonds with siblings can help adolescents feel emotionally secure, especially in distraught situations. Also, if the adolescent and sibling share a healthy relationship, the adolescent will demonstrate higher self-esteem, social competence, self-control and independence (Yeh, 2003). On the other hand, having a relationship where the sibling is indifferent and less personal guides the adolescent to become more anti-social and exhibit aggressive behavior. Adolescents often reside in their relationships with siblings rather than peers or parents to find emotional support because they feel that siblings are more available and dependable (Yeh, 2003). Because it is significant for the adolescent to become autonomous and break off from the dependence they once had on their parents, siblings can act as a support system in order to keep the adolescent connected within the family. Families and Peers in Social Development Essay It is important to not only focus on the present sibling relationships, but past sibling relationships

Adolescence is a significant developmental period for teenagers because of the adaptations they are forced to comply with including physical, emotional, cognitive, and social changes. Adolescents are given various developmental tasks that are often difficult to perform while they are facing stressors such as these changes. One task involves finding one’s self or identity. The adolescent’s identity is a construction of drives, abilities, beliefs, and individual history (Marcia, 1980). In addition to searching for personal identity, it is important for the adolescent to establish autonomy within his/her social context. As their peer interactions change, their family relationships do as well. However, the family context is very important in regard to adolescent development. The relationship quality between adolescents and their families greatly influence their self-esteem, ability to adjust, and relationships with others. Conversely, the relationship quality between adolescents and their families is often influenced by the number, birth order, and age spacing of siblings within the family. It is crucial that families grasp an understanding of this developmental period to help adolescents adjust through these various changes. This poses the question: What role does family play in adolescent development?
It is important to consider the environment in which an adolescent is raised. Parenting styles assist in explaining adolescent behavior. If an adolescent is raised in a safe and secure environment with parents that exhibit authoritative characteristics fostering an open and warm atmosphere, the adolescents are more psychosocially mature and competent (Yeh, 2003).Families and Peers in Social Development Essay