Risk Factors and Protective Factors at Home, School and Community - Literature review Example

Risk Factors and Protective Factors Home, School and Community Order No. – 368381 Abstract Behavioral problems of students have always proved to be detrimental not only to the student but also to the home, school, and community at large. The discussion in this article is going to focus on the behavioral problems of students and how the resulting factors involving risk to family, school and community before intervention measures for rectifying their behaviour could be implemented. The article will also discuss some of the alternative and preventive measures that could be used to prevent the challenging behaviour of students from escalating. Introduction Behavioral problems such as violence, alcohol and drug abuse, delinquency, different patterns of sexual behavior and smoking are considered to be serious problems in many societies. Though professionally trained teachers are a great asset to any school for dealing with behavioral problems of children, yet according to many research studies this is not enough to encounter and deal with problems affecting student’s behaviour. In terms of the economy such behavior is detrimental to society due to the high risks involved in the areas of health care in addition to numerous victim related costs such as limiting their academic and vocational opportunities. Another very common problem faced by the students is poor parental support which makes them become dropouts from school and likely to become antisocial elements in the society. These problems get manifested in childhood and escalate to become bigger problems during adolescence and later in adulthood. Such disruptive behavior would continue well into their adulthood and drastically interfere with their marriage and work environments. (Lannie & McCurdy, 2007) According to evidence, it is very important to address to different risk factors that are harmful to behaviour at a very young age. Risk Factors - Home The family is considered to be the centrifugal point around which everything else revolves. Good parenting is a potent tool for preventing behaviour problems among children. Howard and Johnson (2000) in their study state that children look forward to their parents support in emotional and learning areas. Most often parents resort to strict or harsh discipline to exercise their control, in order to cope with the challenging behaviour of their children. However, this seems to be a vicious circle that contributes to making worse a bad situation. In communicating and interacting with the violent discipline of the parents, they become accustomed to using disruptive behaviour which gradually becomes a habit with them. Another problem on the home front is the absence of parents or living with a single parent where quality time with the child becomes impossible, due to other responsibilities. Nurturing a child, guiding, monitoring and caring in such an atmosphere becomes rather limited and hence the natural growth of the child is hindered. Poverty seems to be another criterion that contributes to the behaviour of children due to the poor housing and nutritional facilities. Due to the limited financial circumstances, these children are unable to get admission into a good school or college and hence opportunities available are extremely limited. Parents earning a good income are in a position to give the child the facilities of good education, for those who are not and depend on welfare the children are at a great disadvantage. Risk Factors - School School plays a major role in the formation of behavior patterns in children. According to (Papatheodorou, 2005, p58) Teachers’ perception plays an important role and influence how they treat their students. Strict discipline within the classroom is also a contributing factor to disruptive behavior. The teacher’s exhibition of anger and frustration tends to make the situation worse as children feel an aversion to approach or interact with the teacher. If there is a lack of support and concern from the teacher, then behavioral problems are sure to surface as children lose their confidence and self esteem. According to Glasser 1997 cited in Lewis, 2004) when teachers are angry and frustrated, they’re not in a position to interact calmly with children and on the other hand give them harsh punishment which contributes to problems in behaviour. Teachers consider harsh punishment is the effective way to help their students understand and change their inappropriate behaviour (Lewis, 2004). Peer pressure and peer rejection are other factors that contribute to behavioral problems. According to (Dumas, 1989 cited in Sanders, Gooley, & Nicholson, 2000), Peer interaction due to lack of social skills leads to aggression and hostility among the classmates. The manner in which school is organized and run is very important in shaping the general climate of the school. (Gottfredson et al., 2004) Some schools have a very rigid discipline and include cameras and metal detectors in order to protect the school from anti- social behavior such as use of dangerous weapons and drugs; but in using such strategies, children tend to become scared and mistrust the people in their environment. (Public Agenda, 2004; DeVoe, Peter, Noonan, Snyder, and Baum, 2005) Risk Factors – Community The community is a place where children could get positive experiences, especially those who come from a low socio – economic background or neighborhood. If children belong to a poor economic status, then maintaining the community services will become a challenging burden for them (Furstenburg, 1993 cited in Ingoldsby & Shaw, 2002). In addition to this, they may experience poor community services such as a lack of clubs, gymnasiums and theaters and therefore are not in a position to cultivate good and positive social relationships. All these factors could contribute to behavioral problems and create an anti- social network for criminal activities. According to Bell & Jenkins, 1993; Gorman-Smith & Tolan, 1998; Lorion & Saltzman, 1993; Miller et al., 1999; Osofsky et al., 1993; Richters & Martinez, 1993a; Schwab-Stone et al., 1995, Children who come from who are urban communities at high risk to violence. Children brought up in public housing were potent victims of deviant behavior. Parents complained that their children fall a prey to anti- social elements who engaged them in criminal activities such as shootings, abuse of drugs, rape and robbery. They state that their children grow up in an atmosphere where they believe that antisocial behavior is the way to solve their problems. Poor communication skills stand as a hindrance because children are unable to express themselves well for lack of language knowledge and therefore are not in a position to build good relationships. Guiding a child to its early interventions such as a language therapist will be very beneficial for such children (Managing Challenging Behaviour Guidelines for teachers, IRISH NATIONAL TEACHERS’ ORGANIZATION, 2004) Protective Factors – Home It is vital to look at the protective factors involving family, school and community in order to find alternative ways to reduce the problems of children in different settings and thereby rectifying their behaviour. Parents who are educated or those who attend parenting programs render much better interaction to their children (Epstein, 1995, 2001; NNPS, 2005) Such programs are a big asset for parents because they learn positive ways of dealing with their children. According to (Garbarino, 1995) children need stable, positive emotional relationships with at least one parent or other adult. Gabarino also states that children do best in an open and supportive educational climate, both at home and at school. (Garbarino, 1995) Parents could be good role models for their child and influence their behavior by setting a good example themselves. Positive and timely reinforcement could prevent children from becoming problematic. Cooperative behavior that is nonviolent can be induced by the parent if they understood how to handle the conflicts that arise. They could encourage their children to cultivate the habit of using positive ways of looking at any problem. Giving them the incentives they desire when they display good behavior is another way of getting them to behave in a manner expected. Communicating and interacting with the teachers and other authorities of the school and emphasizing the importance of school and homework and engaging them in different extracurricular and social activities would help to keep the child engaged and away from behavior problems. Parents need to take an active role in connecting with a child and showing interest in all their activities and achievements and also understand their feelings and emotions when things go wrong in the activities at school and outside the home. (Sue Howard and Bruce Johnson.2000) Protective Factors - School School is supposed to be a place of safety and a platform for good academic progress. It is also a place where the child is guided and learns appropriate behavior and builds positive relationships with his peers and teachers and makes him prepared to be a successful individual in the society. However, this always does not happen because of the many factors that come in the way of his progress. This is especially evident in children coming from disrupted family backgrounds where there is a lack of support from family members and even his peers. In such a scenario, the child loses confidence and has no motivation for academic endeavors. It is at this juncture, that the principal of the school plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between the teacher and student to enhance good relationships. Engaging parents in various programs such as family support programs and workshops and communicating and interacting with them on a regular basis would help to build good relationships between the student, teacher and parents. Parent - teacher conferences, newsletters and notices would enable the parent to understand the progress of the child. Encouraging parents to take part in the school governance and in the decision-making process would create a healthy atmosphere. Collaboration between the school and the community through cultural programs and other volunteer activities would go a long way in building good relationships and positive behavior within and outside the school. (Epstein, 1995, 2001; NNPS, 2005) Protective Factors Community Community is a platform where one could experience diverse cultures and communicate and interact with different kinds of people and have access to diverse services. However, children who come from public housing areas due to low economic status, have difficulty in cultivating a positive outlook in life and building good relationships. Communities can contribute greatly by bridging the gap between the child and his environment. Many activities such as social service, peer teaching, or congregating together for sports, games, drama and shopping could help build healthy relationships. Making use of their skills and talent is another way of protecting children and at the same time providing a platform for them to showcase their talent. Utilizing their skills for the good of the community encourages children to develop positive attitudes such as care and helpfulness which they could use in their home, school and community. According to (Garbarino, 1995) those factors also can play a role in fostering resilience, leadership qualities and decision making. Supportive friends and neighbors would also go a long way in creating strong ties between the individual and his community. Conclusion Students with disruptive behavior most often restored to antisocial or criminal activities after they dropout from school. Hence there are great risk factors involved where the family, school and community are concerned. Therefore, everyone share a common responsibility in trying to rectify the behavioral problems of children. In dealing with behavioral issues, opportunities that provide concrete measures for changes in attitude and behavior should be implemented within the family, school and community. References Ingoldsby, E.M., & Shaw, D.S. (2002) Neighborhood contextual factors and early-starting antisocial pathways, Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 5 (1) Lannie, A., & McCurdy, B. (2007) The challenge of conduct disorder. Principal Leadership, 7(7), 11-15 Managing Challenging Behaviour Guidelines for teachers, IRISH NATIONAL TEACHERS’ ORGANIZATION, 2004) Sanders, M.R., Gooley, S., & Nicholson, J. (2000) Early intervention in conduct problems in children. South Australia: Australian Early Intervention Network for Mental Health in young People. http://auseinet.flinders.edu.au Sue Howard and Bruce Johnson (2000) Resilient and Non- Resilient Behavior in Adolescents. http://www.centerforyouth.org/%2Ffiles%2FRiskFactorsforViolenceInnercityyouth.pdf Read More