The Main Factors That Promote Wellness in Individuals - Essay Example

Running Head: Identify and describe the main factors that promote wellness in individuals Identify and describe the main factors that promote wellness in individuals Authors Name Institution Name Abstract: In this report we have discussed the main factors that promote wellness in individuals, children are small, weak, frail, and inexperienced; they are relatively vulnerable to disease, maltreatment, and abuse, and they depend on adults for protection and support. There many factors due to which child wellness are suffered such as poverty, maltreatment, divorce parents etc. Therefore, some responsibility and nurturing of others may enhance development and lead to more responsible, competent, empathic behavior in childhood. Thus we have also focused on the importance of preventive programs in the light of research that could help child to get out of stressed environment. Introduction: Our children are here to stay, but our babies and toddlers and preschoolers are gone as fast as they can grow up - and we have only a short moment with each. -St. Clair Adams Sullivan Child wellness shares a vision of all children having the supports, strengths, and opportunities they need to grow and experience full lives, right from the start. These foundations of well-being would help children develop satisfying relationships, optimal health, lifelong learning abilities, social responsibility, and purposefulness (Marc H. Bornstein, Lucy Davidson, Corey L. M. Keyes, Kristin A. Moore, 2003). It is generally accepted that childhood experiences are precursors (indeed, causative factors) for later psychological dysfunctions. Many personality theories and views on the development of psychopathologies are based upon the concept that early traumatic life experiences have profound effects on adult functioning. It is further assumed that primary prevention efforts would be greatly improved if professionals could accurately identify factors that place children "at risk" of developing social, emotional, or psychological difficulties. There are many factors which may affect wellness of family and children. Divorce is stressful and has marked effects on all concerned. Approximately one-third of the children in North America have parents who separate before the children are 18 years of age. The literature on divorce indicates clearly that the women, men, and children who experience a separation and divorce are at comparative risk for mental health problems. The divorced adult is at disproportionate risk of a major psychiatric disorder; the mental illness rates of the separated and divorced are as high as twenty times those of the married. Children of divorced parents have an immense risk of developing troubles than children whose parents stay together. According to Pedro-Carroll (2001) points out; one has to differentiate between distress and disorder. the majority children of divorce experience a definite level of distress, which often lasts for over a decade, but the majority still function well, that is, do not experience disorders. (Pedro-Carroll 2001) On average, children in divorced families in comparison to those in non-divorced families, and children in families with high marital conflict in comparison to those with low marital conflict, show more problems in adjustment. The type of adjustment problems in children associated with marital conflict and with divorce are similar, with the largest effects obtained with externalizing disorders, lack of self-regulation, low social responsibility, and cognitive agency, and to a lesser extent with internalizing, social agency, and self-esteem. Some of these childhood problems are sustained into adolescence; however, adolescence may trigger behavior problems in children in divorced families who previously have appeared to be functioning reasonably well. Divorce may offer children and parents an escape from conflict and the opportunity for more fulfilling harmonious personal relationships; however, it also may be associated with an increase in risk factors that make successful parenting and the development of competent children more difficult. Both parents and children report higher rates of negative life events in divorced than in non-divorced families. Among the negative experiences associated with divorce are economic declines leading to multiple changes in residence, loss of friends, moves to poorer neighborhoods with fewer resources, inadequate schools and delinquent peer groups, lack of social supports, family conflict, parental depression, inept non-authoritative parenting, and loss or diminished contact with the non-custodial parent. All of these variables have been associated with adjustment problems in children following divorce. Moreover, Children face poverty, disability, family problems, and other constraints on their lives. These are matters of circumstance, not choice. Even with circumstances for which adults are held responsible (e.g., poverty), blame rarely extends to children, and this is especially true for younger children. Reformers seek to help children overcome their deprivations, to make their childhood more complete, more like the happy, innocent childhoods the sentimental perspective idealizes. The prevention programs are to compensate for what is missing, to minimize the damage to the child. If rebellion often leads to calls for legal solutions, the proposed solutions to developmental problems usually involve social welfare institutions. Basically, children are small, weak, frail, and inexperienced; they are relatively vulnerable to disease, malnutrition, and abuse, and they depend on adults for protection and support. Thus prevention programs targets children "at-risk" group and teaches them general problem-solving skills. The general problem-solving skills intervention is designed to "build for health and wellness from the start" (Cowen et al., 1990 , p. 136) by providing children with basic problem-solving skills and a sense of efficacy that will hopefully generalize across situations. An example of this type of program is social problem-solving skills training. Children are trained to use a sequence of problem-solving skills when faced with a social problem: problem identification, generation of alternative solutions, consideration of the consequences of those solutions, and choosing the best solution. The structure of these programs varies across studies, ranging from 10 to 20 sessions for elementary school children, over one or two semesters (Eric F. Dubow, Stanley Edwards, Joelle McBride, F. Lynne Merk, Deborah Schmidt; 1993). It appears that prevention programs, beginning either prenatally or during the preschool years, can have lasting positive impacts on children as they grow into their adolescent and adult lives (Nelson, Laurendeau, Chamberland, & Peirson, 2001). According to Ryff and Keyes model (1995), the well-being considers diverse indicators such as independence, environmental mastery, personal expansion, positive relations with others, purpose in life, self acceptance. in this theoretical frame, the study of sense of safety in the pre-adolescence age is measured to be pertinent as this age brings typically strong makeover of relations between growing individuals and their physical, societal and psychological framework: in this developmental phase, personal self-sufficiency and mutual influence of the stated context increase . Ryff's et al., (1995) multidimensional model comprises six dimensions of psychological well-being specifies the challenges that individuals meet as they endeavor to function effusive and comprehend their distinctive talents. The six dimensions include a extent of well-being: Positive assessment of oneself and one's past life that is self-acceptance, a intellect of continued growth and improvement as a person that is personal growth, the belief that one's life is determined and significant that is rationale in life, the tenure of cherished relationships that is optimistic relations with others, the capability to manage efficiently one's life and adjoining world that is environmental mastery, and a sagacity of freewill (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). Ryff and her colleagues insist that issues of purpose, personal growth, meaning, and social connectedness are essential to understanding SWB; that is, merely having "many positive moods and few negative ones" is not an adequate conception of human thriving. Indeed, Ryff's view is grounded in the ego, psychosocial, organismic, and humanistic perspectives, which again tend to focus on the self's quest for enhanced self-development and greater social connectedness (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). With the prevention -focused approach, people typically begin to pay attention to specific problems close to the time when these problems actually occur or begin to emerge. This approach has the advantage of being able to address problems with a prevention program delivered close in time to when children are at greatest risk for developing these problems. Programs for older children and adolescents can have measurable outcome data available relatively soon after the program is initiated. For example, if you want to start a program to prevent violence in teens, you might start the program with children aged 12 and be able to measure the results at age 17. Thus, you might have measurable outcomes within 5 years. These specific outcomes of interest might also be easier to measure than the outcomes of strength promoting programs. Similarly, prevention programs are easier to evaluate because measures and data sets containing indicators of problems are abundant. In addition, by identifying risk factors and selecting a group of children who demonstrate these risk factors, children who are at greatest risk can be selected for intervention and thus program resources are concentrated on the children most likely to demonstrate the problems. It has also been demonstrated that early targeting of risk factors can lead to success in prevention. Some problems, such as smoking, alcohol abuse, and violence, share common risk factors, so prevention programs can sometimes target the same high-risk population and be able to impact multiple outcomes simultaneously. Parenting programs are also helpful. Parenting programs are designed to improve the emotional bond between parents and their children, to encourage parents to use consistent and contingent child-rearing methods, and to help develop parental problem-solving skills and self-control in raising children. Several programs have found this type of training to be successful and there is some evidence of a long-term impact in reducing antisocial behavior in children. These programs typically focus on one or more of the following dimensions: anger management, perspective taking, moral development, social skills, social problem solving, or conflict resolution (Hawkins, Catalano, Kosterman, Abbott, & Hill, 1999). These programs can be effective in reducing problem behaviors and improving social skills (Hawkins et al., 1999). Such programs have been shown to have short- and long-term positive impacts for children's wellness. Conclusion Thus the main factors that promote wellness are proposed as a potentially fruitful orienting concept that directs attention to a family of genotypically unified, if phenotypically diverse, phenomena of interest. Wellness is seen not as an absolute but rather as an anchor point at the positive end of an adjustment continuum, that is, as an ideal that we should strive concertedly to approach. To do that requires greater investment in efforts to promote wellness from the start rather than repair work that begins only after major wellness deficits become apparent; and following diverse pathways, including those that focus on individuals, settings, community contexts, and societal structures and policies, in efforts to promote the well-being of the many. Promoting wellness is likely to be more humane, efficient, and (ultimately) more cost-effective than struggling to undo dysfunction. I believe for wellness enhancement: forming wholesome attachment relationships; acquiring age-appropriate skills and competencies; developing settings and environments that favor positive adaptation; fostering empowerment; and acquiring skills for coping effectively with stress. References: Marc H. Bornstein, Lucy Davidson, Corey L. M. Keyes, Kristin A. Moore; Handbook of Positive Psychology; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003 Pedro-Carroll, J. (2001). The promotion of wellness in children and families: Challenges and opportunities. American Psychologist, 56(11), 993-1004. Nelson, G., Laurendeau, M., & Chamberland, C. (2001). A review of programs to promote family wellness and prevent the maltreatment of children. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 33(1), 1-13. Ryff, C.D., & Keyes, C.M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisted. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719-727. Cowen, E. L., Hightower, A. D., Pedro-Carroll, J., & Work, W. ( 1990 ). School-based models for primary prevention programming with children. In R. P. Lorion (Ed.), Protecting the children: Strategies for optimizing emotional and behavioral development (pp. 133-160). New York: Haworth. Eric F. Dubow, Stanley Edwards, Joelle McBride, F. Lynne Merk, Deborah Schmidt; Teaching Children to Cope with Stressful Experiences: Initial Implementation and Evaluation of a Primary Prevention Program, Vol. 22, 1993 Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., Kosterman, R., Abbott, R., & Hill, K. G. (1999). Preventing adolescent health-risk behaviors by strengthening protection during childhood. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 153, 226-34. Read More