Families, Delinquency and Crime - Essay Example

Question Generally speaking the family is the main place where socialization takes place for children. The first time that a child understands that they are part of the family or part of a "group" comes within the family context. A child learns "appropriate" behavior from the family unit and they also understand what will get them into trouble. Social learning theories are important to this discussion because they believe that people learn by observing and that what they learn is modeled by others within the environment. Through the socialization of children they also understand the world around them. The child development theories are also important to socialization because children have different cognitive and learning skills that help them become socialized. G.H. Mead in this category suggested that children and infants understand their world through imitating the people around them and this helps them find a sense of self (Giddens and Griffiths, 2006, p. 164). Piaget was more concerned with how a child learned to make sense of the world, and realized that there were several stages that a child when through from birth to when they became teenagers that pretty much said how they saw the world. His preoperational stage was where he concentrated a lot of his work because it was when children acquired language and began to explore the world on a larger level. I agree with the statement because the formative years are spent basically with the parents or other significant people in the childs life. Their first interactions will be with family. (255). Question 2. This term means that several people in the same situation are taken through the same environment. As an example, there is literature about children in the ghetto and how the gangs are collectively socialized to act a certain way. Often this is used in recruiting people in other ways such as the military boot camp, or basic training. When talking about children, this could mean a simple daycare situation. I believe that Hilary Clinton was talking about collective socialization when she said "it takes a village" to raise a child. In order to make this work it would take everyone who is involved in the family and in school. As an example, a child who is in preschool would have their parents, teachers and other children involved to make it work. The community in which the child is living may also have a part in collective socialization. The role of community comes in as a child gets older. Some small towns keep a watchful eye on all of the children in the neighborhood. A system like Neighborhood Watch is also a way that community is involved. I agree that everyone needs to be involved with a child in order for them to grow and become a positive human being. I also think that community means more than just where an individual lives; it means all of the people and situations that come in contact with the individual. The school can be a community, the neighborhood can be a community and the larger aspects of the world around. (257). Question 3. According to the Center for Disease Control, child maltreatment means all abuse or neglect that happens with children under the age of 18. There are basically four types: 1. Physical abuse -- a child is injured from hitting, kicking, shaking, burning or other types of abuse that show force. 2. Sexual abuse -- where an older children or adult has sexual contact with a child. This can be fondling, rape and exposing a child to other sexual activities. 3. Emotional abuse -- this is when a childs self-esteem is diminished by name calling, rejection, shaming, withholding love or threatening. 4. Neglect -- this is considered a failure to provide a childs basic needs that include housing, food, shelter, education and access to medical care. These situations can interact with one another. As an example, a child can be physically abused and part of that can be sexual abuse. They can suffer emotionally through the course of physical and sexual abuse. They can also be neglected because a parent is upset with them and has been mistreating them in other ways. I believe that you can have abuse without neglect unfortunately. As an example, a child can feel unloved but be given their basic needs. A child can also be rejected by their parents but not be sexually abused. A parent can also neglect a child, according to these definitions without giving physical, sexual or emotional abuse. When children are abused or neglected it becomes a health issue and can stop or slow development. (253). Question 4. Many people have suggested that child maltreatment is generationally because a child models what they see. Attachment theories suggest that an individual who is not attached well to their caregiver cannot attach well to a child. Without a strong attachment, maltreatment can occur. Ozturk, Leventhal, and Dobbs (2000) reviewed studies between the years 1965 and 2000 to see whether there were empirical studies that showed that child maltreatment was generational. From the studies they studied, only one showed that child abuse was generational. They examined 200 studies with only 20 that spoke to the child abuse being generational and in only two consecutive generations. I think that a loving home where children are treated well and not abuse, but loved is what a child needs in order not to grow up as an abuser. There are many cases where serial killers or mass murderers grew up to be abusers. According to Easton (2009), it is difficult to know who will be a sexual abuser. He reports on "the Plymouth case" about three people who had abused children and sent pictures across social networking channels. Whether they had been abused as children was not known at press time, but it is just one example. Boyles states that children do not always become abusers. She found that those who did grow up to be abusers had several factors that helped in the process. Many of these children were sexually abused themselves, their families were dysfunctional, the mother was neglectful, and family violence were contributing factors. (253) References Boyles, S. (2003). Do Sexually abused kids become abusers? Study shows family violence, neglect are important risk factors. WebMD. Retrieved October 14, 2009 from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20030206/do-sexually-abused- kids-become-abusers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). Understanding child maltreatment. Fact Sheet. Retrieved October 14, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/ ViolencePrevention/childmaltreatment/. Easton, M. (2009). Women who abuse children. Blog. Retrieved October 14, 2009 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2009/10/women_who_abuse _children.html. Giddens, A. and Griffiths, S. (2006). Sociology. 5th Edition. MA: Polity Press. Retrieved October 14, 2009 from http://books.google.com/. Ormond, J.E. (1999). Human learning. NJ: Prentice-Hall. Retrieved October 14, 2009 from http://teachnet.edb.utexas.edu/~lynda_abbott/Social.html. Ozturk, E.I., Leventhal, J.M., and Dobbs, S. (2000). Intergenerational continuity of child physical abuse: how good is the evidence? Lancet, 356 (9232) p814. Retrieved October 14, 2009 from Academic Search Premier AN: 3518247 Read More