CHAPTER 13
Middle Childhood:
Social and Emotional
Development
Learning Outcomes
LO1 Explain theories of social and emotional
development in middle childhood.
LO2 Discuss the influences of the family on
social development in middle childhood.
LO3 Discuss the influences of peers on social
development in middle childhood.
LO4 Discuss the influence of the school on
development in middle childhood.
LO5 Discuss social and emotional problems that
tend to develop in middle childhood.
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TRUTH OR FICTION?
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T-F Children’s self-esteem tends to rise in middle childhood.
T-F The daughters of employed women are more
achievement oriented and set higher goals for themselves than
the daughters of unemployed women.
T-F In middle childhood, popular children tend to be attractive
and relatively mature for their age.
T-F Some children blame themselves for all the problems in
their lives, whether they deserve the blame or not.
T-F It is better for children with school phobia to remain at
home until the origins of the problem are uncovered and
resolved.
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LO1 Theories of Social and
Emotional Development in
Middle Childhood
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Theories of Social and Emotional
Development in Middle Childhood
• Psychoanalytic Theory
– Freud:
• Middle years are latency stage.
• Sexual feeling remain repressed (unconscious) during this
period.
• The focus is on intellectual, social, and other culturally
valued skills.
– Erikson:
• Labeled these years the industry vs. inferiority stage
• Children who master the challenges of this age develop a
sense of competence.
• Those who have difficulties may develop a sense of
inferiority.
Theories of Social and Emotional
Development in Middle Childhood
• Social Cognitive Theory
– Focuses on the importance of rewards and modeling
– Children depend less on external rewards and
punishments and become more self-regulating.
– They are exposed to an increasing variety of models at
this time.
– Parents, teachers, other adults, peers, and symbolic
models such as TV characters are influential as models.
Theories of Social and Emotional
Development in Middle Childhood
• Cognitive-Developmental Theory and Social Cognition
– Piaget:
• Middle childhood is during the concrete-operational stage
of development.
• There is a decline in egocentrism and an expansion of
viewing the world from other’s perspectives.
• This cognitive advance affects the child’s social
relationships.
– Selman, et al:
• Social cognition: the perception of the social world
• Describes five levels of perspective-taking skills
Table 13.1 – Levels of Perspective Taking
Theories of Social and Emotional
Development in Middle Childhood
• Development of the Self-Concept
– By middle childhood, children become more focused on
abstract internal traits (personality traits) that begin to
play a bigger role in development.
– Self-esteem and Learned Helplessness take part in that
process.
Theories of Social and Emotional
Development in Middle Childhood
• Development of the Self-Concept, cont.
– Self-Esteem:
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Physical ability
Physical appearance
Peer relationships
Parent relationships
Reading
Math
General school performance
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• By age 7, children begin to self-evaluate in seven different
areas:
• They also report a general self-concept; they can
compare themselves with others and reach a more
honest and critical evaluation than in early childhood.
• Self-esteem declines throughout middle childhood
reaching a low ebb at ages 12-13 then begins to
increase again during adolescence.
Theories of Social and Emotional
Development in Middle Childhood
• Development of the Self-Concept, cont.
– Learned Helplessness:
• The belief that one is unable to obtain the rewards that one
seeks
• “Helpless” children tend to quit following failure.
• Children with high self-esteem persist or change strategies
for success.
• “Helpless” children believe success is due more to ability
than to effort, thus, persistence seems futile
• “Helpless” children typically have lower grades, IQ, and
achievement test scores.
• Girls, even when performing well, have less confidence in
math and science abilities.
• This is reinforced by many parents stereotyping girls skills
in those areas.
LO2 The Family
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The Family
• Parent-Child Relationships
– Parent/child interactions have new focus on school,
chores, and peer activities.
– Parents monitor children less and provide less direct
feedback.
– Control is gradually transferred from parent to child in a
process known as corregulation.
– Children begin to internalize standards of parents.
– Children spend less time with parents but more with
mothers than with fathers.
– Mother’s interactions continue to revolve around
caregiving, while father’s are more involved in
recreational activity.
– At age 10-12, children evaluate parents more harshly
than in early childhood but still rate them as best source
of emotional support.
The Family
• Lesbian and Gay Parents
– General adjustment of children:
• Generally the psychological adjustment of children of
lesbian and gay parents is comparable to children of
heterosexual parents.
• Despite the stigmas attached to homosexuality, lesbian
and gay parents generally sustain positive family
relationships.
– Sexual orientation of children:
• Research shows majority of children in gay, lesbian, or
transsexual family units displayed sexual orientation
typical for their own sex and age.
The Family
• Generation Ex: What Happens to Children of
Divorce?
– Over 1 million American children experience the divorce
of parents every year.
– 40% of European American children and 75% of African
American children who are born to married parents will
live at least part of their childhood in a single-parent
family due to divorce.
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The Family
• Generation Ex: What Happens to Children of
Divorce? cont.
– Financial resources are spread thin and many children
of divorce live with mothers in poverty.
– Most children live with mothers after a divorce.
– Less time is spent interacting with fathers, leading to
lower self-esteem and blaming themselves.
– Children of divorce experience higher rates of conduct
disorders, drug abuse, and poor grades in school.
– While fallout is worst for children during first year, they
tend to rebound after a couple of years and adjust.
The Family
• Life in Stepfamilies: His, Hers, Theirs, and…
– Over 1 in 3 children in U.S. will be part of a stepfamily.
– Integration of families is difficult; some adjust well
– For others, there is risk of higher incidence of physical
abuse and more than 8 times that for sexual abuse.
– One explanation offered by evolutionary perspective is
people unwittingly want their own genes to flourish and
are therefore not as devoted to stepchildren.
The Family
• Staying Married “for the sake of the children?”
– Living in a home where children are exposed to
parental fighting has much the same effects as a
divorce.
• They experience physical “alarm reactions,” sharp rise in
blood pressure and heart rates.
– Sometimes a divorce can be a positive alternative.
The Family
• Effects of Maternal Employment
– 50 years ago half of American women remained at
home in the role of homemaker.
– Today 3 out of 4 married mothers with children under
18 are employed out of the home.
– As are 4 out of 5 of divorced, separated, or widowed
mothers.
– Studies show that mothers working outside the home
did not have negative effects on children.
– Delinquency is correlated to overall lack of supervision.
LO3 Peer Relationships
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Peer Relationships
• Peers as Socialization Influences
– Children profit from peer relationships.
– They get practice in:
• Cooperating with others; relating to leaders; coping with
others’ and their own aggressive behaviors
– They learn what their boundaries of behavior are.
– Other children serve as confidants and sounding
boards.
– Sharing experiences and problems with peers help
children to know they are not alone.
Peer Relationships
• Peer Acceptance and Rejection
– Problems with peers at this age affect adjustment later
on in life.
– Popular children tend to be attractive.
– Attractiveness is more important for girls than boys.
– Aggressive children are more likely to be rejected by
peers.
– Rejected children have problems learning to conform.
– They remain on the fringes and may find other
aggressive children to relate to.
Peer Relationships
• Development of Friendships
– Between age 8-11 recognize importance of friends
meeting each other’s need and having desirable traits
– They are more likely to say friends are nice and share
similar interests.
– More likely to pick friends with similar traits and
interests.
– Girls tend to develop closer friendships than boys.
– Trustworthiness, mutual understanding, and willingness
to disclose personal information are all part of forming
friendships at this age and beyond.
Peer Relationships
• Development of Friendships, con’t.
– Friends behave differently with each other than with
other children.
• More verbal; attentive; relaxed; responsive
• Conflicts do occur but are less intensive and resolved in
positive ways.
– Most children at this age will report having a “best
friend.”
– 9 year olds on average say they have 4 “best” friends.
– Boys tend to play in larger play groups than girls.
– Most friendships are exclusively with children of the
same sex.
Table 13.2 – Stages in Children’s Concepts of
Friendship
LO4 The School
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The School
• Schools exert a powerful influence on many aspects of
a child’s development.
• They influence:
IQ scores
Achievement motivation
Career aspirations
Social and Moral Development
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The School
• Entry into School
– School Readiness involves:
• The diversity and inequity of children’s early life
experiences
• Individual difference in young children’s development and
learning
• The degree to which schools establish reasonable and
appropriate expectations of children’s capabilities when
they enter school
– Kindergarten teachers report many children are
unprepared to learn.
• They often lack necessary language skills.
• Have poor health care and inadequate nutrition
– Inadequate parental support place many children at risk
for academic failure even before they start to school.
The School
• The School Environment: Setting the Stage for
Success, or…
– Effective Schools share the following characteristics:
• An active, energetic principal
• Orderly, but not oppressive atmosphere
• Empowerment for their teachers by letting them participate
in decision-making
• Have teachers with high expectations that children will
learn
• A curriculum that emphasizes academics
• Frequent assessment of student performance
• Empowerment for students, letting them participate in
setting goals, making decisions, and engaging in
cooperative learning activities
– Key factor:
• Small class size
• Smaller classes permit individual attention especially for
children at risk of failure.
The School
• Bullying
– Boys are more likely to be bullies.
– Girls do also engage in bullying behaviors.
– Bullies are:
• More likely to come from lower SES homes where adult
violence is more likely to be modeled
• Bullies tend to have lower grades and value peer approval
more than academics.
– 70-75% of children are bullied at school.
– Children speaking another language at home are more
likely to be picked on.
– Bullying turns the school into a place of violence to be
feared and avoided.
The School
• Teachers
– Are powerful role models and dispensers of
reinforcement
– Teacher influences on Student Performance:
• Students learn more in classrooms where they are actively
instructed and supervised.
• The most effective teachers give feedback and provide
opportunities for drill and practice.
• Achievement is high in classrooms where the emotional
climate is pleasant, friendly, but not overly warm.
The School
• Teachers, con’t.
– Ways teachers can help motivate students:
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Making classrooms and lessons interesting and inviting
Ensuring students profit from social interactions
Making classrooms safe and pleasant
Recognizing students’ backgrounds can give rise to a
diversity of needs
• Helping students take appropriate responsibility for their
own successes and failures
• Encouraging students to perceive the links between their
own efforts and their achievements
• Helping students set attainable short-term goals
The School
• Sexism in the Classroom
– According to classic reviews on Sexism
(discrimination based on sex of student) among
teachers, researchers conclude:
• Many teachers pay less attention to girls than boys,
especially in math, science, and technology classes
• Many girls are subjected to sexual harassment
(unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual
nature) from male classmates that is ignored by many
teachers.
• Some textbooks still stereotype or ignore women,
portraying males as the “shakers and movers” in the world.
LO5 Social and Emotional
Problems
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Social and Emotional Problems
• Millions of children in the U.S. suffer from emotional or
behavioral problems.
• Professional treatment is helpful but most are unlikely
to receive it.
• Typical problems involve:
– Conduct Disorders
– Depression
– Anxiety
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Social and Emotional Problems
• Conduct Disorders
– Behavior that is marked by persistent rule breaking and
violation of other’s rights
– Behaviors typically emerge around age 8
– Are more common in boys
– Behaviors include:
• Lying, stealing, fire setting, truancy, cruelty to animals,
fighting
• Involvement in sexual activity before puberty, smoking,
drinking, and abuse of other substances
• A low tolerance for frustration and have temper flare-ups
• Below grade level academic achievement but at least
average intelligence
• Many are diagnosed with ADHD.
Social and Emotional Problems
• Conduct Disorders, cont.
– Origins
• May have a genetic component
• Other contributors include antisocial family members,
deviant peers, inconsistent discipline, parental insensitivity,
physical punishment, family stress
– Treatments
• Cognitive-behavioral techniques involving parent training
hold promise.
• Close monitoring of child: consequences for unacceptable
behavior (time-outs)
• Avoidance of physical punishment
• Reward for positive social behaviors
Social and Emotional Problems
• Childhood Depression
– Between 5%-9% of children are seriously depressed in
any given year.
– Both sexes are equally affected.
– Many children do not recognize their own state of
depression until around age 7.
– Symptoms include:
• Poor appetite; insomnia; lack of energy and inactivity; loss
of self-esteem; difficulty concentrating; loss of interest in
people and activities they usually enjoy; crying; feelings of
hopelessness and helplessness; thoughts of suicide
Social and Emotional Problems
• Childhood Depression, cont.
– Origins
• Social-Cognitive Theories
– Perceived low levels of competencies and/or rejection by
peers
– Excessive parental or self-imposed expectations for
perfectionism
– Certain attributional styles: the tendency to blame
oneself (internal attribution) or others (external
attribution) can contribute to helplessness and
hopelessness and may trigger depression
• Genetic
– One study in Norway with twins showed a heritability of
depression in females at 49% and 25% in males.
– There is evidence suggesting depressed children and adults
underutilize the neurotransmitter serotonin that is involved in
mood disorders like depression.
Social and Emotional Problems
• Childhood Depression, cont.
– Treatment
• Psychotherapy
– With Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, patients can learn
to be less self-critical and how to build self-esteem and
social skills.
• Drugs
– Due to underutilization of serotonin, drugs that
increase the action of serotonin in the brain are
sometimes used to treat childhood depression.
» Luvox, Prozac, and Zoloft
– Although they are often effective, caution is urged due
to a link between them and suicidal ideations in
children.
Social and Emotional Problems
• Childhood Anxiety
– 50-60% of children with Depression also are
symptomatic of many kinds of Anxiety Disorders such as
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
• Anxiety seems to be present continuously and is
unrelated to any specific situation.
– Other anxiety disorders shown by children include:
• Phobias
• Separation Anxiety
Disorder (SAD)
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Social and Emotional Problems
• Childhood Anxiety, cont.
– Separation Anxiety Disorder
• 4-5% of children are affected by Separation Anxiety
Disorder (SAD).
• It is diagnosed when separation anxiety is persistent and
excessive and inappropriate for the child’s developmental
level.
• It occurs more in girls than boys.
• It is often associated with refusing to attend school.
• It can persist into adulthood and lead to difficulties with
family life.
• Symptoms include:
» Excessive clinging to parents; fears of death and
dying; nightmares; “stomachaches” on school
days; tantrums when parents leave the house
Social and Emotional Problems
• Childhood Anxiety, cont.
– School Phobia and School Refusal
• One expression of SAD can be seen in School Phobia: a
fear of school or refusal to attend school
• Not all instances of school refusal are related to SAD.
• Sometimes children perceive the school environment to be
hostile (which it may be);
sometimes they are
concerned with making a
poor performance
prompting “stage fright”;
high parental expectations
or problems with classmates
may be underlying causes
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Social and Emotional Problems
• Childhood Anxiety, cont.
– Treatment for School Phobia/Refusal
• Try to understand why a child refuses to go to school
• Antidepressants in conjunction with cognitive-behavioral
methods can be used, with much success, but drugs do not
teach children how to cope, therefore, drugs should be
used only when other treatments have failed.
• These are things that can help get the child back into the
classroom:
– Do not give in to the child’s demands to stay home
– Secure the cooperation of the teacher, principle, and
school nurse
– If there is a specific school-related problem, such as an
overly strict teacher, help the child and the teacher find
ways to handle the situation
– Reward the child for attending school