What Does the Research Say About How Parents Affect the Development of Children’s Personalities free essay sample

Understanding how individual personalities are shaped has yet to be fully uncovered, by modern research standards. What does the research say about how parents affect the development of children’s personalities? In answering this question, this paper addresses how much of a child’s personality is actually hard-wired by genetics and how much is influenced by parents, through bonding, attention and even neglect. The long-standing question of nature vs. urture has plagued scientists for centuries and current research is attempting to answer just how powerfully ones parents can affect ones future. In order, this paper concentrates on first the nurture aspect of personality development in children, followed by the argument for nature, to provide contrast. 4 relevant journal articles were sourced to provide adequate background on research and trends in psychological studies. As stated, let’s look first at how nurture determines a child’s personality through the evidence that parents are the cause of maladaptive behaviour. We will write a custom essay sample on What Does the Research Say About How Parents Affect the Development of Children’s Personalities? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Hall and Geher (2003) state that â€Å"it has long been recognized that the infant-caregiver attachment is of immense importance† (as cited in Hall amp; Geher, 2003, p. 145). We know that the first year of a child’s life is essential to their development in later years. We see how crucial building secure attachments with the parents are to overall health, confidence and the growth of qualities such as empathy and motivation, as posed by Kagan (1999). Research has a lot to suggest about the effects of harsh discipline and lack of warmth from the parents. A lack of secure attachment, either through abuse, neglect or abandonment has been linked to everything from psychological abnormalities to developmental problems to violent behaviour, as introduced by Rogosch and Cicchetti (2004). These consequences can range from simply relatively disruptive such as the behaviour discussed by Brook, Brook amp; Whiteman (2000) as â€Å"the predictors of insecure and dependent behaviour include maternal child-rearing practices that hinder optimal emotional development in the child†. Studies have repeatedly shown that children admire and imitate their immediate caregivers: â€Å"By age 4 or 5 years, children believe, unconsciously, that some of the attributes of their parents are part of their own repertoire, even although this belief might have no objective basis† (as cited by Kagan, 1999, pg. 165). This can explain why children of college graduates are more inclined themselves to acquire a degree and why children of underclass families are vulnerable to shame when interacting with peers, Kagan (1999) explains. Because the positive effects of proper parenting and family structure are difficult to quantify (such as high intelligence, or more competence and confidence), according to Kagan (1999), there is less to say about the topic than the negative effects, which can be more easily identified through psychological testing and diagnosis of disorders such as RAD. Once behaviour or personality is established it is important to understand whether it is relatively stable across childhood and if the consequences of maltreatment are permanent. Longitudinal studies have been conducted which examine the consistency of a child’s personality and behaviour across a certain time-span. Rogosch amp; Cicchetti (2004) integrated a longitudinal study which found â€Å"overall, the correlations indicate considerable stability in the personality dimensions over time† (as cited in Rogosch amp; Cicchetti, 2004, pg. 136), in reference to the personality study they conducted. This suggests that once the â€Å"base† of a child’s character is created, age and experience do not alter significantly. However, evidence has been uncovered through adoption studies, explained by Kagan (1999), which has found that psychologically and emotionally impaired orphans given a loving home can actually â€Å"reverse† the effects of their harsh experiences and start life anew. Despite the success of these adopted children, further intelligence testing found they were not on par with the average child, a possible remnant of their psychological scarring. In reference to the persistence of RAD into adulthood, Hall amp; Geher (2003) state: â€Å"Many of them commit criminal acts as adults if the behavioral patterns of childhood persist into adulthood† (as cited in Hall amp; Geher, 2003, p. 145). However: â€Å"Further research regarding the antecedents, general effects, and long-term consequences of RAD is greatly needed† (as cited in Hall amp; Geher, 2003, p. 145). This means that though effects of insufficient bonds are found to be long-lasting and relatively stable across the span of childhood and adulthood, this is not to suggest that adaptive behaviours do not exist. The main issue in this argument is whether the development of personality lies completely with the parents or whether other factors, mainly biological ones, play a part in determining psychological and emotional health. It would make sense that children born with different personalities will behave differently, respond differently and take different paths in life. Therefore, it might be possible for a child born with a certain temperament to be more susceptible to problem behaviour. There is little research to determine whether children are predisposed to behaving a certain way, but the nature argument has been used for centuries s seen in Weiten amp; McCann (2007). So how much can temperament affect the forming of secure bonds and emotional attachment, things proven to contribute to healthy development? Can a child’s behaviour influence a parent’s response? Research done by Brook, Brook amp; Whiteman (2000) has found 4 different types of attachment patterns in toddlers, and 20% of children fall into the â€Å"high reactive† category in which they resist most motherly attention, and are shy and anxious, especially in unfamiliar settings or new people. Does this behaviour have an effect on how the mother reacts to the child? Does being a â€Å"high reactive† child predispose someone to being unable to form the secure attachment bonds essential to normal psychological development? Research has yet to conclude that being â€Å"high reactive† is a causative factor. Kagan (1999) introduced research that has also been conducted on ordinal position and its influence on the personalities of children. However, just because studies have shown that first-born children become valedictorians and are more likely to do better in school doesn’t mean all first-borns are hardwired to do so, or that second- and third-born children cannot achieve such things. Is the research done for child-attachment patterns accurate and reliable? Because many of the studies rely mainly on self-report and caregiver-report information. In research being done to support these claims, numerous studies have been done linking both positive and negative parenting practices to either especially adaptive or problematic behaviour. Among these are adoption research, child abuse research, animal research and child-attachment research, each of which is described and used by each of the 4 journal articles. Sufficient evidence has been found to show that parents are in fact the main contributing factor to a child’s growth and development. In the case of nature vs. nurture, it seems the evidence is on the side of nurture. It seems children’s personalities are contingent on whether their parents can exhibit warm, loving characteristics, are able to form secure attachment bonds, create a positive family environment for the child and abstain from maladaptive parenting practices such neglect and abuse.