The Impact of Parenting Styles on Lifespan Development

Abstract

Today there is a great deal of research in the area of parenting styles and its impact on a person’s development. This research has shown that parenting styles will impact an individual greatly not only in his childhood but the impact carries well into adulthood. This paper will seek to evaluate the research, theories, controversies, and a biblical worldview surrounding parenting styles and their impact in the various area of a person’s development throughout the lifespan up to young adulthood. This evaluation will take place in the areas of 1) definition of styles, 2) the effects of the styles, 3) controversies in the research, and 4) a biblical view of parenting.

In counseling, parenting styles must be taken into account. The parenting style to which a person was exposed has long term impact on his lifespan development. A person must make peace with his past before his can move into the future.

A Brief Summary of Distress and Eustress

The general perception of stress is that it is bad under all circumstances. This paper will seek to explore the possibility of stress having beneficial effects. Stress may be divided into a) distress which has harmful effects and b) eustress which recent research has shown to have beneficial effects.

Distress is a term used to describe as negative stress. Distress can cause elevated blood pressure, depressed immune system, over-stimulated hormonal activity, and psychophysiological illnesses. This by itself should lead a person to learn how to do with distress but rather it leads to harmful behaviors and indirect health-related behaviors. Over a period of time, unchecked distress will damage the body (Feldman, 2008).

Eustress is defined as being positive stress. It may be termed as excitement. It enlists similar physiological responses. A eustress event is fun, challenging, and has a positive perception from the participant. Whereas, in distress, the individual very often has no or little control of the stressor, in eustress, the individual has control over the stressor. For this reason, what is a distressful situation to one person may be viewed as a eustress to another. For some people, an upcoming flight and the excitement it creates as a eustress. However, for those afraid of flying, they would view an upcoming flight with dread and see it as a distress (Hodgson, S, 2008).

In counseling, one providing counseling services must keep in mind distress and eustress. The counselor should help the client be aware of the effects of stress. Finally, the counselor should help the client develop positive coping skills and behaviors including seeking to turn a situation that is distressing into one that is eustressing.

Reference

Hodgson, K. Sue. (2008). Not All Stress Is Bad: Distress vs. Eustress Retrieved June 25, 2008, from Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services, West Virginia University Web site: http://www.wvu.edu/~cocenter/Modules/DistressvsEustress.pdf 49

Feldman, Robert S. (2008). Development Across the Life Span (fifth ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Two of the Issues Facing Adolescents

Adolescence is an exciting but confusing time for boys and girls.  It is a time of rapid development and changes. It is during this time that many issues are addressed and the results from these adjustments greatly impact adult life.  Two issues which adolescences must address are those of puberty and obesity (Feldman, 2008).

Puberty is the period of time in which sexual organs mature. As a rule puberty starts earlier in girls then boys.  Both boys and girls can be embarrassed by the changes that occurring in their bodies as they mature. For boys, early maturation is desirable because they are more success in athletic endeavors due to larger size, tend to be more popular, and therefore, have a more positive self image.  On the other hand, late maturing boys are generally less success athletically and face the embarrassment of being smaller than their potential dates.  Early maturing girls may have to deal with ridicule from slower maturing peers. However, there may be an advantage for early maturing girls as they are sought after as potential dates and tend to be popular which improves their self image.  Late maturing girls tend to have fewer emotional problems and a more positive self image as they have had the opportunity to grow into their bodies. They also tend to develop the culturally more attractive supermodel thin look (Feldman, 2008).

More and more adolescences are suffering from obesity.  Poor food selections and a lack of exercise are considered by most experts as being the leading culprits to this trend.  It is harmful to body image and self concept. Obesity in childhood usually continues into adolescence and adulthood.  The physical damage done to the body is well documented as well as the psychological damage (Feldman, 2008).

Reference

Feldman, R. (2008). Development across the lifespan. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall

The Clock is Ticking

As a person goes through life, there are certain landmarks which society expects the individual to reach at an appropriate age.  Social clock has been defined “the psychological timepiece that records major milestones in people’s lives” (Feldman, 2008).  Each person uses this time clock to measure one’s progress as compared to one’s peers.  In academic settings, there are cases where there is pressure to graduate with one’s peers.  In society, there is pressure for young people to graduate from college and find their jobs.  Once this is done, there is an expectation of marriage, especially for young women.  Though the culture has made progress in its view towards people getting married at a later age, the expectation is still there which has resulted in the increase of “starter marriages” (Schupack, 1994). There is still a stigma attached to a person, especially a woman, who is over 30 years old and not married (Mustard, 2000).

The social clock for Western culture has evolved over time.  Before the Industrial Revolution, people had the same social clock as the culture was agricultural but industrialization in the Western world changed this clock with the rise of the middle class and expectations of associated with careers, promotions, and families.

World War II involved women in the workforce which changed the expectations for them (Mustard, 2000).  The social clock for women is more difficult as they have several clocks from which to choose whether career, motherhood, or a more specialized goal.  Research has shown that it is quite possible that the social clock a woman chooses may not be the critical factor in her personally development (Feldman, 2008).

A crucial factor to remember with the social clock is that it is culturally based.  Therefore, it is impacted by the society which an individual lives. One aspect that remains constant in all situations is the development and maintenance of relationships (Feldman, 2008).

Reference

Feldman, Robert S. (2008). Development Across the Life Span (fifth ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Mustard, Deborah J. (2000). Spinster: An Evolving Sterotype Revealed Through Film [Electronic version]. Journal of Media Psychology, 4(Winter). Retrieved on June 19, 2008, from http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfischo/spinster.html. 32

Schupack, Deborah. ‘Starter Marriages: So Early, So Brief. New York Times., Retrieved on June 19, 2008, from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B03E5DB163FF934A35754C0A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3. 45

Barriers to Receiving help for mental healthcare

Abstract

Mental healthcare has many barriers which prevent a simple solution to a person needing counseling.  Four of these major barriers are stigmas, misconceptions, accessibility of care, and costs.  Two of these barriers are internal.  The first internal barrier is the stigma can lead a person to be shamed and silenced in admitting their need for counseling due to the negative stereotypes that have been promoted through the years.  The second internal barrier is misconceptions about mental healthcare professionals and patients are still prevalent in many circles.  There are two external barriers.  The first external barrier is accessibility to services are limited and the second external barrier is the  cost for some people are too great as many insurance companies will not provide coverage for mental healthcare as they see the patient as a risk to their profit margins.