Introduction
As a child grows, he/she goes through complex processes which develop the social and emotional abilities. This developmental process comprises of the child’s experience, expression and control of emotions. It also has focus on his or her ability to create and maintain healthy relationships with other people. The processes involved are both internal and external. Research processes have been carried out in an attempt to understand and manage the developmental process. Researchers have attempted to discover ways of enhancing and making this process more beneficial to the child. They have however experienced a series of challenges in their attempts to achieve this. These challenges relate to the various aspects of social development as discussed below (California Department of Education, 2012).
Primary relationships
One of the methods employed in the research on social and emotional development of the child is the Strange Situation based on Mary Ainsworth’s theory of Attachment. This process is used to determine the extent of development of primary relationships in children and its contribution to social and emotional development. The theory seeks to explain how parent relationship with the child influences development according to McLeod (2008).
It involves observation of the child in different circumstances; the child alone, child with mother, child with mother and stranger, child with stranger after mother has left and child with stranger when mother returns. The child’s reaction to the presence or absence of both the mother and the stranger are observed and analyzed to acquire his or her level of attachment.
This research method has proven reliable and shows consistent results. For instance, in Germany, a study showed that 78% of all the children studied displayed the same reactions. They were between the ages of 1 and 6. It is thus accepted worldwide as a basic method of monitoring attachment levels.
There are however certain disadvantages. It is deemed incomprehensive due to its ability to identify only the attachment to the mother. Critics suggest that different results may be achieved in the case of a father or grandmother. This questions its validity in testing attachment.
Subsequently, the Stranger Situation is regarded as an unethical way of obtaining research information. This is because it subjects the child to stress during the separation and presence of strangers which may cause anxiety in some children. The ecological validity of the process is questioned because the child is put in a strange environment which is artificial and not the one he/she is used to. This may affect the results of the research.
Improvement can be done through the incorporation of other family members in the research. This will widen the scope thus increase the quality of results obtained through comparisons. The research should be carried out in the child’s home or a familiar environment the child can identify with to facilitate the display of unconditioned reactions;
Peer and sibling relationships
The level of socio-emotional development can be displayed in the way a child interacts with his peers and siblings. Siblings spend a lot of time around each other thus develop special boonds between them. According to Observational Studies, the bonds are formed as the younger siblings seek support, comfort and security from the older ones. This bond is made stronger by the absence of primary caregivers which will drive the younger ones to fully depend on his older sibling. The older ones are able to guide and advice the young ones on the challenges they are likely to face; coping with new people and new school experiences.
These positive aspects make research on sibling relationships easier. However, challenges may arise due to the negative aspects of sibling relationships. Bonds may not be established in situations where the older siblings display aggressive tendencies (Bretherton, 1992).
Peers are individuals or a clique involved in a unique interaction process. Interaction of children with peers is very crucial in their social and emotional development. Through observation of behaviors, researchers can establish the child’s skill in cooperating, empathy, delegation and sharing in a group. Research on peer groups is affected by its changing nature as individuals grow older. At early adolescence, most groups are characterized by members of the same sex. By middle adolescence the group has male and female members who later disintegrate to send more time alone or as couples in late adolescence.
Temperament
Temperament is the difference in individual behavior tendencies influenced by their biological make-up present from an early age and it plays a major role in the socio-emotional development of individuals. In the laboratory observation techniques, researchers are able to control and manipulate the environment the children are in. this is aimed at facilitating changes that allow more precise reactions (Guerin et al., 2012).
They focus on reactions that are likely to cause a specific emotional state, activity, and change in focus of attention or a comparison. Lab observations are able to present and use standard situations to bring out temperament in the child. It has equipment that can record any changes in the heart rate. The researchers are also equipped with skills to recognize any psychological reactions that may be displayed. However, acquiring the equipment and facilities required to carry out the observations is quite expensive. The machines are also prone to error and may at times record wrong emotional reactions thus interfere with the results.
Researchers should receive increased support from the government in terms of funds. This will enable them acquire the required equipment to research on child development. This will make the discovery of solutions to early childhood problems easier.
Consumer and electronic age
Research on the social and emotional development of children has been made easier by technological advancements and changes that continue to occur globally. The researchers have adopted easier means of obtaining information for analysis. For instance, the use of questionnaires and interviews has been made easier.
Interviews involve the use of a series of standardized questions which should be constructed to cover aspects of consumer and electronic age and how they impact on the social and emotional development of children. Interviews provide researchers with the chance to ask follow up questions to obtain more information in cases where the subject provides insufficient information. Direct transfer of information between the researcher and the respondent also allows the researcher to analyze non-verbal communication such as pauses, variation in the tone, body posture and attitude towards the entire interview process. This provides quality information useful to the study.
Interviews may have problem of time management in cases where the sessions extend past the allocated time. Lengthy sessions can exhaust the respondents thus interfere with the quality of information provided. Respondents may also give a lot of unnecessary information. The researcher should be time conscious and ensure the environment is relaxed and friendly to enable the respondent open up (Rollins, 2012).
Questionnaires are effective and don’t require direct contact with respondents. The questions should be simple and easy to comprehend yet at the same time addressing the subject off research. The use of questionnaires is effective due to the low cost involve in their production. They are made up of questions that can fit in a few pages and still cover the content required.
However, the information provided may be biased, incomplete or irrelevant. This may happen if the respondent is in a hurry or doesn’t comprehend what the questions require. The validity of the information acquired in this manner is questionable. In research on social and emotional development of the child, precision is important in order to obtain accurate information. The process should be combined with other methods to improve on quality. Enough time should also be set aside for the answering of questionnaires.
Challenges in assessing social and emotional development in abnormally developing children
The assessment of social and emotional development in children with developmental disorders is more complex than in normal children. This is majorly due to the diverse nature of most developmental disorders. Researchers experience difficulty in dealing with the varying characteristics displayed by the children. In cases like Autism for instance, the development of these skills is adversely impaired due to an interference with the brain functions. The display of restricted and repetitive behavior caused by Autism will also hinder a research on the influence of external environment on the child’s behavior. This is because most of the behavior is internally controlled (Kids Health, 2012).
Conclusion
The growth and development of every child is faced with a variety of challenges brought about by genetic and environmental factors. Through research on these factors, researchers are able to come up with the most effective ways of dealing with these issues. This will ensure the life of every child is not plagued by difficulties that can be avoided. Knowledge obtained through research will help us understand children better thus know how to help them grow into healthy members of the society.
References
Bretherton, I. (1992). Attachment and bonding. In V.G. Van Hasselt & M. Hersen (Eds.), “Handbook of social development: A lifespan perspective” (pp.13-155). New York: Basic Books.
California Department of Education (2012). Social Emotional Development Domain. California Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations. Retrieved from: www.cde.ca.gov>Home>SpecializedPrograms>ChildDevelopment
Guerin, D., Oliver, P., and Gottfried, A. (2012). Temperament. The Gale Group Retrieved from: www.education.com>Home>School
Kids Health (2012). Autism. The Nemours Foundation Retrieved from: www.kidshealth.org>KidsHealth>Parents>Deseases&Conditions
McLeod, S. A. (2008). Mary Ainsworth/Attachment Styles. Retrieved from: http://www.simplypsychology.org/mary-ainsworth.html
Rollins (2012). Research. Faculty of Research and Development of Student Research Center Retrieved from: www.rollins.edu>Rollins.edu>Arts&SciencesHome>ChildDevelopmentCenter
