The third issue raised is that children who have regular contact with their father are less likely to have a criminal record by the age of 21. This tells us that if children feel as if there is a father who cares for them then they will be less likely to go and cause a crime, which may happen as a result of the child feeling as if no one cares for him or her.
Psychological evidence for this issue comes from Eron et al., (1991) who had claimed ‘that children who display behavioural problems are the children who tend to come from families which have inconsistent discipline patterns’. These children then are likely to become involved in crime, not because they are programmed to do so, but because of self-fulfilling prophecies.
Part 2:
Describe and relate some psychological evidence to the source
Various psychologists have studied the issue on how the relationship between parents and children has an effect on the child. Many have psychologists have particularly studied the issue of attachment. One of them is Shaffer and Emerson, who believed that attachment develops through a series of stages. They had found that there are three stages of attachment. Stage 1 was the child’s birth to around 6 weeks, stage 2 was 6 weeks to 7 months. Stage 3 particularly showed the infant showing distress when they are separated from the attachment figure or preferred adult, indicating specific attachment.
Shaffer and Emerson had also found that quite a lot infants that they had studied were more attached to their fathers, and that the infants did not necessarily form their primary attachment with the person who provided them with physical care. However, Bowlby (another psychologist who studied attachment) had argued that the first and most important attachment figure is nearly always the mother. He claimed that she is the main provider of emotional and physical care for the infant. He also said that the mother was the primary figure, looking after the child emotionally and the father was helping both the mother and the child by providing for them financially. He had also said that without these two figures the child could not possibly develop in a healthy way, as there is no model (or prototype) for it to do the same thing in later relationships. The famous psychologist Freud found that primarily the mother, but also the father played a big role in the up bringing of their child. He described the mother’s status as ‘unique, without parallel, established unalterably for a whole lifetime as the first and strongest love-object as the prototype of all later love- relationships’. He also described the father as the leader in the family.
The study, which was done by Eron et al., can be applied to those who rebel against society today. He had studied children who had grown up to rebel against society. He had claimed that children who display these behavioural problems, which in the end cause them to grow up to be ‘rebels’, tend to come from families, which have harsh, and inconsistent discipline patterns.
Part 3:
How can psychological evidence be used to affect the issues raised in the source?
Shaffer and Emerson had concluded that it is vital for a child to have two parents, a mother and a father. This helps us to see how vital it is for parents to stay together for the sake of their child. It also helps parents to acknowledge that their children continuously look up to them. This case study teaches us that children need their parents, especially during their first years of their life. It also teaches us that fathers play just a big role in the upbringing of their children. This also tells us today that fathers should be more involved with their children and not just the mothers. An example is when the mothers take time off for maternity leave; the fathers should also have the choice of having some time off for maternity leave. This will give the father more time to get to know the child and vice versa. This is maybe why fathers are allowed some maternity leave, in order to be with the child in the first months of its life. It is crucial that when fathers are given this leave, they do in fact use their time wisely, so that the child could benefit later on in life.
Bowlby’s claim is that both the mother and father play an important role in the upbringing of their children, and that the child cannot develop in a healthy way without both parents. People who regret their childhood may have not grown up with the love of two parents. The article had quoted that ‘children with two parents have better social skills’. This again is a good message to parents in our society today. If they want their children to succeed they must stay together in order to help the child succeed. They must help the child by standing by it when they need help, and also by both parents contributing in the education of their child.
Eron et al. had said that children, who rebel against society, rebel due them coming from less-well nurtured families. Children coming from one-parent families, maybe the mother or fathers not having enough time to care for the welfare of their children. Therefore when people do rebel it could be useful in determining why someone is how they are, (e.g. what their past was like), or why they have done such a thing (e.g. they were not cared for when they were younger, therefore they do not care about committing crimes or rebelling against society). It helps psychologists to psychoanalyse someone, and it may result in helping the person according to what they are suffering from. For example, if one is continuously abusing someone (e.g. their wife), it may be due to him or her also being abused when they were younger.
References and Bibliography
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Berryman, J.C. (1979) Developmental Psychology and You. London: Routledge
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Brewer, K. (2000) Psychology and Crime. Oxford: Heinemann
George Georgiou, psychology coursework
