SOCIOCULTURAL RISK AND OPPORTUNITY
Chapter 3 Garbarino
What are they?
WHAT IS RISK?Sociocultural Risk refers to the
impoverishing of the child’s world so that the child lacks the basic social and psychological necessities of life.
RISK AND OPPORTUNITY IN THE MICROSYSTEM
Microsystem is a set of shared experiences and offers some clue to the child’s future.
System evolves and develops Reciprocal relationship: the child
influences and is influenced by the system.
Child forms a cognitive map of the world.
MICROSYSTEM RISKBecomes developmental risk when
it is socially impoverished:Too few participantsToo little reciprocal interactionPsychologically destructive pattern of
interactionResults in warped image of the
world
MICROSYSTEM“Microsystem should be a gateway to
the world, not a locked room.” (p.39)Healthy microsystem:
Child has the capacity for understanding and successfully dealing with ever wider spheres of reality increases.
Child learns self-respect and self-confidence, and to be socially and intellectually competent.
SMALL VS. LARGEDevelopmental needs may not be
met if the child lacks a sufficient number of supports within the microsystem.
Can be supplemented by outside sources to produce a fuller, richer range of roles, activities and relationships.
THE “EMPTYING” OF MICROSYSTEM
Mothers are working outside the homeKin less likely to be involved in
immediate familyAge segregation in housing increasesMany distractions of “modern life” pull
parents away from homeAll leads to sociocultural risk
MICROSYSTEM OPPORTUNITIES
Microsystem made up of a large number of relatives, neighbors, and friends results in a rich and stimulating experiences for the child.
Development depends on the accumulation of risk that jeopardizes development.
IMBALANCED VS. BALANCEDReciprocity: the give and take
interaction that both respects and challenges the child, that stimulates and responds appropriately.
A decline in reciprocity results in the jeopardizing of the child’s development.Happens when balance of power within
the family breaks down
HEALTHY MICROSYSTEMReciprocal relationship between
parent and infant. Both play a role in shaping the other’s behavior.
Principle of Reciprocity violated when:Parent refuses to be influenced by childParent is impaired by drugs, alcohol or
psychiatric illness.
PARENTING STYLES Authoritative: where reciprocity was
maintained in day to day interactions Child enjoys the greatest number of
opportunities to develop social competence
Authoritarian: violates principle of reciprocity by lodging excessive power in the hands of the parent and places the child in a passive role.
Permissive: inappropriately gives “blank slate” to the child and the parent is placed in a passive role.
NEGATIVE VS. POSITIVEChildren incorporate experiences
into concepts of themselves, the world, and their place in the world.
Emotional climate – most effective element of the microsystem.
POSITIVE TONEProduces “social momentum”Self-confidence formed, which
leads to a foundation for competence
Parents are nurturing, involved and actively contributing to produce high self-esteem.
NEGATIVE TONE Produces “social deadweight” Expressed in multiple ways
In what is said (or not said) In what is done (or not done)
Makes child vulnerable to being easily discouraged by everyday problems and turns child away from full and satisfying participation in the world.
Parent is passive, neglecting and uninvolved… producing low self-worth
IMPORTANTChild constructs image of self
based on feedback from significant others.Starts at homeContinues at school and with peers
Why is this important to realize?
DEVELOPMENTAL RISKRobs child of positive self-regard
Deliberately deprecating child and his or her accomplishments
Conveying a sense of worthlessness by neglecting them
To develop positive self-worthChild needs warm, responsive and
active “partners”
PARENTAL THREATS One of the most serious threats in the
microsystem are parents who neglect their children
Parents likely to exhibit “apathy-futility syndrome” Emotional deadness, and unwillingness to
initiate or respond to actions of the child. Threat – unable to provide that
responsive interaction.
REJECTION “Eats away” at a child’s
Self-esteem Social competence Hope
Results of Rejection: hostility, aggression, passive aggression or problems with dependency; negative self evaluation, negative world view, emotional instability
RISK AND OPPORTUNITY IN THE MESOSYSTEM
Social richness of mesosytem measured by the number and the quality of connections.
Mesosystem risk is defined by:Absence of connectionsConflicts of values between one
microsystem and another
WEAK VS. STRONG Ecological Transition - the establishment
of a mesosystem at the point where a child enters a new setting
Two critical issues: How this is done Who is involved
Strong/Positive link if: Child is prepared Accompanied by adult Received by new setting with enthusiasm
NEGATIVE VS. POSITVEOpportunity – stronger, more
positive, more diverse links between settings
Risk – poor set of mesosystems, either work in isolation or opposition
Strongest “mesolink” is between home an school.
HOME-SCHOOL LINKMost important mesosystem If Strong/Positive - Provides the child
with an opportunity to develop intellectually and socially, to become a more competent human being.
If Weak/Negative – Burdens child with conflicts of values, styles and interest.
RECENT TRENDS: HOME-SCHOOL
Schools are more isolated from neighborhood or community institutions
Demands for academic success increased
Violence in schoolsStresses on family are magnifiedRisk in the Home-School link increased
RISK AND OPPORTUNITY IN THE EXOSYSTEM
Parents’ workplace Parents’ diminished ability to participate
productively in the child’s microsystem When people make decisions in official
capacities that adversely affect the child’s day-to-day realities.
Ecological approach highlights situations where the development of the child is significantly shaped by individuals with no direct contact with the child.
STRESSES AND SUPPORTS IN THE EXOSYSTEM
Enhances development when they make life easier for parents
Undermines development when they make life harder for parents
When child rearing “has friends in high places” the opportunities for children and parents increase.
INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES
Multiple functions of neighborhoods Neighborhood can either be a source
of support or risk for the child Micro – child acts as part of the
neighborhood Meso – complementarity of
neighborhood and family Exo – Setting for parents to participate
independently of the child
NEIGHBORHOODS Strong neighborhoods enhance
development by: Providing multiple connections Providing multiple situations for children
that permit them to make the best use of intellectual and social resources
Quality neighborhoods depend on: How the community’s economic and
political institutions treat the neighborhood Do they sustain or undermine them?
IMPLICATIONSMost important decisions people
make that have an impact on children are made indirectlyDecisions about: work, residence,
budget, transportation, housing and more
These decisions reflect the cultural “blueprints” of what people understand to be “normal”.