Development within development: The needs of children in one nation’s race

to first world status

Julie Cooper Altman, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, U.S.A.Fulbright Scholar, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad

Presented at Social Work Social Development 2012Stockholm, Sweden11 July 2012

Children, Poverty, Marginalization and Risks

Capacity to learn, grow, develop influenced by a plethora of factors:– Biological– Psychological– Familial– Social – Cultural– Environmental

Study Question

What are the context and norms in which children in one high-risk Trinidadian community are reared?

Study Data - Beetham Community

Extensive review of literature (Cambridge, 2003)

Prolonged community engagement Multiple interviews with parents (n=28) Multiple interviews with children (n=42) Multiple interviews with parenting experts (n=12) Semi-structured community observation Focus groups

Data Analysis

Qualitative data and field notes were transcribed, coded and analyzed using the constant comparative method

Quantitative data were coded and analyzed using SPSS

Study Findings – Risk Factors (1)

Risk factors children regularly exposed to:

– Witnessing violence and criminal activity

– Poverty

– Low educational attainment among family members

– Unsafe and toxic living environments

Study Findings – Risk Factors (2)

Child abuse and neglect

Community stigma

Discrimination and social exclusion

Inadequate educational resources

Study Findings - Risk Factors (3)

– Increasing lack of adults able to fill child-rearing roles; erosion of child-shifting norm

– Rising crime rate / community distrust / social isolation

– Dearth of positive socialization experiences

The intersection of child development and social development

Children’s needs are greater; require more, not less, discipline and nurturing

Parents’ anxiety and confusion lead to inappropriate use of fewer alternatives, poor role modeling, fear

Community norms and supports are changing rapidly

Increasing view that corporal punishment is not child abuse