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Welcome to Our Generation USA!
Child Development and Entertainment
including child birth, early childhood (up to 18 years of age) along with education, parenting, as well as teachers and other childhood mentors and the impact of electronic devices like smartphones today!
Childhood Development, Phases that Children Grow Through, along with Childhood Entertainment
YouTube Video: Family & Children's Magic show at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles
Child development refers to the biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence, as the individual progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy.
It is a continuous process with a predictable sequence yet having a unique course for every child. It does not progress at the same rate and each stage is affected by the preceding types of development. Because these developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and events during prenatal life, genetics and prenatal development are usually included as part of the study of child development.
Related terms include developmental psychology, referring to development throughout the lifespan, and pediatrics, the branch of medicine relating to the care of children.
Developmental change may occur as a result of genetically-controlled processes known as maturation, or as a result of environmental factors and learning, but most commonly involves an interaction between the two. It may also occur as a result of human nature and our ability to learn from our environment.
There are various definitions of periods in a child's development, since each period is a continuum with individual differences regarding start and ending. Some age-related development periods and examples of defined intervals are:
Promoting child development through parental training, among other factors, promotes excellent rates of child development. Parents play a large role in a child's life, socialization, and development. Having multiple parents can add stability to the child's life and therefore encourage healthy development.
Another influential factor in a child's development is the quality of their care. Child care programs present a critical opportunity for the promotion of child development.
The optimal development of children is considered vital to society and so it is important to understand the social, cognitive, emotional, and educational development of children.
Increased research and interest in this field has resulted in new theories and strategies, with specific regard to practice that promotes development within the school system. In addition there are also some theories that seek to describe a sequence of states that compose child development.
For amplification, click on any of the following:
It is a continuous process with a predictable sequence yet having a unique course for every child. It does not progress at the same rate and each stage is affected by the preceding types of development. Because these developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and events during prenatal life, genetics and prenatal development are usually included as part of the study of child development.
Related terms include developmental psychology, referring to development throughout the lifespan, and pediatrics, the branch of medicine relating to the care of children.
Developmental change may occur as a result of genetically-controlled processes known as maturation, or as a result of environmental factors and learning, but most commonly involves an interaction between the two. It may also occur as a result of human nature and our ability to learn from our environment.
There are various definitions of periods in a child's development, since each period is a continuum with individual differences regarding start and ending. Some age-related development periods and examples of defined intervals are:
- newborn (ages 0–4 weeks);
- infant (ages 4 weeks – 1 year);
- toddler (ages 1–3 years);
- preschooler (ages 4–6 years);
- school-aged child (ages 6–13 years);
- adolescent (ages 13–19).
Promoting child development through parental training, among other factors, promotes excellent rates of child development. Parents play a large role in a child's life, socialization, and development. Having multiple parents can add stability to the child's life and therefore encourage healthy development.
Another influential factor in a child's development is the quality of their care. Child care programs present a critical opportunity for the promotion of child development.
The optimal development of children is considered vital to society and so it is important to understand the social, cognitive, emotional, and educational development of children.
Increased research and interest in this field has resulted in new theories and strategies, with specific regard to practice that promotes development within the school system. In addition there are also some theories that seek to describe a sequence of states that compose child development.
For amplification, click on any of the following:
American Movies for Children
YouTube Video of the Movie Trailer for Frozen
Pictured: Montage of Movies made for children
A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that includes children or relates to them in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for the general audience, while family films are made for a wider appeal with a general audience in mind. Children's films come in several major forms like realism, fantasy, animation, war, musicals, and literary adaptations.
Psychological Aspect:
Children are born with certain innate biological dispositions as a product of long evolutionary history. This provides an underlying biological framework for what may fascinate a child and also impose limitations on the same.
These can be seen in certain universal features shared in children's films. According to Grodal, films like Finding Nemo (2003), Bambi (1942), or Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (2001) are based on certain strong emotions like fear, that lead to the activation of what Boyer and Lienard called the hazard-precaution system.
This enables the brain to take precautions in case of danger. Children's films such as these explore various topics such as: attachment to parenting agency; the development of friendship; reciprocal relationships between individuals; or deal with the necessity or need in children and young people to explore and to engage in play.
Thus these diverse films deal with certain aspects that are not mere social constructions, but rather emotions relevant to all children and therefore have an appeal to a wider universal audience. While cultural aspects shape how various films are created, these films refer to underlying universal aspects that are innate and biological.
University of Melbourne scholar Timothy Laurie criticizes the emphasis placed on children's innate psychic tendencies, noting that "pedagogical norms have been tirelessly heaped onto children's media,", and that rather than deriving from hardwired biology, " the quality of childhood is more likely shaped by social policy, political oppportunism, pedagogical institutions, and youth-specific market segmentation"
Family Films vs. Children's Films
In both the United States and Europe, the idea of children's films began to gain relative prominence in the 1930s. According to Bazalgette and Staples, the term "family film" is essentially an American expression while "children's film" is considered to be a European expression.
However, the difference between the two terms can be seen in casting methods adopted by American and European films respectively. In American family films, the search for a child protagonist involves casting children that meet a specific criterion or standard for physical appearance.
In contrast, European children's films look to cast children who appear "ordinary". Similarly, in American family films, the adult cast can be composed of well known actors or actresses in an effort to attract a wider audience, presenting narratives from an adult or parental perspective.
This is shown through the casting, content of the plot, editing, and even Mise en scène. According to Bazalgette and Staples, a fine example of a family film is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), which if it was a European children's film with a similar plot, the title would be Sis, Dad Shrunk Us, explaining that European children's films are told from the child's perspective, portraying the story through the various emotions and experiences of the child.
Because of these differences, American family films are more easily marketable toward domestic and international viewing audiences while European children's films are better received domestically with limited appeal to international audiences.
Children Films for distribution in The United States:
The Walt Disney Company made animated adaptations of Grimms' Fairy Tales before World War II, beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The period immediately before and during World War II saw the release of three significant family films in the U.S. These were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Disney, Gulliver's Travels by Fleischer Studios, and Pinocchio (1940), also by Disney. All of these were loose adaptations of literary sources. During the war, Disney made more family films like Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941).
After the war, Disney continued to make animated features that could be classified as family films given the scope of its content. According to Wojcik, the most important film adaptations of children's literature in the immediate post-World War II period were the motion pictures The Diary of Anne Frank by George Stevens (1959), Treasure Island (1950) by Byron Haskin, and Luigi Comencini’s 1952 motion picture, Heidi.
In the 1960s, motion pictures such as To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Oliver! (1968), directed by Carol Reed, portrayed children as naturally innocent.
Other films of the 1960s that involved children include The Sound of Music (1965) by Robert Wise and The Miracle Worker (1962). These were very successful musical motion picture that were in the genre of family films.
Four of the top ten highest-grossing films of the decade were family films: The Sound of Music, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Jungle Book (1967), and Mary Poppins.
Hollywood also released motion pictures starring children though these were not commercially successful and they were literary adaptations nonetheless. These include ...And Now Miguel (1966), Doctor Dolittle (1967), and The Learning Tree (1969).
Other family/children films of the decade include:
Children's films in the 1970s from the United States include animated films such as:
The decade also had live action children's films like:
There were also combination live action/animation films such as 1971's Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
This trend of films inspired the 1980s and 1990s productions of classic children's films from America including Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Matilda (1996).
Other important children's films from the U.S. in the late 1970s include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Live action films like Superman (1978) and Superman II are also important children's and family films. They have been ranked as some of the best family entertainment over the past generation.
American children's and family films of the 1980s include:
Spielberg portrays children realistically, having to cope with issues. This is seen in E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, where the children have to cope with the issues of single parenting and divorce, as well as separation from their father.
Also, in the motion picture Empire of the Sun (1987), the protagonist child Jim Graham has to deal with separation from his parents for years, to the point where he is unable to even remember what his mother looked like. He is wounded not by bullets, but by the madness and cruelty of war and separation from his parents. According to Robin Wood, in their films, Lucas and Spielberg both reconstruct "... the adult spectator as a child ..." or "... an adult who would like to be a child".
The 1970s and 1980s also include several films and their sequels as classics of family films, including: Star Wars (1977) and its sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Other similar movies and sequels include Robert Zemeckis's film Back to the Future (1985) and its sequels Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Back to the Future Part III (1990).
Other important children's and family films from this period also include
1990s and beyond: "Since the resurgence of Disney feature films with The Little Mermaid (1989)", writes Laurie, "high-budget animations have become part of the Hollywood box office furniture, with phenomenal successes from Pixar Studies, DreamWorks animations and more recently, Blue Sky Studios".
Important animated family films of the 1990s include Disney titles such as:
This decade introduced the modern fairy tale film Edward Scissorhands (1990), depicting an isolated, artificially created young man with human emotions and childlike qualities who is ultimately rejected by society while the female protagonist holds on to his memory.
The 1990s also saw additional live-action family films such as:
And, there were combined live action/animated films such as Casper (1995).
Family films of the 2000s include:
From 2010 to the Present:
In 2010, 7 of the top 10 grossing films fell into this category.
So far, in the 2010s, live-action family films include Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Hugo (2011), directed by Martin Scorsese.
Animated films in this genre include:
The year 2011 included the sequels Kung Fu Panda 2 and Cars 2, as well as The Smurfs.
The next two years would see other successful family/children's films, such as:
In 2014, there were 4 very successful family films:
In 2015, there were a few very popular films:
2016 brought great movies, like Kung Fu Panda 3, Zootopia and many more. It is also revealed that a theatrical My Little Pony film would be released in Fall 2017.
Psychological Aspect:
Children are born with certain innate biological dispositions as a product of long evolutionary history. This provides an underlying biological framework for what may fascinate a child and also impose limitations on the same.
These can be seen in certain universal features shared in children's films. According to Grodal, films like Finding Nemo (2003), Bambi (1942), or Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (2001) are based on certain strong emotions like fear, that lead to the activation of what Boyer and Lienard called the hazard-precaution system.
This enables the brain to take precautions in case of danger. Children's films such as these explore various topics such as: attachment to parenting agency; the development of friendship; reciprocal relationships between individuals; or deal with the necessity or need in children and young people to explore and to engage in play.
Thus these diverse films deal with certain aspects that are not mere social constructions, but rather emotions relevant to all children and therefore have an appeal to a wider universal audience. While cultural aspects shape how various films are created, these films refer to underlying universal aspects that are innate and biological.
University of Melbourne scholar Timothy Laurie criticizes the emphasis placed on children's innate psychic tendencies, noting that "pedagogical norms have been tirelessly heaped onto children's media,", and that rather than deriving from hardwired biology, " the quality of childhood is more likely shaped by social policy, political oppportunism, pedagogical institutions, and youth-specific market segmentation"
Family Films vs. Children's Films
In both the United States and Europe, the idea of children's films began to gain relative prominence in the 1930s. According to Bazalgette and Staples, the term "family film" is essentially an American expression while "children's film" is considered to be a European expression.
However, the difference between the two terms can be seen in casting methods adopted by American and European films respectively. In American family films, the search for a child protagonist involves casting children that meet a specific criterion or standard for physical appearance.
In contrast, European children's films look to cast children who appear "ordinary". Similarly, in American family films, the adult cast can be composed of well known actors or actresses in an effort to attract a wider audience, presenting narratives from an adult or parental perspective.
This is shown through the casting, content of the plot, editing, and even Mise en scène. According to Bazalgette and Staples, a fine example of a family film is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), which if it was a European children's film with a similar plot, the title would be Sis, Dad Shrunk Us, explaining that European children's films are told from the child's perspective, portraying the story through the various emotions and experiences of the child.
Because of these differences, American family films are more easily marketable toward domestic and international viewing audiences while European children's films are better received domestically with limited appeal to international audiences.
Children Films for distribution in The United States:
The Walt Disney Company made animated adaptations of Grimms' Fairy Tales before World War II, beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The period immediately before and during World War II saw the release of three significant family films in the U.S. These were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Disney, Gulliver's Travels by Fleischer Studios, and Pinocchio (1940), also by Disney. All of these were loose adaptations of literary sources. During the war, Disney made more family films like Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941).
After the war, Disney continued to make animated features that could be classified as family films given the scope of its content. According to Wojcik, the most important film adaptations of children's literature in the immediate post-World War II period were the motion pictures The Diary of Anne Frank by George Stevens (1959), Treasure Island (1950) by Byron Haskin, and Luigi Comencini’s 1952 motion picture, Heidi.
In the 1960s, motion pictures such as To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Oliver! (1968), directed by Carol Reed, portrayed children as naturally innocent.
Other films of the 1960s that involved children include The Sound of Music (1965) by Robert Wise and The Miracle Worker (1962). These were very successful musical motion picture that were in the genre of family films.
Four of the top ten highest-grossing films of the decade were family films: The Sound of Music, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Jungle Book (1967), and Mary Poppins.
Hollywood also released motion pictures starring children though these were not commercially successful and they were literary adaptations nonetheless. These include ...And Now Miguel (1966), Doctor Dolittle (1967), and The Learning Tree (1969).
Other family/children films of the decade include:
- Pollyanna (1960),
- Swiss Family Robinson (1960),
- In Search of the Castaways (1962),
- The Sword in the Stone (1963),
- That Darn Cat! (1965),
- Up the Down Staircase (1967),
- To Sir, With Love (1967),
- Yours, Mine and Ours (1968),
- and The Parent Trap (1961).
Children's films in the 1970s from the United States include animated films such as:
- The Aristocats (1970),
- Charlotte's Web (1973) (Click Here for YouTube Video of Movie Trailer),
- Robin Hood (1973),
- The Rescuers (1977),
- Pete's Dragon (1977),
- and The Hobbit (1977).
The decade also had live action children's films like:
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) (Click here for YouTube Video of Movie Trailer),
- Sounder (1972),
- Benji (1974),
- Tuck Everlasting (1976),
- The Bad News Bears (1976),
- Freaky Friday (1976),
- A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich (1978),
- the divorce drama involving a child Kramer vs Kramer (1978),
- and The Muppet Movie (1979).
There were also combination live action/animation films such as 1971's Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
This trend of films inspired the 1980s and 1990s productions of classic children's films from America including Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Matilda (1996).
Other important children's films from the U.S. in the late 1970s include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Live action films like Superman (1978) and Superman II are also important children's and family films. They have been ranked as some of the best family entertainment over the past generation.
American children's and family films of the 1980s include:
- Popeye (1980),
- The Fox and the Hound (1981),
- Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982),
- The Great Mouse Detective (1986),
- and The Little Mermaid (1989).
Spielberg portrays children realistically, having to cope with issues. This is seen in E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, where the children have to cope with the issues of single parenting and divorce, as well as separation from their father.
Also, in the motion picture Empire of the Sun (1987), the protagonist child Jim Graham has to deal with separation from his parents for years, to the point where he is unable to even remember what his mother looked like. He is wounded not by bullets, but by the madness and cruelty of war and separation from his parents. According to Robin Wood, in their films, Lucas and Spielberg both reconstruct "... the adult spectator as a child ..." or "... an adult who would like to be a child".
The 1970s and 1980s also include several films and their sequels as classics of family films, including: Star Wars (1977) and its sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Other similar movies and sequels include Robert Zemeckis's film Back to the Future (1985) and its sequels Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Back to the Future Part III (1990).
Other important children's and family films from this period also include
- Annie (1982),
- Flight of the Navigator (1986),
- The Princess Bride (1987),
- The Land Before Time (1988),
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) (Click Here for YouTube Video of Movie Trailer)
- and Batman (1989).
1990s and beyond: "Since the resurgence of Disney feature films with The Little Mermaid (1989)", writes Laurie, "high-budget animations have become part of the Hollywood box office furniture, with phenomenal successes from Pixar Studies, DreamWorks animations and more recently, Blue Sky Studios".
Important animated family films of the 1990s include Disney titles such as:
- Beauty and the Beast (1991),
- Aladdin (1992),
- The Lion King (1994) (Click Here for YouTube Video of Movie Trailer)
- Mulan (1998),
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996),
- and the Pixar computer animated films Toy Story (1995), its sequel Toy Story 2 (1999), and A Bug's Life (1998).
This decade introduced the modern fairy tale film Edward Scissorhands (1990), depicting an isolated, artificially created young man with human emotions and childlike qualities who is ultimately rejected by society while the female protagonist holds on to his memory.
The 1990s also saw additional live-action family films such as:
- Back to the Future Part III (1990), which brought the Back to the Future franchise into this decade,
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990),
- Home Alone (1990) and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992),
- Hook (1991),
- Alan & Naomi (1992),
- Jurassic Park (1993),
- Steve Zaillian's Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993),
- Super Mario Bros (film) (1993),
- Mrs. Doubtfire (1993),
- The Flintstones (film) (1994),
- Babe (1995) (Click here for the YouTube Video of the Movie Trailer)
- Jumanji (1995),
- 101 Dalmatians (1996),
- Fly Away Home (1996),
- and October Sky (1999).
And, there were combined live action/animated films such as Casper (1995).
Family films of the 2000s include:
- Dinosaur (2000),
- The Grinch (2000),
- Monsters, Inc. (2001),
- the Ice Age film series (2002–present),
- Finding Nemo (2003) (Click Here for YouTube Video of Movie Trailer)
- Shark Tale (2004),
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005),
- The Chronicles of Narnia film series (2005–10),
- Cars (2006), and
- Happy Feet (2006) (Click Here for YouTube Video of Movie Trailer)
- The Incredibles (2004),
- Wall-E (2008),
- and Up (2009).
- the Shrek film series (2001–10),
- Madagascar (2005) and its sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008),
- and Kung Fu Panda (2008),
From 2010 to the Present:
In 2010, 7 of the top 10 grossing films fell into this category.
So far, in the 2010s, live-action family films include Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Hugo (2011), directed by Martin Scorsese.
Animated films in this genre include:
- the conclusion to the Toy Story franchise, Toy Story 3 (2010),
- Tangled (2010),
- Despicable Me (2010),
- and How to Train Your Dragon (2010).
The year 2011 included the sequels Kung Fu Panda 2 and Cars 2, as well as The Smurfs.
The next two years would see other successful family/children's films, such as:
- Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012),
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012),
- Frozen (2013) (Click Here for YouTube Video of the Movie Trailer)
- Despicable Me 2 (2013),
- and Monsters University (2013).
In 2014, there were 4 very successful family films:
In 2015, there were a few very popular films:
- Disney's live-action adaptation of Cinderella (See YouTube Video of Movie Trailer),
- two Pixar films, Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur,
- the sequel Hotel Transylvania 2 and the Despicable Me spin-off prequel, Minions.
2016 brought great movies, like Kung Fu Panda 3, Zootopia and many more. It is also revealed that a theatrical My Little Pony film would be released in Fall 2017.
Motion Picture Association of America film rating system (MPAA)
Pictured: MPAA Ratings image for a movie that children under 13 years of age should not attend
The Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) film-rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a film's suitability for certain audiences, based on its content.
The MPAA rating system is a voluntary scheme that is not enforced by law; films can be exhibited without a rating, though many theaters refuse to exhibit non-rated or NC-17 rated films.
Non-members of MPAA may also submit films for rating. Other media (such as television programs and video games) may be rated by other entities.
The MPAA rating system is one of various motion picture rating systems that are used to help parents decide what films are appropriate for their children.
The MPAA's rating system is administered by the Classification & Ratings Administration (CARA), an independent division of the MPAA.
The MPAA rating system is a voluntary scheme that is not enforced by law; films can be exhibited without a rating, though many theaters refuse to exhibit non-rated or NC-17 rated films.
Non-members of MPAA may also submit films for rating. Other media (such as television programs and video games) may be rated by other entities.
The MPAA rating system is one of various motion picture rating systems that are used to help parents decide what films are appropriate for their children.
The MPAA's rating system is administered by the Classification & Ratings Administration (CARA), an independent division of the MPAA.
Children Television Shows, with a focus on TV Networks based in the United States
YouTube Video: SpongeBob SquarePants | ‘SpongeBob LongPants' New Episode - Music Video | Nick
Pictured: LEFT: The Disney Channel; RIGHT: The Cartoon Network
Children's television series are television programs designed for and marketed to children, normally broadcast programming scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evening, allowing younger children to watch them after Kindergarten or school. The purpose of the shows is mainly to entertain and sometimes to educate.
Children's television is nearly as old as television itself, with early examples including shows such as:
In the United States, early children's television was often a marketing branch of a larger corporate product, such as Disney, and it rarely contained any educational elements (for instance, The Magic Clown, a popular early children's program, was primarily an advertisement for Bonomo's Turkish taffy product).
This practice continued, albeit in a much toned-down manner, through the 1980s in the United States, when the Federal Communications Commission prohibited tie-in advertising on broadcast television (it does not apply to cable, which is out of the reach of the FCC's content regulations).
Though there is some debate on the intended audience, later non-educational children's television programs included the science fiction programs of Irwin Allen (most notably Lost in Space), the fantasy series of Sid and Marty Krofft, the extensive cartoon empire of Hanna-Barbera and the numerous sitcoms that aired as part of TGIF in the 1990s.
In the United States, Saturday mornings were generally scheduled with cartoon from the 1960s to 1980s as viewership with that programming would pull in 20 million watchers which dropped to 2 million in 2003. In 1992, teen comedies and a "Today" show weekend edition were first to displace the cartoon blocks on NBC.
Starting in September 2002, the networks turned to their affiliated cable cartoon channels or outside programmers for their blocks. The other two Big Three television networks soon did the same. Infomercials replaced the cartoon on Fox in 2008.
The Saturday cartoons were less of a draw due to the various cable cartoon channels (Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, etc.) being available all week starting in the 1990s. With recordable options becoming more prevalent in the 1990s with Videocassette recorder then its 21st century replacements of DVDs, DVRs and streaming services.
FCC rule changes in the 1990s regarding the E/I programming and limitation on kid-focus advertising made the cartoons less profitable. Another possible contributor is the rising divorce rate and the following children's visitation pushed more "quality time" with the kids instead of TV watching.
On September 27, 2014, the last traditional Saturday network morning cartoon block, Vortexx, ended and was replaced the following week by the syndicated One Magnificent Morning on The CW.
There are three major commercial cable networks in the United States dedicated to children's television. All three also operate secondary services with specialized scopes drawing upon their respective libraries, such as a focus on specific demographics, or a focus upon classic programming that fall within their scope and demographics:
Nickelodeon:
This was the the first children's television channel, launched in 1979 (though its history traces back to the 1977 launch of The Pinwheel Network); suffering from low ratings initially with few shows that attracted a sizeable viewership, it slowly gained in popularity over the course of the 1980s and early 1990s.
It has aired a large variety of programming ranging from educational programs, original animated programming (Nicktoons), live-action sitcoms, game shows, talk shows, dramas and sketch comedies and a late night classic programming block aimed at families, teens and adults (Nick at Nite).
Nickelodeon operates three digital channels separate from the main service: Nick Jr., a channel devoted to preschool programming; TeenNick, which primarily features live-action programming aimed at teenagers and classic Nickelodeon series; and Nicktoons, which primarily (although not exclusively) runs animated programming.
Cartoon Network:
This was launched in 1992, and was perhaps the fastest-growing network aimed primarily at children; thanks to extensive support from sister networks TBS and TNT, it became widely popular within five years of its launch.
Originally only airing classic animation from the archives of Time Warner (which includes productions from Turner Broadcasting System, Warner Bros., MGM and Hanna-Barbera), it began airing its own original animated programming (Cartoon Cartoons) similar in format to those found on Nickelodeon shortly thereafter.
Like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network has a wide range of demographics ranging from preschoolers to adults. It is credited with a major role in the American Animation Renaissance in the 1990s, bringing animation back into popularity and running many different styles of animation as possible.
It also brought anime into prominence in late 1990s with its Toonami action block and aired late night programming such as the Midnight Run block, ToonHeads and Space Ghost Coast to Coast; the last of these was directed squarely at, and proved to be popular with, older audiences and lead the way for the creation of its young adult late night block Adult Swim in 2001.
Cartoon Network also operates Boomerang, a channel which is oriented primarily towards animated series from the libraries of Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera, as well as first-run series based on classic franchises, and past Cartoon Network original series.
Disney Channel:
Launched in 1983, it was initially a premium channel, and did not achieve widespread popularity until it converted into a basic cable service in 1997 (a process that actually began in 1989 with a two-provider test run of the channel as a basic service, with other providers following suit over time until it reached entirely basic carriage by 2004).
It aired programming ranging from classic Disney films and animated shorts, to family-oriented and classic feature films, to original programming aimed at family audiences. In 1997, it changed its format and began airing educational programming for preschoolers in the morning, children's sitcoms and animated series in the afternoon, teen sitcoms, dramas, original movies and music videos during the evening and classic Disney series, films and shorts in late night.
In 2002, it revamped its programming again by dropping its classic Disney programming in favor of airing only series targeted at children. Its content has primarily drifted to live-action sitcoms aimed (primarily) at girls between the ages of 7 and 14.
Disney Channel operates two digital channels separate from the main service: Disney Junior, which launched in 2012 and primarily broadcasts animated series catered towards a preschool audience, and Disney XD, which caters primarily to an older youth audience.
Disney Channel does not have an outlet for its archive programming. Disney also operates Freeform, a channel primarily carrying live-action programming catered towards a teenage/young adult audience. Although its previous incarnations under different owners had family-oriented formats and children's programming, they have since been phased out in favor of series such as teen dramas.
Under current mandates:
All broadcast television stations in the United States, including digital subchannels, must show a minimum of three hours per week of educational children's programming, regardless of format.
As a result, digital multicast networks whose formats should not fit children's programming, such as Live Well Network and TheCoolTV, are required to carry educational programs to fit the FCC mandates.
The transition to digital television has allowed for the debut of whole digital subchannels that air children's programming 24/7; examples include PBS Kids Sprout, Qubo, PBJ, Discovery Family and Smile of a Child TV.
PBS, the United States' main public television network, devotes over eight hours of its weekday schedule, and several hours of its weekend schedule, to educational children's programs.
The country's only directly nationally-operated TV service for public consumption, NASA TV, also includes educational programs in its schedule for use in schools.
See Also:
Children's television is nearly as old as television itself, with early examples including shows such as:
- Captain Tugg,
- The Magic Roundabout,
- Howdy Doody,
- Ivor the Engine,
- Clangers,
- Noggin the Nog,
- Flower Pot Men,
- Captain Kangaroo,
- Sesame Street,
- The Electric Company,
- and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
In the United States, early children's television was often a marketing branch of a larger corporate product, such as Disney, and it rarely contained any educational elements (for instance, The Magic Clown, a popular early children's program, was primarily an advertisement for Bonomo's Turkish taffy product).
This practice continued, albeit in a much toned-down manner, through the 1980s in the United States, when the Federal Communications Commission prohibited tie-in advertising on broadcast television (it does not apply to cable, which is out of the reach of the FCC's content regulations).
Though there is some debate on the intended audience, later non-educational children's television programs included the science fiction programs of Irwin Allen (most notably Lost in Space), the fantasy series of Sid and Marty Krofft, the extensive cartoon empire of Hanna-Barbera and the numerous sitcoms that aired as part of TGIF in the 1990s.
In the United States, Saturday mornings were generally scheduled with cartoon from the 1960s to 1980s as viewership with that programming would pull in 20 million watchers which dropped to 2 million in 2003. In 1992, teen comedies and a "Today" show weekend edition were first to displace the cartoon blocks on NBC.
Starting in September 2002, the networks turned to their affiliated cable cartoon channels or outside programmers for their blocks. The other two Big Three television networks soon did the same. Infomercials replaced the cartoon on Fox in 2008.
The Saturday cartoons were less of a draw due to the various cable cartoon channels (Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, etc.) being available all week starting in the 1990s. With recordable options becoming more prevalent in the 1990s with Videocassette recorder then its 21st century replacements of DVDs, DVRs and streaming services.
FCC rule changes in the 1990s regarding the E/I programming and limitation on kid-focus advertising made the cartoons less profitable. Another possible contributor is the rising divorce rate and the following children's visitation pushed more "quality time" with the kids instead of TV watching.
On September 27, 2014, the last traditional Saturday network morning cartoon block, Vortexx, ended and was replaced the following week by the syndicated One Magnificent Morning on The CW.
There are three major commercial cable networks in the United States dedicated to children's television. All three also operate secondary services with specialized scopes drawing upon their respective libraries, such as a focus on specific demographics, or a focus upon classic programming that fall within their scope and demographics:
Nickelodeon:
This was the the first children's television channel, launched in 1979 (though its history traces back to the 1977 launch of The Pinwheel Network); suffering from low ratings initially with few shows that attracted a sizeable viewership, it slowly gained in popularity over the course of the 1980s and early 1990s.
It has aired a large variety of programming ranging from educational programs, original animated programming (Nicktoons), live-action sitcoms, game shows, talk shows, dramas and sketch comedies and a late night classic programming block aimed at families, teens and adults (Nick at Nite).
Nickelodeon operates three digital channels separate from the main service: Nick Jr., a channel devoted to preschool programming; TeenNick, which primarily features live-action programming aimed at teenagers and classic Nickelodeon series; and Nicktoons, which primarily (although not exclusively) runs animated programming.
Cartoon Network:
This was launched in 1992, and was perhaps the fastest-growing network aimed primarily at children; thanks to extensive support from sister networks TBS and TNT, it became widely popular within five years of its launch.
Originally only airing classic animation from the archives of Time Warner (which includes productions from Turner Broadcasting System, Warner Bros., MGM and Hanna-Barbera), it began airing its own original animated programming (Cartoon Cartoons) similar in format to those found on Nickelodeon shortly thereafter.
Like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network has a wide range of demographics ranging from preschoolers to adults. It is credited with a major role in the American Animation Renaissance in the 1990s, bringing animation back into popularity and running many different styles of animation as possible.
It also brought anime into prominence in late 1990s with its Toonami action block and aired late night programming such as the Midnight Run block, ToonHeads and Space Ghost Coast to Coast; the last of these was directed squarely at, and proved to be popular with, older audiences and lead the way for the creation of its young adult late night block Adult Swim in 2001.
Cartoon Network also operates Boomerang, a channel which is oriented primarily towards animated series from the libraries of Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera, as well as first-run series based on classic franchises, and past Cartoon Network original series.
Disney Channel:
Launched in 1983, it was initially a premium channel, and did not achieve widespread popularity until it converted into a basic cable service in 1997 (a process that actually began in 1989 with a two-provider test run of the channel as a basic service, with other providers following suit over time until it reached entirely basic carriage by 2004).
It aired programming ranging from classic Disney films and animated shorts, to family-oriented and classic feature films, to original programming aimed at family audiences. In 1997, it changed its format and began airing educational programming for preschoolers in the morning, children's sitcoms and animated series in the afternoon, teen sitcoms, dramas, original movies and music videos during the evening and classic Disney series, films and shorts in late night.
In 2002, it revamped its programming again by dropping its classic Disney programming in favor of airing only series targeted at children. Its content has primarily drifted to live-action sitcoms aimed (primarily) at girls between the ages of 7 and 14.
Disney Channel operates two digital channels separate from the main service: Disney Junior, which launched in 2012 and primarily broadcasts animated series catered towards a preschool audience, and Disney XD, which caters primarily to an older youth audience.
Disney Channel does not have an outlet for its archive programming. Disney also operates Freeform, a channel primarily carrying live-action programming catered towards a teenage/young adult audience. Although its previous incarnations under different owners had family-oriented formats and children's programming, they have since been phased out in favor of series such as teen dramas.
Under current mandates:
All broadcast television stations in the United States, including digital subchannels, must show a minimum of three hours per week of educational children's programming, regardless of format.
As a result, digital multicast networks whose formats should not fit children's programming, such as Live Well Network and TheCoolTV, are required to carry educational programs to fit the FCC mandates.
The transition to digital television has allowed for the debut of whole digital subchannels that air children's programming 24/7; examples include PBS Kids Sprout, Qubo, PBJ, Discovery Family and Smile of a Child TV.
PBS, the United States' main public television network, devotes over eight hours of its weekday schedule, and several hours of its weekend schedule, to educational children's programs.
The country's only directly nationally-operated TV service for public consumption, NASA TV, also includes educational programs in its schedule for use in schools.
See Also:
- Nick Jr.
- PBS Kids
- List of local children's television series (United States)
- Saturday-morning cartoon for an in-depth history of children's television in the United States
- Advertising to children
List of Movies based on Comic Books and Comic Strips
YouTube Video: Jack Nicholson as the Joker in Batman (1989)
Pictured: LEFT: Batman (1989); CENTER: The Incredible Hulk (2008); RIGHT: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Click Here for list of films based on English-language comics, including comic books, graphic novels, and features in anthology comics magazines.
It includes films that are adaptations of English-language comics, and those films whose characters originated in comic books (e.g. Batman is not an adaptation of one particular comic book, but the character first appeared in comic books, not in another medium).
It also includes film serials. It does not include material where the original source is newspaper comic strips, which are featured in the next topic.
Click Here for list of films based on English-language Comic Strips, This is a list of films based on comic strips and characters first appearing in them, including single panel gag cartoons appearing in newspapers and magazines, and web comics. The practice of creating films based on comic strips dates back to the early years of film itself. (However, in recent years, due to advances in special effects, big budget films based on comic books have become more common.)
It includes films that are adaptations of English-language comics, and those films whose characters originated in comic books (e.g. Batman is not an adaptation of one particular comic book, but the character first appeared in comic books, not in another medium).
It also includes film serials. It does not include material where the original source is newspaper comic strips, which are featured in the next topic.
Click Here for list of films based on English-language Comic Strips, This is a list of films based on comic strips and characters first appearing in them, including single panel gag cartoons appearing in newspapers and magazines, and web comics. The practice of creating films based on comic strips dates back to the early years of film itself. (However, in recent years, due to advances in special effects, big budget films based on comic books have become more common.)
TV Shows based on Comic Books and Comic Strips
YouTube Video: from Sabrina the Witch featuring Britney Spears
Pictured: TV Shows based on LEFT: comic books include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 Series); RIGHT: comic strips include Garfield and Friends (CBS: 1988-1995)
Click Here for a list of TV Shows based on Comics, including comic books, graphic novels, and features in anthology comics magazines.
Click Here for list of TV Shows based on Comic Strips. For the purposes of this list, a comic strip is a drawing or sequence of drawings that tell a story and were published in newspapers in the "comics" section, most commonly in a panel-high "strip".
Click Here for list of TV Shows based on Comic Strips. For the purposes of this list, a comic strip is a drawing or sequence of drawings that tell a story and were published in newspapers in the "comics" section, most commonly in a panel-high "strip".
TV Parental Guidelines
The TV Parental Guidelines is a television content rating system in the United States that was first proposed on December 19, 1996, by the United States Congress, the television industry and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and went into effect by January 1, 1997, on most major broadcast and cable networks in response to public concerns about increasingly explicit sexual content, graphic violence and strong profanity in television programs.
It was established as a voluntary-participation system, with ratings to be determined by the individually participating broadcast and cable networks.
The ratings are generally applied to most television series, television films and edited
broadcast or basic cable versions of theatrically-released films; premium channels also assign ratings from the TV Parental Guidelines on broadcasts of some films that have been released theatrically or on home video, either if the Motion Picture Association of America did not assign a rating for the film or if the channel airs the unrated version of the film.
It was specifically designed to be used with the V-chip, which was mandated to be built into all television sets manufactured since 2000, but the guidelines themselves have no legal force, and are not used on sports or news programs or during commercial advertisements.
Many online television services, such as Hulu, Amazon Video and Netflix also use the Guidelines system, along with digital video vendors such as the iTunes Store and Google Play.
It was established as a voluntary-participation system, with ratings to be determined by the individually participating broadcast and cable networks.
The ratings are generally applied to most television series, television films and edited
broadcast or basic cable versions of theatrically-released films; premium channels also assign ratings from the TV Parental Guidelines on broadcasts of some films that have been released theatrically or on home video, either if the Motion Picture Association of America did not assign a rating for the film or if the channel airs the unrated version of the film.
It was specifically designed to be used with the V-chip, which was mandated to be built into all television sets manufactured since 2000, but the guidelines themselves have no legal force, and are not used on sports or news programs or during commercial advertisements.
Many online television services, such as Hulu, Amazon Video and Netflix also use the Guidelines system, along with digital video vendors such as the iTunes Store and Google Play.
Children's Books made into Movies
YouTube Video from the 2000 Movie Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Pictured: Theatrical Movie Posters for Jumanji (1995); RIGHT: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Click here for a list of works of children's literature that have been made into feature films.
The title of the work and the year it was published are both followed by the work's author, the title of the film, and the year of the film. If a film has an alternate title based on geographical distribution, the title listed will be that of the widest distribution area.
The title of the work and the year it was published are both followed by the work's author, the title of the film, and the year of the film. If a film has an alternate title based on geographical distribution, the title listed will be that of the widest distribution area.
Children's Books made into Television Shows
YouTube Video Curious George (TV Series) Takes a Job
Pictured: LEFT: Once Upon a Time (ABC: 2001-Present); RIGHT: The Adventures of Raggedy Ann & Andy (CBS: 1988-1990)
Teenage TV Drama Shows, including a List of those airing in the United States
YouTube Video: 10 Memorable Moments of Beverly Hills 90210
Pictured: LEFT: The Facts of Life (NBC: 1979-1988); RIGHT: Beverly Hills, 90210 (Fox: 1990-2010)
Click here for a list of teen dramas broadcast in the United States.
A teen drama is a genre or type of drama series with a major focus on teenage characters. It came into prominence in the early 1990s, especially with the popularity of the Fox series Beverly Hills, 90210.
After 90210 became a success, television writers and producers realized the potential for this new genre to reach out to a previously ignored demographic. In the past, most series that maintained a focus on teenagers had been sitcoms, while adolescents in drama series were usually part of a larger ensemble that included adults and children.
More often than not, teen dramas have soap opera elements, incorporating one or more ongoing story arcs spanning several episodes. The young characters must deal with the dramatic ups and downs of their friendships and romances while facing an array of issues thought to be typical of adolescence.
There have also been many successful teen-based series with major science fiction, fantasy and action/adventure themes.
A teen drama is a genre or type of drama series with a major focus on teenage characters. It came into prominence in the early 1990s, especially with the popularity of the Fox series Beverly Hills, 90210.
After 90210 became a success, television writers and producers realized the potential for this new genre to reach out to a previously ignored demographic. In the past, most series that maintained a focus on teenagers had been sitcoms, while adolescents in drama series were usually part of a larger ensemble that included adults and children.
More often than not, teen dramas have soap opera elements, incorporating one or more ongoing story arcs spanning several episodes. The young characters must deal with the dramatic ups and downs of their friendships and romances while facing an array of issues thought to be typical of adolescence.
There have also been many successful teen-based series with major science fiction, fantasy and action/adventure themes.
Teenage TV Sitcom Series, including a list of those televised in the United States
YouTube Video: The Wonder Years Pilot- Opening Scenes & PE Coach Cutlip - 1988*
* -- Wonder Years (ABC: 1988-1993)
Pictured: LEFT: “Boy Meets World” (ABC: 1993-2000); RIGHT: “Full House” (ABC: 1987-1995)
Click here for a listing of Situation Comedy ("Sitcom") shows televised in the United States.
A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television programs targeted towards preteens and teenagers.
In general, these type of programs focus primarily on characters between 12 and 19 years of age and routinely feature characters involved in humorous situations (either realistic or fantasy in style, depending on the program's plotline), and often focus on the characters' family and social lives.
The primary plot of each episode often involves the lead character(s) that the program centers on, while secondary plotlines often focus on the character(s') parents, siblings (assuming the main character has any and they are not one of the leads) or friends – although the secondary characters may also or instead be involved in the episode's main plot.
The most common episodic plot lines used in teen sitcoms involve the lead characters dealing with family and friends, ending up in a complicated situation (such as accepting two date invitations) that the characters must solve by episode's end, getting into moral conflicts with their parents (or sometimes, friends, relatives or siblings), and coming-of-age situations (such as a first date or learning how to drive).
However plots that are more dramatic, centering on social issues (such as bullying, peer pressure, underage drinking or drug use), occasionally are used in the form of a "very special episode".
Although adolescents are the main audience focus for these programs, these programs are also popular with young adults as well as preteens. Older adults may enjoy them for nostalgic purposes. Like teen dramas, this genre was also generally non-existent during the first 30 years of television.
A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television programs targeted towards preteens and teenagers.
In general, these type of programs focus primarily on characters between 12 and 19 years of age and routinely feature characters involved in humorous situations (either realistic or fantasy in style, depending on the program's plotline), and often focus on the characters' family and social lives.
The primary plot of each episode often involves the lead character(s) that the program centers on, while secondary plotlines often focus on the character(s') parents, siblings (assuming the main character has any and they are not one of the leads) or friends – although the secondary characters may also or instead be involved in the episode's main plot.
The most common episodic plot lines used in teen sitcoms involve the lead characters dealing with family and friends, ending up in a complicated situation (such as accepting two date invitations) that the characters must solve by episode's end, getting into moral conflicts with their parents (or sometimes, friends, relatives or siblings), and coming-of-age situations (such as a first date or learning how to drive).
However plots that are more dramatic, centering on social issues (such as bullying, peer pressure, underage drinking or drug use), occasionally are used in the form of a "very special episode".
Although adolescents are the main audience focus for these programs, these programs are also popular with young adults as well as preteens. Older adults may enjoy them for nostalgic purposes. Like teen dramas, this genre was also generally non-existent during the first 30 years of television.
Comic Books including a list of American Comic Books
Pictured: Comic book covers from LEFT: Archie Comics; RIGHT: Wonder Woman (DC Comics)
Click here for a list of comic books published in North America.
A comic book or comicbook, also called comic magazine or simply comic, is a publication that consists of comic art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes.
Panels are often accompanied by brief descriptive prose and written narrative, usually dialog contained in word balloons emblematic of the comics art form. Although comics has some origins in 18th century Japan and 1830s Europe, comic books were first popularized in the United States during the 1930s.
The first modern comic book, Famous Funnies, was released in the United States in 1933 and was a reprinting of earlier newspaper humor comic strips, which had established many of the story-telling devices used in comics. The term comic book derives from American comic books once being a compilation of comic strips of a humorous tone; however, this practice was replaced by featuring stories of all genres, usually not humorous in tone.
A comic book or comicbook, also called comic magazine or simply comic, is a publication that consists of comic art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes.
Panels are often accompanied by brief descriptive prose and written narrative, usually dialog contained in word balloons emblematic of the comics art form. Although comics has some origins in 18th century Japan and 1830s Europe, comic books were first popularized in the United States during the 1930s.
The first modern comic book, Famous Funnies, was released in the United States in 1933 and was a reprinting of earlier newspaper humor comic strips, which had established many of the story-telling devices used in comics. The term comic book derives from American comic books once being a compilation of comic strips of a humorous tone; however, this practice was replaced by featuring stories of all genres, usually not humorous in tone.
Comic Book Convention including a List of Conventions
YouTube Video: Watch Comic-Con 2017 (The Big Bang Theory TV Show) Panel
Pictured: From the 2016 Long Beach (CA) Comic Con
Click here for a list of Comic Book Conventions.
A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other.
Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels, or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels, with a larger number of attendees participating in cosplay than most other types of fan conventions. Comic book conventions are also used as a vehicle for industry, in which publishers, distributors, and retailers represent their comic-related releases. Comic book conventions may be considered derivatives of science-fiction conventions, which began in the late 1930s.
Comic-cons were traditionally organized by fans on a not-for-profit basis, though nowadays most events catering to fans are run by commercial interests for profit. Many conventions have award presentations relating to comics (such as the Eisner Awards, which have been presented at San Diego Comic-Con International since 1988; or the Harvey Awards, which have been presented at a variety of venues also since 1988).
At commercial events, comic book creators often give out autographs to the fans, sometimes in exchange for a flat appearance fee, and sometimes may draw illustrations for a per-item fee. Commercial conventions are usually quite expensive and are hosted in hotels. This represents a change in comic book conventions, which traditionally were more oriented toward comic books as a mode of literature, and maintained a less caste-like differentiation between professional and fan.
The first official comic book convention was held in 1964 in New York City. Early conventions were small affairs, usually organized by local enthusiasts (such as Jerry Bails, later known as the "Father of Comic Fandom", and Dave Kaler of the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors), and featuring a handful of industry guests.
The first recurring conventions were the Detroit Triple Fan Fair, which ran from 1965–1978, and Academy Con, which ran from 1965–1967. Many recurring conventions begin as single-day events in small venues, which as they grow more popular expand to two days, or even three or more every year. Many comic-cons which had their start in church basements or union halls now fill convention centers in major cities.
Nowadays, comic conventions are big business, with recurring shows in every major American city. Comic book conventions in name only, the biggest shows include a large range of pop culture and entertainment elements across virtually all genres, including horror, animation, anime, manga, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels.
Wizard Entertainment is the industry leader in these types of conventions, with ongoing shows in 21 American cities. San Diego Comic-Con International, a multi-genre entertainment and comic convention held annually in San Diego since 1970, is the standard bearer for U.S. comic-cons. According to Forbes, the convention is the "largest convention of its kind in the world;" and is also the largest convention held in San Diego. According to the San Diego Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the convention has an annual regional economic impact of $162.8 million, with a $180 million economic impact in 2011.
Internationally, the largest European comic book festivals are Lucca Comics & Games (first held in 1965) and the Angoulême International Comics Festival (first staged in 1974). The world's largest comic book convention, in terms of attendees, is Japan's Comiket (first held in 1975), which boasts annual attendance of over half a million people.
A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other.
Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels, or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels, with a larger number of attendees participating in cosplay than most other types of fan conventions. Comic book conventions are also used as a vehicle for industry, in which publishers, distributors, and retailers represent their comic-related releases. Comic book conventions may be considered derivatives of science-fiction conventions, which began in the late 1930s.
Comic-cons were traditionally organized by fans on a not-for-profit basis, though nowadays most events catering to fans are run by commercial interests for profit. Many conventions have award presentations relating to comics (such as the Eisner Awards, which have been presented at San Diego Comic-Con International since 1988; or the Harvey Awards, which have been presented at a variety of venues also since 1988).
At commercial events, comic book creators often give out autographs to the fans, sometimes in exchange for a flat appearance fee, and sometimes may draw illustrations for a per-item fee. Commercial conventions are usually quite expensive and are hosted in hotels. This represents a change in comic book conventions, which traditionally were more oriented toward comic books as a mode of literature, and maintained a less caste-like differentiation between professional and fan.
The first official comic book convention was held in 1964 in New York City. Early conventions were small affairs, usually organized by local enthusiasts (such as Jerry Bails, later known as the "Father of Comic Fandom", and Dave Kaler of the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors), and featuring a handful of industry guests.
The first recurring conventions were the Detroit Triple Fan Fair, which ran from 1965–1978, and Academy Con, which ran from 1965–1967. Many recurring conventions begin as single-day events in small venues, which as they grow more popular expand to two days, or even three or more every year. Many comic-cons which had their start in church basements or union halls now fill convention centers in major cities.
Nowadays, comic conventions are big business, with recurring shows in every major American city. Comic book conventions in name only, the biggest shows include a large range of pop culture and entertainment elements across virtually all genres, including horror, animation, anime, manga, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels.
Wizard Entertainment is the industry leader in these types of conventions, with ongoing shows in 21 American cities. San Diego Comic-Con International, a multi-genre entertainment and comic convention held annually in San Diego since 1970, is the standard bearer for U.S. comic-cons. According to Forbes, the convention is the "largest convention of its kind in the world;" and is also the largest convention held in San Diego. According to the San Diego Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the convention has an annual regional economic impact of $162.8 million, with a $180 million economic impact in 2011.
Internationally, the largest European comic book festivals are Lucca Comics & Games (first held in 1965) and the Angoulême International Comics Festival (first staged in 1974). The world's largest comic book convention, in terms of attendees, is Japan's Comiket (first held in 1975), which boasts annual attendance of over half a million people.
Parenting including the Parent and Teacher Association (PTA)
YouTube Video about the National PTA
For more about the Parent and Teacher Association (PTA), click here
Parenting or child rearing is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, financial, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the aspects of raising a child aside from the biological relationship.
The most common caretaker in parenting is the biological parent(s) of the child in question, although others may be an older sibling, a grandparent, a legal guardian, aunt, uncle or other family member, or a family friend.
Governments and society may have a role in child-rearing as well. In many cases, orphaned or abandoned children receive parental care from non-parent blood relations.
Others may be adopted, raised in foster care, or placed in an orphanage. Parenting skills vary, and a parent with good parenting skills may be referred to as a good parent.
The English pediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott described the concept of "good-enough" parenting in which a minimum of prerequisites for healthy child development are met. Winnicott wrote, "The good-enough mother...starts off with an almost complete adaptation to her infant's needs, and as time proceeds she adapts less and less completely, gradually, according to the infant's growing ability to deal with her failure."
Views on the characteristics that make one a good or "good-enough" parent vary from culture to culture. Additionally, research has supported that parental history both in terms of attachments of varying quality as well as parental psychopathology, particularly in the wake of adverse experiences, can strongly influence parental sensitivity and child outcomes.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Parenting or child rearing is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, financial, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the aspects of raising a child aside from the biological relationship.
The most common caretaker in parenting is the biological parent(s) of the child in question, although others may be an older sibling, a grandparent, a legal guardian, aunt, uncle or other family member, or a family friend.
Governments and society may have a role in child-rearing as well. In many cases, orphaned or abandoned children receive parental care from non-parent blood relations.
Others may be adopted, raised in foster care, or placed in an orphanage. Parenting skills vary, and a parent with good parenting skills may be referred to as a good parent.
The English pediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott described the concept of "good-enough" parenting in which a minimum of prerequisites for healthy child development are met. Winnicott wrote, "The good-enough mother...starts off with an almost complete adaptation to her infant's needs, and as time proceeds she adapts less and less completely, gradually, according to the infant's growing ability to deal with her failure."
Views on the characteristics that make one a good or "good-enough" parent vary from culture to culture. Additionally, research has supported that parental history both in terms of attachments of varying quality as well as parental psychopathology, particularly in the wake of adverse experiences, can strongly influence parental sensitivity and child outcomes.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Factors that affect decisions
- Parenting Styles
- Practices
- Across the lifespan
- Assistance
- Childbearing and happiness
- See also:
Children of a Single Parent
YouTube Video: Growing Up In A Single Parent Home
Pictured: Montage of Single Parents and their Children
A single parent is an uncoupled individual who shoulders most or all of the day-to-day responsibilities for raising a child or children. A mother is more often the primary caregiver in a single-parent family structure that has arisen due to death of the partner, divorce or unplanned pregnancy.
Historically, death of a partner was a major cause of single parenting. Single parenting can also result from the breakup or divorce of coupled parents. Custody battles, awarded by the court or rationalized in other terms, determine who the child will spend majority of their time with. In western society in general, following the separation of a heterosexual couple, a child is placed with the primary caregiver, usually the mother, while the secondary caregiver is usually the father., though the reverse does happen and joint custody is on the rise.
Recent years have seen the increasing incidence and visibility of uncoupled women who choose to be single parents. When single women seek to get pregnant intentionally in order to become single mothers by choice (or "choice moms"), they often seek an anonymous or known sperm donor. Single parent adoption or fostering is also sometimes an option for single adults who want to raise a family.
The demographics of single parenting show a general increase worldwide in children living in single parent homes. Single parenting has become a norm in the United States and is a trend found in multiple other countries.
The morality and advisability of single motherhood has long been debated in the US. Single American mothers live in poverty 5 times more often than married parents.(National Women’s Law Center, Poverty & Income Among Women & Families, 2000-2013) the topic is less contentious in Western European countries where all families enjoy more robust state-sponsored social benefits.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Historically, death of a partner was a major cause of single parenting. Single parenting can also result from the breakup or divorce of coupled parents. Custody battles, awarded by the court or rationalized in other terms, determine who the child will spend majority of their time with. In western society in general, following the separation of a heterosexual couple, a child is placed with the primary caregiver, usually the mother, while the secondary caregiver is usually the father., though the reverse does happen and joint custody is on the rise.
Recent years have seen the increasing incidence and visibility of uncoupled women who choose to be single parents. When single women seek to get pregnant intentionally in order to become single mothers by choice (or "choice moms"), they often seek an anonymous or known sperm donor. Single parent adoption or fostering is also sometimes an option for single adults who want to raise a family.
The demographics of single parenting show a general increase worldwide in children living in single parent homes. Single parenting has become a norm in the United States and is a trend found in multiple other countries.
The morality and advisability of single motherhood has long been debated in the US. Single American mothers live in poverty 5 times more often than married parents.(National Women’s Law Center, Poverty & Income Among Women & Families, 2000-2013) the topic is less contentious in Western European countries where all families enjoy more robust state-sponsored social benefits.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- History
- Demographics
- Debates
- Primary caregiver
- Mental health of single mothers
- Types of single parenting
- Living arrangements for single parents
- See also:
Children who are home-schooled in the United States
YouTube Video: A Day in the Life of a Homeschooling Mom
Pictured: TOP: Breakdown of students who are homeschooled based on need; BOTTOM: Arguments for and against homeschooling.
Homeschooling, also known as home education, is the education of children inside the home. Home education is usually conducted by a parent or tutor.
Many families that start out with a formal school structure at home often switch to less formal ways of imparting education outside of school.
Prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education was imparted by the family or community.
In several countries homeschooling in the modern sense is considered to be an alternative to attending public or private schools, and is a legal option for parents. In other countries homeschooling is considered illegal or restricted to specific conditions, as noted in the Homeschooling international status and statistics.
According to the US National Household Education Surveys, about three percent of all children in the US were homeschooled in the 2011 and 2012 school year. And as of 2016, there are about 2.3 million home-schooled students in the United States (Brian, 2016). The studies found that of these children, 83 percent were White, 5 percent were Black, 7 percent were Hispanic, and 2 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander.
Parents cite two main motivations for homeschooling their children: dissatisfaction with the local schools and the interest in increased involvement with their children's learning and development.
Parents' dissatisfaction with available schools includes concerns about the school environment, the quality of academic instruction, the curriculum, and bullying as well as lack of faith in the school's ability to cater to their child's special needs.
Some parents homeschool in order to have greater control over what and how their children are taught, to better cater for children's individual aptitudes and abilities adequately, to provide a specific religious or moral instruction, and to take advantage of the efficiency of one-to-one instruction, which allows the child to spend more time on childhood activities, socializing, and non-academic learning.
Many parents are also influenced by alternative educational philosophies espoused by the likes of Susan Sutherland Isaacs, Charlotte Mason, John Holt, and Sir Kenneth Robinson, among others.
Homeschooling may also be a factor in the choice of parenting style. Homeschooling can be an option for families living in isolated rural locations, for those temporarily abroad, and for those who travel frequently.
Many young athletes, actors, and musicians are taught at home to better accommodate their training and practice schedules. Homeschooling can be about mentorship and apprenticeship, in which a tutor or teacher is with the child for many years and gets to know the child very well. Recently, homeschooling has increased in popularity in the United States, and the percentage of children ages 5 through 17 who are homeschooled increased from 1.7% in 1999 to 3% in 2011/12.
Homeschooling can be used as a form of supplemental education and as a way of helping children learn under specific circumstances. The term may also refer to instruction in the home under the supervision of correspondence schools or umbrella schools. In some places, an approved curriculum is legally required if children are homeschooled.
A curriculum-free philosophy of homeschooling is sometimes called unschooling, a term coined in 1977 by American educator and author John Holt in his magazine, Growing Without Schooling. The term emphasizes the more spontaneous, less structured learning environment where a child's interests drive their pursuit of knowledge. In some cases, a liberal arts education is provided using the trivium and quadrivium as the main models.
Click here for more about Homeschooling in General.
Click here for more about Homeschooling specific to the United States.
Many families that start out with a formal school structure at home often switch to less formal ways of imparting education outside of school.
Prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education was imparted by the family or community.
In several countries homeschooling in the modern sense is considered to be an alternative to attending public or private schools, and is a legal option for parents. In other countries homeschooling is considered illegal or restricted to specific conditions, as noted in the Homeschooling international status and statistics.
According to the US National Household Education Surveys, about three percent of all children in the US were homeschooled in the 2011 and 2012 school year. And as of 2016, there are about 2.3 million home-schooled students in the United States (Brian, 2016). The studies found that of these children, 83 percent were White, 5 percent were Black, 7 percent were Hispanic, and 2 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander.
Parents cite two main motivations for homeschooling their children: dissatisfaction with the local schools and the interest in increased involvement with their children's learning and development.
Parents' dissatisfaction with available schools includes concerns about the school environment, the quality of academic instruction, the curriculum, and bullying as well as lack of faith in the school's ability to cater to their child's special needs.
Some parents homeschool in order to have greater control over what and how their children are taught, to better cater for children's individual aptitudes and abilities adequately, to provide a specific religious or moral instruction, and to take advantage of the efficiency of one-to-one instruction, which allows the child to spend more time on childhood activities, socializing, and non-academic learning.
Many parents are also influenced by alternative educational philosophies espoused by the likes of Susan Sutherland Isaacs, Charlotte Mason, John Holt, and Sir Kenneth Robinson, among others.
Homeschooling may also be a factor in the choice of parenting style. Homeschooling can be an option for families living in isolated rural locations, for those temporarily abroad, and for those who travel frequently.
Many young athletes, actors, and musicians are taught at home to better accommodate their training and practice schedules. Homeschooling can be about mentorship and apprenticeship, in which a tutor or teacher is with the child for many years and gets to know the child very well. Recently, homeschooling has increased in popularity in the United States, and the percentage of children ages 5 through 17 who are homeschooled increased from 1.7% in 1999 to 3% in 2011/12.
Homeschooling can be used as a form of supplemental education and as a way of helping children learn under specific circumstances. The term may also refer to instruction in the home under the supervision of correspondence schools or umbrella schools. In some places, an approved curriculum is legally required if children are homeschooled.
A curriculum-free philosophy of homeschooling is sometimes called unschooling, a term coined in 1977 by American educator and author John Holt in his magazine, Growing Without Schooling. The term emphasizes the more spontaneous, less structured learning environment where a child's interests drive their pursuit of knowledge. In some cases, a liberal arts education is provided using the trivium and quadrivium as the main models.
Click here for more about Homeschooling in General.
Click here for more about Homeschooling specific to the United States.
Children with Special Needs and/or Requiring Special Education
YouTube Video: The Face of Autism
In the United States, special needs is a term used in clinical diagnostic and functional development to describe individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. For instance, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases 9th edition both give guidelines for clinical diagnosis. Types of special needs vary in severity. People with autism, Down syndrome, dyslexia, blindness, ADHD, or cystic fibrosis, for example, may be considered to have special needs. However, special needs can also include cleft lips and/or palates, port-wine stains, or missing limbs.
Special education (also known as special needs education or aided education) is the practice of educating students with special educational needs in a way that addresses their individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, and accessible settings.
These interventions are designed to help learners with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and their community, than may be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.
Common special needs include:
Students with these kinds of special needs are likely to benefit from additional educational services such as different approaches to teaching, the use of technology, a specifically adapted teaching area, or a resource room.
Intellectual giftedness is a difference in learning and can also benefit from specialised teaching techniques or different educational programs, but the term "special education" is generally used to specifically indicate instruction of students with disabilities. Gifted education is handled separately.
Whereas special education is designed specifically for students with special needs, remedial education can be designed for any students, with or without special needs; the defining trait is simply that they have reached a point of unpreparedness, regardless of why. For example, even people of high intelligence can be under prepared if their education was disrupted, for example, by internal displacement during civil disorder or a war.
In most developed countries, educators modify teaching methods and environments so that the maximum number of students are served in general education environments. Therefore, special education in developed countries is often regarded as a service rather than a place. Integration can reduce social stigmas and improve academic achievement for many students.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Special education (also known as special needs education or aided education) is the practice of educating students with special educational needs in a way that addresses their individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, and accessible settings.
These interventions are designed to help learners with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and their community, than may be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.
Common special needs include:
- learning disabilities,
- communication disorders,
- emotional and behavioral disorders,
- physical disabilities,
- and developmental disabilities.
Students with these kinds of special needs are likely to benefit from additional educational services such as different approaches to teaching, the use of technology, a specifically adapted teaching area, or a resource room.
Intellectual giftedness is a difference in learning and can also benefit from specialised teaching techniques or different educational programs, but the term "special education" is generally used to specifically indicate instruction of students with disabilities. Gifted education is handled separately.
Whereas special education is designed specifically for students with special needs, remedial education can be designed for any students, with or without special needs; the defining trait is simply that they have reached a point of unpreparedness, regardless of why. For example, even people of high intelligence can be under prepared if their education was disrupted, for example, by internal displacement during civil disorder or a war.
In most developed countries, educators modify teaching methods and environments so that the maximum number of students are served in general education environments. Therefore, special education in developed countries is often regarded as a service rather than a place. Integration can reduce social stigmas and improve academic achievement for many students.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Identifying students or learners with special needs
- Individual needs
- Methods of provision
- Instructional strategies
- Issues
- National approaches: North America
- See also:
- Adapted Physical Education
- Disability studies
- Disability and Poverty
- Early childhood intervention
- Inclusive education
- Learning environment
- Learning space
- Mainstreaming in education
- Matching Person & Technology Model
- Post Secondary Transition For High School Students with Disabilities
- Reasonable accommodation
- Response to intervention
- Special needs
- Tracking (education)
- Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project
- Supported employment services
Preschool Education
YouTube Video: Beginning the Year in a Preschool Classroom*
*-Join Breeyn Mack as she looks at beginning the year in a preschool classroom. She talks about planning for a new school year and shares strategies for supporting children's social-emotional development as they become more comfortable in their new environment.
Pictured: LEFT: Preschool classroom; RIGHT: Preschool Rules
A preschool (also nursery school, pre-primary school, kindergarten outside the US and UK) is a school offering early childhood education to children between the ages of three and five, prior to the commencement of compulsory education at primary school. They may be privately operated or government run, and the costs may be subsidized.
The following terms may be used for educational establishments for this age group:
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
The following terms may be used for educational establishments for this age group:
- Kindergarten is the term is used to refer to the first stage of compulsory education offered at the age of five.
- Pre-K (or Pre-Kindergarten) is an initiative to improve access to preschool for disadvantaged children in the US.
- Preschool for ages 2-3
- Nursery School for ages 2 - 5
- Grade 0-2, which is also sometimes classified as "a daycare service".
- Pre-Primary
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Primary Education (Grades 1st through 8th) in the United States
YouTube Video Back To School Middle School Vs. High School!
Pictured: The Major Goals of Primary Education in the United States
Primary education in the United States (also elementary education) refers to the first eight years of formal education in most jurisdictions, often in elementary school.
Preschool programs, which are less formal and usually not mandated by law, are generally not considered part of primary education. The first year of primary education is commonly referred to as kindergarten and begins at or around age 5 or 6. Subsequent years are usually numbered being referred to as first grade, second grade, and so forth.
Elementary schools normally continue through sixth grade, which the students normally complete when they are age 11 or 12.
In 2001, there were 92,858 elementary schools (68,173 public, 24,685 private) in the United States.
Elementary school (Kindergarten through grade 4/5/6)Main article: Elementary school (United States)
Students may attend either a 6- or 7-year public or private elementary school. Elementary school usually runs from kindergarten through either grade 5 or grade 6, depending on the region.
Upon successful completion of their elementary education students then proceed to middle school, also known as junior high school. Additionally, students may have the option of attending elementary schools that include all eight primary grades. In this case the student will directly proceed to High School.
In most U.S. elementary schools, students have all their core classes from one or two homeroom teachers (as opposed to middle and high schools that typically have students rotate from one specialized teacher to the next throughout the day). In some elementary schools, when funding and supplies are adequate, additional teachers are hired to instruct students in areas such as Art and music.
Preschool programs, which are less formal and usually not mandated by law, are generally not considered part of primary education. The first year of primary education is commonly referred to as kindergarten and begins at or around age 5 or 6. Subsequent years are usually numbered being referred to as first grade, second grade, and so forth.
Elementary schools normally continue through sixth grade, which the students normally complete when they are age 11 or 12.
In 2001, there were 92,858 elementary schools (68,173 public, 24,685 private) in the United States.
Elementary school (Kindergarten through grade 4/5/6)Main article: Elementary school (United States)
Students may attend either a 6- or 7-year public or private elementary school. Elementary school usually runs from kindergarten through either grade 5 or grade 6, depending on the region.
Upon successful completion of their elementary education students then proceed to middle school, also known as junior high school. Additionally, students may have the option of attending elementary schools that include all eight primary grades. In this case the student will directly proceed to High School.
In most U.S. elementary schools, students have all their core classes from one or two homeroom teachers (as opposed to middle and high schools that typically have students rotate from one specialized teacher to the next throughout the day). In some elementary schools, when funding and supplies are adequate, additional teachers are hired to instruct students in areas such as Art and music.
Secondary Education (aka "High School") in the United States
Including membership in the National Honor Society
YouTube Video about The National Society of High School Scholars
In most jurisdictions, secondary education in the United States refers to the last four years of statutory formal education (grade nine through grade twelve) either at high school or split between a final year of 'junior high school' and three in high school.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- History
- Curriculum including Electives
- Levels of education:
- Types of schools
- Teacher certification
- Compulsory Education
- See also:
Religious Schools in the United States with a focus on Christian Schools including Catholic Schools
YouTube Video of Education Forum: Parochial School's Education*
* -- Host, Herman Badillo, Vice Chairman of the City University of New York Board of Trustees, discusses parochial school education with Monsignor Guy Puglisi, Superintendent of Schools for the Brooklyn Diocese. Monsignor Puglisi characterizes parochial schools and explains parochial school curriculum. Badillo and Monsignor Puglisi examine similarities and differences between parochial and public schools.
Pictured: LEFT: Amish Schoolhouse class; RIGHT: classroom at a Catholic parochial school
In the United States, religious education is often provided through supplementary "Sunday school", "Hebrew school", or catechism classes, taught to children at their families' places of worship, either in conjunction with worship services or some other time during the week, after weekday school classes.
Some families believe supplementary religious education is inadequate, and send their children to private religious schools, called parochial schools when they are affiliated with a specific parish or congregation.
Under U.S. law, religious education is forbidden in public schools, except from a neutral, academic perspective. For a teacher or school administration to endorse one religion is considered an infringement of the "establishment clause" of the First Amendment.
The boundaries of this rule are frequently tested, with court cases challenging the treatment of traditional religious holidays, displays of religious articles and documents such as the Ten Commandments, the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance (which since 1954 has described the U.S. as "one nation under God"), and how prayer should be accommodated in the classroom.
Click here for religious schools listed by faith in the United States.
___________________________________________________________________________
A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization.
The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some countries, there is a strict separation of church and state, so all religious schools are private; in others, there is an established church whose teachings form an integral part of the state-operated educational system; in yet others, the state subsidizes religious schools of various denominations.
In the United States, religion is generally not taught by state-funded educational systems, though schools must allow students wanting to study religion to do so as an extracurricular activity, as they would with any other such activity.
Over 4 million students, about 1 child in 12, attend religious schools, most of them Christian. There is great variety in the educational and religious philosophies of these schools, as might be expected from the large number of religious denominations in the United States.
Click on any of the blue hyperlinks below to expand on Christian Schools in the United States, presented by denomination:
Governing Bodies follow:
See also:
Catholic Schools (pre-K, Primary, and Secondary Schools)
Catholic schools are parochial schools or education ministries of the Roman Catholic Church. As of 2011, the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system. In 2016, the church supported 43,800 secondary schools, and 95,200 primary schools.
Catholic schools participate in the evangelizing mission of the Church, integrating religious education as the core subject within their curriculum.
Background:
Irish immigration provides the main contribution to the increases in Catholic communities across the globe. The Irish immigration established the revival of Catholicism through movement to countries across North America, Europe, United Kingdom and Australia.
Historically, the establishment of Catholic schools in Europe encountered various struggles following the creation of the Church of England in the Elizabethan Religious settlements of 1558-63.
Anti-Catholicism in this period encouraged Catholics to create modern Catholic education systems to preserve their traditions. The Relief Acts of 1782 and the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 later increased the possibility to openly practice Catholicism in England and to create charitable institutions by the Church. This led to the development of numerous native religious congregations which established schools, hospitals, orphanages, reformatories, and workhouses.
Traditionally, Catholic schools originated as single sex schools. Catholic schools were previously required to depend on school fees and endowments. Endowments dropped off sharply causing fees to rise. This prevented some students from enrolling due to their inability to pay.
Purpose:
Catholic schools are distinct from their public school counterparts in focusing on the development of individuals as practitioners of the Catholic faith. The leaders, teachers and students are required to focus on four fundamental rules initiated by the Church and school. This includes the Catholic identity of the school, education in regards to life and faith, celebration of life and faith, and action and social justice.
Like other Christian-affiliated institutions, Catholic schools are generally nondenominational, in that they accept anyone regardless of religion or denominational affiliation, race or ethnicity, or nationality, provided the admission or enrollment requirements and legal documents are submitted, and rules & regulations are obeyed for a fruitful school life.
However, non-Catholics, whether Christian or not, may need to participate in or be exempted from required activities, particularly those of a religious nature. These are in keeping with the spirit of social inclusiveness.
Religious Education:
The religious education as a core subject is a vital element of the curriculum where individuals are to develop themselves: “intellectually, physically, socially, emotionally and of course, spiritually.”
The education also involves: “the distinct but complementary aspect of the school's religious dimension of liturgical and prayer life of the school community.” In Catholic schools, teachers teach a Religious Education Program provided by the Bishop. Both teacher and Bishop therefore, contribute to the planning and teaching Religious Education Lessons.
Catholic education has been identified as a positive fertility factor; Catholic education at college level and, to lesser degree, at secondary school level is associated with a higher number of children, even when accounting for the confounding effect that higher religiosity leads to a higher probability of attending religious education.
United States:
Main article: Catholic schools in the United States
See also: Elementary school and High school
Catholic schools are the largest non-public school system in the USA. In 2010, 2 million students attended 6,980 schools. 331 of these are private. Catholicism of schools in the United States was first established during the 19th century with the arrival of English immigrants.
Catholic schools in the USA are significant in that Catholicism is seen to have been critical in developing the American culture. The development and enrollment of Americans into Catholic schools increased after World War II, Post-war development and Cold War in the battle against anti-religious Communism.
By the time of 1964-1965, Catholic schools accounted for nearly 89% of all private school attendance and 12% of all school-age children in school (K-12) in the USA. The number of religious (priests, brothers, and sisters) was at its highest, allowing schools to offer qualified teachers at minimal costs, meaning that most children in the 1940s and 1950s attended their parish school free of charge.
Since then, there has been a large decline in enrollment predominantly believed to be due to “suburbanization, liberalization of education and the rise of the Catholic middle-class.” In the United States, Catholic schools are accredited by independent and/or state agencies, and teachers are generally certified. Schools are supported through tuition payments, donations, and fund raising charities.
In contrast to its public school counterpart, Catholic urbanization has made more significant achievements in poor areas than wealthier areas. Holy Angels, for example has become one of the strongest academic institutions in the country; it serves the Kenwood, Oakland neighborhoods of South Side Chicago, Illinois, where 3 out of 4 people live in poverty and violent crime is frequent.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops listed six key responsibilities of Catholic Schools. They are:
In 2015, the Inner-city Scholarship Fund run by the Archdiocese of New York announced the largest-ever gift of private money to Catholic schooling. Christine and Stephen Schwarzmann gave $40 million to an endowment that will provide 2,900 children per year with scholarships.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Catholic Primary and Secondary Education:
Some families believe supplementary religious education is inadequate, and send their children to private religious schools, called parochial schools when they are affiliated with a specific parish or congregation.
Under U.S. law, religious education is forbidden in public schools, except from a neutral, academic perspective. For a teacher or school administration to endorse one religion is considered an infringement of the "establishment clause" of the First Amendment.
The boundaries of this rule are frequently tested, with court cases challenging the treatment of traditional religious holidays, displays of religious articles and documents such as the Ten Commandments, the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance (which since 1954 has described the U.S. as "one nation under God"), and how prayer should be accommodated in the classroom.
Click here for religious schools listed by faith in the United States.
___________________________________________________________________________
A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization.
The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some countries, there is a strict separation of church and state, so all religious schools are private; in others, there is an established church whose teachings form an integral part of the state-operated educational system; in yet others, the state subsidizes religious schools of various denominations.
In the United States, religion is generally not taught by state-funded educational systems, though schools must allow students wanting to study religion to do so as an extracurricular activity, as they would with any other such activity.
Over 4 million students, about 1 child in 12, attend religious schools, most of them Christian. There is great variety in the educational and religious philosophies of these schools, as might be expected from the large number of religious denominations in the United States.
Click on any of the blue hyperlinks below to expand on Christian Schools in the United States, presented by denomination:
- Catholic (see below)
- Lutheran
- Episcopal
- Conservative Protestant
- Mennonites
- Other
Governing Bodies follow:
- American Association of Christian Schools
- Association of Christian Schools International
- Association of Classical Christian Schools
- Christian Schools International
- National Association of University-Model Schools
- Garden State Association of Christian Schools
See also:
- Parochial school
- Adventist Schools
- Lutheran school
- Nazarene International Education Association
- Homeschooling
Catholic Schools (pre-K, Primary, and Secondary Schools)
Catholic schools are parochial schools or education ministries of the Roman Catholic Church. As of 2011, the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system. In 2016, the church supported 43,800 secondary schools, and 95,200 primary schools.
Catholic schools participate in the evangelizing mission of the Church, integrating religious education as the core subject within their curriculum.
Background:
Irish immigration provides the main contribution to the increases in Catholic communities across the globe. The Irish immigration established the revival of Catholicism through movement to countries across North America, Europe, United Kingdom and Australia.
Historically, the establishment of Catholic schools in Europe encountered various struggles following the creation of the Church of England in the Elizabethan Religious settlements of 1558-63.
Anti-Catholicism in this period encouraged Catholics to create modern Catholic education systems to preserve their traditions. The Relief Acts of 1782 and the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 later increased the possibility to openly practice Catholicism in England and to create charitable institutions by the Church. This led to the development of numerous native religious congregations which established schools, hospitals, orphanages, reformatories, and workhouses.
Traditionally, Catholic schools originated as single sex schools. Catholic schools were previously required to depend on school fees and endowments. Endowments dropped off sharply causing fees to rise. This prevented some students from enrolling due to their inability to pay.
Purpose:
Catholic schools are distinct from their public school counterparts in focusing on the development of individuals as practitioners of the Catholic faith. The leaders, teachers and students are required to focus on four fundamental rules initiated by the Church and school. This includes the Catholic identity of the school, education in regards to life and faith, celebration of life and faith, and action and social justice.
Like other Christian-affiliated institutions, Catholic schools are generally nondenominational, in that they accept anyone regardless of religion or denominational affiliation, race or ethnicity, or nationality, provided the admission or enrollment requirements and legal documents are submitted, and rules & regulations are obeyed for a fruitful school life.
However, non-Catholics, whether Christian or not, may need to participate in or be exempted from required activities, particularly those of a religious nature. These are in keeping with the spirit of social inclusiveness.
Religious Education:
The religious education as a core subject is a vital element of the curriculum where individuals are to develop themselves: “intellectually, physically, socially, emotionally and of course, spiritually.”
The education also involves: “the distinct but complementary aspect of the school's religious dimension of liturgical and prayer life of the school community.” In Catholic schools, teachers teach a Religious Education Program provided by the Bishop. Both teacher and Bishop therefore, contribute to the planning and teaching Religious Education Lessons.
Catholic education has been identified as a positive fertility factor; Catholic education at college level and, to lesser degree, at secondary school level is associated with a higher number of children, even when accounting for the confounding effect that higher religiosity leads to a higher probability of attending religious education.
United States:
Main article: Catholic schools in the United States
See also: Elementary school and High school
Catholic schools are the largest non-public school system in the USA. In 2010, 2 million students attended 6,980 schools. 331 of these are private. Catholicism of schools in the United States was first established during the 19th century with the arrival of English immigrants.
Catholic schools in the USA are significant in that Catholicism is seen to have been critical in developing the American culture. The development and enrollment of Americans into Catholic schools increased after World War II, Post-war development and Cold War in the battle against anti-religious Communism.
By the time of 1964-1965, Catholic schools accounted for nearly 89% of all private school attendance and 12% of all school-age children in school (K-12) in the USA. The number of religious (priests, brothers, and sisters) was at its highest, allowing schools to offer qualified teachers at minimal costs, meaning that most children in the 1940s and 1950s attended their parish school free of charge.
Since then, there has been a large decline in enrollment predominantly believed to be due to “suburbanization, liberalization of education and the rise of the Catholic middle-class.” In the United States, Catholic schools are accredited by independent and/or state agencies, and teachers are generally certified. Schools are supported through tuition payments, donations, and fund raising charities.
In contrast to its public school counterpart, Catholic urbanization has made more significant achievements in poor areas than wealthier areas. Holy Angels, for example has become one of the strongest academic institutions in the country; it serves the Kenwood, Oakland neighborhoods of South Side Chicago, Illinois, where 3 out of 4 people live in poverty and violent crime is frequent.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops listed six key responsibilities of Catholic Schools. They are:
- Encouraging and supporting efforts in Catholic education by fostering the distribution and implementation of both universal Church documents on education as well as related documents developed by the bishops of the United States
- Supporting educational efforts in the Church in the United States by developing policies, guidelines, and resources for use by bishops in their dioceses
- Providing consultation on educational issues when requested, including advising and representing the bishops
- Collaborating with the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis regarding evangelization and catechesis in Catholic schools and universities
- Providing support and advocacy in federal public policy on behalf of Catholic educational institutions from pre-school through high school levels
- Bringing to Catholic education the perspectives and concerns of other cultures and people with special pastoral needs through collaboration with other committees/offices
In 2015, the Inner-city Scholarship Fund run by the Archdiocese of New York announced the largest-ever gift of private money to Catholic schooling. Christine and Stephen Schwarzmann gave $40 million to an endowment that will provide 2,900 children per year with scholarships.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Catholic Primary and Secondary Education:
- Funding
- International benefits
- International challenges
- See also:
- Category:Catholic schools by country
- Christian school
- National Catholic Educational Association
- Parochial school
- Catholic university
- Catholic school uniform
- Alliance for Catholic Education – more information on support for Catholic schools in the United State
Military (high school) Academy including a List of Military Schools and Academies.
YouTube Video: Military School for Boys St John's
Pictured: Thirteen graduating Southington High School seniors were honored on Tuesday afternoon for their enlistment in the United States military. The students were recognized at a luncheon on June 10, when families, local veterans, school administrators and town officials gathered in their honor.
Military high schools are a type of high school that include military cadet education, so are a form of military academy. They are found in a number of countries and offer a regular high school education but with an extra curriculum of military training.
For example, cadets must rise early and do physical training to be followed by games in the afternoon. However, in the same way as a high or secondary school, they have academic classes after the breakfast.
In the evening there may be self study classes. As a part of military institute, seniority is important and commands of seniors must be obeyed by juniors.
The grade works as the rank of the cadets. All cadets from the same batch are considered to be of the same rank. However, in higher grades, prefects are selected to lead the normal cadets.
Click here for a List of United States Military Schools and Academies.
For example, cadets must rise early and do physical training to be followed by games in the afternoon. However, in the same way as a high or secondary school, they have academic classes after the breakfast.
In the evening there may be self study classes. As a part of military institute, seniority is important and commands of seniors must be obeyed by juniors.
The grade works as the rank of the cadets. All cadets from the same batch are considered to be of the same rank. However, in higher grades, prefects are selected to lead the normal cadets.
Click here for a List of United States Military Schools and Academies.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
YouTube Video: 'No Child Left Behind' may be getting a bad rap (Vanderbilt University)
Pictured: President George W. Bush who signed the Act; RIGHT: Logo of No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education.
The Act required states to develop assessments in basic skills. To receive federal school funding, states had to give these assessments to all students at select grade levels.
The Act did not assert a national achievement standard. Each individual state developed its own standards. NCLB expanded the federal role in public education through further emphasis on annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards, and teacher qualifications, as well as significant changes in funding.
The bill passed in the Congress with bipartisan support. President George W. Bush signing the No Child Left Behind Act .
By 2015, criticism from right, left, and center had accumulated so much that a bipartisan Congress stripped away all the national features of No Child Left Behind. Its replacement, the Every Student Succeeds Act, turned the remnants over to the states.
For further amplification, click here.
The Act required states to develop assessments in basic skills. To receive federal school funding, states had to give these assessments to all students at select grade levels.
The Act did not assert a national achievement standard. Each individual state developed its own standards. NCLB expanded the federal role in public education through further emphasis on annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards, and teacher qualifications, as well as significant changes in funding.
The bill passed in the Congress with bipartisan support. President George W. Bush signing the No Child Left Behind Act .
By 2015, criticism from right, left, and center had accumulated so much that a bipartisan Congress stripped away all the national features of No Child Left Behind. Its replacement, the Every Student Succeeds Act, turned the remnants over to the states.
For further amplification, click here.
Boarding Schools, including a List of Boarding Schools in the United States
YouTube Video What's the best thing about Phillips Exeter Academy?
Pictured: A list of the 25 most elite boarding schools in America as determined by Business Insider
A boarding school is a school at which most or all of the students live during the part of the year that they go to lessons. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals. Some boarding schools also have day students who attend the institution by day and return to their families in the evenings.
Boarding school pupils (a.k.a. "boarders") normally return home during the school holidays and often weekends, but in some cultures may spend most of their childhood and adolescent life away from their families.
In the United States, boarding schools comprise various grades, most commonly grades seven or nine through grade twelve—the high school years. Other schools are for younger children, grades two through eight.
A military school, or military academy, also features military education and training. Some American boarding schools offer a post-graduate year of study to help students prepare for college entrance, most commonly to assimilate foreign students to American culture and academics before college.
Click here for a listing of Boarding Schools in the United States.
Click on any of the blue hyperlinks below for further amplification:
Boarding school pupils (a.k.a. "boarders") normally return home during the school holidays and often weekends, but in some cultures may spend most of their childhood and adolescent life away from their families.
In the United States, boarding schools comprise various grades, most commonly grades seven or nine through grade twelve—the high school years. Other schools are for younger children, grades two through eight.
A military school, or military academy, also features military education and training. Some American boarding schools offer a post-graduate year of study to help students prepare for college entrance, most commonly to assimilate foreign students to American culture and academics before college.
Click here for a listing of Boarding Schools in the United States.
Click on any of the blue hyperlinks below for further amplification:
- Description:
- History in the United States, including Native American schools
- Sociological issues
- Psychological issues:
- In popular culture
- Books
- Films and television
- See also:
Nickelodeon TV Network including a List of Television Programs
YouTube Video: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Half Shell Heroes: Blast to the Past
Pictured: LEFT: Sponge Bob Squarepants; RIGHT: School of Rock
Click here for a list of television programs broadcast by Nickelodeon.
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American basic cable and satellite television network launched on December 1, 1977, and is owned by Viacom through Viacom Media Networks and based in New York City. It is primarily aimed at children and adolescents aged 9–16, while its weekday morning edutainment programs are targeted at younger children ages 2–8.
As of February 2015, Nickelodeon is available to approximately 94.7 million pay television households (81.4% of households with at least one television set) in the United States.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American basic cable and satellite television network launched on December 1, 1977, and is owned by Viacom through Viacom Media Networks and based in New York City. It is primarily aimed at children and adolescents aged 9–16, while its weekday morning edutainment programs are targeted at younger children ages 2–8.
As of February 2015, Nickelodeon is available to approximately 94.7 million pay television households (81.4% of households with at least one television set) in the United States.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- History
- Programming:
- Related networks and services:
- Nick at Nite
- Current sister channels:
- Former sister channels including Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids
- NickMom
- Media
- Experiences:
- Nickelodeon Universe
- Theme park areas
- Current attractions
- Closed areas
- Nickelodeon Animation Studio
- Nickelodeon on Sunset
- Hotel brands
- Cruises
- International
The Cartoon Network including a List of its Programs
YouTube Video: "Here Comes a Thought" | Steven Universe | Cartoon Network
Pictured: Cartoon Network animated series include LEFT: Tom and Jerry cartoon series; RIGHT: The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo!
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by Time Warner through the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary. The channel airs primarily children's show - mostly animated programming, ranging from action to animated comedy. It was launched on October 1, 1992.
It is primarily aimed at children and young teenagers between the ages of 7 to 15, and targets older teens and adults with mature content during its late night daypart Adult Swim, which is treated as a separate entity for promotional purposes and as a separate channel by Nielsen for ratings purposes.
A Spanish language audio track for select programs is accessible via SAP; some cable and satellite companies offer the Spanish feed as a separate channel. It is also the related channel of Turner-owned Boomerang.
As of January 2016, Cartoon Network is available to approximately 94.0 million pay television households (80.7% of households with television) in the United States.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
It is primarily aimed at children and young teenagers between the ages of 7 to 15, and targets older teens and adults with mature content during its late night daypart Adult Swim, which is treated as a separate entity for promotional purposes and as a separate channel by Nielsen for ratings purposes.
A Spanish language audio track for select programs is accessible via SAP; some cable and satellite companies offer the Spanish feed as a separate channel. It is also the related channel of Turner-owned Boomerang.
As of January 2016, Cartoon Network is available to approximately 94.0 million pay television households (80.7% of households with television) in the United States.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- History:
- Programming:
- Marketing
- Controversy and censorship
- Sister channels and related projects
- Online
- International channels
The Disney Channel including a List of Television and Related Programs
YouTube Video of the Disney Channel TV Series: Stuck in the Middle | The Big Day |
Pictured: The Disney Channel includes the programs LEFT: “Girl Meets World”; RIGHT: "Mickey Mouse"
Click here for a List of Programs broadcast on the Disney Channel.
Disney Channel (originally called The Disney Channel from 1983 to 1997 and commonly shortened to Disney from 1997 to 2002) is an American basic cable and satellite television network that serves as the flagship property of owner Disney Channels Television Group, itself a unit of the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company.
The channel's programming consists of original first-run television series, theatrically-released and original made-for-cable movies and select other third-party programming. Disney Channel – which formerly operated as a premium service – originally marketed its programs towards families during the 1980s, and later at younger children by the late 1990s.
Most of Disney Channel's original programming is aimed at kids ages 9–16, while its Disney Junior programs are targeted at children 8 years and under.
As of February 2015, Disney Channel is available to approximately 96.2 million pay television households (82.7% of households with at least one television set) in the United States.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Disney Channel (originally called The Disney Channel from 1983 to 1997 and commonly shortened to Disney from 1997 to 2002) is an American basic cable and satellite television network that serves as the flagship property of owner Disney Channels Television Group, itself a unit of the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company.
The channel's programming consists of original first-run television series, theatrically-released and original made-for-cable movies and select other third-party programming. Disney Channel – which formerly operated as a premium service – originally marketed its programs towards families during the 1980s, and later at younger children by the late 1990s.
Most of Disney Channel's original programming is aimed at kids ages 9–16, while its Disney Junior programs are targeted at children 8 years and under.
As of February 2015, Disney Channel is available to approximately 96.2 million pay television households (82.7% of households with at least one television set) in the United States.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- History
- 1977–1983: Origins
1983–1990: As a premium channel and early years
1990–1997: As a hybrid premium/basic channel
1997–2002: Relaunch and popularity beginnings
2002–2007: Peak
62007–2013: Focus on original series and big ratings
2014–2015: Lack of animated series and ratings decline
2016: Return to animation, single-camera programming, acquired series
- 1977–1983: Origins
- Programming
- Related services
- Other services
- Criticism and controversies
- Video games
- International
List of Traditional Children Games
YouTube Video of kids playing Leapfrog
Pictured: LEFT: girls skipping rope; RIGHT: kids playing Limbo
Click here for a list of traditional children games.
This is a list of games that used to be played by children quite some time ago, some of which are still being played now. Traditional children's games do not include commercial products such as board games, but do include games which require props such as hopscotch or marbles. "'Traditional' games", have, "not only failed to disappear, but have also evolved over time into new versions."
Traditional children's games are defined, "as those that are played informally with minimal equipment, that children learn by example from other children, and that can be played without reference to written rules.
These games are usually played by children between the ages of 7 and 12, with some latitude on both ends of the age range."
"Children's traditional games (also called folk games) are those that are passed from child to child, generation to generation, informally by word of mouth," and most children's games include at least two of the following six features in different proportion: physical skill, strategy, chance, repetition of patterns, creativity, and vertigo.
This is a list of games that used to be played by children quite some time ago, some of which are still being played now. Traditional children's games do not include commercial products such as board games, but do include games which require props such as hopscotch or marbles. "'Traditional' games", have, "not only failed to disappear, but have also evolved over time into new versions."
Traditional children's games are defined, "as those that are played informally with minimal equipment, that children learn by example from other children, and that can be played without reference to written rules.
These games are usually played by children between the ages of 7 and 12, with some latitude on both ends of the age range."
"Children's traditional games (also called folk games) are those that are passed from child to child, generation to generation, informally by word of mouth," and most children's games include at least two of the following six features in different proportion: physical skill, strategy, chance, repetition of patterns, creativity, and vertigo.
Board Games for Children including a List of Games
YouTube Video: How to Play Candy Land! A Fun Board Game! with Kinder Playtime Kids!
Pictured: Children playing board games
Click here for a list of Children's Board Games.
A board game is a tabletop game that involves counters or pieces moved or placed on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Some games are based on pure strategy, but many contain an element of chance; and some are purely chance, with no element of skill.
Games usually have a goal that a player aims to achieve. Early board games represented a battle between two armies, and most modern board games are still based on defeating opposing players in terms of counters, winning position, or accrual of points.
There are many varieties of board games. Their representation of real-life situations can range from having no inherent theme, like checkers, to having a specific theme and narrative, like Cluedo.
Rules can range from the very simple, like Tic-tac-toe, to those describing a game universe in great detail, like Dungeons & Dragons – although most of the latter are role-playing games where the board is secondary to the game, serving to help visualize the game scenario.
The time required to learn to play or master a game varies greatly from game to game, but is not necessarily correlated with the number or complexity of rules; games like chess or go possess relatively simple rulesets, but have great strategic depth.
A board game is a tabletop game that involves counters or pieces moved or placed on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Some games are based on pure strategy, but many contain an element of chance; and some are purely chance, with no element of skill.
Games usually have a goal that a player aims to achieve. Early board games represented a battle between two armies, and most modern board games are still based on defeating opposing players in terms of counters, winning position, or accrual of points.
There are many varieties of board games. Their representation of real-life situations can range from having no inherent theme, like checkers, to having a specific theme and narrative, like Cluedo.
Rules can range from the very simple, like Tic-tac-toe, to those describing a game universe in great detail, like Dungeons & Dragons – although most of the latter are role-playing games where the board is secondary to the game, serving to help visualize the game scenario.
The time required to learn to play or master a game varies greatly from game to game, but is not necessarily correlated with the number or complexity of rules; games like chess or go possess relatively simple rulesets, but have great strategic depth.
How to Block Inappropriate Content from being viewed by Children
YouTube Video: How to set up parental controls on Android devices
Pictured: How to Set Up and Configure Parental Controls for LEFT: Windows 10 PC; RIGHT: Mac Computer
Parental controls are features which may be included in digital television services, computer and video games, mobile devices and software.
Parental controls fall into roughly four categories:
Another feature of parental controls is the ability to blocking rating, such as Parental Advisory, TV-MA for TV, R and NC-17 for MPAA, and M and AO for ESRB.
Content Filters were the first popular type of parental controls to limit access to Internet content. Television stations also began to introduce V-Chip technology to limit access to television content.
Modern usage controls are able to restrict a range of explicit content such as explicit songs and movies. They are also able to turn devices off during specific times of the day, limiting the volume output of devices, and with GPS technology becoming affordable, it is now possible to easily locate devices such as mobile phones.
Overview:
Several techniques exist aimed at creating parental controls for blocking websites. Add-on parental control software may monitor API in order to observe applications such as a web browser or Internet chat application and to intervene according to certain criteria, such as a match in a database of banned words.
Virtually all parental control software includes a password or other form of authentication to prevent unauthorized users from disabling it.
Techniques involving a proxy server are also used. A web browser is set to send requests for web content to the proxy server rather than directly to the web server intended. The proxy server then fetches the web page from the web server on the web browser's behalf and passes on the content to the browser.
Proxy servers can inspect the data being sent and received and intervene depending on various criteria relating to content of the page or the URL being requested, for example, using a database of banned words or banned URLs.
The proxy method's major disadvantage is that it requires that the client application to be configured to utilize the proxy, and if it is possible for the user to reconfigure applications to access the Internet directly rather than going through the proxy then this control is easily bypassed. Proxy servers themselves may be used to circumvent parental controls. There are other techniques used to bypass parental controls.
Computer usage management method, unlike content filters, is focused on empowering the parents to balance the computing environment for children by regulating gaming. The main idea of these applications is to allow parents to enforce learning component into the computing time of children, where children must earn gaming time while working through educational contents.
Lately network based parental control devices have emerged. These devices working as a firewall router use packet filtering, DNS Response Policy Zone (RPZ) and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) methods to block inappropriate web content. These methods have been used in commercial and governmental communication networks.
Parental controls on mobile devices:
The increased use of mobile devices that include full featured internet browsers and downloadable applications has created a demand for parental controls on these mobile, smart devices.
In November 2007, Verizon was the first carrier to offer age-appropriate content filters as well as the first to offer content-generic content filters recognizing that mobile devices were used to access all manner of content from movies and music to short-code programs and websites.
In June 2009, in iPhone OS 3.0, Apple was the first company to provide a built in mechanism on mobile devices to create age brackets for users that would block unwanted applications from being downloaded to the device.
Mobile device software enables parents to restrict which applications their child can access while also allowing parents to monitor text messages, phone logs, MMS pictures, and other transactions occurring on their child's mobile device, to enable parents to set time limit on the usage of mobile devices, and to track the exact location of their children as well as monitor calls in and out and the content of texts in and out.
Methods to bypass Parental Controls:
Several methods of bypassing parental controls can be used.
Filtering that occurs outside of the individuals computer (such as at the router) cannot be bypassed using the above methods (except for 'Incognito/InPrivate' modes). However:
Video game systems that have used parental controls includ:
Operating Systems with Parental Controls include:
Below is a list of popular operating systems which currently have built-in parental control features:
See also:
Parental controls fall into roughly four categories:
- content filters, which limit access to age inappropriate content;
- usage controls, which constrain the usage of these devices such as placing time-limits on usage or forbidding certain types of usage;
- computer usage management tools, which enforces the use of certain software;
- and, monitoring, which can track location and activity when using the devices.
Another feature of parental controls is the ability to blocking rating, such as Parental Advisory, TV-MA for TV, R and NC-17 for MPAA, and M and AO for ESRB.
Content Filters were the first popular type of parental controls to limit access to Internet content. Television stations also began to introduce V-Chip technology to limit access to television content.
Modern usage controls are able to restrict a range of explicit content such as explicit songs and movies. They are also able to turn devices off during specific times of the day, limiting the volume output of devices, and with GPS technology becoming affordable, it is now possible to easily locate devices such as mobile phones.
Overview:
Several techniques exist aimed at creating parental controls for blocking websites. Add-on parental control software may monitor API in order to observe applications such as a web browser or Internet chat application and to intervene according to certain criteria, such as a match in a database of banned words.
Virtually all parental control software includes a password or other form of authentication to prevent unauthorized users from disabling it.
Techniques involving a proxy server are also used. A web browser is set to send requests for web content to the proxy server rather than directly to the web server intended. The proxy server then fetches the web page from the web server on the web browser's behalf and passes on the content to the browser.
Proxy servers can inspect the data being sent and received and intervene depending on various criteria relating to content of the page or the URL being requested, for example, using a database of banned words or banned URLs.
The proxy method's major disadvantage is that it requires that the client application to be configured to utilize the proxy, and if it is possible for the user to reconfigure applications to access the Internet directly rather than going through the proxy then this control is easily bypassed. Proxy servers themselves may be used to circumvent parental controls. There are other techniques used to bypass parental controls.
Computer usage management method, unlike content filters, is focused on empowering the parents to balance the computing environment for children by regulating gaming. The main idea of these applications is to allow parents to enforce learning component into the computing time of children, where children must earn gaming time while working through educational contents.
Lately network based parental control devices have emerged. These devices working as a firewall router use packet filtering, DNS Response Policy Zone (RPZ) and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) methods to block inappropriate web content. These methods have been used in commercial and governmental communication networks.
Parental controls on mobile devices:
The increased use of mobile devices that include full featured internet browsers and downloadable applications has created a demand for parental controls on these mobile, smart devices.
In November 2007, Verizon was the first carrier to offer age-appropriate content filters as well as the first to offer content-generic content filters recognizing that mobile devices were used to access all manner of content from movies and music to short-code programs and websites.
In June 2009, in iPhone OS 3.0, Apple was the first company to provide a built in mechanism on mobile devices to create age brackets for users that would block unwanted applications from being downloaded to the device.
Mobile device software enables parents to restrict which applications their child can access while also allowing parents to monitor text messages, phone logs, MMS pictures, and other transactions occurring on their child's mobile device, to enable parents to set time limit on the usage of mobile devices, and to track the exact location of their children as well as monitor calls in and out and the content of texts in and out.
Methods to bypass Parental Controls:
Several methods of bypassing parental controls can be used.
- If the filtering software is located locally within the computer, all Internet software can be easily bypassed by booting up the computer in question from alternative media, with an alternative operating system or (on Windows) in Safe Mode. However, if the computer's BIOS is configured to disallow booting from removable media, and if changes to the BIOS are prohibited without proper authentication, then booting into an alternative operating system is not available without circumventing BIOS security by partially disassembling the computer and resetting BIOS configuration using a button or jumper, or removing and replacing the internal button cell battery.
- Using external proxy servers or other servers. The user sends requests to the external server which retrieves content on the user's behalf. Filtering software may then never be able to know which URLs the user is accessing, as all communications are with the one external server and filtering software never sees any communications with the web servers from which content really originated. To counter this, filtering software may also block access to popular proxies. Additionally, filtering systems which only permit access to a set of allowed URLs (whitelisting) will not permit access anything outside this list, including proxy servers.
- Resetting passwords using exploits.
- Modifying the software's files,
- and Brute-force attacks on software passwords.
- 'Incognito/InPrivate' modes with the 'image' tab: Users, parental control software, and parental control routers may use 'safe search' (SafeSearch) to enforce filtering at most major search engines. However, in most browsers a user may select 'Incognito' or 'InPrivate' browsing, enter search terms for content, and select the 'image' tab to effectively bypass 'safe search' and many parental control filters. See below for router based considerations and solutions.
Filtering that occurs outside of the individuals computer (such as at the router) cannot be bypassed using the above methods (except for 'Incognito/InPrivate' modes). However:
- The major search engines cache and serve content on their own servers. As a result, domain filters such as many third party DNS servers, also fail to filter the 'Incognito/InPrivate' with 'image' tab.
- Most commercially available routers with parental controls do not enforce safe search at the router, and therefore do not filter the 'Incognito/InPrivate' with 'image' tab.
- Safe search may be enforced at a DNS server or router. For google, for example, see https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/186669?hl=en. Similar options also exist for Bing and Yahoo. Techno-savvy users may use dd-WRT on a compatible router to enforce safe search at the router. However, this requires specialized knowledge beyond most end users expertise.
- Less knowledgeable users may purchase easy to install routers that automatically enforce safe search, in addition to other parental controls.
Video game systems that have used parental controls includ:
- PlayStation 4
- PlayStation 3
- PlayStation 2 (only for DVDs)
- PlayStation Vita
- PlayStation Portable
- Xbox (console)
- Xbox 360
- Xbox One
- Nintendo DSi
- Nintendo 3DS
- Wii
- Wii U
- GameStick
- Nintendo DS
Operating Systems with Parental Controls include:
Below is a list of popular operating systems which currently have built-in parental control features:
- Android operating system
- iOS
- Mac OS X (10.3 and later)
- Windows (Vista and later)
See also:
- Internet censorship
- List of parental control software
- Motion picture rating system
- Television rating system
- Videogame Rating Council
Scouting in the Unites States including Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts
YouTube Video: Boy Scouts reciting the Pledge of Allegiance
Pictured: Logos for LEFT to RIGHT: Cub Scouts; Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts
Scouting in the United States is dominated by the 2.7 million-member Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA and other associations that are recognized by one of the international Scouting organizations. There are also a few smaller, independent groups that are considered to be "Scout-like" or otherwise Scouting related.
For more about Scouting in general, click here.
___________________________________________________________________________
Cub Scouting is part of the Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), available to boys from first through fifth grade, or 7 to 11½ years of age and their families.
Its membership is the largest of the three BSA divisions (Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, and Venturing). Cub Scouting is part of the worldwide Scouting movement and aims to promote character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness.
For more about Cub Scouts, click here.
___________________________________________________________________________
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with more than 2.4 million youth members and nearly one million adult volunteers.
Since its founding in 1910 as part of the international Scout Movement, more than 110 million Americans have been at some point members of the BSA.
The BSA's goal is to train youth in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations.
The BSA is a constituent member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. The traditional Scouting divisions are Cub Scouting for boys ages 7 to 10½ years (see above), Boy Scouting for boys ages 10½ to 18 and Venturing for young men and women ages 14 (or 13 and having completed the 8th grade) through 21.
The BSA operates traditional Scouting by chartering local organizations, such as churches, clubs, civic associations, or educational organization, to implement the Scouting program for youth within their communities.
For more about Boy Scouts, click here.
___________________________________________________________________________
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly called in America as simply the Girl Scouts is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Membership is organized according to grade, with activities designed for each level. The GSUSA is a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). It accepts girls from any background.
For more about Girl Scouts, click here.
For more about Scouting in general, click here.
___________________________________________________________________________
Cub Scouting is part of the Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), available to boys from first through fifth grade, or 7 to 11½ years of age and their families.
Its membership is the largest of the three BSA divisions (Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, and Venturing). Cub Scouting is part of the worldwide Scouting movement and aims to promote character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness.
For more about Cub Scouts, click here.
___________________________________________________________________________
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with more than 2.4 million youth members and nearly one million adult volunteers.
Since its founding in 1910 as part of the international Scout Movement, more than 110 million Americans have been at some point members of the BSA.
The BSA's goal is to train youth in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations.
The BSA is a constituent member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. The traditional Scouting divisions are Cub Scouting for boys ages 7 to 10½ years (see above), Boy Scouting for boys ages 10½ to 18 and Venturing for young men and women ages 14 (or 13 and having completed the 8th grade) through 21.
The BSA operates traditional Scouting by chartering local organizations, such as churches, clubs, civic associations, or educational organization, to implement the Scouting program for youth within their communities.
For more about Boy Scouts, click here.
___________________________________________________________________________
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly called in America as simply the Girl Scouts is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Membership is organized according to grade, with activities designed for each level. The GSUSA is a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). It accepts girls from any background.
For more about Girl Scouts, click here.
Adoption
YouTube video from the NBC TV Series "This is Us" when a white family adopts an African American baby
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, and or animal from that person's biological or legal parent or parents, and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parent or parents.
Unlike guardianship or other systems designed for the care of the young, adoption is intended to effect a permanent change in status and as such requires societal recognition, either through legal or religious sanction.
Historically, some societies have enacted specific laws governing adoption; where others have tried to achieve adoption through less formal means, notably via contracts that specified inheritance rights and parental responsibilities without an accompanying transfer of filiation.
Modern systems of adoption, arising in the 20th century, tend to be governed by comprehensive statutes and regulations.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- History: Modern period
- Contemporary adoption
- Parenting and development of adoptees
- Development of adoptees
- Reform and reunion trends
- Cultural variations
- Adoption as a human right
- Homecoming Day
- See also: Main article: Outline of adoption
- Adoption by celebrities
- Adoption in the United States
- Affiliation
- Attachment disorder
- Attachment theory
- Attachment therapy
- Child welfare
- Child-selling
- Effects of adoption on the birth-mother
- Genetic sexual attraction
- National Adoption Day
- Notable orphans and foundlings
- Parental leave
- Putative father registry
- Reactive attachment disorder
- Social work
Foster Care in the United States
YouTube Video: Children in Foster Care
Pictured below: (L) Length of time spent in foster care as of 2010; (R) A chart of the breakdown in race/ethnicity for foster children
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in an institution, group home, or private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent". The placement of the child is usually arranged through the government or a social-service agency. The institution, group home or foster parent is provided compensation for expenses.
The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions while the foster parent is responsible for the day-to-day care of said minor. The foster parent is remunerated by the state for their services.
In the United States, foster home licensing requirements vary from state to state, but are generally overseen by each state's Department of Child Protective Services or Human Services.
In some states, counties have this responsibility. Each state's services are monitored by the federal Department of Health and Human Services through reviews such as Child and Family Services Reviews, Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews, Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System and Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System Assessment Reviews.
The foster parent licensing process is often similar to the process to become licensed to adopt. It requires preparation classes as well as an application process. The application varies but may include:
Children found to be unable to function in a foster home may be placed in Residential Treatment Centers (RTCs) or other such group homes. In theory, the focus of treatment in such facilities is to prepare the child for a return to a foster home, to an adoptive home, or to the birth parents when applicable. But two major reviews of the scholarly literature have questioned these facilities' effectiveness.
There are some children in foster care who are difficult to place in permanent homes through the normal adoption process. These children are often said to require "special-needs adoption." In this context, "special needs" can include situations where children have specific chronic medical problems, mental health issues, behavioral problems, and learning disabilities. In some cases, sibling groups, and older children qualify as "special needs." Governments offer a variety of incentives and services to facilitate this class of adoptions.
Statistics:
In 2010, there were 408,425 children in foster care in the United States:
Of 254,114 who exited foster care in 2010:
Of these children, the median length of time spent in foster care was 13.5 months, with:
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Foster Care in the United States:
The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions while the foster parent is responsible for the day-to-day care of said minor. The foster parent is remunerated by the state for their services.
In the United States, foster home licensing requirements vary from state to state, but are generally overseen by each state's Department of Child Protective Services or Human Services.
In some states, counties have this responsibility. Each state's services are monitored by the federal Department of Health and Human Services through reviews such as Child and Family Services Reviews, Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews, Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System and Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System Assessment Reviews.
The foster parent licensing process is often similar to the process to become licensed to adopt. It requires preparation classes as well as an application process. The application varies but may include:
- a minimum age,
- verification that your income allows you to meet your expenses,
- a criminal record check at local, state and federal levels including finger printing and no prior record of child abuse or neglect;
- a reference from a doctor to ensure that all household members are free from diseases that a child could catch and in sufficient health to parent a child
- and letters of reference from an employer and others who know them.
Children found to be unable to function in a foster home may be placed in Residential Treatment Centers (RTCs) or other such group homes. In theory, the focus of treatment in such facilities is to prepare the child for a return to a foster home, to an adoptive home, or to the birth parents when applicable. But two major reviews of the scholarly literature have questioned these facilities' effectiveness.
There are some children in foster care who are difficult to place in permanent homes through the normal adoption process. These children are often said to require "special-needs adoption." In this context, "special needs" can include situations where children have specific chronic medical problems, mental health issues, behavioral problems, and learning disabilities. In some cases, sibling groups, and older children qualify as "special needs." Governments offer a variety of incentives and services to facilitate this class of adoptions.
Statistics:
In 2010, there were 408,425 children in foster care in the United States:
- 48% were in non-relative foster homes,
- 26% were in relative foster homes,
- 9% in institutions,
- 6% in group homes,
- 5% on trial home visits (where the child returns home while under state supervision),
- 4% in preadoptive homes,
- 2% had run away,
- and 1% in supervised independent living.
Of 254,114 who exited foster care in 2010:
- 51% were reunited with parents or caretakers,
- 21% were adopted,
- 11% were emancipated (as minors or by aging out),
- 8% went to live with another relative,
- 6% went to live with a guardian,
- and 3% had other outcomes.
Of these children, the median length of time spent in foster care was 13.5 months, with:
- 13% in care for less than 1 month,
- 33% for 1 to 11 months,
- 24% for 12 to 23 months,
- 12% for 24 to 35 months,
- 10% for 3 to 4 years,
- and 7% for 5 years or more.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Foster Care in the United States:
- Foster Care in California
- Funding and system incentives
- Foster care legislation since 1990
- Constitutional issues
- Abuse and negligence
- See also:
The State of America's Children® 2021 (Youth Justice),
YouTube Videos:
Pictured below: Ohio's Behavioral Health/Juvenile Justice Initiative (BHJJ) (See below)
- Juvenile Delinquency, including in the United States.
- Alternatives to Juvenile Incarceration through State Child and Family Services Organizations
- The American Juvenile Justice System,
- JUVENILE DETENTION ALTERNATIVES INITIATIVE (JDAI)
- Child and family services:
- Residential Treatment Centers
- Child protective services
YouTube Videos:
- Juvenile Delinquency Sociology|Causes of juvenile delinquency|Juvenile Delinquency Prevention
- Choices & Consequences: Juvenile Delinquency Prevention (Clip)
- Life in Juvenile Detention
Pictured below: Ohio's Behavioral Health/Juvenile Justice Initiative (BHJJ) (See below)
Ohio's Behavioral Health/Juvenile Justice Initiative (BHJJ):
Since the Children’s Defense Fund last published our annual State of America’s Children report in February 2020, our children have experienced a year of unprecedented upheaval due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a racial reckoning years in the making.
Every aspect of children’s lives has been impacted by these shifts more quickly than data can track; even the most recent available data sets do not fully encompass how this past year has shaped our lives. This, of course, includes our 2021 State of America’s Children report.
Because, as one element of the report makes clear, “Our Children are Not Immune.”
A year marked by such dramatic change and drastic negative impact on children’s lives must be followed by one of healing and restoration, coupled with bold action.
We hope this report will serve as a call-to-action to join us as we take the bold steps necessary to fulfill our vision of a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive.
Click here to access the full report, even download it if you wish!
___________________________________________________________________________
1. Juvenile Deliquency
Juvenile delinquency, also known as "juvenile offending", is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority.
For example, in the United States of America a juvenile delinquent is a person who is typically below 18 (17 in the states of Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Texas, and Wisconsin) years of age and commits an act that otherwise would have been charged as a crime if they were an adult.
Juvenile crimes can range from status offenses (such as underage smoking/drinking), to property crimes and violent crimes.
Some scholars have found an increase in arrests for youth and have concluded that this may reflect more aggressive criminal justice and zero-tolerance policies rather than changes in youth behavior. Youth violence rates in the United States have dropped to approximately 12% of peak rates in 1993 according to official US government statistics, suggesting that most juvenile offending is non-violent.
Many delinquent acts can be attributed to the environmental factors such as family behavior or peer influence. One contributing factor that has gained attention in recent years is the school to prison pipeline. According to Diverse Education, nearly 75% of states have built more jails and prisons than colleges.
CNN also provides a diagram that shows that cost per inmate is significantly higher in most states than cost per student. This shows that tax payer's dollars are going toward providing for prisoners rather than providing for the educational system and promoting the advancement of education. For every school that is built, The focus on punitive punishment has been seen to correlate with juvenile delinquency rates. Some have suggested shifting from zero tolerance policies to restorative justice approaches.
Juvenile detention centers, courts and electronic monitoring are common structures of the juvenile legal system. Juvenile courts are in place to address offenses for minors as civil rather than criminal cases in most instances. The frequency of use and structure of these courts in the United States varies by state. Depending on the type and severity of the offense committed, it is possible for people under 18 to be charged and treated as adults.
Overview:
Juvenile delinquency, or offenses, is often separated into three categories:
Currently, there is not an agency whose jurisdiction is tracking worldwide juvenile delinquency but UNICEF estimates that over one million children are in some type of detention globally. Many countries do not keep records of the amount of delinquent or detained minors but of the ones that do, the United States has the highest number of juvenile delinquency cases.
In the United States, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention compiles data concerning trends in juvenile delinquency. According to their most recent publication, 7 in 1000 juveniles in the US committed a serious crime in 2016.
A serious crime is defined by the US Department of Justice as one of the following eight offenses:
According to research compiled by James Howell in 2009, the arrest rate for juveniles has been dropping consistently since its peak in 1994. Of the cases for juvenile delinquency that make it through the court system, probation is the most common consequence and males account for over 70% of the caseloads.
According to developmental research by Moffitt (2006), there are two different types of offenders that emerge in adolescence. The first is an age specific offender, referred to as the adolescence-limited offender, for whom juvenile offending or delinquency begins and ends during their period of adolescence.
Moffitt argues that most teenagers tend to show some form of antisocial or delinquent behavior during adolescence, it is therefore important to account for these behaviors in childhood in order to determine whether they will be adolescence-limited offenders or something more long term.
The other type of offender is the repeat offender, referred to as the life-course-persistent offender, who begins offending or showing antisocial/aggressive behavior in adolescence (or even in childhood) and continues into adulthood.
Situational factors:
Most of influencing factors for juvenile delinquency tend to be caused by a mix of both genetic and environmental factors. According to Laurence Steinberg's book Adolescence, the two largest predictors of juvenile delinquency are parenting style and peer group association.
Additional factors that may lead a teenager into juvenile delinquency include poor or low socioeconomic status, poor school readiness/performance and/or failure and peer rejection. Delinquent activity, especially the involvement in youth gangs, may also be caused by a desire for protection against violence or financial hardship.
Juvenile offenders can view delinquent activity as a means of gaining access to resources to protect against such threats. Research by Carrie Dabb indicates that even changes in the weather can increase the likelihood of children exhibiting deviant behavior.
Family environment:
Family factors that may have an influence on offending include: the level of parental supervision, the way parents discipline a child, parental conflict or separation, criminal activity by parents or siblings, parental abuse or neglect, and the quality of the parent-child relationship.
As mentioned above, parenting style is one of the largest predictors of juvenile delinquency.
There are 4 categories of parenting styles which describe the attitudes and behaviors that parents express while raising their children.
According to research done by Laura E. Berk, the style of parenting that would be most beneficial for a child, based on studies conducted by Diana Baumrind (1971) is the authoritative child-rearing style because it combines acceptance with discipline to render healthy development for the child.
As concluded in Steinberg's Adolescence, children brought up by single parents are more likely to live in poverty and engage in delinquent behavior than those who live with both parents.
However, according to research done by Graham and Bowling, once the attachment a child feels towards their parent(s) and the level of parental supervision are taken into account, children in single parent families are no more likely to offend than others. It was seen that when a child has low parental supervision they are much more likely to offend.
Negative peer group association is more likely when adolescents are left unsupervised. A lack of supervision is also connected to poor relationships between children and parents.
Children who are often in conflict with their parents may be less willing to discuss their activities with them. Conflict between a child's parents is also much more closely linked to offending than being raised by a lone parent.
Adolescents with siblings who have committed crimes are more likely to be influenced by their siblings and become delinquent if the sibling is older, of the same sex/gender, and maintains a good relationship with the child. Cases where a younger criminal sibling influences an older one are rare. An aggressive more hostile sibling is less likely to influence a younger sibling in the direction of delinquency, if anything, the more strained the relationship between the siblings, the less they will want to be influence each other.
Children resulting from unintended pregnancies are more likely to exhibit delinquent behavior. They also have lower mother-child relationship quality.
Peer influence:
Peer rejection in childhood is also a large predictor of juvenile delinquency. This rejection can affect the child's ability to be socialized properly and often leads them to gravitate towards anti-social peer groups. Association with anti-social groups often leads to the promotion of violent, aggressive and deviant behavior.
Robert Vargas's "Being in 'Bad' Company," explains that adolescents who can choose between groups of friends are less susceptible to peer influence that could lead them to commit illegal acts.
Aggressive adolescents who have been rejected by peers are also more likely to have a "hostile attribution bias", which leads people to interpret the actions of others (whether they be hostile or not) as purposefully hostile and aggressive towards them. This often leads to an impulsive and aggressive reaction.
Conformity plays a significant role in the vast impact that peer group influence has on an individual. Aronson, Wilson, & Akert (2013) point to the research experiment conducted by Solomon Asch (1956), to ascertain whether a group could influence an individual's behavior. The experiment was executed by asking a participant determine which line in the set of 3 lines matched the length of an original line.
Confederates knew the purpose of the experiment and were directed to answer the questions incorrectly during certain phases of the experiment. These confederates answered the question before the participant. The confederates answered the first few questions correctly, as did the participant.
Eventually, all of the confederates started to answer incorrectly. The purpose of the experiment was to see if the group would influence the participant to answer incorrectly. Asch found that seventy-six percent of the participants conformed and answered incorrectly when influenced by the group.
According to these findings, it was concluded that a peer group that is involved in deviant behavior can influence an adolescent to engage in similar activities. Once the adolescent becomes part of the group, they will be susceptible to groupthink.
School to prison pipeline:
A common contributor to juvenile delinquency rates is a phenomenon referred to as the school to prison pipeline. In recent years, school disciplinary measures have become increasingly policed.
In fact, 67% of high school students attend schools with police officers. This rise in police presence is often attributed to the implementation of zero tolerance policies. Based on the "broken windows" theory of criminology and the Gun-Free Schools Act, zero tolerance policies stress the use of specific, consistent, and harsh punishment to deal with in school infractions.
Often measures such as suspension or expulsion are assigned to students who deviant regardless of the reason or past disciplinary history. This use of punishment often has been linked with increasing high school drop out rates and future arrests.
It was found in a 2018 study that students who received a suspension were less likely to graduate and more likely to be arrested or on probation. As stated in research by Matthew Theriot, the increased police presence in school and use of tougher punishment methods leads student actions to be criminalized and in turn referred to juvenile justice systems.
The Center on Youth Justice at the Vera Institute of Justice found that “for similar students attending similar schools, a single suspension or expulsion doubles the risk that a student will repeat a grade. Being retained a grade, especially while in middle or high school, is one of the strongest predictors of dropping out.
In a national longitudinal study, it was reported that youth with a prior suspension were 68% more likely to dropout of school.
The School to Prison Pipeline disproportionately affects minority students. According to data compiled by the United States Government Accountability Office, 39% of students who received a suspension in the 2013-14 school year were Black, even though Black students accounted for only about 15% of public school students. This over-representation applied to both boys and girls of African descent. Compared to White students, black students were expelled or suspended 3 times as frequently.
Personality factors:
Juvenile Delinquency, is the unlawful activities by minors in their teen or pre-teen years. It is influenced by four main risk factors namely; personality, background, state of mind and drugs.
Gender:
Gender is another risk factor in regards to influencing delinquent behavior. The predictors of different types of delinquency vary across females and males for various reasons, but a common underlying reason for this is socialization.
Different predictors of delinquency emerge when analyzing distinct offending types across gender, but overall it is evident that males commit more crimes than females. Across all offenses, females are less likely to be involved in delinquent acts than males. Females not only commit fewer offenses, but they also commit less serious offenses.
Socialization plays a key role in the gender gap in delinquency because male and female juveniles are often socialized differently. Girls' and boys' experiences are heavily mediated by gender, which alters their interactions in society.
Males and females are differently controlled and bonded, suggesting that they will not make the same choices and may follow different paths of delinquency. Social bonds are important for both males and females, but different aspects of the bond are relevant for each gender.
The degree of involvement in social settings is a significant predictor of male’s violent delinquency, but is not significant for females. Males tend to be more connected with their peer relationships which in effect has a stronger influence on their behavior.
Association with delinquent peers is one of the strongest correlates of juvenile delinquency, and much of the gender gap can be accounted for by the fact that males are more likely to have friends that support delinquent behavior. Delinquent peers are positively and significantly related to delinquency in males but delinquent peers are negatively and insignificantly related to delinquency for females.
As for females, familial functioning relationships have shown to be more important. Female juveniles tend to be more strongly connected with their families, the disconnect or the lack of socialization between their family members can significantly predict their likelihood of committing crimes as juveniles and even as adults.
When the family is disrupted, females are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior than males. Boys, however, tend to be less connected to their family and are not as affected by these relationships.
When it comes to minor offenses such as fighting, vandalism, shoplifting, and the carrying of weapons, differences in gender are limited because they are most common among both males as well as females. Elements of the social bond, social disorganization, routine activities, opportunity, and attitudes towards violence are also related to delinquent behavior among both males and females.
Neurological:
Individual psychological or behavioral risk factors that may make offending more likely include low intelligence, impulsiveness or the inability to delay gratification, aggression, lack of empathy, and restlessness. Other risk factors that may be evident during childhood and adolescence include, aggressive or troublesome behavior, language delays or impairments, lack of emotional control (learning to control one's anger), and cruelty to animals.
Children with low intelligence are more likely to do badly in school. This may increase the chances of offending because low educational attainment, a low attachment to school, and low educational aspirations are all risk factors for offending in themselves.
Children who perform poorly at school are also more likely to be truant, and the status offense of truancy is linked to further offending.
Impulsiveness is seen by some as the key aspect of a child's personality that predicts offending However, it is not clear whether these aspects of personality are a result of "deficits in the executive functions of the brain" or a result of parental influences or other social factors.
In any event, studies of adolescent development show that teenagers are more prone to risk-taking, which may explain the high disproportionate rate of offending among adolescents.
Psychological:
Juvenile delinquents are often diagnosed with different disorders. Around six to sixteen percent of male teens and two to nine percent of female teens have a conduct disorder. These can vary from oppositional-defiant disorder, which is not necessarily aggressive, to antisocial personality disorder, often diagnosed among psychopaths. A conduct disorder can develop during childhood and then manifest itself during adolescence.
Juvenile delinquents who have recurring encounters with the criminal justice system, or in other words those who are life-course-persistent offenders, are sometimes diagnosed with conduct disorders because they show a continuous disregard for their own and others safety and/or property. Once the juvenile continues to exhibit the same behavioral patterns and turns eighteen he is then at risk of being diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and much more prone to become a serious criminal offender.
One of the main components used in diagnosing an adult with antisocial personality disorder consists of presenting documented history of conduct disorder before the age of 15. These two personality disorders are analogous in their erratic and aggressive behavior. This is why habitual juvenile offenders diagnosed with conduct disorder are likely to exhibit signs of antisocial personality disorder early in life and then as they mature.
Some times these juveniles reach maturation and they develop into career criminals, or life-course-persistent offenders. "Career criminals begin committing antisocial behavior before entering grade school and are versatile in that they engage in an array of destructive behaviors, offend at exceedingly high rates, and are less likely to quit committing crime as they age."
Quantitative research was completed on 9,945 juvenile male offenders between the ages of 10 and 18 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 1970s. The longitudinal birth cohort was used to examine a trend among a small percentage of career criminals who accounted for the largest percentage of crime activity. The trend exhibited a new phenomenon among habitual offenders.
The phenomenon indicated that only 6% of the youth qualified under their definition of a habitual offender (known today as life-course persistent offenders, or career criminals) and yet were responsible for 52% of the delinquency within the entire study. The same 6% of chronic offenders accounted for 71% of the murders and 69% of the aggravated assaults.
This phenomenon was later researched among an adult population in 1977 and resulted in similar findings. S. A. Mednick did a birth cohort of 30,000 males and found that 1% of the males were responsible for more than half of the criminal activity. The habitual crime behavior found among juveniles is similar to that of adults.
As stated before most life-course persistent offenders begin exhibiting antisocial, violent, and/or delinquent behavior, prior to adolescence. Therefore, while there is a high rate of juvenile delinquency, it is the small percentage of life-course persistent, career criminals that are responsible for most of the violent crimes.
Theories:
There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most, if not all, of which are applicable to the causes of juvenile delinquency.
Rational choice:
Classical criminology stresses that the causes of crime lie within individual offenders, rather than in their external environment. For classicists, offenders are motivated by rational self-interest, and the importance of free will and personal responsibility is emphasized. Rational choice theory is the clearest example of that idea. Delinquency is one of the major factors motivated by rational choice.
Social disorganization:
Current positivist approaches generally focus on the culture. A type of criminological theory attributing variation in crime and delinquency over time and among territories to the absence or breakdown of communal institutions (such as family, school, church, and social groups) and communal relationships that traditionally encouraged cooperative relationships among people.
Strain:
Strain theory is associated mainly with the work of Robert K. Merton, who felt that there are institutionalized paths to success in society. Strain theory holds that crime is caused by the difficulty for those in poverty have to achieve socially-valued goals by legitimate means.
Since those with, for instance, poor educational attainment have difficulty achieving wealth and status by securing well-paid employment, they are more likely to use criminal means to obtain those goals.
Merton's suggests five adaptations to this dilemma:
A difficulty with strain theory is that it does not explore why children of low-income families have poor educational attainment in the first place. More importantly, much youth crime does not have an economic motivation. Strain theory fails to explain violent crime, the type of youth crime that causes most anxiety to the public.
Differential association:
Differential association is another theory that deals with young people in a group context and looks at how peer pressure and the existence of gangs could lead them into crime. It suggests young people are motivated to commit crimes by delinquent peers and learn criminal skills from them.
The diminished influence of peers after men marry has also been cited as a factor in desisting from offending. There is strong evidence that young people with criminal friends are more likely to commit crimes themselves. However, offenders may prefer to associate with one another, rather than delinquent peers causing someone to start offending. Furthermore, there is the question of how the delinquent peer group initially became delinquent.
Labeling:
Labeling theory is a concept in criminology that aims to explain deviant behavior from the social context, rather the individual themselves. It is part of interactionism criminology, which states that once young people have been labeled as criminal, they are more likely to offend.
The idea is that once labelled as deviant, a young person may accept that role and be more likely to associate with others who have been similarly labeled. Labelling theorists say that male children from poor families are more likely to be labelled deviant, which may partially explain the existence of more working-class young male offenders.
Social control:
Social control theory proposes that exploiting the process of socialization and social learning builds self-control and can reduce the inclination to indulge in behavior that is recognized as antisocial. The following types of control can help prevent juvenile delinquency:
Direct by which punishment is threatened or applied for wrongful behavior, and compliance is rewarded by parents, family, and authority figures.
Internal by which a youth refrains from delinquency through the conscience or superego.
Indirect by identification with those who influence behavior, such as because the delinquent act might cause pain and disappointment to parents and others close relationships. Control through needs satisfaction: if all an individual's needs are met, there is no point in criminal activity.
Prevention:
Delinquency prevention is the broad term for all efforts aimed at preventing youth from becoming involved in criminal, or other antisocial, activity.
Prevention services may include activities such as:
Increasing availability and use of family planning services, including education and contraceptives helps to reduce unintended pregnancy and unwanted births, which are risk factors for delinquency. It has been noted that often interventions such as peer groups may leave at-risk children worse off then if there had never been an intervention.
Punishment:
In 2020 a ruling abolished the death penalty for juveniles in Saudi Arabia. Despite this Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish was executed in June 2021. He was alleged to have of taken part in anti-government demonstrations at the age of 17. al-Darwish had been detained in May 2015 being placed in solitary confinement for years. al-Darwish claimed that he faced brutal torture and beatings and was forced to sign confessions.
One criminal justice approach to juvenile delinquency is through the juvenile court systems. These courts are specifically for minors to be tried in. Sometimes, juvenile offenders are sent to adult prisons.
In the United States, children as young as 8 can be tried and convicted as adults. Additionally, the United States was the only recorded country to sentence children as young as 13 to life sentences without parole also known as death in prison sentences.
As of 2012, the Supreme Court has declared death in prison sentences unconstitutional for the vast majority of cases involving children. According to the US Department of Justice, about 3,600 children are housed in adult jails.
According to a report released by the Prison Policy Initiative, over 48,000 children are held in juvenile detention centers or prisons in America. The worldwide number is unknown but UNICEF estimates that over 1 million children experience confinement in various countries.
Juveniles in youth detention centers are sometimes subject to many of the same punishments as adults, such as solitary confinement, despite a younger age or the presence of disabilities.
Due to the influx of minors in detention facilities due to the school to prison pipeline, education is increasingly becoming a concern. Children in juvenile detention have a compromised or nonexistent schooling which to a higher number of drop outs and failure to complete secondary education.
Policies:
Education promotes economic growth, national productivity and innovation, and values of democracy and social cohesion. Prevention through education has been seen to discourage delinquency for minors and help them strengthen the connection and understanding between peers.
A well-known intervention treatment is the Scared Straight Treatment. According to research done by Scott Lilienfeld, this type of intervention is often harmful because of juvenile offenders’ vicarious exposure to criminal role models and the possibility of increased resentment in reaction to the confrontational interactions.
It has been reasoned that the most efficient interventions are those that not only separate at-risk teens from anti-social peers, and place them instead with pro-social ones, but also simultaneously improve their home environment by training parents with appropriate parenting styles.
In response to the data correlated with the school to prison pipeline, some institutions have implemented restorative justice policies. The restorative justice approach emphasizes conflict resolution and non-punitive intervention. Interventions such as hiring more counselors as opposed to security professionals or focusing on talking through problems would be included in a restorative justice approach.
It is also important to note certain works of legislation that have already been published in the United States in response to general prisoner re-entry, extending to juveniles, such as the Second Chance Act (2007) and most recently, the Second Chance Reauthorization Act (2018).
Juvenile reform:
Juvenile reform deals with the vocational programs and educational approach to reducing recidivism rates of juvenile offenders. Most countries in the world legislate processes for juvenile reform and re-entry, some more elaborate and formal than others.
In theory, juvenile re-entry is sensitive to the fact that juveniles are young and assumes they are capable of change; it approaches a juvenile offender's situation and history holistically, evaluating the earlier factors that could lead a juvenile to commit crimes.
In practice, this is complicated since juvenile delinquents return home to varying and unpredictable circumstances, including poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, etc..
In the United States, juvenile reform is split into four main phases:
An understanding of the factors involved in each of these steps is crucial to creating an effective juvenile reform program. One non-profit identifies the following approaches to juvenile reform:
While juvenile reform has proved to be an effective and humanizing approach response to juvenile delinquency, it is a very complex area that still has many ongoing debates. For example, many countries around the world are debating the appropriate age of a juvenile, as well as trying to understand whether there are some crimes that are so heinous, they should be exempt from any understanding.
Based on these discussions, legislation needs to be consistently updated and considered as social, cultural, and political landscapes change.
Juvenile sex crimes:
Juveniles who commit sexual crimes refer to individuals adjudicated in a criminal court for a sexual crime. Sex crimes are defined as sexually abusive behavior committed by a person under the age of 18 that is perpetrated "against the victim's will, without consent, and in an aggressive, exploitative, manipulative, and/or threatening manner".
It is important to utilize appropriate terminology for juvenile sex offenders. Harsh and inappropriate expressions include terms such as "pedophile, child molester, predator, perpetrator, and mini-perp"
These terms have often been associated with this group, regardless of the youth’s age, diagnosis, cognitive abilities, or developmental stage. Using appropriate expressions can facilitate a more accurate depiction of juvenile sex offenders and may decrease the subsequent aversive psychological affects from using such labels.
In the Arab Gulf states [sic], homosexual acts are classified as an offense, and constitute one of the primary crimes for which juvenile males are charged.
Prevalence data:
Examining prevalence data and the characteristics of juvenile sex offenders is a fundamental component to obtain a precise understanding of this heterogeneous group. With mandatory reporting laws in place, it became a necessity for providers to report any incidents of disclosed sexual abuse.
Longo and Prescott indicate that juveniles commit approximately 30-60% of all child sexual abuse.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports indicate that in 2008 youth under the age of 18 accounted for 16.7% of forcible rapes and 20.61% of other sexual offenses
Center for Sex Offender Management indicates that approximately one-fifth of all rapes and one-half of all sexual child molestation can be accounted for by juveniles.
Official record data:
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention indicates that 15% of juvenile arrests occurred for rape in 2006, and 12% were clearance (resolved by an arrest).
The total number of juvenile arrests in 2006 for forcible rape was 3,610 with 2% being female and 36% being under the age of 15 years. This trend has declined throughout the years with forcible rape from 1997–2006 being −30% and from 2005 to 2006 being −10%.
The OJJDP reports that the juvenile arrest rate for forcible rape increased from the early 1980s through the 1990s and at that time it fell again. Violent crime rates in the U.S. have been on a steady decline since the 1990s.
The OJJDP also reported that the total number of juvenile arrests in 2006 for sex offenses (other than forcible rape) was 15,900 with 10% being female and 47% being under the age of 15. There was again a decrease with the trend throughout the years with sex offenses from 1997 to 2006 being −16% and from 2005 to 2006 being −9%.
Males who commit sexual crimes:
Barbaree and Marshall indicate that juvenile males contribute to the majority of sex crimes, with 2–4% of adolescent males having reported committing sexually assaultive behavior, and 20% of all rapes and 30–50% of all child molestation are perpetrated by adolescent males.
It is clear that males are over-represented in this population. This is consistent with Ryan and Lane’s research indicating that males account for 91-93% of the reported juvenile sex offenses. Righthand and Welch reported that females account for an estimated 2–11% of incidents of sexual offending.
In addition, it reported by The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention that in the juvenile arrests during 2006, African American male youth were disproportionately arrested (34%) for forcible rape. In one case in a foster home a 13-year-old boy raped a 9-year-old boy by having forced anal sex with him, in a court hearing the 9-year-old boy said he has done this multiple times, that the 13-year-old boy was charged for sexual assault.
Juvenile sex crimes internationally:
Sexual crimes committed by juveniles are not just an issue in the United States. Studies from the Netherlands show that out of 3200 sex offenders recorded by police in 2009, 672 of those were juveniles, approximately 21 percent of sexual offenders. The study also points out the male to female ratio of sexual predators.
In 2009, a U.S. congressman proposed legislature that would create an International Sex Offender Registry. The bill was introduced due to the fact that because laws differ in different countries someone who is on the sex offender registry in the U.S. who may be barred from living certain places and doing certain activities has free range in other less developed countries.
This can lead to child sex tourism, when a sexual predator will go to less developed countries and prey on young boys and girls. Karne Newburn in his article, The Prospect of an International Sex Offender Registry, pointed out some serious flaws in the proposed bill, such as creating safety issues within the communities for the sex offenders placed on the registry.
Newburn suggested instead of creating an International Sex Offender Registry from the U.S. model the U.S. join other countries in a dialogue on creating an effective model. As of now no registry exists. Despite this there is still interest in creating some sort of international registry.
See Also:
Juvenile delinquency in the United States:
Although the term juvenile delinquency often refers to juvenile as both the victims and the aggressors, this page only refers to juveniles as the actual delinquents.
The information and statistics for juveniles as victims rather than offenders is much different.
For information about juveniles as the victims of violent attacks, click on the following:
Introduction to Juvenile Delinquency:
Juvenile Delinquency refers to criminal acts committed by children or teenagers, specifically anyone below the age of eighteen (or 17 in some States). Common sentiment on this issue is that the crimes they commit hurt society and hurt the children themselves.
Much research and debate revolves around the problem of juvenile delinquency in the US. The research is mainly focused on the causes of juvenile delinquency and which strategies have successfully diminished crime rates among the youth population. Though the causes are debated and controversial as well, much of the debate revolves around the punishment and rehabilitation of juveniles in a youth detention center or elsewhere.
The Rise of Juvenile Delinquency in the 1950s:
Ever since the evolution of radios and television they gave us the ability to project music, sports, news, etcetera, the world has been able to tune in to what is happening halfway across the world from their location. The 1950s boomed with increases in income, scientific and medical increases, entertainment, and a tremendous media increase starting with the portable radio.
After World War II, couples who had put off having children either before or during the war finally had the chance to start a family and live normal lives. Hence, the baby boom initiated the start of a very busy decade. After the first portable radio came out, media rapidly increased.
People could advertise themselves to people all around the country and even to people driving in their cars. This media evolution gave birth to a whole new way of living for the generations to come and for the first time ever there was a generation gap. Media was reaching everyone and molding people's lives like never before. Anyone could access comical, frightening, romantic, or sarcastic information, movies, music and so on with the click of a button.
A rise in juvenile delinquency was one of the main causes of the baby boom and media increase. Teenagers could access more information at their age than any other generation. As a result, teenagers witnessed crime, murder, stealing, cheating, lying, and so on to be "cool" like how they saw in the media. This led to a high rise in juvenile delinquency because more children and teens were implanted with the thought that carrying out bad actions was okay.
The metal lead has also been linked to juvenile delinquency: it was added to gasoline from the 1920s through 1979, however it was not widely understood to be neurologically harmful in minute amounts until the 1950s. For further information on this topic, and more, please see the references below or the juvenile delinquency page.
Causes:
There are many factors that cause juvenile delinquency. Children whose parents have been incarcerated are far more likely to show delinquent behavior than their peers.
Sometimes children want to test their parents' limits, or society's limits. Some people believe that imposing strict laws such as curfews will cause a drop in juvenile delinquency rates, but sometimes imposing strict rules merely give the children more of an incentive to break them.
However, sometimes juvenile crimes do in fact occur due to the exact opposite reason, that is, a lack of rules and supervision. One example of this is that children many times commit crimes after school and while their parents are at work or preoccupied. Statistics that are mentioned below explain the peak hours of juvenile crime rates and conceptualize this very cause.
Additionally, mental illness and substance abuse are large contributing factors. 15-20% of juveniles convicted of crimes have serious mental illnesses, and the percentages increase to 30-90% of convicted juveniles when the scope of mental illnesses considered widens.
Also, many people believe that a child's environment and family are greatly related to their juvenile delinquency record. The youth that live in lower income areas face high risk factors. Farmer et al.’s study demonstrates the different types of risks these individuals face.
The youth can be put into three categories, which are single risk, multiple risks and no risk. The risks depend on the specific traits these youth portray. Farmer et al. state, that multiple risks are a combination of aggression, academic problems and social problems while a single risk is only one of those factors.
For example, the dynamics of a family can affect a child's well-being and delinquency rate. Crime rates vary due to the living situations of children; examples of this could be a child whose parents are together, divorced, or a child with only one parent, particularly a teen mom. This is largely because living arrangements are directly related to increases and decreases of poverty levels.
Poverty level is another factor that is related to the chances a child has of becoming a juvenile delinquent. According to Bolland et al., the level of poverty adolescents face determine their outcome. These teens feel as if they don't have some type of future ahead of them, so they commit crimes, dropout of school or increase the teen pregnancy rates.
Statistics on living arrangements, poverty level and other influential factors can be found in a later section. Others believe that the environment and external factors are not at play when it comes to crime; they suggest that criminals are faced with rational choice decisions in which they chose to follow the irrational path.
Finally, another cause could be the relationships a child develops in school or outside of school. A positive or negative friendship can have a great influence on the chances of children becoming delinquents. Peer pressure is also at play. Relationships and friendships can lead to gangs, which are major contributors of violent crimes among teens.
These are just some of the causes of juvenile delinquency. For a more detailed account of each of these causes, and more, please see the references below or the juvenile delinquency page above.
Recent Statistics:
Demographics:
There are roughly 75 million juveniles in The United States as of 2013. That is, one in four Americans have the potential of being labeled as juvenile delinquents (because they are considered juveniles). More specifically, in 2009 there were 74.5 million juveniles in the US, which was 2 million more than in the year 2007 which was 72.5 million.
The population of juveniles in the US is projected to increase until 2015, at least. In fact, the Federal Interagency on Child and Family Statistics reported that the number of juveniles might reach 101.6 million by 2050. If the juveniles delinquency rates were to increase with the population, or even plateau, this would translate into thousands of more juvenile delinquents.
Also in 2009, the three different classifications of age groups among children, being 0–5, 6–11 and 12–17, were roughly equal. As reported in 2009 by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 57% percent of all juveniles are White, 10% Black, 1% American Indian, 5% Asian, and 22% Hispanic. Poverty, which is also directly connected to a child's chances of becoming a juvenile delinquent, varies by numerous factors.
The poverty level of a child can vary by race and living arrangement (and other factors which are not mentioned here). For instance, in 2009, Black and Hispanic children were about three times more likely than White children of being poor. Additionally, in 2010, 21% of all children were living in poverty. 13% of these poverty stricken children lived in a two parent household, 40% lived with one single parent, 43% lived with just a mother figure, 22% lived with just a father figure, and 43% of the poverty-stricken children lived with no parents at all.
These statistics show that poverty levels increase as the child lives with fewer parental figures. The demographic statistics mentioned above pertain specifically to juveniles, which in turn, is closely related to juvenile delinquency. Many of the demographics mentioned above change on state level; to look up state-specific juvenile delinquency rates in general, or by race/poverty level/living arrangement, visit the Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) website.
The juvenile violent crime rate index dropped for the second consecutive year in 2010, and is now 5% lower that it was in 2006. Additionally, the Children's Defense Fund communicates that boys are five times more likely than girls to become juvenile delinquents (this statistic is further explained below).
Also on the Children Defense Fund website are statistics pertaining to Black and Latino boys and their juvenile delinquency rates. 1 of every 3 Black boys is at risk of incarceration, as well as 1 of every 6 Latino boys. Traveling back to the statistics provided by the OJJDP, their website also says that in 2008, juveniles were the offenders in 908 cases of murder, which constitutes 9% of all murders committed that year.
Also related to homicides, in the 1980s 25% of the murders that involved juvenile delinquents as the offenders also involved an adult offender. This percentage rose to 31% in the 90's, and averaged at 37% between 2000 and 2008.
The time of day juvenile delinquents commit their crimes are the times they are not in school. On average and on school days, juvenile crimes peak after school is let out, and declines throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening.
On non-school days it increases in the afternoon through evening, peaking from 7 pm to 9 pm (usually night time), after dark. Curfews have been used to curb juvenile crime, typically the hours of 10 pm to 6 am, but only 15% of such crimes occur during curfew hours, while most (63%) juvenile crime occurs on school days.
In recent years, the opportunity for after-school activities for children have decreased as public schools have deteriorated, at the same time city parks and recreational facilities have suffered funding cutbacks, both factors have left high-risk environments for kids during those hours. This suggests that funding of after-school programs and activities for juveniles would be substantially more effective at combating juvenile crime than curfews.
The Male Phenomenon:
The male phenomenon refers to the fact that a large majority of juvenile delinquents are men, or boys. In the United States, boys are five times more likely than girls to become juvenile delinquents.
Moreover, there are many suggested explanations as to why it is that boys commit more crimes than girls. One comes from theorists who believe men and boys are naturally more aggressive than women and girls.
Another theory communicates the idea that men and boys commit more crimes because of societal pressures to be masculine and aggressive.
A third theory suggests that the manner in which boys are treated by their families calls for more criminal action.
The crime rates vary across boys of different races. They are mentioned in the 'juvenile delinquency statistics' section above, as well as in the 'cradle to prison pipeline' section below, but to review, African-American boys are more likely to become juvenile delinquents than White and Latino boys. Latino boys are more likely to become juvenile delinquents than White boys are.
One clear way to explain this difference in crime rates among different races of boys is by looking at their poverty rates.
Changes in Statistics:
Changes in these statistics can be attributed to many fluctuations. Negative changes in the economy greatly affect all crime rates because people are more likely to find themselves in pressing situation like unemployment. Changes in population affect juvenile delinquency rates as well because changes in population translate into more or less juveniles.
Shifts in population could also mean more general societal shift, like a wave of immigration. An influx of new people who are unfamiliar with the legal system could negatively affect the juvenile crime rates. Other social changes, such as educational or health reforms, could have a large impact on juvenile crime rates if they create a larger population of at-risk children.
Cradle to Prison Pipeline:
This term refers to the population of boys and girls who live in conditions that cause them to be channeled into prison from birth. The pipeline suggests that there are factors such as a lack of parental supervision, poverty, and a lack of education that makes these people helpless and unable to change their situations.
Though this idea might not be appealing to those that believe crime is solely the failure of a rational choice decision, this phenomenon has caught the attention of many Americans. This pipeline, so to speak, disproportionately affects minority children living in under-served community, such as Blacks and Latinos.
According to the Children's Defense Fund, 1 out of every 3 Black boys and 1 out of every 3 Hispanic boys are at risk of becoming delinquents in their lifetime, and therefore at risk of being sucked into this pipeline in which prison is the only option at the end of the tunnel.
Of course some people that are affected by the pipeline commit crimes and are imprisoned when they are older, say 20. However, if the delinquency cause by the pipeline were to occur before the age of eighteen, the boy/girls would then become juvenile delinquents. Keeping in mind the existence of the male phenomenon, one can safely say that the pipeline affects more boys than girls.
The Children's Defense Fund has created a campaign to try to halt the spread of this phenomenon that is ruining the lives of so many poverty-stricken families and minorities. The campaign is called the 'Cradle to Prison Pipeline Campaign' and was launched in 2008 in Washington DC, at Howard University. Howard University is a historically black university.
The campaign argues that the US government spends more money on incarcerated people than on each child in the public school system. Their vision is that if this budgeting were reversed, the number of juvenile delinquents would greatly decrease. The ultimate goal of this campaign is to increase support for preventive measures and resources that children need to stay on the right path.
Some of the programs this campaign includes increasing early childhood education and guidance, as well as increasing health and mental health coverage and counseling. To date, many states have responded to this campaign by forming coalitions and holding conventions in which they formulate ideas and tactics to dismantle the pipeline.
Juvenile Delinquency and the Law:
Below is very valuable information on legal changes that have been made in regards to juvenile delinquents and juvenile delinquency. For a more thorough and detailed outline of juvenile delinquency law in the United States, please see the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention website.
The United States federal government enacted legislation to unify the handling of juvenile delinquents, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act of 1974. The act created the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) within the Justice Department to administer grants for juvenile crime-combating programs (currently only about 900,000 dollars a year), gather national statistics on juvenile crime, fund research on youth crime and administer four anticonfinement mandates regarding juvenile custody.
Specifically, the act orders:
One of the most notable causes of juvenile delinquency is fiat, i.e. the declaration that a juvenile is delinquent by the juvenile court system without any trial, and upon finding only probable cause. Many states have laws that presuppose the less harsh treatment of juvenile delinquents than adult counterparts’ treatment. In return, the juvenile surrenders certain constitutional rights, such as a right to trial by jury, the right to cross-examine, and even the right to a speedy trial.
Notable writings by reformers such as Jerome G. Miller show that very few juvenile delinquents actually broke any law. Most were simply rounded up by the police after some event that possibly involved criminal action. They were brought before juvenile court judges who made findings of delinquency, simply because the police action established probable cause.
In 1967, the United States Supreme Court decided the case In re Gault, that established the protection of many, but not all, procedural rights of juveniles in court proceedings, such as the right to counsel and right to refuse self-incrimination.
Preventing juvenile delinquency:
An effective way of preventing juvenile delinquency and keeping at-risk children away from crime is to tackle the problem before it happens. This entails looking at the causes of crime among teens and making an effort to reduce or eliminate said causes.
Some causes, though hard to eliminate, seem plausible. An example of this is improving the environment at home, through employment opportunities for the parents, educational opportunities for the children, and counseling and rehabilitation services if need be. These changes would not only promote a more positive environment at home, but would also work towards pulling at-risk families out of poverty.
Another possible change could be the interaction of the community these adolescents live in. The involvement of neighbors could decrease the chances of violence among these communities. In Craig Pinkney's TedTalk speech, “The Real Roots of Youth Violence”, he states that people do things to be heard and seen in their communities.
A cause that is more difficult to eliminate is mental illness, because sometimes these illnesses are present at birth. Still, counseling and rehabilitation might aid in reducing the negative effects of these illness, such as irrational and violent behavior.
One cause that seems almost impossible to eliminate is the rational and irrational choice idea. As mentioned above, some people believe that all crime comes down to a single situation in which an individual must make a rational or irrational decision, to commit the crime, or to not. Those that believe that this rational choice option is tied to the very immutable nature of the person would have a hard time believing that there is any way to control the choices children make and eliminate the causes of juvenile delinquency.
There are many foundations and organizations around the United States that have dedicated themselves to the reduction and elimination of juvenile delinquency. Many of these organizations spend their time and money controlling for the causes of juvenile delinquency mentioned above.
Below are a few agencies that work on preventing juvenile delinquency, though this list is not all encompassing by any means. Links for these foundations and organizations can be found in the "See also" links section below:
See also:
2. Alternatives to Juvenile Incarceration through State Child and Family Services Organizations
JUVENILE DETENTION ALTERNATIVES INITIATIVE (JDAI)
by the Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) is a charitable foundation focused on improving the well-being of American children. The foundation's goals are to build better futures for disadvantaged children, and their families, in the United States.
The AECF is one of the dominant organizations in child welfare issues in the U.S., and one of the most influential "watchdogs" for child welfare—famed for its publication of U.S. child welfare data, annually, through its KIDS COUNT Data Book—the most widely used reference on the subject.
History:
The AECF was started in 1948 in Seattle by UPS founder James E. Casey and his siblings George, Harry and Marguerite. Their foundation was named in honor of their mother. The foundation moved to Baltimore in 1994.
Originally a charity, chiefly focused on providing foster care, the organization gradually shifted to a broader role in advancing child welfare through social experimentation, research and publicity—particularly gaining notoriety as a "watchdog" over child welfare conditions across the nation. Along the way, it divested its foster care operations, while increasing its focus on family-preservation research, advocacy and action.
Through its extensive publicity efforts, the AECF has become a major independent source of information on the welfare of children in the United States, and one of the dominant organizations for advancing child welfare in the U.S.
Foster care and related services:
The AECF has had a long connection with foster care services, owning two such agencies.
By the early 2000s, foster care was falling somewhat into disrepute, and child welfare advocates increasingly focused on family preservation initiatives; the AECF was among those organizations.
Eventually, by 2012, the AECF had separated itself completely from its ownership of foster care and related operations, including the following:
Casey Family Programs
Main article: Casey Family Programs
In 1966, the Casey family philanthropy started a child welfare agency (foster care and related services) in the Seattle, Washington area.
In 1973, When Jim Casey's company, United Parcel Service (UPS), moved its headquarters from Seattle to New York City, Jim Casey gave the agency enough funds to become officially a separate, independent entity from the AECF. The resulting organization is known today as Casey Family Programs. Casey Family Programs today is a completely separate and distinct entity from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Casey Family Services:
From 1976 to 2012, the AECF operated a direct services arm called Casey Family Services that provided foster care and family services in the northeastern United States. Starting out in Connecticut and Vermont, the program expanded throughout New England and into Maryland before its closure in 2012.
Child welfare publicity and publications:
Among the organization's practices is the development of "public accountability" for child welfare outcomes—through continuing publication, and publicizing, of research and comparative data that assess the health and wellness of children in the various states and communities across the nation.
In keeping with this goal, the foundation is a regular contributor to public broadcasting, including National Public Radio.
Another key form of "public accountability" the foundation develops is written publications reporting the current status of children across the nation, state-by-state.
In particular, the foundation produces a detailed, annual child-welfare research report, the KIDS COUNT Data Book (also known as the Kids Count or simply the Data Book), surveying the well-being of children in the 50 US states, ranking the states on 10 core indicators, and overall—drawing heavily on documented sources and official reports.
This reference book, printed every year since 1990, is considered one of the foremost reference documents—for academics, media, business and public leaders—on child health and well-being in the United States, and particularly in each of the 50 states, comparatively.
In 2014, the organization also released its Race for Results Index, comparing the previous 23 years data accumulated on the well-being of America's children—intending to start a national conversation about startling disparities between racial and ethnic groups.
For the first time, this index was based on indicators of success: reading and math proficiency, high school graduation rates, teen birthrates, employment futures, neighborhood poverty levels, family income and education levels.
Standardized scores, indicating the children's likelihood of success in adult life, were presented for each state and racial group (where valid data was available) using data gathered between 2010 and 2013.
The foundation also sponsors (or produces), and distributes, research reports and white papers on various topics involving child welfare and related programs and public policy issues.
Child welfare development grants:
The foundation works with—and makes grants to—governments (particularly states), universities and civic organizations, to improve conditions for children.
AECF describes the grantees as the "KIDS COUNT Network" and uses them as outlets for its outreach communications and influence efforts, although it accepts that their individual priorities and goals may vary somewhat from AECF's.
Juvenile justice alternatives:
The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), a project developed in 1992 by the AECF, demonstrates ways for jurisdictions to safely reduce reliance on secure confinement of children, and strengthen juvenile justice systems through interrelated reform strategies.
The JDAI reports that it is now being copied in approximately "200 jurisdictions in 39 states and the District of Columbia". The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has worked directly and extensively with the AECF on these issues, as well.
The JDAI Helpdesk is an online information tool for juvenile justice advocates, practitioners, policymakers, and other parties seeking to improve juvenile justice systems, sharing the juvenile justice "best practices", research and materials produced by JDAI jurisdictions.
Featured materials include strategies and tools documented to safely reduce secure confinements, while improving public safety, avoiding costs and doing "what works for youth" to develop them into "healthy, productive adults". The materials are cataloged and available for downloading and sharing, and the Helpdesk responds to questions for additional information.
The JDAI Helpdesk is operated—in partnership with the AECF—by the Pretrial Justice Institute.
One prominent success story is the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center near Richmond, Virginia. AECF provided technical expertise to assist the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice in significantly reducing juvenile prison populations.
Financial affairs:
A detailed review of AECF financial history and current finances, in a Stanford University case study is available online, partially as a web page, but completely as a downloadable PDF file.
Senior executives:
See Also:
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3. The American Juvenile Justice System
The American juvenile justice system is the primary system used to handle minors who are convicted of criminal offenses. The system is composed of a federal and many separate state, territorial, and local jurisdictions, with states and the federal government sharing sovereign police power under the common authority of the United States Constitution.
The juvenile justice system intervenes in delinquent behavior through police, court, and correctional involvement, with the goal of rehabilitation. Youth and their guardians can face a variety of consequences including probation, community service, youth court, youth incarceration and alternative schooling.
The juvenile justice system, similar to the adult system, operates from a belief that intervening early in delinquent behavior will deter adolescents from engaging in criminal behavior as adults.
History and background:
Pre-1900:
Juvenile delinquency punishments trace back to the Middle Ages when crimes were severely punished by the Church.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, few legal differences existed between children and adults. Children as young as six and seven years were considered productive members of the family and their labor contributed to family income. In court, children as young as seven were treated as adults and could receive the death penalty.
Early debates questioned whether there should be a separate legal system for punishing juveniles, or if juveniles should be sentenced in the same manner as adults.
With the changing demographic, social, and economic context of the 19th century resulting largely from industrialization, "the social construction of childhood...as a period of dependency and exclusion from the adult world" was institutionalized.
This century saw the opening of the first programs targeting juvenile delinquency. Barry Krisberg and James F. Austin note that the first ever institution dedicated to juvenile delinquency was the New York House of Refuge in 1825.
Other programs, described by Finley, included: "houses of refuge", which emphasized moral rehabilitation; "reform schools", which had widespread reputations for mistreatment of the children living there; and "child saving organizations", social charity agencies dedicated to reforming poor and delinquent children. These 'child-saving efforts' were early attempts at differentiating between delinquents and abandoned youth.
Prior to this ideological shift, the application of parens patriae was restricted to protecting the interests of children, deciding guardianship and commitment of the mentally ill. In the 1839 Pennsylvania landmark case, Ex parte Crouse, the court allowed use of parens patriae to detain young people for non-criminal acts in the name of rehabilitation. Since these decisions were carried out "in the best interest of the child," the due process protections afforded adult criminals were not extended to juveniles.
Early 1900s:
The nation's first juvenile court was formed in Illinois in 1899 and provided a legal distinction between juvenile abandonment and crime.
The law that established the court, the Illinois Juvenile Court Law of 1899, was created largely because of the advocacy of women such as Jane Addams, Louise DeKoven Bowen, Lucy Flower and Julia Lathrop, who were members of the influential Chicago Woman's Club.
The Chicago court opened on July 1, 1899 with Judge Tuthill presiding, along with several members of the Chicago Woman's Club who acted as advisors about the juvenile offender's backgrounds.
Establishing a juvenile court helped reframe cultural and legal interpretations of "the best interests of the child." The underlying assumption of the original juvenile system, and one that continues to prevail, was that juveniles were generally more amenable to rehabilitation than adult criminals.
This new application of parens patriae and the development of a separate juvenile court formed the foundation for the modern juvenile justice system.
The creation of the juvenile justice system in Chicago coincided with the migration of southern black families to the North. A combination of factors like lack of parental supervision and extreme poverty left black children vulnerable.
In one case a 13 year old Kentuckian was accused of "habitual truancy" by the principal of his school, which would have been a violation of compulsory education laws, but the principal herself admitted that his attendance was perfect and that she had filed a petition for him to be sent to a Parental School because his parents were not giving him adequate care and "something should be done to keep him off the streets and away from bad company".
1960s to 1980s:
The debate about morality and effectiveness surrounded juvenile courts until the 1950s. The 1960s through the 1980s saw a rise in attention to and speculation about juvenile delinquency, as well as concern about the court system as a social issue. This era was characterized by distinctly harsh punishments for youths.
There was also a new focus on providing minors with due process and legal counsel in court. Criticism in this era focused on racial discrimination, gender disparities, and discrimination towards children with mental health problems or learning disabilities.
While still recommending harsher punishments for serious crimes, "community-based programs, diversion, and deinstitutionalization became the banners of juvenile justice policy in the 1970's".
However, these alternative approaches were short lived. The rising crime rates of the 1960s and media misrepresentation of this crime throughout the 1970s and 80s, paved the way for Reagan's War on Drugs and subsequent "tough-on-crime" policies. Heightened fears of a 'youth problem' "revealed white, middle- and upper-class anxieties about growing social unrest and the potential volatility stemming from social and economic inequality".
Public perception of juvenile deviance was such that at the 1999 Juvenile Justice Hearings, Bill McCollum claimed "simply and sadly put: Today in America no population poses a larger threat to public safety than juvenile offenders". In the late 1980s, the United States experienced a large increase in crime, and juvenile crime was brought into public view (see above "Juvenile delinquency in the United States").
Americans feared a "juvenile super-predator", and this fear was met by the government with harsher policies for juvenile crime.
1990s to present day:
In the 1990s, juvenile crime – especially violent crime – decreased, although policies remained the same. Schools and politicians adopted zero tolerance policies with regard to crime, and argued that rehabilitative approaches were less effective than strict punishment.
The increased ease in trying juveniles as adults became a defining feature of "tough-on-crime" policies in the 1990s. As Loyola law professor Sacha Coupet argues, "[o]ne way in which "get tough" advocates have supported a merger between the adult criminal and juvenile systems is by expanding the scope of transfer provisions or waivers that bring children under the jurisdiction of the adult criminal system".
Some states moved specific classes of crimes from the juvenile court to adult criminal court while others gave this power to judges or prosecutors on a case-by-case basis. Still others require the courts to treat offending youth like adults, but within the juvenile system. In some states, adjudicated offenders face mandatory sentences.
By 1997, all but three states had passed a combination of laws that eased use of transfer provisions, provided courts with expanded sentencing options and removed the confidentiality tradition of the juvenile court.
Juvenile courts were transformed to more easily allow for prosecution of juveniles as adults at the same time the adult system was re-defining which acts constituted a "serious crime."
The "three strikes laws" that began in 1993 fundamentally altered the criminal offenses that resulted in detention, imprisonment and even a life sentence, for both youth and adults. "Three strikes laws" were not specific to juvenile offenders, but they were enacted during a period when the lines between juvenile and adult court were becoming increasingly blurred.
The War on Drugs and "tough-on-crime" policies like Three Strikes resulted in an explosion in the number of incarcerated individuals.
Implementation of the Gun Free School Act (GFSA) in 1994 is one example of a "tough on crime" policy that has contributed to increased numbers of young people being arrested and detained.
It was intended to prosecute young offenders for serious crimes like gun possession on school property, but many states interpreted this law to include less dangerous weapons and drug possession. Many schools even interpreted GFSA to include "infractions that pose no safety concern, such as 'disobeying [school] rules, 'insubordination,' and 'disruption". These offenses can now warrant suspension, expulsion and involvement with juvenile justice courts.
Schools have become the primary stage for juvenile arrest and the charges brought against them and punishments they face are increasing in severity. Today this is frequently referred to as the school-to-prison pipeline.
Demographics:
Demographic information for youth involved in the Juvenile Justice system is somewhat difficult to collect, as most data is collected at state, county, and city levels. Although the office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention publishes national numbers that breakdown the racial make-up of youth involved in the juvenile justice system, this data provides an incomplete picture, as it excludes Hispanic youth in its demographic calculations.
According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, in 2011 there were a total of 1,236,200 cases handled by the juvenile courts. 891,100 cases dealt with males, compared with 345,100 for females. The most prominent age group represented in the courts is 13 to 15 years, which make up 552,000 of the total cases. 410,900 of the cases involved
Black adolescents, which represents about one-third of the total court cases.
The number of cases handled by the juvenile courts in the United States was 1,159,000 in 1985, and increased steadily until 1998, reaching a high point of 1,872,700. After this point, the number of cases steadily declined until 2011.
In the 1,236,200 cases settled in 2011, 60% of the juveniles had a previous background of criminal history in their families and 96% of the juveniles had substance abuse problems, often related to parental/guardian substance abuse.
In 1999, juveniles accounted for 16% of all violent crime arrests, and 32% of all property crime. They also accounted for 54% of all arson arrests, 42% of vandalism arrests, 31% of larceny-theft arrests, and 33% of burglary arrests.
Racial discrepancies:
Since 1995, the rate of confinement has dropped by 41%, and the rate has decreased among all major racial groups in the US. However, disparities by race remain apparent: in 2010, 225 youths per 100,000 were in confinement. When separated by race, there were 605 African-Americans, 127 Non-Hispanic Whites, 229 Hispanics, 367 Native Americans, and 47 Asian/Pacific Islanders in confinement per 100,000.
African-Americans are close to five times more likely to be confined than white youths, while Latino and Native Americans are two to three times more likely to be confined than white youths. Racial disparities in confinement are relatively constant across states.
According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, females constitute 14% of juveniles in residential placement in 2011. Of these females, 61% belong to racial minority groups.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation provides additional information about the demographics of the juvenile justice system.
Juveniles in residential placement:
Residential placement refers to any facility in which an adolescent remains on-site 24 hours a day. These facilities include youth detention centers, group homes, shelters, correctional facilities, or reform schools.
According to census data of Juveniles in residential placement and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the number of youths in juvenile detention centers in the United States has declined in the past two decades. The number of adolescents incarcerated peaked in 1995, with 107,637 in confinement in a single day. In contrast, there were fewer than 62,000 adolescents in residential placement in October 2011.
Juvenile offenders are placed either in public facilities operated by the State or local government, or private, for-profit facilities operated by separate corporations and organizations. Private facilities are smaller than public facilities. Half of all juvenile placement facilities in the US are privately operated, and these facilities hold nearly one-third of juvenile offenders.
Since 1997, 44 states and the District of Columbia have experienced a decrease in incarceration of adolescents. As of 2010, only 1 in 4 juveniles in confinement were incarcerated as a result of a violent crime (homicide, robbery, sexual assault, aggravated assault).
Additionally, 40% of juvenile delinquency cases and detentions are a result of offenses that are not considered threats to public safety. These include underage possession of alcohol, truancy, drug possession, low-level property offenses, and probation violations The most common age of offenders was 17 years old, with 17,500 in placement in 2011.
Juveniles aged 12 and under accounted for 1% of all youth in placement.
Criticisms:
The current debate on juvenile justice reform in the United States focuses on the root of racial and economic discrepancies in the incarcerated youth population. Residual fear from "get-tough" policies implement harsher practices in schools that perpetuate an unhealthy cycle.
The most common is the implementation of zero tolerance policies which have increased the numbers of young people being removed from classrooms, often for minor infractions. Low-income youth, youth of color and youth with learning and cognitive disabilities are over-represented in the justice system and disproportionately targeted by zero tolerance policies.
Collectively this creates the school-to-prison pipeline - a phenomenon that contributes to more students falling behind, dropping out and eventually being funneled into the juvenile justice system.
Much of the criticism about the American juvenile justice system revolves around its effectiveness in rehabilitating juvenile delinquents. Research on juvenile incarceration and prosecution indicates that criminal activity is influenced by positive and negative life transitions regarding the completion of education, entering the workforce, and marrying and beginning families.
According to certain developmental theories, adolescents who are involved in the court system are more likely to experience disruption in their life transitions, leading them to engage in delinquent behavior as adults.
Lois M. Davis et al. argue that adolescents are affected by a juvenile system that does not have effective public policies. Currently the juvenile system has failed to ensure that all youth in the system with learning disabilities or mental health issues, and from lower-class individuals and racial minorities are provided with the benefits for a productive life once out of the system.
In 2013 30% of youth in system have a learning disability and nearly 50% test below grade level. They argue that the juvenile justice system should be restructured to more effectively lower the chances of future crime among youth, and advocate for increased educational programs for incarcerated youth as the most important method to reduce recidivism.
A 12 BC report from The Council of State Governments Justice Center showed only states provide incarcerated youth with the same educational services as the general student population in the United States. The report recommended juvenile detention facilities should be held to the same academic standards as other public schools.
Proposed reforms:
Many scholars stress the importance of reforming the juvenile justice system to increase its effectiveness and avoid discrimination. Finley argues for early intervention in juvenile delinquency, and advocates for the development of programs that are more centered on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
James C. Howell et al. argue that zero tolerance policies overwhelm the juvenile justice system with low risk offenders and should be eliminated. They also argue that the most effective ways to reform the juvenile justice system would be to reduce the overrepresentation of minorities and eliminate the transfer of juveniles to the criminal justice system.
Zimring and Tannenhaus also discuss the future of the juvenile justice system in the United States. They argue that educational reentry programs should be developed and given high importance alongside policies of dropout prevention.
Reentry programs focus on providing care and support to juveniles after being released from detention facilities, and encouraging family support to help adolescents during this adjustment period. They also argue for the elimination of juvenile sex offender registration requirements, and the reform of criminal record information for juvenile offenders.
Some popular suggested reforms to juvenile detention programs include changing policies regarding incarceration and funding. One recommendation from the Annie E. Casey Foundation is restricting the offenses that are punishable by incarceration, so that only youth who present a threat to public safety are confined.
Other suggestions include investing in alternatives to incarceration, changing economic incentives that favor incarceration, and establishing smaller, more humane and treatment-oriented detention centers for the small number who are confined.
Positive youth development and the juvenile justice system:
Positive youth development (PYD) encompasses the intentional efforts of other youth, adults, communities, government agencies and schools to provide opportunities for youth to enhance their interests, skills, and abilities.
The justice system offers specific services to youth facing significant mental health and substance use challenges, but the majority of youth do not qualify for these targeted programs and interventions. Butts, et al. suggest that the integration of positive youth development into the juvenile justice system would benefit youth charged with nonviolent, less serious offenses.
Widespread implementation of PYD approaches in the juvenile justice system faces many challenges. Philosophically however, the PYD framework resembles the progressive era ideals that informed the creation of the first juvenile court.
As Butts, Mayer and Ruther describe, "The concepts underlying PYD resemble those that led to the founding of the american juvenile justice system more than a century ago. [...] Organizers of the first juvenile courts saw the solution to delinquency in better schools, community organizations, public health measures, and family supports. They believed an improved social environmental would encourage youth to embrace pro-social norms."
Integration of PYD into the juvenile justice system is informed by social learning theory and social control theory. Taken together, these theories suggest that "youth are less attracted to criminal behavior when they are involved with others, learning useful skills, being rewarded for using those skills, enjoying strong relationships and forming attachments, and earning the respect of their communities".
This is in stark contrast to the theories of deterrence and retributive justice espoused by the current justice system.
Youth court:
Youth courts are programs in which youth sentence their peers for minor delinquent and status offenses and other problem behaviors. The program philosophy is to hold youth responsible for problem behavior, educate youth about the legal and judicial systems, and empower youth to be active in solving problems in their community.
Youth courts function to determine fair and restorative sentences or dispositions for the youth respondent. Youth court programs can be administered by juvenile courts, juvenile probation departments, law enforcement, private nonprofit organizations, and schools.
Youth court programs operate under four primary models:
Under the adult judge model, an adult volunteer serves as the judge while youth volunteers serve as prosecuting and defense attorneys, jurors, clerks, and bailiffs.
Under the youth judge model, youth volunteers fill all roles, including judge.
Under a peer jury model, youth jurors question the respondents and make sentencing determinations.
Under a youth tribunal model, youth serve as prosecuting and defense attorneys, and present their cases to a panel of youth judges, who then make a sentencing determination.
To date, there are no comprehensive national guidelines for youth courts, but rather, courts operate under and are tailored to their local jurisdictions. To date, there are more than 675 youth courts in the United States.
East Palo Alto and Boston have both implemented youth courts. The East Palo Alto youth court is based on restorative justice principles. Eligible youth must admit the facts of the case, after which youth attorneys explain the facts of the case to a youth jury.
In Boston, youth court is available to first time, low level offenders. It is based on a restorative justice framework.
Restorative justice:
Restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders, and the involved community, rather than punishing the offender. Victims and offenders both take an active role in the process, with the latter being encouraged to take responsibility for their actions.
Doing so is an attempt by offenders to repair the harm they've done and also provides help for the offender in order to prevent future offenses. Restorative justice is based on a theory of justice that views crime to be an offense against an individual and/or a community, versus the state.
Programs that promote dialogue between victim and offender demonstrate the highest rates of victim satisfaction and offender accountability.
Restorative justice practices have been implemented in schools that experience higher rates of violence or crime. This can catch the juvenile before they're involved in the justice system and can change discipline into a learning opportunity. It encourages accountability, supportive climates, appropriate listening and responding and contributes to a development of empathy for the offender.
The difference between student exclusion and restorative approaches is shown through not only low recidivism, but school climates. With restorative approaches focusing on relationships, it prioritizes interpersonal connections which creates an overall better community.
The underlying thesis of restorative practices is that ‘‘human beings are happier, more cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive changes in their behavior when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to or for them.’’
Raise the age:
Many advocates argue that the juvenile system should extend to include youth older than 18 (the age that most systems use as a cut-off). Research in neurobiology and developmental psychology show that young adults' brains do not finish developing until their mid-20s, well beyond the age of criminal responsibility in most states.
Other non-criminal justice systems acknowledge these differences between adults and young people with laws about drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, etc.
Georgia, Texas and Wisconsin remain the only states to prosecute all youth as adults when they turn 17 years of age. Connecticut Governor, Dannel Malloy proposed in 2016 raising the age in his state to 20.
See also: ___________________________________________________________________________
4. JUVENILE DETENTION ALTERNATIVES INITIATIVE (JDAI) (a Program offered by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (see above)
JDAI® is a network of juvenile justice practitioners and other system stakeholders across the country working to build a better and more equitable youth justice system.
The Casey Foundation spurs the network to pursue policies and practices in their communities, courts and out-of-home placements that keep young people safe and on track for long-term success, while still holding youth accountable for their actions.
The network promotes a data-driven, problem-solving approach and a series of tools that are rooted in core strategies. These strategies are explicit about racial equity to address the glaring overrepresentation of youth of color in the justice system; youth, family and community engagement; and community-based alternatives to confinement.
The JDAI network is people doing similar work and facing similar challenges in states and localities across the country who influence and support one another to think differently about what’s possible with for youth in their communities. The network is connected through a free and open online community that offers advice from a variety of voices, credible resources and training on demand.
The Casey Foundation's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative®, or JDAI for short, began more than 25 years ago as a pilot project to reduce reliance on local detention. By design, reform in JDAI sites has expanded beyond juvenile detention, the front end of the system.
Sites are applying core JDAI themes — such as effective collaboration and objective decision making — to broader reform goals.
What We Do:
Provide training and technical assistance to practitioners through JDAIconnect, a free online community open to all for resources, expert guidance and peer-to-peer learning.
Provide a limited amount of technical assistance beyond what is available on JDAIconnect to jurisdictions trying something new or pushing the envelope with a reform strategy.
Publish and distribute practice- and assessment-oriented guides, analyses and videos.
Fund network learning labs in four local sites — Bernalillo County, N.M.; Cook County, Ill.; Multnomah County, Ore.; and Santa Cruz County, Calif. — and one state-level site, New Jersey.
Convene national conferences that energize the network through a mix of plenaries, workshops and small group discussions where practitioners and other experts exchange knowledge and first-hand reports of developments in the field.
Influence and encourage professionals to make smarter decisions that affect young people based on shared values, sound analyses and strategies known to reduce delinquency and support adolescent development.
View our resources on juvenile detention
Results to-date:
JDAI changed the country’s norms for using secure detention, shifting from a posture that defaulted to locking kids up for any kind of misbehavior to one that demonstrated detention should and could be used rarely through collaborative, data-driven efforts that offered alternatives to confinement.
JDAI has become the standard of practice for how local justice systems nationwide handle the critical front end of the juvenile court process.
JDAI reaches nearly one-third of the total U.S. youth population. It expanded from fives sites in the mid-1990s to more than 300 jurisdictions in 40 states and the District of Columbia by 2019.
Second and third generations of juvenile justice reformers are building upon the legacy of JDAI’s pioneers and adapting the model to current conditions.
State governments are leading the expansion of JDAI to more counties and cities.
Systems are locking up dramatically fewer young people prior to the court determining the outcome of the youth’ cases. Since launching their JDAI efforts, across the initiative sites have reduced admissions to secure detention by 57 percent and average daily population by 50 percent, and they have done so while protecting public safety. The data is based on 2018, which is the latest available.
Success with JDAI has been a catalyst for sites to apply JDAI’s core strategies beyond detention.
Important challenges remain, including overrepresentation of youth of color at every level of system involvement.
In 2009, the New York Times lauded JDAI’s “astonishing” results.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE JDAI AT 25 PROGRESS REPORT FOR MORE INFORMATION
Strategies:
State and local juvenile justice systems themselves — along with system stakeholders — have the will, capacity and opportunity to pursue strategies that achieve better outcomes for young people charged with delinquency.
Share the values that all young people deserve a bright future, humanity and fairness; and belong in families, not prison-like facilities, which are no place for kids.
Be explicit about race equity as a necessary counterforce to disparities that are deeply rooted in structural racism stemming from our nation’s history of slavery, intimidation, inequitable opportunity and discrimination.
Support JDAI as a dynamic national movement that pursues policies and practices that keep young people safe and on track for long-term success, while still holding youth accountable for their actions.
Help participating sites achieve success through technical assistance, learning labs, practice guides, implementation tools and opportunities for practitioners to come together in-person and online.
Energize the JDAI network and JDAIconnect as a place for practitioners and other system stakeholders to exchange ideas and find mutual support.
Enhance state leaders’ capacity to promote and support JDAI expansion at the county level, with state governments playing a central role in spreading the JDAI model.
Use the detention reform — i.e., safely reducing the number of young people coming in systems’ front doors — as a catalyst for practitioners to pursue other necessary changes within their systems.
Promote the JDAI model’s eight core strategies.
Resources: Join JDAIconnect This free online community about youth justice reform offers advice from a variety of voices, credible resources and training on demand. The community is open to all, whether or not you participate in JDAI. JDAIconnect is part of the Casey Foundation's Community Cafe platform.
History of JDAI:
Juvenile detention reforms in Broward County, Florida inspired the creation of JDAI more than 25 years ago.
Detention is a crucial early phase in the juvenile court process. Placement into a locked detention center pending court significantly increases the odds that youth will be found delinquent and committed to corrections facilities and can seriously damage their prospects for future success.
Yet many detained youth pose little or no threat to public safety.
From 1987 to 1992, Florida's Broward County combined interagency collaboration, research, objective screening procedures, non-secure detention alternatives and faster case processing to reduce its detention population by 65%, without any sacrifice of public safety. It saved taxpayers more than $5 million.
Following Broward County, five sites joined JDAI’s demonstration phase in 1992. Begun at the height of overcrowding in detention centers across the country and amid the nation’s alarm over youth crime and tough on crime tack, the JDAI pilot sites withstood significant political resistance.
The early successes in two of the original sites — Multnomah County, Oregon, and Cook County, Illinois, which include the cities of Portland and Chicago respectively — as well as in two of the initiative’s first replication sites, Santa Cruz County, California, and Bernalillo County, New Mexico, proved that common sense approaches and new alternatives could safely reduce the detention population.
As these successes and reform strategies were documented and shared, JDAI gained momentum. A training and technical support infrastructure was built to help jurisdictions faithfully adopt JDAI’s eight core strategies, including five sites that agreed to serve as learning laboratories for other jurisdictions.
When the initiative commemorated its 25th anniversary in 2017, the JDAI had spread to 300 jurisdictions in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
Now the JDAI network is a national movement of practitioners and system stakeholders that are advancing reforms in all aspects of youth justice, based on JDAI’s core values and strategies.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM JDAI:
WORKING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT
This guide is a resource-packed playbook for juvenile justice reformers who want to forge effective partnerships with law enforcement agencies. The goal? Help reduce the use of unnecessary detention while improving public safety outcomes at the same time.
TRANSFORMING JUVENILE PROBATION
IN THIS REPORT, YOU’LL LEARN:
A VIRTUAL COMMUNITY FOR REFORMERS
Since the launching JDAIconnect in 2017, more than 2,500 juvenile justice reformers have joined the fee online community to exchange ideas, find resources and learn from each other. We encourage practitioners, advocates and young people to join today.
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5. Child and family services:
Child and family services is a government or non-profit organization designed to better the well being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations, environmental or biological.
People who seek or are sought after to participate in these homes have no other resource to turn to. Children might come from abusive or neglectful homes, or live in very poor and dangerous communities.
There are also agencies that cater to people who have biological deficiencies.
Families that are trying to live in stable lives come to non-profit organisations for hope of a better future. Child and family services cater to many different types of people who are all in different situations. These services might be mandated through the courts via a governmental child protection agency or they might be voluntary. Child and family services may be mandated if:
Historical overview:
The history of the United States' response to child abuse and neglect has been marked by a tension between two missions:
18th and 19th centuries:
The legal basis for efforts to protect needy children in colonial times rested on the English Poor Law of 1601. This placed the public responsibility for the poor in the hands of local townspeople. Parents were not held accountable for their children, which lead parent's to tend to neglect their children and their duties as a parent.
The attention of community leaders, philanthropists, and social reformers who were concerned about child abuse and neglect focused primarily on the children of the poorest families and on those who were orphaned, abandoned, or unsupervised.
20th century:
During most of the 19th century, destitute children were sent to institutions operated by private charitable organizations. Many poor or abandoned children were sent to live in almshouses—facilities established in the 19th century in many large cities to house the very poor of all ages.
Almshouses provided minimal standard of care to orphaned or needy children and to impoverished, insane, or diseased adults. The almshouses caused the children greater hardships because they were subject to disease and chaos.
The second half of the 20th century saw increasing criticism of the impacts the unsanitary, chaotic almshouses had on children, especially the very young, who suffered high mortality rates there. Due to this, private charities and religious groups began to establish orphanages or children's asylums to separate needy children from adults and protect them from disease, maltreatment, and such.
Many parents were losing custody of their children because the private organizations were able to prove they would be able to take care of the children in need better than their parents could. Children began to feel disconnected from their parents because they had been placed to grow up with other families.
Development:
Child and family services have significantly developed over the last few centuries. Many different forms of help for children and families in need were offered throughout the community. Today we have many different agencies to help with the welfare and survival of many children and their families.
However, years ago, many people relied on their community and religion to get them through tougher times. The community's investment in the well-being of its children is reflected in the cultural mores and social norms, and in legal frameworks that permit intervention in individual families when children are abused or neglected.
The formal system through which society responds to child abuse and neglect is now largely a governmental one. Today, primary responsibility for child protection is vested in public child protective services (CPS) agencies, which receive, investigate, and respond to reports of child abuse and neglect.
These agencies are usually linked to child welfare departments with broader responsibilities which include foster care and adoption. Usually at this point, the parents lose their right to take care of their children because they are seen to be unfit parents.
Today, it is against the law to not report child abuse if evident. Many parents do not realize that they are candidates for the potential loss of their children to government agencies because of their issues, such as poverty, mental illness, or neglect that lead to child abuse.
Two-generation family strategies:
Census data shows that in the United States almost half of all children live in low-income families. Research suggests a critical connection between parent well-being and the child's emotional, physical, and economic well-being; as well as, a connection to the child's educational and workforce success.
Despite the crucial connection between parent and child well-being, many services designed to help low-income families target either the parent or the child, leaving someone behind.
Two-generation family programs coordinate services that aid low-income parents and children simultaneously, putting the whole family on a path to success.
Two generation family services aim to end the inter-generational cycle of poverty by moving families to economic stability and security through education, workforce training, and related support services.
Though each two generation program approach is different they all have three intentionally linked components: education and/or job training for parents that leads to family-supporting employment, high quality early childhood education, and family support services.
Parent education and job training:
Two generation family programs aim to get parents to a place of economic stability and security where they can secure employment that enables them to support their family and improve child outcomes. Programs aid parents in getting to economic security through education and job training opportunities.
Two generation program educational opportunities typically involve general educational development (GED) courses, and connections to post-secondary education supports, such as, financial aid or access to full-day childcare. In addition to education services, two generation family programs often utilize sector-based workforce development.
This type of workforce development targets job training for specific industries that will meet regional workforce needs, increasing the chances that graduates of the program will be able to find work.
High-quality early childhood education:
Two generation family programs include high quality early childhood education that nurtures children's learning and development. Investing in high quality early childhood education that extends from pre-K through third grade improves educational achievement throughout schooling and success in the workforce.
Programs can utilize existing early childhood development programs (i.e. Early Start or Head Start) and add two-generation elements such as offering full-day/full-year services to support working parents.
Family support services:
Two-generation family programs offer comprehensive wraparound services to support families. Examples of these support services include access to physical and mental health services for children, career coaches, case managers, family planning, and food assistance. These services aim to help expand family resources and support networks.
Child care in the United States:
Research suggests that child care is a critical component of livable communities for many families in urban, suburban, and rural areas, and that local planning policies can play an important role in ensuring adequate child care. The majority of parents who work depend upon formal, organized out-of-home care.
Studies show that families are paying a significant part of their earnings for child care.
Between 2011 and 2012, the cost of child care increased at up to eight times the rate of increases in family income. For a four-year-old child, center-based care ranges from about $4,300 in Mississippi to $12,350 in Massachusetts.
Lower income families have been disproportionately affected by these increases in child care costs. Working families at or near the poverty line did not receive any or enough child care assistance to be able to stay employed and off welfare, and only 12% to 15% of eligible families were served by a Child Care Development Fund subsidy in 1998–1999.
Options for accessibility:
Child care subsidies is an option used in many states to help parents pay for child care. These subsidies aid low-income families with children under age 13 in paying for child care so that parents can work or participate in training or education activities. Parents typically receive subsidies in the form of vouchers that they can use with a provider (e.g. relative, neighbor, child care center, or after-school program.)
Additional government programs aim to make child care more affordable. Medium and low income families receive earned income tax credits to compensate for money they allocated to child care arrangements.
Individuals may claim up to $3,000 of expenses paid in a year for one qualifying individual (a dependent child age 12 or younger) or $6,000 for two or more qualifying individuals on their tax return. Benefits from the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) concentrate on low-income families. In contrast, the dependent exemption and the virtually nonrefundable Child Tax Credit (CTC) benefited higher income families with benefits gradually increasing as a person's tax liability increased.
Universal child care is another way to make child care more widely accessible. For example, in Sweden, public childcare is guaranteed to all parents and it operates on a whole-day basis. Parental fees are directly proportional to parents' income and inversely proportional to the number of children in a family.
Finally, another viable option is to increase tax credits for low and medium income families. Currently, President Barack Obama has outlined a plan to triple the child tax care credit to $3,000 per young child.
Progression:
The demands that urbanization, industrialization, and immigration placed on poor and working-class families in the late 19th century left many children unattended. Rural states relied on family placements to care for their own homeless or dependent children. This was a precursor for today's foster care system.
As a general progressive agenda of social reform was adapted in the early years if the 20th century, the approach of assisting parents to care for their children was more widely endorsed.
A new policy was issued, stating, "No child should be removed from the home unless it is impossible to construct family conditions or to build and supplement family resources as to make the home safe for the child..." There is still evidence from the 19th century of abandoned children.
A 137-year-old foundation for children called New York Foundling Asylum has recently discovered letters from the parents who had abandoned their children in front of the agency because they were unable to care for them.
New York Foundling Asylum was a family service agency that cared for thousands of children who had no homes and needed help, otherwise they would have been left on the cold street. This foundation saved thousands of lives and set a tone for other private organizations to contribute as well.
Prominent non-profit organizations:
See also:
6. Residential treatment centers
A residential treatment center (RTC), sometimes called a rehab, is a live-in health care facility providing therapy for substance use disorders, mental illness, or other behavioral problems. Residential treatment may be considered the "last-ditch" approach to treating abnormal psychology or psychopathology.
Children and teens:
RTCs for adolescents, sometimes referred to as teen rehab centers, provide treatment for issues and disorders such as:
Most use a behavior modification paradigm. Others are relationally oriented. Some utilize a community or positive peer-culture model. Generalist programs are usually large (80-plus clients and as many as 250) and level-focused in their treatment approach. That is, in order to manage clients' behavior, they frequently put systems of rewards and punishments in place.
Specialist programs are usually smaller (less than 100 clients and as few as 10 or 12).
Specialist programs typically are not as focused on behavior modification as generalist programs are.
Different RTCs work with different types of problems, and the structure and methods of RTCs vary. Some RTCs are lock-down facilities; that is, the residents are locked inside the premises. In a locked residential treatment facility, clients' movements are restricted. By comparison, an unlocked residential treatment facility allows them to move about the facility with relative freedom, but they are only allowed to leave the facility under specific conditions.
Residential treatment centers should not be confused with residential education programs, which offer an alternative environment for at-risk children to live and learn together outside their homes.
Residential treatment centers for children and adolescents treat multiple conditions from drug and alcohol addictions to emotional and physical disorders as well as mental illnesses.
Various studies of youth in residential treatment centers have found that many have a history of family-related issues, often including physical or sexual abuse. Some facilities address specialized disorders, such as reactive attachment disorder (RAD).
Residential treatment centers generally are clinically focused and primarily provide behavior management and treatment for adolescents with serious issues. In contrast, therapeutic boarding schools provide therapy and academics in a residential boarding school setting, employing staff of social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists to work with the students on a daily basis.
This form of treatment has a goal of academic achievement as well as physical and mental stability in children, adolescents, and young adults. Recent trends have ensured that residential treatment facilities have more input from behavioral psychologists to improve outcomes and lessen unethical practices.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Residential Treatment Centers:
7. Child protective services
Child protective services (CPS) is the name of a government agency in many states of the United States responsible for providing child protection, which includes responding to reports of child abuse or neglect.
Some states use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered (as opposed to child-centered) practices, such as department of children and family services (DCFS).
CPS is also sometimes known by the name of department of social services (DSS or simply social services for short), though these terms more often have a broader meaning.
List of other names and acronyms for CPS:
CPS/DCF is a department under a state's health and human services organization.
Laws and standards:
Federal:
U.S. federal laws that govern CPS agencies include:
History:
In 1690, in what is now the Americas, there were criminal court cases involving child abuse. In 1692, states and municipalities identified care for abused and neglected children as the responsibility of local government and private institutions.
In1696, The Kingdom of England first used the legal principle of parens patriae, which gave the royal crown care of "charities, infants, idiots, and lunatics returned to the chancery". This principle of parens patriae has been identified as the statutory basis for U.S. governmental intervention in families' child rearing practices.
In 1825, states enacted laws giving social-welfare agencies the right to remove neglected children from their parents and from the streets. These children were placed in almshouses, in orphanages and with other families.
In 1835, the Humane Society founded the National Federation of Child Rescue agencies to investigate child maltreatment. In the late-19th century, private child protection agencies – modeled after existing animal protection organizations – developed to investigate reports of child maltreatment, present cases in court and advocate for child welfare legislation.
In 1853, the Children's Aid Society was founded in response to the problem of orphaned or abandoned children living in New York City. Rather than allow these children to become institutionalized or continue to live on the streets, the children were placed in the first "foster" homes, typically with the intention of helping these families work their farms as family labor.
In 1874, the first case of child abuse was criminally prosecuted in what has come to be known as the "case of Mary Ellen". Outrage over this case started an organized effort against child maltreatment
In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt convened the White House Conference on Child Dependency, which created a publicly funded volunteer organization to "establish and publicize standards of child care".
By 1926, 18 states had some version of county child welfare boards whose purpose was to coordinate public and private child related work. Issues of abuse and neglect were addressed in the Social Security Act in 1930, which provided funding for intervention for "neglected and dependent children in danger of becoming delinquent".
In 1912, the federal Children's Bureau was established with a mandate that included services related to child maltreatment. In 1958, amendments to the Social Security Act mandated that states fund child protection efforts. In 1962, professional and media interest in child maltreatment was sparked by the publication of C. Henry Kempe and associates' "The battered child syndrome" in the JAMA.
By the mid-1960s, in response to public concern that resulted from this article, 49 U.S. states passed child-abuse reporting laws. In 1974, these efforts by the states culminated in the passage of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA; Public Law 93-247) providing federal funding for wide-ranging federal and state child-maltreatment research and services.
In 1980, Congress passed the first comprehensive federal child protective services act, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-272), which focused on family preservation efforts to help keep families together and children out of foster care or other out-of-home placement options.
Partly funded by the federal government, child protective services (CPS) agencies were first established in response to the 1974 CAPTA which mandated that all states establish procedures to investigate suspected incidents of child maltreatment.
In the 1940s and 1950s, due to improved technology in diagnostic radiology, the medical profession began to take notice of what they believed to be intentional injuries, the so-called "shaken baby syndrome".
In 1961, C. Henry Kempe began to further research this issue, eventually identifying and coining the term battered child syndrome. At this same time, there were also changing views about the role of the child in society, fueled in part by the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1973, Congress took the first steps toward enacting federal legislature to address the issues of poverty and minorities. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was passed in 1974, which required states "to prevent, identify and treat child abuse and neglect".
Shortly thereafter, in 1978, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed in response to attempts to destroy the Native Americans by taking large numbers of Native American children, separating them from their tribes and placed in foster care or sending them to far away schools where they were maltreated, lost and sometimes died. This legislation not only opened the door for consideration of cultural issues while stressing ideas that children should be with their families, leading to the beginnings of family preservation programs.
In 1980, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act was introduced as a way to manage the high numbers of children in placement.
Although this legislation addressed some of the complaints from earlier pieces of legislation around destroying due process for parents, these changes were not designed to alleviate the high numbers of children in placement or continuing delays in permanence. This led to the introduction of the home visitation models, which provided funding to private agencies to force parents into intensive services in cases where the children were not favorable on the adoption market.
In addition to family services, the focus of federal child welfare policy changed to try to address permanence for the large numbers of foster children care. Several pieces of federal legislation attempted to ease the process of forcing adoption and taking away parental rights, including incentives for adoption and removal with the Adoption Assistance Act; the 1988 Child Abuse Prevention, Adoption, and Family Services Act; and the 1992 Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Adoption, and Family Services Act.
The 1994 Multi-Ethnic Placement Act, which was revised in 1996 to add the Interethnic Placement Provisions, also attempted to promote permanency through forced adoption, creating regulations that adoptions could not be delayed or denied due to issues of due process, fairness, Constitutional compliance, parental rights, the children's right, discrimination, race, color, or national origin of the child or the adoptive parent.
All of these policies led up to the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), much of which guides current practice. Changes in the Adoptions and Safe Families Act showed an interest in cosmetically shifting the emphasis towards children's health and safety concerns and away from a policy of reuniting children with their birth parents without regard to prior abusiveness.
This law requires counties to provide "reasonable efforts" to preserve or reunify families, but required that states move to terminate parental rights for children who had been in foster care for 15 out of the last 22 months, with several exceptions.
Comparison to similar systems found in other countries:
Brazil:
For decades, before 1990, there had been pressure from NGOs and children's organizations for protecting children battered by poverty and hunger and despised by sections of the community in Brazil. After this, became a chapter on the rights of children and adolescents in the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil.
1990, an even greater victory, when the Statute of the Child and Adolescent was approved ligating the government to protect child rights. This ensured a comprehensive child welfare system in Brazil. To ensure that the statute's provisions are enforced, councils for the rights of the child and adolescent were set up at federal, state and local levels.
The National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CONANDA) is a federal authority. The councils of guardianship are the local authorities and have duties and responsibilities towards children in their area. All work is based in the Statute of the Child and Adolescents (Law No. 8,069, July 13, 1990).
Canada:
In Ontario, services are provided by independent children's aid societies. The societies receive funding from, and are under the supervision of the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services. However, they are regarded as a non-governmental organization (NGO) which allows the CAS a large degree of autonomy from interference or direction in the day-to-day running of CAS by the ministry.
The Child and Family Services Review Board exists to investigate complaints against CAS and maintains authority to act against the societies.
The federal government passed Bill C-92 — officially known as An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families — in June 2019 coming into force on January 1, 2020. The new legislation creates national standards on how Indigenous children are to be treated.
For example, when looking to place kids in foster care, authorities are to prioritize extended family and home communities. The law also allows Indigenous communities to create their own child welfare laws. Indigenous children make up seven per cent of Canada's population, but they represent about 50 per cent of youth in care.
Costa Rica:
The Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI) is responsible for child protection in Costa Rica.
The agency was founded in 1930 by Luis Felipe Gonzalez Flores, a Costa Rican magnate at the time. It was founded to combat infant mortality, that at the time, was rampant in Costa Rica. The idea was to put infants up for adoption that the mother could not afford to support (abortion is a crime in Costa Rica).
In 1949, after the Costa Rican Civil War, a new constitution was written, it called for the agency to be an autonomous institution in the government, autonomous from any ministry.
Today the focus is on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The agency still favors adoption, since abortion is illegal in Costa Rica.
United Kingdom:
The United Kingdom has a comprehensive child welfare system under which local authorities have duties and responsibilities towards children in need in their area. This covers provision of advice and services, accommodation and care of children who become uncared for, and also the capacity to initiate proceedings for the removal of children from their parents care/care proceedings.
The criteria for the latter is "significant harm" which covers physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect. In appropriate cases the care plan before the court will be for adoption.
The Local Authorities also run adoption services both for children put up for adoption voluntarily and those becoming available for adoption through Court proceedings.
The basic legal principle in all public and private proceedings concerning children, under the Children Act 1989, is that the welfare of the child is paramount. In recognition of attachment issues, social work good practice requires a minimal number of moves and the 1989 Children Act enshrines the principle that delay is inimical to a child's welfare.
Care proceedings have a time frame of 26 weeks (although capable of extension under certain circumstances) and concurrent planning is required. The final care plan put forward by the local authority is required to provide a plan for permanence, whether with parents, family members, long-term foster parents or adopters.
The court routinely joins children as parties to their own care proceedings, and their best interests are explored and advanced by children's guardians, independent social workers who specialise in representation of children in proceedings. It is a feature of care proceedings that judges of all levels are expected to adhere to the recommendations of the children's guardian unless there are cogent reasons not to.
Nevertheless, "drift" and multiple placements still occur as many older children are difficult to place or maintain in placements. The role of Independent Visitor, a voluntary post, was created in the United Kingdom under the 1989 Children Act to befriend and assist children and young people in care.
In England, Wales and Scotland, there never has been a statutory obligation to report alleged child abuse to the police. However both the Children Act 1989 and 2004 makes clear a statutory obligation on all professionals to report suspected child abuse.
The statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 created the role of "local authority designated officer", This officer is responsible for managing allegations of abuse against adults who work with children (teachers, social workers, church leaders, youth workers etc.).
Local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) are responsible ensuring agencies and professionals, in their area, effectively safeguard and promote the welfare of children. In the event of the death or serious injury of a child, LSCBs can initiate a "Serious Case Review" aimed at identifying agency failings and improving future practice.
The planned ContactPoint database, under which information on children is shared between professionals, has been halted by the newly elected coalition government (May 2010). The database was aimed at improving information sharing across agencies. Lack of information sharing had been identified as a failing in numerous high-profile child death cases.
Critics of the scheme claimed it was evidence of a "big brother state" and too expensive to introduce.
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 (updated in 2010) and the subsequent The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report (Laming, 2009) continue to promote the sharing of data between those working with vulnerable children.
A child in suitable cases can be made a ward of court and no decisions about the child or changes in its life can be made without the leave of the High Court.
In England the murder of Victoria Climbié was largely responsible for various changes in child protection in England, including the formation of the Every Child Matters programme in 2003. A similar programme – Getting it Right for Every Child – GIRFEC was established in Scotland in 2008.
A bill is being debated in the UK parliament which many people and organisations fear will take away the statutory duty local authorities have to protect vulnerable children.
Effects of early maltreatment of children:
Children with histories of maltreatment, such as physical and psychological neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, are at risk of developing psychiatric problems.
Such children are at risk of developing a disorganized attachment. Disorganized attachment is associated with a number of developmental problems, including dissociative symptoms, as well as depressive, anxiety, and acting-out symptoms.
Standards for reporting:
Generally speaking, a report must be made when an individual knows or has reasonable cause to believe or suspect that a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect. These standards guide mandatory reporters in deciding whether to make a report to child protective services. However, due to the policy of the business to protect the identity of the reporter many reports have been made due to conflict with other parents or hospitals/doctors being sued by parents concerned with the way their child's needs have been addressed
Persons responsible for the child:
In addition to defining acts or omissions that constitute child abuse or neglect, several states' statutes provide specific definitions of persons who can get reported to child protective services as perpetrators of abuse or neglect. These are persons who have some relationship or regular responsibility for the child. This generally includes parents, grandparents, guardians, foster parents, relatives, legal guardians or bystanders.
Once taken away from home, the stated goal of CPS is to reunite the child with their family, however this is largely lip service. In some cases, due to the nature of abuse children are not able to see or converse with the abusers. If parents fail to complete Court Ordered terms and conditions, the children in care may never return home.
Most terms and conditions are set by the CPS caseworkers, not the courts, with the intent to drag out the case and so the 15-month deadline can be met.
Child protective services statistics:
The United States government's Administration for Children and Families reported that in 2004 approximately 3.5 million children were involved in investigations of alleged abuse or neglect in the US, while an estimated 872,000 children were determined to have been abused or neglected, and an estimated 1,490 children died that year because of abuse or neglect.
In 2007, 1,760 children died as the result of child abuse and neglect. Child abuse impacts the most vulnerable populations, with children under age five years accounting for 76% of fatalities. In 2008, 8.3 children per 1000 were victims of child abuse and neglect and 10.2 children per 1000 were in out of home placement.
On September 30, 2010, there were approximately 400,000 children in foster care in the U.S. of which 36% percent were ages 5 and under. During that same period, almost 120,000 birth to five year-olds entered foster care and a little under 100,000 exited foster care.
U.S. Child Protective Services (CPS) received a little over 2.5 million reports of child maltreatment in 2009 of which 61.9% were assigned to an investigation. Research using national data on recidivism indicates that 22% of children were rereported within a 2-year period and that 7% of these reports were substantiated.
In 2016, CPS within the state of Rhode Island demonstrated 2,074 cases of abuse or neglect among a population of 223,956 children.
As last reported in August 2019, 437,238 children nationally were removed from their families and placed in foster homes according to the federal government Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System.
From August 1999 - August 2019, 9,073,607 American children have been removed from their families and placed in foster homes according to the federal government Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System.
Child protective services recidivism in the United States:
In order to understand CPS recidivism in the U.S., there are several terms that readers must familiarize themselves with.
Two often-used terms in CPS recidivism are rereport (also known as rereferral) and recurrence. Either of the two can occur after an initial report of child abuse or neglect called an index report.
Although the definitions of rereport and recurrence is not consistent, the general difference is that a rereport is a subsequent report of child abuse or neglect after an initial report (also known as an index report) whereas recurrence refers to a confirmed (also known as substantiated) rereport after an initial report of child abuse and neglect.
Borrowing from the definition used by Pecora et al. (2000), recidivism is defined as, “Recurring child abuse and neglect, the subsequent or repeated maltreatment of a child after identification to public authorities.”
It is important to highlight that this definition is not all-inclusive because it does not include abused children who are not reported to authorities.
Recidivism statistics:
There are three main sources of recidivism data in the U.S.—the NCANDS, the NSCAW, and the NIS—and they all have their own respective strengths and weaknesses. The NCANDS was established in 1974, and it consists of administrative data of all reports of suspected child abuse and neglect investigated by CPS.
The NSCAW was established in 1996 and is similar to the NCANDS in that it only includes reports of child abuse and neglect investigated by CPS, but it adds clinical measures related to child and family well-being that the NCANDS is lacking.
The NIS was established in 1974, and it consists of data collected from CPS as well. However, it attempts to gather a more comprehensive picture of the incidence of child abuse and neglect by collecting data from other reporting sources called "community sentinels".
Criticism:
Brenda Scott, in her 1994 book Out of Control: Who's Watching Our Child Protection Agencies, criticizes CPS, stating, "Child Protective Services is out of control. The system, as it operates today, should be scrapped. If children are to be protected in their homes and in the system, radical new guidelines must be adopted.
At the core of the problem is the antifamily mindset of CPS. Removal is the first resort, not the last. With insufficient checks and balances, the system that was designed to protect children has become the greatest perpetrator of harm."
Texas:
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services had itself been an object of reports of unusual numbers of poisonings, death, rapes and pregnancies of children under its care since 2004. The Texas Family and Protective Services Crisis Management Team was created by executive order after the critical report Forgotten Children of 2004.
Texas Child Protective Services was hit with a rare if not unprecedented legal sanction for a "groundless cause of action" and ordered to pay $32,000 of the Spring family's attorney fees. Judge Schneider wrote in a 13-page order, "The offensive conduct by (CPS) has significantly interfered with the legitimate exercise of the traditional core functions of this court."
2008 Raid of YFZ Ranch:
Main article: YFZ Ranch
In April 2008, the largest child protection action in American history raised questions as the CPS in Texas removed hundreds of minor children, infants, and women incorrectly believed to be children from the YFZ Ranch polygamist community, with the assistance of heavily armed police with an armored personnel carrier.
Investigators, including supervisor Angie Voss convinced a judge that all of the children were at risk of child abuse because they were all being groomed for under-age marriage. The state supreme court disagreed, releasing most children back to their families. Investigations would result in criminal charges against some men in the community.
Gene Grounds of Victim Relief Ministries commended CPS workers in the Texas operation as exhibiting compassion, professionalism and caring concern. However, CPS performance was questioned by workers from the Hill Country Community Mental Health-Mental Retardation Center.
One wrote "I have never seen women and children treated this poorly, not to mention their civil rights being disregarded in this manner" after assisting at the emergency shelter.
Others who were previously forbidden to discuss conditions working with CPS later produced unsigned written reports expressed anger at the CPS traumatizing the children, and disregarding rights of mothers who appeared to be good parents of healthy, well-behaved children.
CPS threatened some MHMR workers with arrest, and the entire mental health support was dismissed the second week due to being "too compassionate". Workers believed poor sanitary conditions at the shelter allowed respiratory infections and chicken pox to spread.
CPS problem reports:
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, as with other states, had itself been an object of reports of unusual numbers of poisonings, death, rapes and pregnancies of children under its care since 2004. The Texas Family and Protective Services Crisis Management Team was created by executive order after the critical report Forgotten Children of 2004.
Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn made a statement in 2006 about the Texas foster care system. In Fiscal 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively 30, 38 and 48 foster children died in the state's care. The number of foster children in the state's care increased 24 percent to 32,474 in Fiscal 2005, while the number of deaths increased 60 percent.
Compared to the general population, a child is four times more likely to die in the Texas foster care system. In 2004, about 100 children were treated for poisoning from medications; 63 were treated for rape that occurred while under state care, including four-year-old twin boys, and 142 children gave birth, though others believe Ms. Strayhorn's report was not scientifically researched, and that major reforms need to be put in place to assure that children in the conservatorship of the state get as much attention as those at risk in their homes.
Disproportionality and disparity in the child welfare system:
In the United States, data suggests that a disproportionate number of minority children, particularly African American and Native American children, enter the foster care system. National data in the United States provides evidence that disproportionality may vary throughout the course of a child's involvement with the child welfare system.
Differing rates of disproportionality are seen at key decision points including the reporting of abuse, substantiation of abuse, and placement into foster care. Additionally, once they enter foster care, research suggests that they are likely to remain in care longer.
Research has shown that there is no difference in the rate of abuse and neglect among minority populations when compared to Caucasian children that would account for the disparity. The juvenile justice system has also been challenged by disproportionate negative contact of minority children. Because of the overlap in these systems, it is likely that this phenomenon within multiple systems may be related.
The American Journal of Public Health estimate that 37.4% of all children experience a child protective services investigation by age 18 years. Consistent with previous literature, they found a higher rate for African American children (53.0%) and the lowest rate for Asians and Pacific Islanders (10.2%). They conclude child maltreatment investigations are more common than is generally recognized when viewed across the lifespan. Building on other recent work, our data suggest a critical need for increased preventative and treatment resources in the area of child maltreatment.
Constitutional issues:
In May 2007, the United States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found in Rogers v. County of San Joaquin, No. 05-16071 that a CPS social worker who removed children from their natural parents into foster care without obtaining judicial authorization was acting without due process and without exigency (emergency conditions) violated the 14th Amendment and Title 42 United States Code Section 1983.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution says that a state may not make a law that abridges "... the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States" and no state may "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws".
Title 42 United States Code Section 1983 states that citizens can sue in federal courts any person who acting under a color of law to deprive the citizens of their civil rights under the pretext of a regulation of a state.
In the case of Santosky v. Kramer, 455 US 745 (1982), the Supreme Court reviewed a case when the Department of Social Services removed two younger children from their natural parents only because the parents had been previously found negligent toward their oldest daughter. When the third child was only three days old, the DSS transferred him to a foster home on the ground that immediate removal was necessary to avoid imminent danger to his life or health.
The Supreme Court vacated previous judgment and stated: "Before a State may sever completely and irrevocably the rights of parents in their natural child, due process requires that the State support its allegations by at least clear and convincing evidence. But until the State proves parental unfitness, the child and their parents share a vital interest in preventing erroneous termination of their natural relationship."
A District of Columbia Court of Appeals concluded that the lower trial court erred in rejecting the relative custodial arrangement selected by the natural mother who tried to preserve her relationship with the child. The previous judgment granting the foster mother's adoption petition was reversed, the case remanded to the trial court to vacate the orders granting adoption and denying custody, and to enter an order granting custody to the child's relative.
Notable lawsuits:
In 2010 an ex-foster child was awarded $30 million by jury trial in California (Santa Clara County) for sexual abuse damages that happened to him in foster home from 1995 to 1999; he was represented by attorney Stephen John Estey.
The foster parent, John Jackson, was licensed by state despite the fact that he abused his own wife and son, overdosed on drugs and was arrested for drunken driving. In 2006, Jackson was convicted in Santa Clara County of nine counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child by force, violence, duress, menace and fear and seven counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. The sex acts he forced the children in his foster care to perform sent him to prison for 220 years.
Later in 2010, Giarretto Institute, the private foster family agency responsible for licensing and monitoring Jackson's foster home and others, also was found to be negligent and liable for 75 percent of the abuse that was inflicted on the victim, and Jackson was liable for the rest. This was a landmark case that has since set a precedent in future proceedings against the Department of Children and Families.
In 2009 the Oregon Department of Human Services agreed to pay $2 million into a fund for the future care of twins who were allegedly abused by their foster parents; it was the largest such settlement in the agency's history.
According to the civil rights suit filed on request of twins' adoptive mother in December 2007 in U.S. Federal Court, children were kept in makeshift cages—cribs covered with chicken wire secured by duct tape—in a darkened bedroom known as "the dungeon".
The brother and sister often went without food, water or human touch. The boy, who had a shunt put into his head at birth to drain fluid, did not receive medical attention, so when police rescued the twins he was nearly comatose.
The same foster family previously took in their care hundreds of other children over nearly four decades. The DHS said the foster parents deceived child welfare workers during the checkup visits.
Several lawsuits were brought in 2008 against the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF), accusing it of mishandling reports that Thomas Ferrara, 79, a foster parent, was molesting girls.
The suits claimed that though there were records of sexual misconduct allegations against Ferrara in 1992, 1996, and 1999, the DCF continued to place foster children with Ferrara and his wife until 2000.
Ferrara was arrested in 2001 after a nine-year-old girl told detectives he regularly molested her over two years and threatened to hurt her mother if she told anyone. Records show that Ferrara had as many as 400 children go through his home during his 16 years as a licensed foster parent from 1984 to 2000. Officials stated that the lawsuits over Ferrara end up costing the DCF almost $2.26 million.
Similarly, in 2007, Florida's DCF paid $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged the DCF ignored complaints that another mentally challenged Immokalee girl was being raped by her foster father, Bonifacio Velazquez, until the 15-year-old gave birth to a child.
In a class action lawsuit Charlie and Nadine H. v. McGreevey was filed in federal court by "Children's Rights" New York organization on behalf of children in the custody of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS). The complaint alleged violations of the children's constitutional rights and their rights under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment, 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA).
In July 2002, the federal court granted plaintiffs' experts access to 500 children's case files, allowing plaintiffs to collect information concerning harm to children in foster care through a case record review. These files revealed numerous cases in which foster children were abused, and the DYFS failed to take proper action.
On June 9, 2004, the child welfare panel appointed by the parties approved the NJ state's reform plan. The court accepted the plan on June 17, 2004. The same organization filed similar lawsuits against other states in recent years that caused some of the states to start child welfare reforms.
In 2007, with Shawn McMillan as her lead trial attorney, Deanna Fogarty-Hardwick obtained a jury verdict against Orange County (California) and two of its social workers for violating her Fourteenth Amendment rights to familial association. The $4.9 million verdict grew to a $9.5 million judgment as the county lost each of its successive appeals. The case finally ended in 2011 when the United States Supreme Court denied Orange County's request to overturn the verdict.
During the appeals process it was argued by the defense attorneys that the caseworkers had a right to fabricate evidence and lie to the court in order to facilitate the continued removal of the child from her family. This case, which has come to be called the "right to lie" case set a precedent of how caseworkers can handle cases to which they are assigned. It was adamantly argued, by the defense, that caseworkers should be allowed to make up things in order to sway the judges decision to remove a child from his or her fit parents.
The defense attorney even tried to justify the right of the caseworkers to lie saying that the statutes which cover perjury are "state statutes".
In 2018 Rafaelina Duval obtained a jury verdict against Los Angeles County (California) and two of its social workers for an unwarranted seizure of her child. The board of supervisors approved a $6 million payout for Duval, who said her 15-month-old baby was seized by county social workers against her rights. Her son, Ryan, was taken on November 3, 2009, after social workers Kimberly Rogers and Susan Pender accused Duval of general neglect and intentionally starving the boy, according to a statement issued by Duval's attorney,
Shawn McMillan, following the jury verdict. "The law is very clear and the social workers get training on this, you cannot seize a child from its parents unless there's an emergency," McMillan said.
In 2019, with the assistance of attorney McMillan, Rachel Bruno obtained an award against social services and Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) after they took her 20-month-old son and ran unauthorized medical tests on him and injected him with a dozen vaccinations at the same time. The 1.49 million dollar award was given for the damage social workers and hospital staff did to the Brunos' civil rights by ordering tests on David without valid warrants or parental consent.
The medical tests were to determine if he was sexually abused, even though there were no allegations that abuse occurred. An invasive test was performed on him at CHOC, along with a full skeletal X-ray for which he had to be forcibly held down. David was seized without a warrant from his parents while his newborn brother Lucas was in the hospital for a head injury that was under investigation by the county.
Child services suspected that Lucas's injury was from abuse, and although the mother and nanny were the only two in the home when the injury occurred, child services blamed Bruno and only questioned the nanny once before letting her go. No evidence was ever found that anyone had harmed the newborn intentionally and the state's attorney declined to prosecute.
California:
In April 2013, Child Protective Services in Sacramento sent in police to forcibly remove a 5-month-old baby from the care of parents.
Alex and Anna Nikolayev took their baby Sammy out of Sutter Memorial Hospital and sought a second opinion at Kaiser Permanente, a competing hospital, for Sammy's flu-like symptoms. Police arrived at Kaiser and questioned the couple and doctors. Once Sammy had been fully cleared to leave the hospital, the couple went home, but the following day police arrived and took Sammy.
On June 25, 2013 the case against the family was dismissed and the family filed a lawsuit against CPS and the Sacramento Police Department.
In Stockton, California, two children were taken away from Vuk and Verica Nastić in June 2010 after the children's naked photos were found on the father's computer. Such photos are common in Serbian culture. Furthermore, parents claim that their ethnic and religious rights have been violated – children are not permitted to speak Serbian, nor to meet with their parents for orthodox Christmas. They could only meet their mother once a week.
Children have suffered psychological trauma due to their separation from parents. A polygraph test showed that the father did not abuse the children. The trial was set for January 26. Psychologists from Serbia stated that a few hours of conversation with children are enough to see whether they have been abused.
The children were taken from their family 7 months ago. The FBI started an investigation against the CPS. The children were reunited with their parents in February 2011.
Illinois:
Illinois Children and Family Services plays an important part in investigating and restoring children and families in order to better a society.
As the Children Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act of Illinois states, that upon receiving a report it is the responsibility of Department of Children and Families Services to conserve the health and safety of the child in any circumstances where the children experience abuse and neglect.
Protective assistance to the child should be provided in order to maintain a proper mental health and psychological state for the child; which includes preserving family life whenever possible.
Sadly, in the most extreme cases, child abuse results in the death of a child. In 2016, there were 64 child maltreatment deaths reported in Illinois—a rate of 2.19 per 100,000 children (U.S. DHHS, 2018).
From 2012 to 2016, Illinois’ reported annual maltreatment-related deaths have been as high as 105 and as low as 64, with a decrease every year since 2014.
Family social workers:
Once a teacher, counselor, neighbor or any bystander calls child protective services, social workers start the investigation. Social workers have the obligation to visit clients into their homes in order to prove that the children and families are in good standings.
Social workers are in charge to evaluate and verify that there is no academic, behavioral nor social problems that could affect the development of the children. The social worker will continue doing visitation until children and the family is stable and there is not more signs of abuse or neglect.
If in the case that the situation it seems to not improve, the social worker can intervene and take the child away from family and be place in the foster system until parents or guardians pass test in order to have possibility to have the child back.
Perpetrators:
The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) gathers and analyzes all screened-in referrals from the child protective services from all 50 states. It defines a perpetrator as someone who has caused or permitted the abuse and neglect of a child to had happened.
As NCANDS data on 2018 shows, in Illinois, 17,431 out of 18,958 perpetrators, or 77%, are parents of their victims, 6.4 percent are relatives and 4.6 percent had a different relationship to the child3. Within those numbers, 40 percent of the victims were abused and neglected by a mother acting alone and 21.5 percent by father acting alone3.
Compared to Wisconsin where 2,502 out of 2,753 perpetrators are parents of the victims. Alcohol abuse and drug abuse have been identified as major risk factors which will increase child maltreatment.3 Evidence shows that there is an increase of victims if parents consume drugs or alcohol.
Child protective services responsibilities and case load:
Illinois Children and Family Services is composed of social workers, a position which does not require a degree in social work and in many cases any degree beyond a high school diploma, who assist families and children in complicated situations where abuse and neglect are alleged.
National Association of Social Workers sets professional standards for social workers in family support programs, parenting programs and family-based services. According to these standards, social workers must act ethically, in accord with service, social justice, integrity and respect toward the person. Furthermore, the standards emphasize the importance that a social worker should have on serving as an advocate for the physical health and mental health of the children, youth and their families.
Moreover, social workers should be able to perform ongoing assessments in order to gather important information and intervene with adequate evidence in order to ensure safety of the child.
However, throughout the years, social workers have struggled with a lack of resources, large caseloads and poor education. Social workers have to perform screening, investigations and identify alternative responses. Some social workers might need to provide additional services depending on the number of coworkers in their agencies and resources.
In 2018, NCANDS reported that Illinois has only 150 workers who perform intake and screening for child abuse and neglect, and only 953 workers that follow up on reports. This provides evidence that child welfare social workers may find their daily responsibilities to be challenging.
Compared with Michigan that has 177 workers who perform intake and screening for child abuse and neglect, and 1,549 workers that follow up on reports.
In addition to the challenges of a lack of resources and large caseloads, the Office of Inspector General identified issues that hinder effective service delivery. Among individual professional social workers, cognitive fixation, knowledge deficit, and documentation burdens are problems. Among social worker teams, coordination and supervisory support are problems.
And environmental conditions, such as policies, training, and service array can also be inadequate.
Based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics individual and family services social workers on 2018, had an annual mean wage of $42,972 which might be taken as trivial amount compared to the amount of work that needed from social workers. An example of fixable efforts is Annie E. Casey Foundation Human Services Workforce Initiative (AECF).
The initiative focuses on recruiting and retaining social workers with training and support in order to provide an effective resource for children and their family. States are doing different partnerships with colleges and universities to provide recruitment strategies that could attract students to find interest in the career of social work.
See also:
Since the Children’s Defense Fund last published our annual State of America’s Children report in February 2020, our children have experienced a year of unprecedented upheaval due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a racial reckoning years in the making.
Every aspect of children’s lives has been impacted by these shifts more quickly than data can track; even the most recent available data sets do not fully encompass how this past year has shaped our lives. This, of course, includes our 2021 State of America’s Children report.
Because, as one element of the report makes clear, “Our Children are Not Immune.”
A year marked by such dramatic change and drastic negative impact on children’s lives must be followed by one of healing and restoration, coupled with bold action.
We hope this report will serve as a call-to-action to join us as we take the bold steps necessary to fulfill our vision of a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive.
Click here to access the full report, even download it if you wish!
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1. Juvenile Deliquency
Juvenile delinquency, also known as "juvenile offending", is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority.
For example, in the United States of America a juvenile delinquent is a person who is typically below 18 (17 in the states of Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Texas, and Wisconsin) years of age and commits an act that otherwise would have been charged as a crime if they were an adult.
Juvenile crimes can range from status offenses (such as underage smoking/drinking), to property crimes and violent crimes.
Some scholars have found an increase in arrests for youth and have concluded that this may reflect more aggressive criminal justice and zero-tolerance policies rather than changes in youth behavior. Youth violence rates in the United States have dropped to approximately 12% of peak rates in 1993 according to official US government statistics, suggesting that most juvenile offending is non-violent.
Many delinquent acts can be attributed to the environmental factors such as family behavior or peer influence. One contributing factor that has gained attention in recent years is the school to prison pipeline. According to Diverse Education, nearly 75% of states have built more jails and prisons than colleges.
CNN also provides a diagram that shows that cost per inmate is significantly higher in most states than cost per student. This shows that tax payer's dollars are going toward providing for prisoners rather than providing for the educational system and promoting the advancement of education. For every school that is built, The focus on punitive punishment has been seen to correlate with juvenile delinquency rates. Some have suggested shifting from zero tolerance policies to restorative justice approaches.
Juvenile detention centers, courts and electronic monitoring are common structures of the juvenile legal system. Juvenile courts are in place to address offenses for minors as civil rather than criminal cases in most instances. The frequency of use and structure of these courts in the United States varies by state. Depending on the type and severity of the offense committed, it is possible for people under 18 to be charged and treated as adults.
Overview:
Juvenile delinquency, or offenses, is often separated into three categories:
- delinquency, crimes committed by minors, which are dealt with by the juvenile courts and justice system;
- criminal behavior, crimes dealt with by the criminal justice system;
- status offenses, offenses that are only classified as such because only a minor can commit them. One example of this is possession of alcohol by a minor. These offenses are also dealt with by the juvenile courts.
Currently, there is not an agency whose jurisdiction is tracking worldwide juvenile delinquency but UNICEF estimates that over one million children are in some type of detention globally. Many countries do not keep records of the amount of delinquent or detained minors but of the ones that do, the United States has the highest number of juvenile delinquency cases.
In the United States, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention compiles data concerning trends in juvenile delinquency. According to their most recent publication, 7 in 1000 juveniles in the US committed a serious crime in 2016.
A serious crime is defined by the US Department of Justice as one of the following eight offenses:
- murder and non-negligent homicide,
- rape (legacy & revised),
- robbery,
- aggravated assault,
- burglary,
- motor vehicle theft,
- larceny-theft,
- and arson.
According to research compiled by James Howell in 2009, the arrest rate for juveniles has been dropping consistently since its peak in 1994. Of the cases for juvenile delinquency that make it through the court system, probation is the most common consequence and males account for over 70% of the caseloads.
According to developmental research by Moffitt (2006), there are two different types of offenders that emerge in adolescence. The first is an age specific offender, referred to as the adolescence-limited offender, for whom juvenile offending or delinquency begins and ends during their period of adolescence.
Moffitt argues that most teenagers tend to show some form of antisocial or delinquent behavior during adolescence, it is therefore important to account for these behaviors in childhood in order to determine whether they will be adolescence-limited offenders or something more long term.
The other type of offender is the repeat offender, referred to as the life-course-persistent offender, who begins offending or showing antisocial/aggressive behavior in adolescence (or even in childhood) and continues into adulthood.
Situational factors:
Most of influencing factors for juvenile delinquency tend to be caused by a mix of both genetic and environmental factors. According to Laurence Steinberg's book Adolescence, the two largest predictors of juvenile delinquency are parenting style and peer group association.
Additional factors that may lead a teenager into juvenile delinquency include poor or low socioeconomic status, poor school readiness/performance and/or failure and peer rejection. Delinquent activity, especially the involvement in youth gangs, may also be caused by a desire for protection against violence or financial hardship.
Juvenile offenders can view delinquent activity as a means of gaining access to resources to protect against such threats. Research by Carrie Dabb indicates that even changes in the weather can increase the likelihood of children exhibiting deviant behavior.
Family environment:
Family factors that may have an influence on offending include: the level of parental supervision, the way parents discipline a child, parental conflict or separation, criminal activity by parents or siblings, parental abuse or neglect, and the quality of the parent-child relationship.
As mentioned above, parenting style is one of the largest predictors of juvenile delinquency.
There are 4 categories of parenting styles which describe the attitudes and behaviors that parents express while raising their children.
- Authoritative parenting is characterized by warmth and support in addition to discipline.
- Indulgent parenting is characterized by warmth and regard towards their children but lack structure and discipline.
- Authoritarian parenting is characterized by high discipline without the warmth thus leading to often hostile demeanor and harsh correction
- Neglectful parenting is both non responsive and non demanding. The child is not engaged either affectionately or disciplinary by the parent.
According to research done by Laura E. Berk, the style of parenting that would be most beneficial for a child, based on studies conducted by Diana Baumrind (1971) is the authoritative child-rearing style because it combines acceptance with discipline to render healthy development for the child.
As concluded in Steinberg's Adolescence, children brought up by single parents are more likely to live in poverty and engage in delinquent behavior than those who live with both parents.
However, according to research done by Graham and Bowling, once the attachment a child feels towards their parent(s) and the level of parental supervision are taken into account, children in single parent families are no more likely to offend than others. It was seen that when a child has low parental supervision they are much more likely to offend.
Negative peer group association is more likely when adolescents are left unsupervised. A lack of supervision is also connected to poor relationships between children and parents.
Children who are often in conflict with their parents may be less willing to discuss their activities with them. Conflict between a child's parents is also much more closely linked to offending than being raised by a lone parent.
Adolescents with siblings who have committed crimes are more likely to be influenced by their siblings and become delinquent if the sibling is older, of the same sex/gender, and maintains a good relationship with the child. Cases where a younger criminal sibling influences an older one are rare. An aggressive more hostile sibling is less likely to influence a younger sibling in the direction of delinquency, if anything, the more strained the relationship between the siblings, the less they will want to be influence each other.
Children resulting from unintended pregnancies are more likely to exhibit delinquent behavior. They also have lower mother-child relationship quality.
Peer influence:
Peer rejection in childhood is also a large predictor of juvenile delinquency. This rejection can affect the child's ability to be socialized properly and often leads them to gravitate towards anti-social peer groups. Association with anti-social groups often leads to the promotion of violent, aggressive and deviant behavior.
Robert Vargas's "Being in 'Bad' Company," explains that adolescents who can choose between groups of friends are less susceptible to peer influence that could lead them to commit illegal acts.
Aggressive adolescents who have been rejected by peers are also more likely to have a "hostile attribution bias", which leads people to interpret the actions of others (whether they be hostile or not) as purposefully hostile and aggressive towards them. This often leads to an impulsive and aggressive reaction.
Conformity plays a significant role in the vast impact that peer group influence has on an individual. Aronson, Wilson, & Akert (2013) point to the research experiment conducted by Solomon Asch (1956), to ascertain whether a group could influence an individual's behavior. The experiment was executed by asking a participant determine which line in the set of 3 lines matched the length of an original line.
Confederates knew the purpose of the experiment and were directed to answer the questions incorrectly during certain phases of the experiment. These confederates answered the question before the participant. The confederates answered the first few questions correctly, as did the participant.
Eventually, all of the confederates started to answer incorrectly. The purpose of the experiment was to see if the group would influence the participant to answer incorrectly. Asch found that seventy-six percent of the participants conformed and answered incorrectly when influenced by the group.
According to these findings, it was concluded that a peer group that is involved in deviant behavior can influence an adolescent to engage in similar activities. Once the adolescent becomes part of the group, they will be susceptible to groupthink.
School to prison pipeline:
A common contributor to juvenile delinquency rates is a phenomenon referred to as the school to prison pipeline. In recent years, school disciplinary measures have become increasingly policed.
In fact, 67% of high school students attend schools with police officers. This rise in police presence is often attributed to the implementation of zero tolerance policies. Based on the "broken windows" theory of criminology and the Gun-Free Schools Act, zero tolerance policies stress the use of specific, consistent, and harsh punishment to deal with in school infractions.
Often measures such as suspension or expulsion are assigned to students who deviant regardless of the reason or past disciplinary history. This use of punishment often has been linked with increasing high school drop out rates and future arrests.
It was found in a 2018 study that students who received a suspension were less likely to graduate and more likely to be arrested or on probation. As stated in research by Matthew Theriot, the increased police presence in school and use of tougher punishment methods leads student actions to be criminalized and in turn referred to juvenile justice systems.
The Center on Youth Justice at the Vera Institute of Justice found that “for similar students attending similar schools, a single suspension or expulsion doubles the risk that a student will repeat a grade. Being retained a grade, especially while in middle or high school, is one of the strongest predictors of dropping out.
In a national longitudinal study, it was reported that youth with a prior suspension were 68% more likely to dropout of school.
The School to Prison Pipeline disproportionately affects minority students. According to data compiled by the United States Government Accountability Office, 39% of students who received a suspension in the 2013-14 school year were Black, even though Black students accounted for only about 15% of public school students. This over-representation applied to both boys and girls of African descent. Compared to White students, black students were expelled or suspended 3 times as frequently.
Personality factors:
Juvenile Delinquency, is the unlawful activities by minors in their teen or pre-teen years. It is influenced by four main risk factors namely; personality, background, state of mind and drugs.
Gender:
Gender is another risk factor in regards to influencing delinquent behavior. The predictors of different types of delinquency vary across females and males for various reasons, but a common underlying reason for this is socialization.
Different predictors of delinquency emerge when analyzing distinct offending types across gender, but overall it is evident that males commit more crimes than females. Across all offenses, females are less likely to be involved in delinquent acts than males. Females not only commit fewer offenses, but they also commit less serious offenses.
Socialization plays a key role in the gender gap in delinquency because male and female juveniles are often socialized differently. Girls' and boys' experiences are heavily mediated by gender, which alters their interactions in society.
Males and females are differently controlled and bonded, suggesting that they will not make the same choices and may follow different paths of delinquency. Social bonds are important for both males and females, but different aspects of the bond are relevant for each gender.
The degree of involvement in social settings is a significant predictor of male’s violent delinquency, but is not significant for females. Males tend to be more connected with their peer relationships which in effect has a stronger influence on their behavior.
Association with delinquent peers is one of the strongest correlates of juvenile delinquency, and much of the gender gap can be accounted for by the fact that males are more likely to have friends that support delinquent behavior. Delinquent peers are positively and significantly related to delinquency in males but delinquent peers are negatively and insignificantly related to delinquency for females.
As for females, familial functioning relationships have shown to be more important. Female juveniles tend to be more strongly connected with their families, the disconnect or the lack of socialization between their family members can significantly predict their likelihood of committing crimes as juveniles and even as adults.
When the family is disrupted, females are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior than males. Boys, however, tend to be less connected to their family and are not as affected by these relationships.
When it comes to minor offenses such as fighting, vandalism, shoplifting, and the carrying of weapons, differences in gender are limited because they are most common among both males as well as females. Elements of the social bond, social disorganization, routine activities, opportunity, and attitudes towards violence are also related to delinquent behavior among both males and females.
Neurological:
Individual psychological or behavioral risk factors that may make offending more likely include low intelligence, impulsiveness or the inability to delay gratification, aggression, lack of empathy, and restlessness. Other risk factors that may be evident during childhood and adolescence include, aggressive or troublesome behavior, language delays or impairments, lack of emotional control (learning to control one's anger), and cruelty to animals.
Children with low intelligence are more likely to do badly in school. This may increase the chances of offending because low educational attainment, a low attachment to school, and low educational aspirations are all risk factors for offending in themselves.
Children who perform poorly at school are also more likely to be truant, and the status offense of truancy is linked to further offending.
Impulsiveness is seen by some as the key aspect of a child's personality that predicts offending However, it is not clear whether these aspects of personality are a result of "deficits in the executive functions of the brain" or a result of parental influences or other social factors.
In any event, studies of adolescent development show that teenagers are more prone to risk-taking, which may explain the high disproportionate rate of offending among adolescents.
Psychological:
Juvenile delinquents are often diagnosed with different disorders. Around six to sixteen percent of male teens and two to nine percent of female teens have a conduct disorder. These can vary from oppositional-defiant disorder, which is not necessarily aggressive, to antisocial personality disorder, often diagnosed among psychopaths. A conduct disorder can develop during childhood and then manifest itself during adolescence.
Juvenile delinquents who have recurring encounters with the criminal justice system, or in other words those who are life-course-persistent offenders, are sometimes diagnosed with conduct disorders because they show a continuous disregard for their own and others safety and/or property. Once the juvenile continues to exhibit the same behavioral patterns and turns eighteen he is then at risk of being diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and much more prone to become a serious criminal offender.
One of the main components used in diagnosing an adult with antisocial personality disorder consists of presenting documented history of conduct disorder before the age of 15. These two personality disorders are analogous in their erratic and aggressive behavior. This is why habitual juvenile offenders diagnosed with conduct disorder are likely to exhibit signs of antisocial personality disorder early in life and then as they mature.
Some times these juveniles reach maturation and they develop into career criminals, or life-course-persistent offenders. "Career criminals begin committing antisocial behavior before entering grade school and are versatile in that they engage in an array of destructive behaviors, offend at exceedingly high rates, and are less likely to quit committing crime as they age."
Quantitative research was completed on 9,945 juvenile male offenders between the ages of 10 and 18 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 1970s. The longitudinal birth cohort was used to examine a trend among a small percentage of career criminals who accounted for the largest percentage of crime activity. The trend exhibited a new phenomenon among habitual offenders.
The phenomenon indicated that only 6% of the youth qualified under their definition of a habitual offender (known today as life-course persistent offenders, or career criminals) and yet were responsible for 52% of the delinquency within the entire study. The same 6% of chronic offenders accounted for 71% of the murders and 69% of the aggravated assaults.
This phenomenon was later researched among an adult population in 1977 and resulted in similar findings. S. A. Mednick did a birth cohort of 30,000 males and found that 1% of the males were responsible for more than half of the criminal activity. The habitual crime behavior found among juveniles is similar to that of adults.
As stated before most life-course persistent offenders begin exhibiting antisocial, violent, and/or delinquent behavior, prior to adolescence. Therefore, while there is a high rate of juvenile delinquency, it is the small percentage of life-course persistent, career criminals that are responsible for most of the violent crimes.
Theories:
There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most, if not all, of which are applicable to the causes of juvenile delinquency.
Rational choice:
Classical criminology stresses that the causes of crime lie within individual offenders, rather than in their external environment. For classicists, offenders are motivated by rational self-interest, and the importance of free will and personal responsibility is emphasized. Rational choice theory is the clearest example of that idea. Delinquency is one of the major factors motivated by rational choice.
Social disorganization:
Current positivist approaches generally focus on the culture. A type of criminological theory attributing variation in crime and delinquency over time and among territories to the absence or breakdown of communal institutions (such as family, school, church, and social groups) and communal relationships that traditionally encouraged cooperative relationships among people.
Strain:
Strain theory is associated mainly with the work of Robert K. Merton, who felt that there are institutionalized paths to success in society. Strain theory holds that crime is caused by the difficulty for those in poverty have to achieve socially-valued goals by legitimate means.
Since those with, for instance, poor educational attainment have difficulty achieving wealth and status by securing well-paid employment, they are more likely to use criminal means to obtain those goals.
Merton's suggests five adaptations to this dilemma:
- Innovation: individuals who accept socially-approved goals but not necessarily the socially-approved means.
- Retreatism: those who reject socially-approved goals and the means for acquiring them.
- Ritualism: those who buy into a system of socially-approved means but lose sight of the goals. Merton believed that drug users are in this category.
- Conformity: those who conform to the system's means and goals.
- Rebellion: people who negate socially-approved goals and means by creating a new system of acceptable goals and means.
A difficulty with strain theory is that it does not explore why children of low-income families have poor educational attainment in the first place. More importantly, much youth crime does not have an economic motivation. Strain theory fails to explain violent crime, the type of youth crime that causes most anxiety to the public.
Differential association:
Differential association is another theory that deals with young people in a group context and looks at how peer pressure and the existence of gangs could lead them into crime. It suggests young people are motivated to commit crimes by delinquent peers and learn criminal skills from them.
The diminished influence of peers after men marry has also been cited as a factor in desisting from offending. There is strong evidence that young people with criminal friends are more likely to commit crimes themselves. However, offenders may prefer to associate with one another, rather than delinquent peers causing someone to start offending. Furthermore, there is the question of how the delinquent peer group initially became delinquent.
Labeling:
Labeling theory is a concept in criminology that aims to explain deviant behavior from the social context, rather the individual themselves. It is part of interactionism criminology, which states that once young people have been labeled as criminal, they are more likely to offend.
The idea is that once labelled as deviant, a young person may accept that role and be more likely to associate with others who have been similarly labeled. Labelling theorists say that male children from poor families are more likely to be labelled deviant, which may partially explain the existence of more working-class young male offenders.
Social control:
Social control theory proposes that exploiting the process of socialization and social learning builds self-control and can reduce the inclination to indulge in behavior that is recognized as antisocial. The following types of control can help prevent juvenile delinquency:
Direct by which punishment is threatened or applied for wrongful behavior, and compliance is rewarded by parents, family, and authority figures.
Internal by which a youth refrains from delinquency through the conscience or superego.
Indirect by identification with those who influence behavior, such as because the delinquent act might cause pain and disappointment to parents and others close relationships. Control through needs satisfaction: if all an individual's needs are met, there is no point in criminal activity.
Prevention:
Delinquency prevention is the broad term for all efforts aimed at preventing youth from becoming involved in criminal, or other antisocial, activity.
Prevention services may include activities such as:
- substance abuse education and treatment,
- family counseling,
- youth mentoring,
- parenting education,
- educational support,
- and youth sheltering.
Increasing availability and use of family planning services, including education and contraceptives helps to reduce unintended pregnancy and unwanted births, which are risk factors for delinquency. It has been noted that often interventions such as peer groups may leave at-risk children worse off then if there had never been an intervention.
Punishment:
In 2020 a ruling abolished the death penalty for juveniles in Saudi Arabia. Despite this Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish was executed in June 2021. He was alleged to have of taken part in anti-government demonstrations at the age of 17. al-Darwish had been detained in May 2015 being placed in solitary confinement for years. al-Darwish claimed that he faced brutal torture and beatings and was forced to sign confessions.
One criminal justice approach to juvenile delinquency is through the juvenile court systems. These courts are specifically for minors to be tried in. Sometimes, juvenile offenders are sent to adult prisons.
In the United States, children as young as 8 can be tried and convicted as adults. Additionally, the United States was the only recorded country to sentence children as young as 13 to life sentences without parole also known as death in prison sentences.
As of 2012, the Supreme Court has declared death in prison sentences unconstitutional for the vast majority of cases involving children. According to the US Department of Justice, about 3,600 children are housed in adult jails.
According to a report released by the Prison Policy Initiative, over 48,000 children are held in juvenile detention centers or prisons in America. The worldwide number is unknown but UNICEF estimates that over 1 million children experience confinement in various countries.
Juveniles in youth detention centers are sometimes subject to many of the same punishments as adults, such as solitary confinement, despite a younger age or the presence of disabilities.
Due to the influx of minors in detention facilities due to the school to prison pipeline, education is increasingly becoming a concern. Children in juvenile detention have a compromised or nonexistent schooling which to a higher number of drop outs and failure to complete secondary education.
Policies:
Education promotes economic growth, national productivity and innovation, and values of democracy and social cohesion. Prevention through education has been seen to discourage delinquency for minors and help them strengthen the connection and understanding between peers.
A well-known intervention treatment is the Scared Straight Treatment. According to research done by Scott Lilienfeld, this type of intervention is often harmful because of juvenile offenders’ vicarious exposure to criminal role models and the possibility of increased resentment in reaction to the confrontational interactions.
It has been reasoned that the most efficient interventions are those that not only separate at-risk teens from anti-social peers, and place them instead with pro-social ones, but also simultaneously improve their home environment by training parents with appropriate parenting styles.
In response to the data correlated with the school to prison pipeline, some institutions have implemented restorative justice policies. The restorative justice approach emphasizes conflict resolution and non-punitive intervention. Interventions such as hiring more counselors as opposed to security professionals or focusing on talking through problems would be included in a restorative justice approach.
It is also important to note certain works of legislation that have already been published in the United States in response to general prisoner re-entry, extending to juveniles, such as the Second Chance Act (2007) and most recently, the Second Chance Reauthorization Act (2018).
Juvenile reform:
Juvenile reform deals with the vocational programs and educational approach to reducing recidivism rates of juvenile offenders. Most countries in the world legislate processes for juvenile reform and re-entry, some more elaborate and formal than others.
In theory, juvenile re-entry is sensitive to the fact that juveniles are young and assumes they are capable of change; it approaches a juvenile offender's situation and history holistically, evaluating the earlier factors that could lead a juvenile to commit crimes.
In practice, this is complicated since juvenile delinquents return home to varying and unpredictable circumstances, including poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, etc..
In the United States, juvenile reform is split into four main phases:
- The Entry Phase: The youth enters residential placement
- The Placement Phase: Amount of time youth is in the placement facility (whatever that may be)
- The Transitional Phase (re-entry): Act of leaving facility and entering community (from right after exit of facility to right before entering community)
- The Community-based Aftercare Phase: Period of time after youth returns to the community (usually 120-day period right after transitional phase)
An understanding of the factors involved in each of these steps is crucial to creating an effective juvenile reform program. One non-profit identifies the following approaches to juvenile reform:
- Early Intervention: preventing juvenile youth from ever encountering the justice system by implementation of conflict-resolution practices or administrative strategies that aim to teach the child healthy actions to take in difficult situations. It is implemented before any offense is committed and often involves a thorough discussion of what individual issues a child is dealing with.
- Diversion: the placement of youth in programs that redirect youth away from juvenile justice system processing, or programs that divert youth from secure detention in a juvenile justice facility. These programs are most often in attempt to protect juveniles from getting a charge on their record after they have already committed a crime. This can be led through school administration intervention or by law enforcement officers that have been trained in dealing with at-risk youth. These programs are often given to children who have unstable life circumstances and are thus extended aid that will attack the "root problems" rather than further isolate them in society.
- Alternatives to Secure Confinement: a juvenile justice approach that does not require the juvenile's entry in a "jail-like" facility. Often involves the juvenile's continued participation in society, but in a modified manner. Such alternatives include home confinement, supervision of a probation officer, community service requirements, and community-based facilities, among others.
- Evidence-Based Practices: the emphasis on encouraging youth participation in programs that have evidence of working. The evaluation of "success" for a program is dependent on multiple factors, such as reduction of recidivism rates, cost-effectiveness, and addressing health problems.
- Diverting Youth Who Commit Status Offenses: programs that address the "root" problems causing a juvenile's behavior and actions. Such programs are often part of a tiered approach to juvenile justice and reform.
- Funding Community-Based Alternatives on a Large Scale: the supporting of all initiatives in a community that have been proven to help with juvenile betterment and reform. This allows the community to help its own and does not rely on the decisions of the state regarding the needs of juveniles.
While juvenile reform has proved to be an effective and humanizing approach response to juvenile delinquency, it is a very complex area that still has many ongoing debates. For example, many countries around the world are debating the appropriate age of a juvenile, as well as trying to understand whether there are some crimes that are so heinous, they should be exempt from any understanding.
Based on these discussions, legislation needs to be consistently updated and considered as social, cultural, and political landscapes change.
Juvenile sex crimes:
Juveniles who commit sexual crimes refer to individuals adjudicated in a criminal court for a sexual crime. Sex crimes are defined as sexually abusive behavior committed by a person under the age of 18 that is perpetrated "against the victim's will, without consent, and in an aggressive, exploitative, manipulative, and/or threatening manner".
It is important to utilize appropriate terminology for juvenile sex offenders. Harsh and inappropriate expressions include terms such as "pedophile, child molester, predator, perpetrator, and mini-perp"
These terms have often been associated with this group, regardless of the youth’s age, diagnosis, cognitive abilities, or developmental stage. Using appropriate expressions can facilitate a more accurate depiction of juvenile sex offenders and may decrease the subsequent aversive psychological affects from using such labels.
In the Arab Gulf states [sic], homosexual acts are classified as an offense, and constitute one of the primary crimes for which juvenile males are charged.
Prevalence data:
Examining prevalence data and the characteristics of juvenile sex offenders is a fundamental component to obtain a precise understanding of this heterogeneous group. With mandatory reporting laws in place, it became a necessity for providers to report any incidents of disclosed sexual abuse.
Longo and Prescott indicate that juveniles commit approximately 30-60% of all child sexual abuse.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports indicate that in 2008 youth under the age of 18 accounted for 16.7% of forcible rapes and 20.61% of other sexual offenses
Center for Sex Offender Management indicates that approximately one-fifth of all rapes and one-half of all sexual child molestation can be accounted for by juveniles.
Official record data:
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention indicates that 15% of juvenile arrests occurred for rape in 2006, and 12% were clearance (resolved by an arrest).
The total number of juvenile arrests in 2006 for forcible rape was 3,610 with 2% being female and 36% being under the age of 15 years. This trend has declined throughout the years with forcible rape from 1997–2006 being −30% and from 2005 to 2006 being −10%.
The OJJDP reports that the juvenile arrest rate for forcible rape increased from the early 1980s through the 1990s and at that time it fell again. Violent crime rates in the U.S. have been on a steady decline since the 1990s.
The OJJDP also reported that the total number of juvenile arrests in 2006 for sex offenses (other than forcible rape) was 15,900 with 10% being female and 47% being under the age of 15. There was again a decrease with the trend throughout the years with sex offenses from 1997 to 2006 being −16% and from 2005 to 2006 being −9%.
Males who commit sexual crimes:
Barbaree and Marshall indicate that juvenile males contribute to the majority of sex crimes, with 2–4% of adolescent males having reported committing sexually assaultive behavior, and 20% of all rapes and 30–50% of all child molestation are perpetrated by adolescent males.
It is clear that males are over-represented in this population. This is consistent with Ryan and Lane’s research indicating that males account for 91-93% of the reported juvenile sex offenses. Righthand and Welch reported that females account for an estimated 2–11% of incidents of sexual offending.
In addition, it reported by The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention that in the juvenile arrests during 2006, African American male youth were disproportionately arrested (34%) for forcible rape. In one case in a foster home a 13-year-old boy raped a 9-year-old boy by having forced anal sex with him, in a court hearing the 9-year-old boy said he has done this multiple times, that the 13-year-old boy was charged for sexual assault.
Juvenile sex crimes internationally:
Sexual crimes committed by juveniles are not just an issue in the United States. Studies from the Netherlands show that out of 3200 sex offenders recorded by police in 2009, 672 of those were juveniles, approximately 21 percent of sexual offenders. The study also points out the male to female ratio of sexual predators.
In 2009, a U.S. congressman proposed legislature that would create an International Sex Offender Registry. The bill was introduced due to the fact that because laws differ in different countries someone who is on the sex offender registry in the U.S. who may be barred from living certain places and doing certain activities has free range in other less developed countries.
This can lead to child sex tourism, when a sexual predator will go to less developed countries and prey on young boys and girls. Karne Newburn in his article, The Prospect of an International Sex Offender Registry, pointed out some serious flaws in the proposed bill, such as creating safety issues within the communities for the sex offenders placed on the registry.
Newburn suggested instead of creating an International Sex Offender Registry from the U.S. model the U.S. join other countries in a dialogue on creating an effective model. As of now no registry exists. Despite this there is still interest in creating some sort of international registry.
See Also:
- Age of onset (criminology)
- Anti-social behaviour order
- Deviance (sociology)
- Kazan phenomenon
- Minor (law)
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
- Person in need of supervision
- David Morgan (psychologist)
- Sex offender registries in the United States
- Solitary confinement of juvenile offenders
- Status offense
- Teen courts
- Truancy
- Victimology
- Youth court
- Young offender
- Banchō (position)
- Sukeban
- Public criminology
- Delinquency Prevention - Clearinghouse of juvenile delinquency prevention information
- Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime - major study at Edinburgh Law School
- "State Responses to Serious and Violent Juvenile Crime." - Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
- Guide to Juvenile Justice in New York City
- Juvenile Sex Offenders and Juvenile Sex Crimes in California - Overview of juvenile sex crimes and juvenile sex offender registration in California.
Juvenile delinquency in the United States:
Although the term juvenile delinquency often refers to juvenile as both the victims and the aggressors, this page only refers to juveniles as the actual delinquents.
The information and statistics for juveniles as victims rather than offenders is much different.
For information about juveniles as the victims of violent attacks, click on the following:
Introduction to Juvenile Delinquency:
Juvenile Delinquency refers to criminal acts committed by children or teenagers, specifically anyone below the age of eighteen (or 17 in some States). Common sentiment on this issue is that the crimes they commit hurt society and hurt the children themselves.
Much research and debate revolves around the problem of juvenile delinquency in the US. The research is mainly focused on the causes of juvenile delinquency and which strategies have successfully diminished crime rates among the youth population. Though the causes are debated and controversial as well, much of the debate revolves around the punishment and rehabilitation of juveniles in a youth detention center or elsewhere.
The Rise of Juvenile Delinquency in the 1950s:
Ever since the evolution of radios and television they gave us the ability to project music, sports, news, etcetera, the world has been able to tune in to what is happening halfway across the world from their location. The 1950s boomed with increases in income, scientific and medical increases, entertainment, and a tremendous media increase starting with the portable radio.
After World War II, couples who had put off having children either before or during the war finally had the chance to start a family and live normal lives. Hence, the baby boom initiated the start of a very busy decade. After the first portable radio came out, media rapidly increased.
People could advertise themselves to people all around the country and even to people driving in their cars. This media evolution gave birth to a whole new way of living for the generations to come and for the first time ever there was a generation gap. Media was reaching everyone and molding people's lives like never before. Anyone could access comical, frightening, romantic, or sarcastic information, movies, music and so on with the click of a button.
A rise in juvenile delinquency was one of the main causes of the baby boom and media increase. Teenagers could access more information at their age than any other generation. As a result, teenagers witnessed crime, murder, stealing, cheating, lying, and so on to be "cool" like how they saw in the media. This led to a high rise in juvenile delinquency because more children and teens were implanted with the thought that carrying out bad actions was okay.
The metal lead has also been linked to juvenile delinquency: it was added to gasoline from the 1920s through 1979, however it was not widely understood to be neurologically harmful in minute amounts until the 1950s. For further information on this topic, and more, please see the references below or the juvenile delinquency page.
Causes:
There are many factors that cause juvenile delinquency. Children whose parents have been incarcerated are far more likely to show delinquent behavior than their peers.
Sometimes children want to test their parents' limits, or society's limits. Some people believe that imposing strict laws such as curfews will cause a drop in juvenile delinquency rates, but sometimes imposing strict rules merely give the children more of an incentive to break them.
However, sometimes juvenile crimes do in fact occur due to the exact opposite reason, that is, a lack of rules and supervision. One example of this is that children many times commit crimes after school and while their parents are at work or preoccupied. Statistics that are mentioned below explain the peak hours of juvenile crime rates and conceptualize this very cause.
Additionally, mental illness and substance abuse are large contributing factors. 15-20% of juveniles convicted of crimes have serious mental illnesses, and the percentages increase to 30-90% of convicted juveniles when the scope of mental illnesses considered widens.
Also, many people believe that a child's environment and family are greatly related to their juvenile delinquency record. The youth that live in lower income areas face high risk factors. Farmer et al.’s study demonstrates the different types of risks these individuals face.
The youth can be put into three categories, which are single risk, multiple risks and no risk. The risks depend on the specific traits these youth portray. Farmer et al. state, that multiple risks are a combination of aggression, academic problems and social problems while a single risk is only one of those factors.
For example, the dynamics of a family can affect a child's well-being and delinquency rate. Crime rates vary due to the living situations of children; examples of this could be a child whose parents are together, divorced, or a child with only one parent, particularly a teen mom. This is largely because living arrangements are directly related to increases and decreases of poverty levels.
Poverty level is another factor that is related to the chances a child has of becoming a juvenile delinquent. According to Bolland et al., the level of poverty adolescents face determine their outcome. These teens feel as if they don't have some type of future ahead of them, so they commit crimes, dropout of school or increase the teen pregnancy rates.
Statistics on living arrangements, poverty level and other influential factors can be found in a later section. Others believe that the environment and external factors are not at play when it comes to crime; they suggest that criminals are faced with rational choice decisions in which they chose to follow the irrational path.
Finally, another cause could be the relationships a child develops in school or outside of school. A positive or negative friendship can have a great influence on the chances of children becoming delinquents. Peer pressure is also at play. Relationships and friendships can lead to gangs, which are major contributors of violent crimes among teens.
These are just some of the causes of juvenile delinquency. For a more detailed account of each of these causes, and more, please see the references below or the juvenile delinquency page above.
Recent Statistics:
Demographics:
There are roughly 75 million juveniles in The United States as of 2013. That is, one in four Americans have the potential of being labeled as juvenile delinquents (because they are considered juveniles). More specifically, in 2009 there were 74.5 million juveniles in the US, which was 2 million more than in the year 2007 which was 72.5 million.
The population of juveniles in the US is projected to increase until 2015, at least. In fact, the Federal Interagency on Child and Family Statistics reported that the number of juveniles might reach 101.6 million by 2050. If the juveniles delinquency rates were to increase with the population, or even plateau, this would translate into thousands of more juvenile delinquents.
Also in 2009, the three different classifications of age groups among children, being 0–5, 6–11 and 12–17, were roughly equal. As reported in 2009 by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 57% percent of all juveniles are White, 10% Black, 1% American Indian, 5% Asian, and 22% Hispanic. Poverty, which is also directly connected to a child's chances of becoming a juvenile delinquent, varies by numerous factors.
The poverty level of a child can vary by race and living arrangement (and other factors which are not mentioned here). For instance, in 2009, Black and Hispanic children were about three times more likely than White children of being poor. Additionally, in 2010, 21% of all children were living in poverty. 13% of these poverty stricken children lived in a two parent household, 40% lived with one single parent, 43% lived with just a mother figure, 22% lived with just a father figure, and 43% of the poverty-stricken children lived with no parents at all.
These statistics show that poverty levels increase as the child lives with fewer parental figures. The demographic statistics mentioned above pertain specifically to juveniles, which in turn, is closely related to juvenile delinquency. Many of the demographics mentioned above change on state level; to look up state-specific juvenile delinquency rates in general, or by race/poverty level/living arrangement, visit the Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) website.
The juvenile violent crime rate index dropped for the second consecutive year in 2010, and is now 5% lower that it was in 2006. Additionally, the Children's Defense Fund communicates that boys are five times more likely than girls to become juvenile delinquents (this statistic is further explained below).
Also on the Children Defense Fund website are statistics pertaining to Black and Latino boys and their juvenile delinquency rates. 1 of every 3 Black boys is at risk of incarceration, as well as 1 of every 6 Latino boys. Traveling back to the statistics provided by the OJJDP, their website also says that in 2008, juveniles were the offenders in 908 cases of murder, which constitutes 9% of all murders committed that year.
Also related to homicides, in the 1980s 25% of the murders that involved juvenile delinquents as the offenders also involved an adult offender. This percentage rose to 31% in the 90's, and averaged at 37% between 2000 and 2008.
The time of day juvenile delinquents commit their crimes are the times they are not in school. On average and on school days, juvenile crimes peak after school is let out, and declines throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening.
On non-school days it increases in the afternoon through evening, peaking from 7 pm to 9 pm (usually night time), after dark. Curfews have been used to curb juvenile crime, typically the hours of 10 pm to 6 am, but only 15% of such crimes occur during curfew hours, while most (63%) juvenile crime occurs on school days.
In recent years, the opportunity for after-school activities for children have decreased as public schools have deteriorated, at the same time city parks and recreational facilities have suffered funding cutbacks, both factors have left high-risk environments for kids during those hours. This suggests that funding of after-school programs and activities for juveniles would be substantially more effective at combating juvenile crime than curfews.
The Male Phenomenon:
The male phenomenon refers to the fact that a large majority of juvenile delinquents are men, or boys. In the United States, boys are five times more likely than girls to become juvenile delinquents.
Moreover, there are many suggested explanations as to why it is that boys commit more crimes than girls. One comes from theorists who believe men and boys are naturally more aggressive than women and girls.
Another theory communicates the idea that men and boys commit more crimes because of societal pressures to be masculine and aggressive.
A third theory suggests that the manner in which boys are treated by their families calls for more criminal action.
The crime rates vary across boys of different races. They are mentioned in the 'juvenile delinquency statistics' section above, as well as in the 'cradle to prison pipeline' section below, but to review, African-American boys are more likely to become juvenile delinquents than White and Latino boys. Latino boys are more likely to become juvenile delinquents than White boys are.
One clear way to explain this difference in crime rates among different races of boys is by looking at their poverty rates.
Changes in Statistics:
Changes in these statistics can be attributed to many fluctuations. Negative changes in the economy greatly affect all crime rates because people are more likely to find themselves in pressing situation like unemployment. Changes in population affect juvenile delinquency rates as well because changes in population translate into more or less juveniles.
Shifts in population could also mean more general societal shift, like a wave of immigration. An influx of new people who are unfamiliar with the legal system could negatively affect the juvenile crime rates. Other social changes, such as educational or health reforms, could have a large impact on juvenile crime rates if they create a larger population of at-risk children.
Cradle to Prison Pipeline:
This term refers to the population of boys and girls who live in conditions that cause them to be channeled into prison from birth. The pipeline suggests that there are factors such as a lack of parental supervision, poverty, and a lack of education that makes these people helpless and unable to change their situations.
Though this idea might not be appealing to those that believe crime is solely the failure of a rational choice decision, this phenomenon has caught the attention of many Americans. This pipeline, so to speak, disproportionately affects minority children living in under-served community, such as Blacks and Latinos.
According to the Children's Defense Fund, 1 out of every 3 Black boys and 1 out of every 3 Hispanic boys are at risk of becoming delinquents in their lifetime, and therefore at risk of being sucked into this pipeline in which prison is the only option at the end of the tunnel.
Of course some people that are affected by the pipeline commit crimes and are imprisoned when they are older, say 20. However, if the delinquency cause by the pipeline were to occur before the age of eighteen, the boy/girls would then become juvenile delinquents. Keeping in mind the existence of the male phenomenon, one can safely say that the pipeline affects more boys than girls.
The Children's Defense Fund has created a campaign to try to halt the spread of this phenomenon that is ruining the lives of so many poverty-stricken families and minorities. The campaign is called the 'Cradle to Prison Pipeline Campaign' and was launched in 2008 in Washington DC, at Howard University. Howard University is a historically black university.
The campaign argues that the US government spends more money on incarcerated people than on each child in the public school system. Their vision is that if this budgeting were reversed, the number of juvenile delinquents would greatly decrease. The ultimate goal of this campaign is to increase support for preventive measures and resources that children need to stay on the right path.
Some of the programs this campaign includes increasing early childhood education and guidance, as well as increasing health and mental health coverage and counseling. To date, many states have responded to this campaign by forming coalitions and holding conventions in which they formulate ideas and tactics to dismantle the pipeline.
Juvenile Delinquency and the Law:
Below is very valuable information on legal changes that have been made in regards to juvenile delinquents and juvenile delinquency. For a more thorough and detailed outline of juvenile delinquency law in the United States, please see the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention website.
The United States federal government enacted legislation to unify the handling of juvenile delinquents, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act of 1974. The act created the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) within the Justice Department to administer grants for juvenile crime-combating programs (currently only about 900,000 dollars a year), gather national statistics on juvenile crime, fund research on youth crime and administer four anticonfinement mandates regarding juvenile custody.
Specifically, the act orders:
- Deinstitutionalization: Youths charged with "status" offenses that would not be crimes if committed by adults, such as truancy, running away and being caught with alcohol or tobacco, must be "deinstitutionalized," which in this case really means that, with certain exceptions (e.g., minor in possession of a handgun), status offenders may not be detained by police or confined. Alleged problems with this mandate are that it overrides state and local law, limits the discretion of law enforcement officers and prevents the authorities' ability to reunify an offender with his family.
- Segregation: Arrested youths must be strictly segregated from adults in custody. Under this "out of sight and sound" mandate, juveniles cannot be served food by anyone who serves jailed adults nor can a juvenile walk down a corridor past a room where an adult is being interrogated. This requirement forces local authorities to either free juveniles or maintain expensive duplicate facilities and personnel. Small cities, towns and rural areas are especially hard hit, drastically raising those taxpayers' criminal justice costs. Supporters of the system point to lower sexual assault rates when adults and children are separated.
- Jail and Lockup Removal: As a general rule, youths subject to the original jurisdiction of juvenile courts cannot be held in jails and lockups in which adults may be detained. The act provides for a six-hour exception for identification, processing, interrogation and transfer to juvenile facilities, court or detention pending release to parents. The act also provides an exception of 24 hours for rural areas only.
- Over representation of minority youths: States must systematically try to reduce confinement of minority youths to the proportion of those groups in the population.
One of the most notable causes of juvenile delinquency is fiat, i.e. the declaration that a juvenile is delinquent by the juvenile court system without any trial, and upon finding only probable cause. Many states have laws that presuppose the less harsh treatment of juvenile delinquents than adult counterparts’ treatment. In return, the juvenile surrenders certain constitutional rights, such as a right to trial by jury, the right to cross-examine, and even the right to a speedy trial.
Notable writings by reformers such as Jerome G. Miller show that very few juvenile delinquents actually broke any law. Most were simply rounded up by the police after some event that possibly involved criminal action. They were brought before juvenile court judges who made findings of delinquency, simply because the police action established probable cause.
In 1967, the United States Supreme Court decided the case In re Gault, that established the protection of many, but not all, procedural rights of juveniles in court proceedings, such as the right to counsel and right to refuse self-incrimination.
Preventing juvenile delinquency:
An effective way of preventing juvenile delinquency and keeping at-risk children away from crime is to tackle the problem before it happens. This entails looking at the causes of crime among teens and making an effort to reduce or eliminate said causes.
Some causes, though hard to eliminate, seem plausible. An example of this is improving the environment at home, through employment opportunities for the parents, educational opportunities for the children, and counseling and rehabilitation services if need be. These changes would not only promote a more positive environment at home, but would also work towards pulling at-risk families out of poverty.
Another possible change could be the interaction of the community these adolescents live in. The involvement of neighbors could decrease the chances of violence among these communities. In Craig Pinkney's TedTalk speech, “The Real Roots of Youth Violence”, he states that people do things to be heard and seen in their communities.
A cause that is more difficult to eliminate is mental illness, because sometimes these illnesses are present at birth. Still, counseling and rehabilitation might aid in reducing the negative effects of these illness, such as irrational and violent behavior.
One cause that seems almost impossible to eliminate is the rational and irrational choice idea. As mentioned above, some people believe that all crime comes down to a single situation in which an individual must make a rational or irrational decision, to commit the crime, or to not. Those that believe that this rational choice option is tied to the very immutable nature of the person would have a hard time believing that there is any way to control the choices children make and eliminate the causes of juvenile delinquency.
There are many foundations and organizations around the United States that have dedicated themselves to the reduction and elimination of juvenile delinquency. Many of these organizations spend their time and money controlling for the causes of juvenile delinquency mentioned above.
Below are a few agencies that work on preventing juvenile delinquency, though this list is not all encompassing by any means. Links for these foundations and organizations can be found in the "See also" links section below:
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: Forming part of the US Department of Justice, this prevention agency is a governmental organization focuses on all types of research, prevention programs, and rehabilitation programs for juveniles as offenders and victims. Through collaboration, this organizations aims to improve juvenile justice policies and practices and create safer communities and neighborhoods. The OJJDP helps victims of kidnapping, as well as victims of sexual exploitation. Currently, the OJJDP is working to prevent gang involvement/crime, girl's delinquency, and the under-aged consumption of alcohol. This foundation is important because it guides real-life policy changes that pertain to juvenile justice and juvenile delinquency.
- The Innocence Project: The main goal of this organization is not to reduce juvenile delinquency, but rather, to liberate juveniles that were falsely convicted of crimes. Though this foundation is not primarily focused on reducing juvenile delinquency, it has done a good job of freeing falsely convicted teens in the past.
- Annie E Casie Foundation: The goal of this foundation is to provide a brighter and safer future for children from under-served communities around the US. Its major initiatives include:
- child welfare strategy group,
- civic sites,
- family economic success,
- juvenile detention alternatives initiative (JDAI),
- KIDS COUNT,
- leadership development,
- and making connections.
- The KIDS COUNT initiative collects annual data on the well-being of children all-round the US and publishes state-specific reports as well as state comparisons. The JDAI focuses on providing a bright and healthy future as adults for children involved in the juvenile justice system.
- National Gang Center: This a website that provides anyone on the web with information about the gang problem in the US. It includes research done by the NGC and FAQs. There is also a list of resources on how to identify if your city has a gang problem and how to combat this problem. This foundation helps the people within the struggling communities be the ones to solve their own gang problems.
- Best Friends Organization: This organization focuses on the overall well-being of children in the US. It focuses on physical and emotional well-being and helps children develop healthy relationships and useful skills. This organization is an example of an organization that works towards preventing problems before they occur. Instead of focusing on the elimination of current juvenile delinquency, this organization works on creating healthy and happy children that will not resort to crime.
- Reach for Youth: This organization is available in Indianapolis, Indiana. This organization was invented to encourage teens to graduate and develop ways to say no to peer pressure. These teens were on the brim of being incarcerated, kicked out of school, or delinquency, and The Reach for Youth organization turned these adolescents around.
See also:
- American juvenile justice system
- Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
- Juvenile justice in the United States
- List of juvenile offenders executed in the United States
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
- Youth incarceration in the United States
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation for Vulnerable Youth
- Kids Count Organization
- National Gang Center
- Best Friends Organization
- Innocence Project
2. Alternatives to Juvenile Incarceration through State Child and Family Services Organizations
JUVENILE DETENTION ALTERNATIVES INITIATIVE (JDAI)
by the Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) is a charitable foundation focused on improving the well-being of American children. The foundation's goals are to build better futures for disadvantaged children, and their families, in the United States.
The AECF is one of the dominant organizations in child welfare issues in the U.S., and one of the most influential "watchdogs" for child welfare—famed for its publication of U.S. child welfare data, annually, through its KIDS COUNT Data Book—the most widely used reference on the subject.
History:
The AECF was started in 1948 in Seattle by UPS founder James E. Casey and his siblings George, Harry and Marguerite. Their foundation was named in honor of their mother. The foundation moved to Baltimore in 1994.
Originally a charity, chiefly focused on providing foster care, the organization gradually shifted to a broader role in advancing child welfare through social experimentation, research and publicity—particularly gaining notoriety as a "watchdog" over child welfare conditions across the nation. Along the way, it divested its foster care operations, while increasing its focus on family-preservation research, advocacy and action.
Through its extensive publicity efforts, the AECF has become a major independent source of information on the welfare of children in the United States, and one of the dominant organizations for advancing child welfare in the U.S.
Foster care and related services:
The AECF has had a long connection with foster care services, owning two such agencies.
By the early 2000s, foster care was falling somewhat into disrepute, and child welfare advocates increasingly focused on family preservation initiatives; the AECF was among those organizations.
Eventually, by 2012, the AECF had separated itself completely from its ownership of foster care and related operations, including the following:
Casey Family Programs
Main article: Casey Family Programs
In 1966, the Casey family philanthropy started a child welfare agency (foster care and related services) in the Seattle, Washington area.
In 1973, When Jim Casey's company, United Parcel Service (UPS), moved its headquarters from Seattle to New York City, Jim Casey gave the agency enough funds to become officially a separate, independent entity from the AECF. The resulting organization is known today as Casey Family Programs. Casey Family Programs today is a completely separate and distinct entity from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Casey Family Services:
From 1976 to 2012, the AECF operated a direct services arm called Casey Family Services that provided foster care and family services in the northeastern United States. Starting out in Connecticut and Vermont, the program expanded throughout New England and into Maryland before its closure in 2012.
Child welfare publicity and publications:
Among the organization's practices is the development of "public accountability" for child welfare outcomes—through continuing publication, and publicizing, of research and comparative data that assess the health and wellness of children in the various states and communities across the nation.
In keeping with this goal, the foundation is a regular contributor to public broadcasting, including National Public Radio.
Another key form of "public accountability" the foundation develops is written publications reporting the current status of children across the nation, state-by-state.
In particular, the foundation produces a detailed, annual child-welfare research report, the KIDS COUNT Data Book (also known as the Kids Count or simply the Data Book), surveying the well-being of children in the 50 US states, ranking the states on 10 core indicators, and overall—drawing heavily on documented sources and official reports.
This reference book, printed every year since 1990, is considered one of the foremost reference documents—for academics, media, business and public leaders—on child health and well-being in the United States, and particularly in each of the 50 states, comparatively.
In 2014, the organization also released its Race for Results Index, comparing the previous 23 years data accumulated on the well-being of America's children—intending to start a national conversation about startling disparities between racial and ethnic groups.
For the first time, this index was based on indicators of success: reading and math proficiency, high school graduation rates, teen birthrates, employment futures, neighborhood poverty levels, family income and education levels.
Standardized scores, indicating the children's likelihood of success in adult life, were presented for each state and racial group (where valid data was available) using data gathered between 2010 and 2013.
The foundation also sponsors (or produces), and distributes, research reports and white papers on various topics involving child welfare and related programs and public policy issues.
Child welfare development grants:
The foundation works with—and makes grants to—governments (particularly states), universities and civic organizations, to improve conditions for children.
AECF describes the grantees as the "KIDS COUNT Network" and uses them as outlets for its outreach communications and influence efforts, although it accepts that their individual priorities and goals may vary somewhat from AECF's.
Juvenile justice alternatives:
The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), a project developed in 1992 by the AECF, demonstrates ways for jurisdictions to safely reduce reliance on secure confinement of children, and strengthen juvenile justice systems through interrelated reform strategies.
The JDAI reports that it is now being copied in approximately "200 jurisdictions in 39 states and the District of Columbia". The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has worked directly and extensively with the AECF on these issues, as well.
The JDAI Helpdesk is an online information tool for juvenile justice advocates, practitioners, policymakers, and other parties seeking to improve juvenile justice systems, sharing the juvenile justice "best practices", research and materials produced by JDAI jurisdictions.
Featured materials include strategies and tools documented to safely reduce secure confinements, while improving public safety, avoiding costs and doing "what works for youth" to develop them into "healthy, productive adults". The materials are cataloged and available for downloading and sharing, and the Helpdesk responds to questions for additional information.
The JDAI Helpdesk is operated—in partnership with the AECF—by the Pretrial Justice Institute.
One prominent success story is the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center near Richmond, Virginia. AECF provided technical expertise to assist the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice in significantly reducing juvenile prison populations.
Financial affairs:
A detailed review of AECF financial history and current finances, in a Stanford University case study is available online, partially as a web page, but completely as a downloadable PDF file.
Senior executives:
- Patrick McCarthy in 2010 became president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation—moving up from senior vice president, where he oversaw foundation work in various areas, including health, substance abuse and education, the AECF Strategic Consulting Group, and AECF's direct services agency (chiefly foster care), Casey Family Services. McCarthy's initial career was as a psychiatric social worker and instructor in graduate schools of social work at the University of Southern California, and at Bryn Mawr College (where he earned his Ph.D.).
- Douglas Nelson in 1990 became the first president of the AECF, and led the foundation for 20 years (to 2010); he subsequently served in the Carter Center, and in 2014 was named to head the Congressionally chartered CDC Foundation (support affiliate for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
- Ralph Smith during 2005 was senior vice president of the AECF, and was credited with being the "architect" of the AECF's $25-million-a-year investment in revitalizing poor American cities.
See Also:
- Official website
- Annie E. Casey Foundation at Influence Watch
- "The Annie E. Casey Foundation", by Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen and Victoria Chang, in Social Innovation, 2006, Case No. SI74, Stanford Graduate School of Business—an organizational analysis of the AECF
___________________________________________________________________________
3. The American Juvenile Justice System
The American juvenile justice system is the primary system used to handle minors who are convicted of criminal offenses. The system is composed of a federal and many separate state, territorial, and local jurisdictions, with states and the federal government sharing sovereign police power under the common authority of the United States Constitution.
The juvenile justice system intervenes in delinquent behavior through police, court, and correctional involvement, with the goal of rehabilitation. Youth and their guardians can face a variety of consequences including probation, community service, youth court, youth incarceration and alternative schooling.
The juvenile justice system, similar to the adult system, operates from a belief that intervening early in delinquent behavior will deter adolescents from engaging in criminal behavior as adults.
History and background:
Pre-1900:
Juvenile delinquency punishments trace back to the Middle Ages when crimes were severely punished by the Church.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, few legal differences existed between children and adults. Children as young as six and seven years were considered productive members of the family and their labor contributed to family income. In court, children as young as seven were treated as adults and could receive the death penalty.
Early debates questioned whether there should be a separate legal system for punishing juveniles, or if juveniles should be sentenced in the same manner as adults.
With the changing demographic, social, and economic context of the 19th century resulting largely from industrialization, "the social construction of childhood...as a period of dependency and exclusion from the adult world" was institutionalized.
This century saw the opening of the first programs targeting juvenile delinquency. Barry Krisberg and James F. Austin note that the first ever institution dedicated to juvenile delinquency was the New York House of Refuge in 1825.
Other programs, described by Finley, included: "houses of refuge", which emphasized moral rehabilitation; "reform schools", which had widespread reputations for mistreatment of the children living there; and "child saving organizations", social charity agencies dedicated to reforming poor and delinquent children. These 'child-saving efforts' were early attempts at differentiating between delinquents and abandoned youth.
Prior to this ideological shift, the application of parens patriae was restricted to protecting the interests of children, deciding guardianship and commitment of the mentally ill. In the 1839 Pennsylvania landmark case, Ex parte Crouse, the court allowed use of parens patriae to detain young people for non-criminal acts in the name of rehabilitation. Since these decisions were carried out "in the best interest of the child," the due process protections afforded adult criminals were not extended to juveniles.
Early 1900s:
The nation's first juvenile court was formed in Illinois in 1899 and provided a legal distinction between juvenile abandonment and crime.
The law that established the court, the Illinois Juvenile Court Law of 1899, was created largely because of the advocacy of women such as Jane Addams, Louise DeKoven Bowen, Lucy Flower and Julia Lathrop, who were members of the influential Chicago Woman's Club.
The Chicago court opened on July 1, 1899 with Judge Tuthill presiding, along with several members of the Chicago Woman's Club who acted as advisors about the juvenile offender's backgrounds.
Establishing a juvenile court helped reframe cultural and legal interpretations of "the best interests of the child." The underlying assumption of the original juvenile system, and one that continues to prevail, was that juveniles were generally more amenable to rehabilitation than adult criminals.
This new application of parens patriae and the development of a separate juvenile court formed the foundation for the modern juvenile justice system.
The creation of the juvenile justice system in Chicago coincided with the migration of southern black families to the North. A combination of factors like lack of parental supervision and extreme poverty left black children vulnerable.
In one case a 13 year old Kentuckian was accused of "habitual truancy" by the principal of his school, which would have been a violation of compulsory education laws, but the principal herself admitted that his attendance was perfect and that she had filed a petition for him to be sent to a Parental School because his parents were not giving him adequate care and "something should be done to keep him off the streets and away from bad company".
1960s to 1980s:
The debate about morality and effectiveness surrounded juvenile courts until the 1950s. The 1960s through the 1980s saw a rise in attention to and speculation about juvenile delinquency, as well as concern about the court system as a social issue. This era was characterized by distinctly harsh punishments for youths.
There was also a new focus on providing minors with due process and legal counsel in court. Criticism in this era focused on racial discrimination, gender disparities, and discrimination towards children with mental health problems or learning disabilities.
While still recommending harsher punishments for serious crimes, "community-based programs, diversion, and deinstitutionalization became the banners of juvenile justice policy in the 1970's".
However, these alternative approaches were short lived. The rising crime rates of the 1960s and media misrepresentation of this crime throughout the 1970s and 80s, paved the way for Reagan's War on Drugs and subsequent "tough-on-crime" policies. Heightened fears of a 'youth problem' "revealed white, middle- and upper-class anxieties about growing social unrest and the potential volatility stemming from social and economic inequality".
Public perception of juvenile deviance was such that at the 1999 Juvenile Justice Hearings, Bill McCollum claimed "simply and sadly put: Today in America no population poses a larger threat to public safety than juvenile offenders". In the late 1980s, the United States experienced a large increase in crime, and juvenile crime was brought into public view (see above "Juvenile delinquency in the United States").
Americans feared a "juvenile super-predator", and this fear was met by the government with harsher policies for juvenile crime.
1990s to present day:
In the 1990s, juvenile crime – especially violent crime – decreased, although policies remained the same. Schools and politicians adopted zero tolerance policies with regard to crime, and argued that rehabilitative approaches were less effective than strict punishment.
The increased ease in trying juveniles as adults became a defining feature of "tough-on-crime" policies in the 1990s. As Loyola law professor Sacha Coupet argues, "[o]ne way in which "get tough" advocates have supported a merger between the adult criminal and juvenile systems is by expanding the scope of transfer provisions or waivers that bring children under the jurisdiction of the adult criminal system".
Some states moved specific classes of crimes from the juvenile court to adult criminal court while others gave this power to judges or prosecutors on a case-by-case basis. Still others require the courts to treat offending youth like adults, but within the juvenile system. In some states, adjudicated offenders face mandatory sentences.
By 1997, all but three states had passed a combination of laws that eased use of transfer provisions, provided courts with expanded sentencing options and removed the confidentiality tradition of the juvenile court.
Juvenile courts were transformed to more easily allow for prosecution of juveniles as adults at the same time the adult system was re-defining which acts constituted a "serious crime."
The "three strikes laws" that began in 1993 fundamentally altered the criminal offenses that resulted in detention, imprisonment and even a life sentence, for both youth and adults. "Three strikes laws" were not specific to juvenile offenders, but they were enacted during a period when the lines between juvenile and adult court were becoming increasingly blurred.
The War on Drugs and "tough-on-crime" policies like Three Strikes resulted in an explosion in the number of incarcerated individuals.
Implementation of the Gun Free School Act (GFSA) in 1994 is one example of a "tough on crime" policy that has contributed to increased numbers of young people being arrested and detained.
It was intended to prosecute young offenders for serious crimes like gun possession on school property, but many states interpreted this law to include less dangerous weapons and drug possession. Many schools even interpreted GFSA to include "infractions that pose no safety concern, such as 'disobeying [school] rules, 'insubordination,' and 'disruption". These offenses can now warrant suspension, expulsion and involvement with juvenile justice courts.
Schools have become the primary stage for juvenile arrest and the charges brought against them and punishments they face are increasing in severity. Today this is frequently referred to as the school-to-prison pipeline.
Demographics:
Demographic information for youth involved in the Juvenile Justice system is somewhat difficult to collect, as most data is collected at state, county, and city levels. Although the office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention publishes national numbers that breakdown the racial make-up of youth involved in the juvenile justice system, this data provides an incomplete picture, as it excludes Hispanic youth in its demographic calculations.
According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, in 2011 there were a total of 1,236,200 cases handled by the juvenile courts. 891,100 cases dealt with males, compared with 345,100 for females. The most prominent age group represented in the courts is 13 to 15 years, which make up 552,000 of the total cases. 410,900 of the cases involved
Black adolescents, which represents about one-third of the total court cases.
The number of cases handled by the juvenile courts in the United States was 1,159,000 in 1985, and increased steadily until 1998, reaching a high point of 1,872,700. After this point, the number of cases steadily declined until 2011.
In the 1,236,200 cases settled in 2011, 60% of the juveniles had a previous background of criminal history in their families and 96% of the juveniles had substance abuse problems, often related to parental/guardian substance abuse.
In 1999, juveniles accounted for 16% of all violent crime arrests, and 32% of all property crime. They also accounted for 54% of all arson arrests, 42% of vandalism arrests, 31% of larceny-theft arrests, and 33% of burglary arrests.
Racial discrepancies:
Since 1995, the rate of confinement has dropped by 41%, and the rate has decreased among all major racial groups in the US. However, disparities by race remain apparent: in 2010, 225 youths per 100,000 were in confinement. When separated by race, there were 605 African-Americans, 127 Non-Hispanic Whites, 229 Hispanics, 367 Native Americans, and 47 Asian/Pacific Islanders in confinement per 100,000.
African-Americans are close to five times more likely to be confined than white youths, while Latino and Native Americans are two to three times more likely to be confined than white youths. Racial disparities in confinement are relatively constant across states.
According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, females constitute 14% of juveniles in residential placement in 2011. Of these females, 61% belong to racial minority groups.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation provides additional information about the demographics of the juvenile justice system.
Juveniles in residential placement:
Residential placement refers to any facility in which an adolescent remains on-site 24 hours a day. These facilities include youth detention centers, group homes, shelters, correctional facilities, or reform schools.
According to census data of Juveniles in residential placement and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the number of youths in juvenile detention centers in the United States has declined in the past two decades. The number of adolescents incarcerated peaked in 1995, with 107,637 in confinement in a single day. In contrast, there were fewer than 62,000 adolescents in residential placement in October 2011.
Juvenile offenders are placed either in public facilities operated by the State or local government, or private, for-profit facilities operated by separate corporations and organizations. Private facilities are smaller than public facilities. Half of all juvenile placement facilities in the US are privately operated, and these facilities hold nearly one-third of juvenile offenders.
Since 1997, 44 states and the District of Columbia have experienced a decrease in incarceration of adolescents. As of 2010, only 1 in 4 juveniles in confinement were incarcerated as a result of a violent crime (homicide, robbery, sexual assault, aggravated assault).
Additionally, 40% of juvenile delinquency cases and detentions are a result of offenses that are not considered threats to public safety. These include underage possession of alcohol, truancy, drug possession, low-level property offenses, and probation violations The most common age of offenders was 17 years old, with 17,500 in placement in 2011.
Juveniles aged 12 and under accounted for 1% of all youth in placement.
Criticisms:
The current debate on juvenile justice reform in the United States focuses on the root of racial and economic discrepancies in the incarcerated youth population. Residual fear from "get-tough" policies implement harsher practices in schools that perpetuate an unhealthy cycle.
The most common is the implementation of zero tolerance policies which have increased the numbers of young people being removed from classrooms, often for minor infractions. Low-income youth, youth of color and youth with learning and cognitive disabilities are over-represented in the justice system and disproportionately targeted by zero tolerance policies.
Collectively this creates the school-to-prison pipeline - a phenomenon that contributes to more students falling behind, dropping out and eventually being funneled into the juvenile justice system.
Much of the criticism about the American juvenile justice system revolves around its effectiveness in rehabilitating juvenile delinquents. Research on juvenile incarceration and prosecution indicates that criminal activity is influenced by positive and negative life transitions regarding the completion of education, entering the workforce, and marrying and beginning families.
According to certain developmental theories, adolescents who are involved in the court system are more likely to experience disruption in their life transitions, leading them to engage in delinquent behavior as adults.
Lois M. Davis et al. argue that adolescents are affected by a juvenile system that does not have effective public policies. Currently the juvenile system has failed to ensure that all youth in the system with learning disabilities or mental health issues, and from lower-class individuals and racial minorities are provided with the benefits for a productive life once out of the system.
In 2013 30% of youth in system have a learning disability and nearly 50% test below grade level. They argue that the juvenile justice system should be restructured to more effectively lower the chances of future crime among youth, and advocate for increased educational programs for incarcerated youth as the most important method to reduce recidivism.
A 12 BC report from The Council of State Governments Justice Center showed only states provide incarcerated youth with the same educational services as the general student population in the United States. The report recommended juvenile detention facilities should be held to the same academic standards as other public schools.
Proposed reforms:
Many scholars stress the importance of reforming the juvenile justice system to increase its effectiveness and avoid discrimination. Finley argues for early intervention in juvenile delinquency, and advocates for the development of programs that are more centered on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
James C. Howell et al. argue that zero tolerance policies overwhelm the juvenile justice system with low risk offenders and should be eliminated. They also argue that the most effective ways to reform the juvenile justice system would be to reduce the overrepresentation of minorities and eliminate the transfer of juveniles to the criminal justice system.
Zimring and Tannenhaus also discuss the future of the juvenile justice system in the United States. They argue that educational reentry programs should be developed and given high importance alongside policies of dropout prevention.
Reentry programs focus on providing care and support to juveniles after being released from detention facilities, and encouraging family support to help adolescents during this adjustment period. They also argue for the elimination of juvenile sex offender registration requirements, and the reform of criminal record information for juvenile offenders.
Some popular suggested reforms to juvenile detention programs include changing policies regarding incarceration and funding. One recommendation from the Annie E. Casey Foundation is restricting the offenses that are punishable by incarceration, so that only youth who present a threat to public safety are confined.
Other suggestions include investing in alternatives to incarceration, changing economic incentives that favor incarceration, and establishing smaller, more humane and treatment-oriented detention centers for the small number who are confined.
Positive youth development and the juvenile justice system:
Positive youth development (PYD) encompasses the intentional efforts of other youth, adults, communities, government agencies and schools to provide opportunities for youth to enhance their interests, skills, and abilities.
The justice system offers specific services to youth facing significant mental health and substance use challenges, but the majority of youth do not qualify for these targeted programs and interventions. Butts, et al. suggest that the integration of positive youth development into the juvenile justice system would benefit youth charged with nonviolent, less serious offenses.
Widespread implementation of PYD approaches in the juvenile justice system faces many challenges. Philosophically however, the PYD framework resembles the progressive era ideals that informed the creation of the first juvenile court.
As Butts, Mayer and Ruther describe, "The concepts underlying PYD resemble those that led to the founding of the american juvenile justice system more than a century ago. [...] Organizers of the first juvenile courts saw the solution to delinquency in better schools, community organizations, public health measures, and family supports. They believed an improved social environmental would encourage youth to embrace pro-social norms."
Integration of PYD into the juvenile justice system is informed by social learning theory and social control theory. Taken together, these theories suggest that "youth are less attracted to criminal behavior when they are involved with others, learning useful skills, being rewarded for using those skills, enjoying strong relationships and forming attachments, and earning the respect of their communities".
This is in stark contrast to the theories of deterrence and retributive justice espoused by the current justice system.
Youth court:
Youth courts are programs in which youth sentence their peers for minor delinquent and status offenses and other problem behaviors. The program philosophy is to hold youth responsible for problem behavior, educate youth about the legal and judicial systems, and empower youth to be active in solving problems in their community.
Youth courts function to determine fair and restorative sentences or dispositions for the youth respondent. Youth court programs can be administered by juvenile courts, juvenile probation departments, law enforcement, private nonprofit organizations, and schools.
Youth court programs operate under four primary models:
- Adult Judge,
- Youth Judge,
- Peer Jury,
- and Youth Tribunal Models.
Under the adult judge model, an adult volunteer serves as the judge while youth volunteers serve as prosecuting and defense attorneys, jurors, clerks, and bailiffs.
Under the youth judge model, youth volunteers fill all roles, including judge.
Under a peer jury model, youth jurors question the respondents and make sentencing determinations.
Under a youth tribunal model, youth serve as prosecuting and defense attorneys, and present their cases to a panel of youth judges, who then make a sentencing determination.
To date, there are no comprehensive national guidelines for youth courts, but rather, courts operate under and are tailored to their local jurisdictions. To date, there are more than 675 youth courts in the United States.
East Palo Alto and Boston have both implemented youth courts. The East Palo Alto youth court is based on restorative justice principles. Eligible youth must admit the facts of the case, after which youth attorneys explain the facts of the case to a youth jury.
In Boston, youth court is available to first time, low level offenders. It is based on a restorative justice framework.
Restorative justice:
Restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders, and the involved community, rather than punishing the offender. Victims and offenders both take an active role in the process, with the latter being encouraged to take responsibility for their actions.
Doing so is an attempt by offenders to repair the harm they've done and also provides help for the offender in order to prevent future offenses. Restorative justice is based on a theory of justice that views crime to be an offense against an individual and/or a community, versus the state.
Programs that promote dialogue between victim and offender demonstrate the highest rates of victim satisfaction and offender accountability.
Restorative justice practices have been implemented in schools that experience higher rates of violence or crime. This can catch the juvenile before they're involved in the justice system and can change discipline into a learning opportunity. It encourages accountability, supportive climates, appropriate listening and responding and contributes to a development of empathy for the offender.
The difference between student exclusion and restorative approaches is shown through not only low recidivism, but school climates. With restorative approaches focusing on relationships, it prioritizes interpersonal connections which creates an overall better community.
The underlying thesis of restorative practices is that ‘‘human beings are happier, more cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive changes in their behavior when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to or for them.’’
Raise the age:
Many advocates argue that the juvenile system should extend to include youth older than 18 (the age that most systems use as a cut-off). Research in neurobiology and developmental psychology show that young adults' brains do not finish developing until their mid-20s, well beyond the age of criminal responsibility in most states.
Other non-criminal justice systems acknowledge these differences between adults and young people with laws about drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, etc.
Georgia, Texas and Wisconsin remain the only states to prosecute all youth as adults when they turn 17 years of age. Connecticut Governor, Dannel Malloy proposed in 2016 raising the age in his state to 20.
See also: ___________________________________________________________________________
4. JUVENILE DETENTION ALTERNATIVES INITIATIVE (JDAI) (a Program offered by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (see above)
JDAI® is a network of juvenile justice practitioners and other system stakeholders across the country working to build a better and more equitable youth justice system.
The Casey Foundation spurs the network to pursue policies and practices in their communities, courts and out-of-home placements that keep young people safe and on track for long-term success, while still holding youth accountable for their actions.
The network promotes a data-driven, problem-solving approach and a series of tools that are rooted in core strategies. These strategies are explicit about racial equity to address the glaring overrepresentation of youth of color in the justice system; youth, family and community engagement; and community-based alternatives to confinement.
The JDAI network is people doing similar work and facing similar challenges in states and localities across the country who influence and support one another to think differently about what’s possible with for youth in their communities. The network is connected through a free and open online community that offers advice from a variety of voices, credible resources and training on demand.
The Casey Foundation's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative®, or JDAI for short, began more than 25 years ago as a pilot project to reduce reliance on local detention. By design, reform in JDAI sites has expanded beyond juvenile detention, the front end of the system.
Sites are applying core JDAI themes — such as effective collaboration and objective decision making — to broader reform goals.
What We Do:
Provide training and technical assistance to practitioners through JDAIconnect, a free online community open to all for resources, expert guidance and peer-to-peer learning.
Provide a limited amount of technical assistance beyond what is available on JDAIconnect to jurisdictions trying something new or pushing the envelope with a reform strategy.
Publish and distribute practice- and assessment-oriented guides, analyses and videos.
Fund network learning labs in four local sites — Bernalillo County, N.M.; Cook County, Ill.; Multnomah County, Ore.; and Santa Cruz County, Calif. — and one state-level site, New Jersey.
Convene national conferences that energize the network through a mix of plenaries, workshops and small group discussions where practitioners and other experts exchange knowledge and first-hand reports of developments in the field.
Influence and encourage professionals to make smarter decisions that affect young people based on shared values, sound analyses and strategies known to reduce delinquency and support adolescent development.
View our resources on juvenile detention
Results to-date:
JDAI changed the country’s norms for using secure detention, shifting from a posture that defaulted to locking kids up for any kind of misbehavior to one that demonstrated detention should and could be used rarely through collaborative, data-driven efforts that offered alternatives to confinement.
JDAI has become the standard of practice for how local justice systems nationwide handle the critical front end of the juvenile court process.
JDAI reaches nearly one-third of the total U.S. youth population. It expanded from fives sites in the mid-1990s to more than 300 jurisdictions in 40 states and the District of Columbia by 2019.
Second and third generations of juvenile justice reformers are building upon the legacy of JDAI’s pioneers and adapting the model to current conditions.
State governments are leading the expansion of JDAI to more counties and cities.
Systems are locking up dramatically fewer young people prior to the court determining the outcome of the youth’ cases. Since launching their JDAI efforts, across the initiative sites have reduced admissions to secure detention by 57 percent and average daily population by 50 percent, and they have done so while protecting public safety. The data is based on 2018, which is the latest available.
Success with JDAI has been a catalyst for sites to apply JDAI’s core strategies beyond detention.
Important challenges remain, including overrepresentation of youth of color at every level of system involvement.
In 2009, the New York Times lauded JDAI’s “astonishing” results.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE JDAI AT 25 PROGRESS REPORT FOR MORE INFORMATION
Strategies:
State and local juvenile justice systems themselves — along with system stakeholders — have the will, capacity and opportunity to pursue strategies that achieve better outcomes for young people charged with delinquency.
Share the values that all young people deserve a bright future, humanity and fairness; and belong in families, not prison-like facilities, which are no place for kids.
Be explicit about race equity as a necessary counterforce to disparities that are deeply rooted in structural racism stemming from our nation’s history of slavery, intimidation, inequitable opportunity and discrimination.
Support JDAI as a dynamic national movement that pursues policies and practices that keep young people safe and on track for long-term success, while still holding youth accountable for their actions.
Help participating sites achieve success through technical assistance, learning labs, practice guides, implementation tools and opportunities for practitioners to come together in-person and online.
Energize the JDAI network and JDAIconnect as a place for practitioners and other system stakeholders to exchange ideas and find mutual support.
Enhance state leaders’ capacity to promote and support JDAI expansion at the county level, with state governments playing a central role in spreading the JDAI model.
Use the detention reform — i.e., safely reducing the number of young people coming in systems’ front doors — as a catalyst for practitioners to pursue other necessary changes within their systems.
Promote the JDAI model’s eight core strategies.
Resources: Join JDAIconnect This free online community about youth justice reform offers advice from a variety of voices, credible resources and training on demand. The community is open to all, whether or not you participate in JDAI. JDAIconnect is part of the Casey Foundation's Community Cafe platform.
- See the Foundation’s set of practice guides for implementing JDAI
- Explore a collection of juvenile justice resources
- Review a list of advocates promoting reform in juvenile justice
History of JDAI:
Juvenile detention reforms in Broward County, Florida inspired the creation of JDAI more than 25 years ago.
Detention is a crucial early phase in the juvenile court process. Placement into a locked detention center pending court significantly increases the odds that youth will be found delinquent and committed to corrections facilities and can seriously damage their prospects for future success.
Yet many detained youth pose little or no threat to public safety.
From 1987 to 1992, Florida's Broward County combined interagency collaboration, research, objective screening procedures, non-secure detention alternatives and faster case processing to reduce its detention population by 65%, without any sacrifice of public safety. It saved taxpayers more than $5 million.
Following Broward County, five sites joined JDAI’s demonstration phase in 1992. Begun at the height of overcrowding in detention centers across the country and amid the nation’s alarm over youth crime and tough on crime tack, the JDAI pilot sites withstood significant political resistance.
The early successes in two of the original sites — Multnomah County, Oregon, and Cook County, Illinois, which include the cities of Portland and Chicago respectively — as well as in two of the initiative’s first replication sites, Santa Cruz County, California, and Bernalillo County, New Mexico, proved that common sense approaches and new alternatives could safely reduce the detention population.
As these successes and reform strategies were documented and shared, JDAI gained momentum. A training and technical support infrastructure was built to help jurisdictions faithfully adopt JDAI’s eight core strategies, including five sites that agreed to serve as learning laboratories for other jurisdictions.
When the initiative commemorated its 25th anniversary in 2017, the JDAI had spread to 300 jurisdictions in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
Now the JDAI network is a national movement of practitioners and system stakeholders that are advancing reforms in all aspects of youth justice, based on JDAI’s core values and strategies.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM JDAI:
WORKING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT
This guide is a resource-packed playbook for juvenile justice reformers who want to forge effective partnerships with law enforcement agencies. The goal? Help reduce the use of unnecessary detention while improving public safety outcomes at the same time.
TRANSFORMING JUVENILE PROBATION
IN THIS REPORT, YOU’LL LEARN:
- How recent research on adolescent brain development and behavior demands a fundamental rethinking of juvenile probation practice to improve system performance and the lives of young people.
- Why traditional, surveillance-oriented probation is ineffective for reversing delinquent behavior, with especially poor results for youth at low risk of rearrest.
- How expanding the use of diversion and developing a stronger continuum of diversion programming could significantly improve system outcomes.
A VIRTUAL COMMUNITY FOR REFORMERS
Since the launching JDAIconnect in 2017, more than 2,500 juvenile justice reformers have joined the fee online community to exchange ideas, find resources and learn from each other. We encourage practitioners, advocates and young people to join today.
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Child and family services:
Child and family services is a government or non-profit organization designed to better the well being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations, environmental or biological.
People who seek or are sought after to participate in these homes have no other resource to turn to. Children might come from abusive or neglectful homes, or live in very poor and dangerous communities.
There are also agencies that cater to people who have biological deficiencies.
Families that are trying to live in stable lives come to non-profit organisations for hope of a better future. Child and family services cater to many different types of people who are all in different situations. These services might be mandated through the courts via a governmental child protection agency or they might be voluntary. Child and family services may be mandated if:
- There is domestic violence in the home
- There is abuse or neglect in the home
- There is constant negativity amongst family members which could lead to violent behavior:
Historical overview:
The history of the United States' response to child abuse and neglect has been marked by a tension between two missions:
- an emphasis on rescuing children from abusive or neglectful families
- efforts to support and preserve their families
18th and 19th centuries:
The legal basis for efforts to protect needy children in colonial times rested on the English Poor Law of 1601. This placed the public responsibility for the poor in the hands of local townspeople. Parents were not held accountable for their children, which lead parent's to tend to neglect their children and their duties as a parent.
The attention of community leaders, philanthropists, and social reformers who were concerned about child abuse and neglect focused primarily on the children of the poorest families and on those who were orphaned, abandoned, or unsupervised.
20th century:
During most of the 19th century, destitute children were sent to institutions operated by private charitable organizations. Many poor or abandoned children were sent to live in almshouses—facilities established in the 19th century in many large cities to house the very poor of all ages.
Almshouses provided minimal standard of care to orphaned or needy children and to impoverished, insane, or diseased adults. The almshouses caused the children greater hardships because they were subject to disease and chaos.
The second half of the 20th century saw increasing criticism of the impacts the unsanitary, chaotic almshouses had on children, especially the very young, who suffered high mortality rates there. Due to this, private charities and religious groups began to establish orphanages or children's asylums to separate needy children from adults and protect them from disease, maltreatment, and such.
Many parents were losing custody of their children because the private organizations were able to prove they would be able to take care of the children in need better than their parents could. Children began to feel disconnected from their parents because they had been placed to grow up with other families.
Development:
Child and family services have significantly developed over the last few centuries. Many different forms of help for children and families in need were offered throughout the community. Today we have many different agencies to help with the welfare and survival of many children and their families.
However, years ago, many people relied on their community and religion to get them through tougher times. The community's investment in the well-being of its children is reflected in the cultural mores and social norms, and in legal frameworks that permit intervention in individual families when children are abused or neglected.
The formal system through which society responds to child abuse and neglect is now largely a governmental one. Today, primary responsibility for child protection is vested in public child protective services (CPS) agencies, which receive, investigate, and respond to reports of child abuse and neglect.
These agencies are usually linked to child welfare departments with broader responsibilities which include foster care and adoption. Usually at this point, the parents lose their right to take care of their children because they are seen to be unfit parents.
Today, it is against the law to not report child abuse if evident. Many parents do not realize that they are candidates for the potential loss of their children to government agencies because of their issues, such as poverty, mental illness, or neglect that lead to child abuse.
Two-generation family strategies:
Census data shows that in the United States almost half of all children live in low-income families. Research suggests a critical connection between parent well-being and the child's emotional, physical, and economic well-being; as well as, a connection to the child's educational and workforce success.
Despite the crucial connection between parent and child well-being, many services designed to help low-income families target either the parent or the child, leaving someone behind.
Two-generation family programs coordinate services that aid low-income parents and children simultaneously, putting the whole family on a path to success.
Two generation family services aim to end the inter-generational cycle of poverty by moving families to economic stability and security through education, workforce training, and related support services.
Though each two generation program approach is different they all have three intentionally linked components: education and/or job training for parents that leads to family-supporting employment, high quality early childhood education, and family support services.
Parent education and job training:
Two generation family programs aim to get parents to a place of economic stability and security where they can secure employment that enables them to support their family and improve child outcomes. Programs aid parents in getting to economic security through education and job training opportunities.
Two generation program educational opportunities typically involve general educational development (GED) courses, and connections to post-secondary education supports, such as, financial aid or access to full-day childcare. In addition to education services, two generation family programs often utilize sector-based workforce development.
This type of workforce development targets job training for specific industries that will meet regional workforce needs, increasing the chances that graduates of the program will be able to find work.
High-quality early childhood education:
Two generation family programs include high quality early childhood education that nurtures children's learning and development. Investing in high quality early childhood education that extends from pre-K through third grade improves educational achievement throughout schooling and success in the workforce.
Programs can utilize existing early childhood development programs (i.e. Early Start or Head Start) and add two-generation elements such as offering full-day/full-year services to support working parents.
Family support services:
Two-generation family programs offer comprehensive wraparound services to support families. Examples of these support services include access to physical and mental health services for children, career coaches, case managers, family planning, and food assistance. These services aim to help expand family resources and support networks.
Child care in the United States:
Research suggests that child care is a critical component of livable communities for many families in urban, suburban, and rural areas, and that local planning policies can play an important role in ensuring adequate child care. The majority of parents who work depend upon formal, organized out-of-home care.
Studies show that families are paying a significant part of their earnings for child care.
Between 2011 and 2012, the cost of child care increased at up to eight times the rate of increases in family income. For a four-year-old child, center-based care ranges from about $4,300 in Mississippi to $12,350 in Massachusetts.
Lower income families have been disproportionately affected by these increases in child care costs. Working families at or near the poverty line did not receive any or enough child care assistance to be able to stay employed and off welfare, and only 12% to 15% of eligible families were served by a Child Care Development Fund subsidy in 1998–1999.
Options for accessibility:
Child care subsidies is an option used in many states to help parents pay for child care. These subsidies aid low-income families with children under age 13 in paying for child care so that parents can work or participate in training or education activities. Parents typically receive subsidies in the form of vouchers that they can use with a provider (e.g. relative, neighbor, child care center, or after-school program.)
Additional government programs aim to make child care more affordable. Medium and low income families receive earned income tax credits to compensate for money they allocated to child care arrangements.
Individuals may claim up to $3,000 of expenses paid in a year for one qualifying individual (a dependent child age 12 or younger) or $6,000 for two or more qualifying individuals on their tax return. Benefits from the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) concentrate on low-income families. In contrast, the dependent exemption and the virtually nonrefundable Child Tax Credit (CTC) benefited higher income families with benefits gradually increasing as a person's tax liability increased.
Universal child care is another way to make child care more widely accessible. For example, in Sweden, public childcare is guaranteed to all parents and it operates on a whole-day basis. Parental fees are directly proportional to parents' income and inversely proportional to the number of children in a family.
Finally, another viable option is to increase tax credits for low and medium income families. Currently, President Barack Obama has outlined a plan to triple the child tax care credit to $3,000 per young child.
Progression:
The demands that urbanization, industrialization, and immigration placed on poor and working-class families in the late 19th century left many children unattended. Rural states relied on family placements to care for their own homeless or dependent children. This was a precursor for today's foster care system.
As a general progressive agenda of social reform was adapted in the early years if the 20th century, the approach of assisting parents to care for their children was more widely endorsed.
A new policy was issued, stating, "No child should be removed from the home unless it is impossible to construct family conditions or to build and supplement family resources as to make the home safe for the child..." There is still evidence from the 19th century of abandoned children.
A 137-year-old foundation for children called New York Foundling Asylum has recently discovered letters from the parents who had abandoned their children in front of the agency because they were unable to care for them.
New York Foundling Asylum was a family service agency that cared for thousands of children who had no homes and needed help, otherwise they would have been left on the cold street. This foundation saved thousands of lives and set a tone for other private organizations to contribute as well.
Prominent non-profit organizations:
- Free the Children
- Friends-International
- Metis Child and Family Services Society
- Save the Children
- War Child
- World Vision
- UNICEF
- United Family Services
See also:
- Group homes
- Congregate care
- Cottage homes
- Family support
- Residential care
- Community-based care
- Teaching-family model
- Kinship care
- Child and youth care
- Child abuse
- Child abandonment
- Wraparound (childcare)
6. Residential treatment centers
A residential treatment center (RTC), sometimes called a rehab, is a live-in health care facility providing therapy for substance use disorders, mental illness, or other behavioral problems. Residential treatment may be considered the "last-ditch" approach to treating abnormal psychology or psychopathology.
Children and teens:
RTCs for adolescents, sometimes referred to as teen rehab centers, provide treatment for issues and disorders such as:
- oppositional defiant disorder,
- conduct disorder,
- depression,
- bipolar disorder,
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),
- educational issues,
- some personality disorders,
- and phase-of-life issues,
- as well as substance use disorders.
Most use a behavior modification paradigm. Others are relationally oriented. Some utilize a community or positive peer-culture model. Generalist programs are usually large (80-plus clients and as many as 250) and level-focused in their treatment approach. That is, in order to manage clients' behavior, they frequently put systems of rewards and punishments in place.
Specialist programs are usually smaller (less than 100 clients and as few as 10 or 12).
Specialist programs typically are not as focused on behavior modification as generalist programs are.
Different RTCs work with different types of problems, and the structure and methods of RTCs vary. Some RTCs are lock-down facilities; that is, the residents are locked inside the premises. In a locked residential treatment facility, clients' movements are restricted. By comparison, an unlocked residential treatment facility allows them to move about the facility with relative freedom, but they are only allowed to leave the facility under specific conditions.
Residential treatment centers should not be confused with residential education programs, which offer an alternative environment for at-risk children to live and learn together outside their homes.
Residential treatment centers for children and adolescents treat multiple conditions from drug and alcohol addictions to emotional and physical disorders as well as mental illnesses.
Various studies of youth in residential treatment centers have found that many have a history of family-related issues, often including physical or sexual abuse. Some facilities address specialized disorders, such as reactive attachment disorder (RAD).
Residential treatment centers generally are clinically focused and primarily provide behavior management and treatment for adolescents with serious issues. In contrast, therapeutic boarding schools provide therapy and academics in a residential boarding school setting, employing staff of social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists to work with the students on a daily basis.
This form of treatment has a goal of academic achievement as well as physical and mental stability in children, adolescents, and young adults. Recent trends have ensured that residential treatment facilities have more input from behavioral psychologists to improve outcomes and lessen unethical practices.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Residential Treatment Centers:
- Historical background in the United States
- Behavioral interventions
- Controversy
- Research on effectiveness
- See also:
- Anti-psychiatry
- Behavior modification facility
- Child abandonment
- Child abuse
- Child and Youth Care
- Community-based care
- Congregate care
- Family support
- Group home
- Kinship care
- Residential care
- Residential child care community
- Teaching-family model
- Therapeutic boarding school
- This Is Paris
- Learning materials related to Residential treatment center at Wikiversity
- Residential Treatment Programs — Concerns Regarding Abuse and Death in Certain Programs for Troubled Youth - United States Government Accountability Office
- Residential Facilities — State and Federal Oversight Gaps May Increase Risk to Youth Well-Being - United States Government Accountability Office
- Residential Programs — Selected Cases of Death, Abuse, and Deceptive Marketing - United States Government Accountability Office
7. Child protective services
Child protective services (CPS) is the name of a government agency in many states of the United States responsible for providing child protection, which includes responding to reports of child abuse or neglect.
Some states use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered (as opposed to child-centered) practices, such as department of children and family services (DCFS).
CPS is also sometimes known by the name of department of social services (DSS or simply social services for short), though these terms more often have a broader meaning.
List of other names and acronyms for CPS:
- Children, Youth, and Family - CYF
- Department of children and families – DCF
- Department of children and family services – DCFS
- Department of social services – DSS
- Department of human services – DHS
- Department of child safety – DCS
- Department of child services – DCS
- Department of human resources – DHR
CPS/DCF is a department under a state's health and human services organization.
Laws and standards:
Federal:
U.S. federal laws that govern CPS agencies include:
- Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)
- Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)
- Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA)
- Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA)
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504)
- Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
- 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, and depending on the circumstances, 1985
- Social Security Act of 1935
History:
In 1690, in what is now the Americas, there were criminal court cases involving child abuse. In 1692, states and municipalities identified care for abused and neglected children as the responsibility of local government and private institutions.
In1696, The Kingdom of England first used the legal principle of parens patriae, which gave the royal crown care of "charities, infants, idiots, and lunatics returned to the chancery". This principle of parens patriae has been identified as the statutory basis for U.S. governmental intervention in families' child rearing practices.
In 1825, states enacted laws giving social-welfare agencies the right to remove neglected children from their parents and from the streets. These children were placed in almshouses, in orphanages and with other families.
In 1835, the Humane Society founded the National Federation of Child Rescue agencies to investigate child maltreatment. In the late-19th century, private child protection agencies – modeled after existing animal protection organizations – developed to investigate reports of child maltreatment, present cases in court and advocate for child welfare legislation.
In 1853, the Children's Aid Society was founded in response to the problem of orphaned or abandoned children living in New York City. Rather than allow these children to become institutionalized or continue to live on the streets, the children were placed in the first "foster" homes, typically with the intention of helping these families work their farms as family labor.
In 1874, the first case of child abuse was criminally prosecuted in what has come to be known as the "case of Mary Ellen". Outrage over this case started an organized effort against child maltreatment
In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt convened the White House Conference on Child Dependency, which created a publicly funded volunteer organization to "establish and publicize standards of child care".
By 1926, 18 states had some version of county child welfare boards whose purpose was to coordinate public and private child related work. Issues of abuse and neglect were addressed in the Social Security Act in 1930, which provided funding for intervention for "neglected and dependent children in danger of becoming delinquent".
In 1912, the federal Children's Bureau was established with a mandate that included services related to child maltreatment. In 1958, amendments to the Social Security Act mandated that states fund child protection efforts. In 1962, professional and media interest in child maltreatment was sparked by the publication of C. Henry Kempe and associates' "The battered child syndrome" in the JAMA.
By the mid-1960s, in response to public concern that resulted from this article, 49 U.S. states passed child-abuse reporting laws. In 1974, these efforts by the states culminated in the passage of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA; Public Law 93-247) providing federal funding for wide-ranging federal and state child-maltreatment research and services.
In 1980, Congress passed the first comprehensive federal child protective services act, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-272), which focused on family preservation efforts to help keep families together and children out of foster care or other out-of-home placement options.
Partly funded by the federal government, child protective services (CPS) agencies were first established in response to the 1974 CAPTA which mandated that all states establish procedures to investigate suspected incidents of child maltreatment.
In the 1940s and 1950s, due to improved technology in diagnostic radiology, the medical profession began to take notice of what they believed to be intentional injuries, the so-called "shaken baby syndrome".
In 1961, C. Henry Kempe began to further research this issue, eventually identifying and coining the term battered child syndrome. At this same time, there were also changing views about the role of the child in society, fueled in part by the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1973, Congress took the first steps toward enacting federal legislature to address the issues of poverty and minorities. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was passed in 1974, which required states "to prevent, identify and treat child abuse and neglect".
Shortly thereafter, in 1978, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed in response to attempts to destroy the Native Americans by taking large numbers of Native American children, separating them from their tribes and placed in foster care or sending them to far away schools where they were maltreated, lost and sometimes died. This legislation not only opened the door for consideration of cultural issues while stressing ideas that children should be with their families, leading to the beginnings of family preservation programs.
In 1980, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act was introduced as a way to manage the high numbers of children in placement.
Although this legislation addressed some of the complaints from earlier pieces of legislation around destroying due process for parents, these changes were not designed to alleviate the high numbers of children in placement or continuing delays in permanence. This led to the introduction of the home visitation models, which provided funding to private agencies to force parents into intensive services in cases where the children were not favorable on the adoption market.
In addition to family services, the focus of federal child welfare policy changed to try to address permanence for the large numbers of foster children care. Several pieces of federal legislation attempted to ease the process of forcing adoption and taking away parental rights, including incentives for adoption and removal with the Adoption Assistance Act; the 1988 Child Abuse Prevention, Adoption, and Family Services Act; and the 1992 Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Adoption, and Family Services Act.
The 1994 Multi-Ethnic Placement Act, which was revised in 1996 to add the Interethnic Placement Provisions, also attempted to promote permanency through forced adoption, creating regulations that adoptions could not be delayed or denied due to issues of due process, fairness, Constitutional compliance, parental rights, the children's right, discrimination, race, color, or national origin of the child or the adoptive parent.
All of these policies led up to the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), much of which guides current practice. Changes in the Adoptions and Safe Families Act showed an interest in cosmetically shifting the emphasis towards children's health and safety concerns and away from a policy of reuniting children with their birth parents without regard to prior abusiveness.
This law requires counties to provide "reasonable efforts" to preserve or reunify families, but required that states move to terminate parental rights for children who had been in foster care for 15 out of the last 22 months, with several exceptions.
Comparison to similar systems found in other countries:
Brazil:
For decades, before 1990, there had been pressure from NGOs and children's organizations for protecting children battered by poverty and hunger and despised by sections of the community in Brazil. After this, became a chapter on the rights of children and adolescents in the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil.
1990, an even greater victory, when the Statute of the Child and Adolescent was approved ligating the government to protect child rights. This ensured a comprehensive child welfare system in Brazil. To ensure that the statute's provisions are enforced, councils for the rights of the child and adolescent were set up at federal, state and local levels.
The National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CONANDA) is a federal authority. The councils of guardianship are the local authorities and have duties and responsibilities towards children in their area. All work is based in the Statute of the Child and Adolescents (Law No. 8,069, July 13, 1990).
Canada:
In Ontario, services are provided by independent children's aid societies. The societies receive funding from, and are under the supervision of the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services. However, they are regarded as a non-governmental organization (NGO) which allows the CAS a large degree of autonomy from interference or direction in the day-to-day running of CAS by the ministry.
The Child and Family Services Review Board exists to investigate complaints against CAS and maintains authority to act against the societies.
The federal government passed Bill C-92 — officially known as An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families — in June 2019 coming into force on January 1, 2020. The new legislation creates national standards on how Indigenous children are to be treated.
For example, when looking to place kids in foster care, authorities are to prioritize extended family and home communities. The law also allows Indigenous communities to create their own child welfare laws. Indigenous children make up seven per cent of Canada's population, but they represent about 50 per cent of youth in care.
Costa Rica:
The Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI) is responsible for child protection in Costa Rica.
The agency was founded in 1930 by Luis Felipe Gonzalez Flores, a Costa Rican magnate at the time. It was founded to combat infant mortality, that at the time, was rampant in Costa Rica. The idea was to put infants up for adoption that the mother could not afford to support (abortion is a crime in Costa Rica).
In 1949, after the Costa Rican Civil War, a new constitution was written, it called for the agency to be an autonomous institution in the government, autonomous from any ministry.
Today the focus is on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The agency still favors adoption, since abortion is illegal in Costa Rica.
United Kingdom:
The United Kingdom has a comprehensive child welfare system under which local authorities have duties and responsibilities towards children in need in their area. This covers provision of advice and services, accommodation and care of children who become uncared for, and also the capacity to initiate proceedings for the removal of children from their parents care/care proceedings.
The criteria for the latter is "significant harm" which covers physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect. In appropriate cases the care plan before the court will be for adoption.
The Local Authorities also run adoption services both for children put up for adoption voluntarily and those becoming available for adoption through Court proceedings.
The basic legal principle in all public and private proceedings concerning children, under the Children Act 1989, is that the welfare of the child is paramount. In recognition of attachment issues, social work good practice requires a minimal number of moves and the 1989 Children Act enshrines the principle that delay is inimical to a child's welfare.
Care proceedings have a time frame of 26 weeks (although capable of extension under certain circumstances) and concurrent planning is required. The final care plan put forward by the local authority is required to provide a plan for permanence, whether with parents, family members, long-term foster parents or adopters.
The court routinely joins children as parties to their own care proceedings, and their best interests are explored and advanced by children's guardians, independent social workers who specialise in representation of children in proceedings. It is a feature of care proceedings that judges of all levels are expected to adhere to the recommendations of the children's guardian unless there are cogent reasons not to.
Nevertheless, "drift" and multiple placements still occur as many older children are difficult to place or maintain in placements. The role of Independent Visitor, a voluntary post, was created in the United Kingdom under the 1989 Children Act to befriend and assist children and young people in care.
In England, Wales and Scotland, there never has been a statutory obligation to report alleged child abuse to the police. However both the Children Act 1989 and 2004 makes clear a statutory obligation on all professionals to report suspected child abuse.
The statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 created the role of "local authority designated officer", This officer is responsible for managing allegations of abuse against adults who work with children (teachers, social workers, church leaders, youth workers etc.).
Local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) are responsible ensuring agencies and professionals, in their area, effectively safeguard and promote the welfare of children. In the event of the death or serious injury of a child, LSCBs can initiate a "Serious Case Review" aimed at identifying agency failings and improving future practice.
The planned ContactPoint database, under which information on children is shared between professionals, has been halted by the newly elected coalition government (May 2010). The database was aimed at improving information sharing across agencies. Lack of information sharing had been identified as a failing in numerous high-profile child death cases.
Critics of the scheme claimed it was evidence of a "big brother state" and too expensive to introduce.
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 (updated in 2010) and the subsequent The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report (Laming, 2009) continue to promote the sharing of data between those working with vulnerable children.
A child in suitable cases can be made a ward of court and no decisions about the child or changes in its life can be made without the leave of the High Court.
In England the murder of Victoria Climbié was largely responsible for various changes in child protection in England, including the formation of the Every Child Matters programme in 2003. A similar programme – Getting it Right for Every Child – GIRFEC was established in Scotland in 2008.
A bill is being debated in the UK parliament which many people and organisations fear will take away the statutory duty local authorities have to protect vulnerable children.
Effects of early maltreatment of children:
Children with histories of maltreatment, such as physical and psychological neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, are at risk of developing psychiatric problems.
Such children are at risk of developing a disorganized attachment. Disorganized attachment is associated with a number of developmental problems, including dissociative symptoms, as well as depressive, anxiety, and acting-out symptoms.
Standards for reporting:
Generally speaking, a report must be made when an individual knows or has reasonable cause to believe or suspect that a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect. These standards guide mandatory reporters in deciding whether to make a report to child protective services. However, due to the policy of the business to protect the identity of the reporter many reports have been made due to conflict with other parents or hospitals/doctors being sued by parents concerned with the way their child's needs have been addressed
Persons responsible for the child:
In addition to defining acts or omissions that constitute child abuse or neglect, several states' statutes provide specific definitions of persons who can get reported to child protective services as perpetrators of abuse or neglect. These are persons who have some relationship or regular responsibility for the child. This generally includes parents, grandparents, guardians, foster parents, relatives, legal guardians or bystanders.
Once taken away from home, the stated goal of CPS is to reunite the child with their family, however this is largely lip service. In some cases, due to the nature of abuse children are not able to see or converse with the abusers. If parents fail to complete Court Ordered terms and conditions, the children in care may never return home.
Most terms and conditions are set by the CPS caseworkers, not the courts, with the intent to drag out the case and so the 15-month deadline can be met.
Child protective services statistics:
The United States government's Administration for Children and Families reported that in 2004 approximately 3.5 million children were involved in investigations of alleged abuse or neglect in the US, while an estimated 872,000 children were determined to have been abused or neglected, and an estimated 1,490 children died that year because of abuse or neglect.
In 2007, 1,760 children died as the result of child abuse and neglect. Child abuse impacts the most vulnerable populations, with children under age five years accounting for 76% of fatalities. In 2008, 8.3 children per 1000 were victims of child abuse and neglect and 10.2 children per 1000 were in out of home placement.
On September 30, 2010, there were approximately 400,000 children in foster care in the U.S. of which 36% percent were ages 5 and under. During that same period, almost 120,000 birth to five year-olds entered foster care and a little under 100,000 exited foster care.
U.S. Child Protective Services (CPS) received a little over 2.5 million reports of child maltreatment in 2009 of which 61.9% were assigned to an investigation. Research using national data on recidivism indicates that 22% of children were rereported within a 2-year period and that 7% of these reports were substantiated.
In 2016, CPS within the state of Rhode Island demonstrated 2,074 cases of abuse or neglect among a population of 223,956 children.
As last reported in August 2019, 437,238 children nationally were removed from their families and placed in foster homes according to the federal government Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System.
From August 1999 - August 2019, 9,073,607 American children have been removed from their families and placed in foster homes according to the federal government Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System.
Child protective services recidivism in the United States:
In order to understand CPS recidivism in the U.S., there are several terms that readers must familiarize themselves with.
Two often-used terms in CPS recidivism are rereport (also known as rereferral) and recurrence. Either of the two can occur after an initial report of child abuse or neglect called an index report.
Although the definitions of rereport and recurrence is not consistent, the general difference is that a rereport is a subsequent report of child abuse or neglect after an initial report (also known as an index report) whereas recurrence refers to a confirmed (also known as substantiated) rereport after an initial report of child abuse and neglect.
Borrowing from the definition used by Pecora et al. (2000), recidivism is defined as, “Recurring child abuse and neglect, the subsequent or repeated maltreatment of a child after identification to public authorities.”
It is important to highlight that this definition is not all-inclusive because it does not include abused children who are not reported to authorities.
Recidivism statistics:
There are three main sources of recidivism data in the U.S.—the NCANDS, the NSCAW, and the NIS—and they all have their own respective strengths and weaknesses. The NCANDS was established in 1974, and it consists of administrative data of all reports of suspected child abuse and neglect investigated by CPS.
The NSCAW was established in 1996 and is similar to the NCANDS in that it only includes reports of child abuse and neglect investigated by CPS, but it adds clinical measures related to child and family well-being that the NCANDS is lacking.
The NIS was established in 1974, and it consists of data collected from CPS as well. However, it attempts to gather a more comprehensive picture of the incidence of child abuse and neglect by collecting data from other reporting sources called "community sentinels".
Criticism:
Brenda Scott, in her 1994 book Out of Control: Who's Watching Our Child Protection Agencies, criticizes CPS, stating, "Child Protective Services is out of control. The system, as it operates today, should be scrapped. If children are to be protected in their homes and in the system, radical new guidelines must be adopted.
At the core of the problem is the antifamily mindset of CPS. Removal is the first resort, not the last. With insufficient checks and balances, the system that was designed to protect children has become the greatest perpetrator of harm."
Texas:
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services had itself been an object of reports of unusual numbers of poisonings, death, rapes and pregnancies of children under its care since 2004. The Texas Family and Protective Services Crisis Management Team was created by executive order after the critical report Forgotten Children of 2004.
Texas Child Protective Services was hit with a rare if not unprecedented legal sanction for a "groundless cause of action" and ordered to pay $32,000 of the Spring family's attorney fees. Judge Schneider wrote in a 13-page order, "The offensive conduct by (CPS) has significantly interfered with the legitimate exercise of the traditional core functions of this court."
2008 Raid of YFZ Ranch:
Main article: YFZ Ranch
In April 2008, the largest child protection action in American history raised questions as the CPS in Texas removed hundreds of minor children, infants, and women incorrectly believed to be children from the YFZ Ranch polygamist community, with the assistance of heavily armed police with an armored personnel carrier.
Investigators, including supervisor Angie Voss convinced a judge that all of the children were at risk of child abuse because they were all being groomed for under-age marriage. The state supreme court disagreed, releasing most children back to their families. Investigations would result in criminal charges against some men in the community.
Gene Grounds of Victim Relief Ministries commended CPS workers in the Texas operation as exhibiting compassion, professionalism and caring concern. However, CPS performance was questioned by workers from the Hill Country Community Mental Health-Mental Retardation Center.
One wrote "I have never seen women and children treated this poorly, not to mention their civil rights being disregarded in this manner" after assisting at the emergency shelter.
Others who were previously forbidden to discuss conditions working with CPS later produced unsigned written reports expressed anger at the CPS traumatizing the children, and disregarding rights of mothers who appeared to be good parents of healthy, well-behaved children.
CPS threatened some MHMR workers with arrest, and the entire mental health support was dismissed the second week due to being "too compassionate". Workers believed poor sanitary conditions at the shelter allowed respiratory infections and chicken pox to spread.
CPS problem reports:
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, as with other states, had itself been an object of reports of unusual numbers of poisonings, death, rapes and pregnancies of children under its care since 2004. The Texas Family and Protective Services Crisis Management Team was created by executive order after the critical report Forgotten Children of 2004.
Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn made a statement in 2006 about the Texas foster care system. In Fiscal 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively 30, 38 and 48 foster children died in the state's care. The number of foster children in the state's care increased 24 percent to 32,474 in Fiscal 2005, while the number of deaths increased 60 percent.
Compared to the general population, a child is four times more likely to die in the Texas foster care system. In 2004, about 100 children were treated for poisoning from medications; 63 were treated for rape that occurred while under state care, including four-year-old twin boys, and 142 children gave birth, though others believe Ms. Strayhorn's report was not scientifically researched, and that major reforms need to be put in place to assure that children in the conservatorship of the state get as much attention as those at risk in their homes.
Disproportionality and disparity in the child welfare system:
In the United States, data suggests that a disproportionate number of minority children, particularly African American and Native American children, enter the foster care system. National data in the United States provides evidence that disproportionality may vary throughout the course of a child's involvement with the child welfare system.
Differing rates of disproportionality are seen at key decision points including the reporting of abuse, substantiation of abuse, and placement into foster care. Additionally, once they enter foster care, research suggests that they are likely to remain in care longer.
Research has shown that there is no difference in the rate of abuse and neglect among minority populations when compared to Caucasian children that would account for the disparity. The juvenile justice system has also been challenged by disproportionate negative contact of minority children. Because of the overlap in these systems, it is likely that this phenomenon within multiple systems may be related.
The American Journal of Public Health estimate that 37.4% of all children experience a child protective services investigation by age 18 years. Consistent with previous literature, they found a higher rate for African American children (53.0%) and the lowest rate for Asians and Pacific Islanders (10.2%). They conclude child maltreatment investigations are more common than is generally recognized when viewed across the lifespan. Building on other recent work, our data suggest a critical need for increased preventative and treatment resources in the area of child maltreatment.
Constitutional issues:
In May 2007, the United States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found in Rogers v. County of San Joaquin, No. 05-16071 that a CPS social worker who removed children from their natural parents into foster care without obtaining judicial authorization was acting without due process and without exigency (emergency conditions) violated the 14th Amendment and Title 42 United States Code Section 1983.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution says that a state may not make a law that abridges "... the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States" and no state may "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws".
Title 42 United States Code Section 1983 states that citizens can sue in federal courts any person who acting under a color of law to deprive the citizens of their civil rights under the pretext of a regulation of a state.
In the case of Santosky v. Kramer, 455 US 745 (1982), the Supreme Court reviewed a case when the Department of Social Services removed two younger children from their natural parents only because the parents had been previously found negligent toward their oldest daughter. When the third child was only three days old, the DSS transferred him to a foster home on the ground that immediate removal was necessary to avoid imminent danger to his life or health.
The Supreme Court vacated previous judgment and stated: "Before a State may sever completely and irrevocably the rights of parents in their natural child, due process requires that the State support its allegations by at least clear and convincing evidence. But until the State proves parental unfitness, the child and their parents share a vital interest in preventing erroneous termination of their natural relationship."
A District of Columbia Court of Appeals concluded that the lower trial court erred in rejecting the relative custodial arrangement selected by the natural mother who tried to preserve her relationship with the child. The previous judgment granting the foster mother's adoption petition was reversed, the case remanded to the trial court to vacate the orders granting adoption and denying custody, and to enter an order granting custody to the child's relative.
Notable lawsuits:
In 2010 an ex-foster child was awarded $30 million by jury trial in California (Santa Clara County) for sexual abuse damages that happened to him in foster home from 1995 to 1999; he was represented by attorney Stephen John Estey.
The foster parent, John Jackson, was licensed by state despite the fact that he abused his own wife and son, overdosed on drugs and was arrested for drunken driving. In 2006, Jackson was convicted in Santa Clara County of nine counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child by force, violence, duress, menace and fear and seven counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. The sex acts he forced the children in his foster care to perform sent him to prison for 220 years.
Later in 2010, Giarretto Institute, the private foster family agency responsible for licensing and monitoring Jackson's foster home and others, also was found to be negligent and liable for 75 percent of the abuse that was inflicted on the victim, and Jackson was liable for the rest. This was a landmark case that has since set a precedent in future proceedings against the Department of Children and Families.
In 2009 the Oregon Department of Human Services agreed to pay $2 million into a fund for the future care of twins who were allegedly abused by their foster parents; it was the largest such settlement in the agency's history.
According to the civil rights suit filed on request of twins' adoptive mother in December 2007 in U.S. Federal Court, children were kept in makeshift cages—cribs covered with chicken wire secured by duct tape—in a darkened bedroom known as "the dungeon".
The brother and sister often went without food, water or human touch. The boy, who had a shunt put into his head at birth to drain fluid, did not receive medical attention, so when police rescued the twins he was nearly comatose.
The same foster family previously took in their care hundreds of other children over nearly four decades. The DHS said the foster parents deceived child welfare workers during the checkup visits.
Several lawsuits were brought in 2008 against the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF), accusing it of mishandling reports that Thomas Ferrara, 79, a foster parent, was molesting girls.
The suits claimed that though there were records of sexual misconduct allegations against Ferrara in 1992, 1996, and 1999, the DCF continued to place foster children with Ferrara and his wife until 2000.
Ferrara was arrested in 2001 after a nine-year-old girl told detectives he regularly molested her over two years and threatened to hurt her mother if she told anyone. Records show that Ferrara had as many as 400 children go through his home during his 16 years as a licensed foster parent from 1984 to 2000. Officials stated that the lawsuits over Ferrara end up costing the DCF almost $2.26 million.
Similarly, in 2007, Florida's DCF paid $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged the DCF ignored complaints that another mentally challenged Immokalee girl was being raped by her foster father, Bonifacio Velazquez, until the 15-year-old gave birth to a child.
In a class action lawsuit Charlie and Nadine H. v. McGreevey was filed in federal court by "Children's Rights" New York organization on behalf of children in the custody of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS). The complaint alleged violations of the children's constitutional rights and their rights under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment, 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA).
In July 2002, the federal court granted plaintiffs' experts access to 500 children's case files, allowing plaintiffs to collect information concerning harm to children in foster care through a case record review. These files revealed numerous cases in which foster children were abused, and the DYFS failed to take proper action.
On June 9, 2004, the child welfare panel appointed by the parties approved the NJ state's reform plan. The court accepted the plan on June 17, 2004. The same organization filed similar lawsuits against other states in recent years that caused some of the states to start child welfare reforms.
In 2007, with Shawn McMillan as her lead trial attorney, Deanna Fogarty-Hardwick obtained a jury verdict against Orange County (California) and two of its social workers for violating her Fourteenth Amendment rights to familial association. The $4.9 million verdict grew to a $9.5 million judgment as the county lost each of its successive appeals. The case finally ended in 2011 when the United States Supreme Court denied Orange County's request to overturn the verdict.
During the appeals process it was argued by the defense attorneys that the caseworkers had a right to fabricate evidence and lie to the court in order to facilitate the continued removal of the child from her family. This case, which has come to be called the "right to lie" case set a precedent of how caseworkers can handle cases to which they are assigned. It was adamantly argued, by the defense, that caseworkers should be allowed to make up things in order to sway the judges decision to remove a child from his or her fit parents.
The defense attorney even tried to justify the right of the caseworkers to lie saying that the statutes which cover perjury are "state statutes".
In 2018 Rafaelina Duval obtained a jury verdict against Los Angeles County (California) and two of its social workers for an unwarranted seizure of her child. The board of supervisors approved a $6 million payout for Duval, who said her 15-month-old baby was seized by county social workers against her rights. Her son, Ryan, was taken on November 3, 2009, after social workers Kimberly Rogers and Susan Pender accused Duval of general neglect and intentionally starving the boy, according to a statement issued by Duval's attorney,
Shawn McMillan, following the jury verdict. "The law is very clear and the social workers get training on this, you cannot seize a child from its parents unless there's an emergency," McMillan said.
In 2019, with the assistance of attorney McMillan, Rachel Bruno obtained an award against social services and Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) after they took her 20-month-old son and ran unauthorized medical tests on him and injected him with a dozen vaccinations at the same time. The 1.49 million dollar award was given for the damage social workers and hospital staff did to the Brunos' civil rights by ordering tests on David without valid warrants or parental consent.
The medical tests were to determine if he was sexually abused, even though there were no allegations that abuse occurred. An invasive test was performed on him at CHOC, along with a full skeletal X-ray for which he had to be forcibly held down. David was seized without a warrant from his parents while his newborn brother Lucas was in the hospital for a head injury that was under investigation by the county.
Child services suspected that Lucas's injury was from abuse, and although the mother and nanny were the only two in the home when the injury occurred, child services blamed Bruno and only questioned the nanny once before letting her go. No evidence was ever found that anyone had harmed the newborn intentionally and the state's attorney declined to prosecute.
California:
In April 2013, Child Protective Services in Sacramento sent in police to forcibly remove a 5-month-old baby from the care of parents.
Alex and Anna Nikolayev took their baby Sammy out of Sutter Memorial Hospital and sought a second opinion at Kaiser Permanente, a competing hospital, for Sammy's flu-like symptoms. Police arrived at Kaiser and questioned the couple and doctors. Once Sammy had been fully cleared to leave the hospital, the couple went home, but the following day police arrived and took Sammy.
On June 25, 2013 the case against the family was dismissed and the family filed a lawsuit against CPS and the Sacramento Police Department.
In Stockton, California, two children were taken away from Vuk and Verica Nastić in June 2010 after the children's naked photos were found on the father's computer. Such photos are common in Serbian culture. Furthermore, parents claim that their ethnic and religious rights have been violated – children are not permitted to speak Serbian, nor to meet with their parents for orthodox Christmas. They could only meet their mother once a week.
Children have suffered psychological trauma due to their separation from parents. A polygraph test showed that the father did not abuse the children. The trial was set for January 26. Psychologists from Serbia stated that a few hours of conversation with children are enough to see whether they have been abused.
The children were taken from their family 7 months ago. The FBI started an investigation against the CPS. The children were reunited with their parents in February 2011.
Illinois:
Illinois Children and Family Services plays an important part in investigating and restoring children and families in order to better a society.
As the Children Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act of Illinois states, that upon receiving a report it is the responsibility of Department of Children and Families Services to conserve the health and safety of the child in any circumstances where the children experience abuse and neglect.
Protective assistance to the child should be provided in order to maintain a proper mental health and psychological state for the child; which includes preserving family life whenever possible.
Sadly, in the most extreme cases, child abuse results in the death of a child. In 2016, there were 64 child maltreatment deaths reported in Illinois—a rate of 2.19 per 100,000 children (U.S. DHHS, 2018).
From 2012 to 2016, Illinois’ reported annual maltreatment-related deaths have been as high as 105 and as low as 64, with a decrease every year since 2014.
Family social workers:
Once a teacher, counselor, neighbor or any bystander calls child protective services, social workers start the investigation. Social workers have the obligation to visit clients into their homes in order to prove that the children and families are in good standings.
Social workers are in charge to evaluate and verify that there is no academic, behavioral nor social problems that could affect the development of the children. The social worker will continue doing visitation until children and the family is stable and there is not more signs of abuse or neglect.
If in the case that the situation it seems to not improve, the social worker can intervene and take the child away from family and be place in the foster system until parents or guardians pass test in order to have possibility to have the child back.
Perpetrators:
The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) gathers and analyzes all screened-in referrals from the child protective services from all 50 states. It defines a perpetrator as someone who has caused or permitted the abuse and neglect of a child to had happened.
As NCANDS data on 2018 shows, in Illinois, 17,431 out of 18,958 perpetrators, or 77%, are parents of their victims, 6.4 percent are relatives and 4.6 percent had a different relationship to the child3. Within those numbers, 40 percent of the victims were abused and neglected by a mother acting alone and 21.5 percent by father acting alone3.
Compared to Wisconsin where 2,502 out of 2,753 perpetrators are parents of the victims. Alcohol abuse and drug abuse have been identified as major risk factors which will increase child maltreatment.3 Evidence shows that there is an increase of victims if parents consume drugs or alcohol.
Child protective services responsibilities and case load:
Illinois Children and Family Services is composed of social workers, a position which does not require a degree in social work and in many cases any degree beyond a high school diploma, who assist families and children in complicated situations where abuse and neglect are alleged.
National Association of Social Workers sets professional standards for social workers in family support programs, parenting programs and family-based services. According to these standards, social workers must act ethically, in accord with service, social justice, integrity and respect toward the person. Furthermore, the standards emphasize the importance that a social worker should have on serving as an advocate for the physical health and mental health of the children, youth and their families.
Moreover, social workers should be able to perform ongoing assessments in order to gather important information and intervene with adequate evidence in order to ensure safety of the child.
However, throughout the years, social workers have struggled with a lack of resources, large caseloads and poor education. Social workers have to perform screening, investigations and identify alternative responses. Some social workers might need to provide additional services depending on the number of coworkers in their agencies and resources.
In 2018, NCANDS reported that Illinois has only 150 workers who perform intake and screening for child abuse and neglect, and only 953 workers that follow up on reports. This provides evidence that child welfare social workers may find their daily responsibilities to be challenging.
Compared with Michigan that has 177 workers who perform intake and screening for child abuse and neglect, and 1,549 workers that follow up on reports.
In addition to the challenges of a lack of resources and large caseloads, the Office of Inspector General identified issues that hinder effective service delivery. Among individual professional social workers, cognitive fixation, knowledge deficit, and documentation burdens are problems. Among social worker teams, coordination and supervisory support are problems.
And environmental conditions, such as policies, training, and service array can also be inadequate.
Based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics individual and family services social workers on 2018, had an annual mean wage of $42,972 which might be taken as trivial amount compared to the amount of work that needed from social workers. An example of fixable efforts is Annie E. Casey Foundation Human Services Workforce Initiative (AECF).
The initiative focuses on recruiting and retaining social workers with training and support in order to provide an effective resource for children and their family. States are doing different partnerships with colleges and universities to provide recruitment strategies that could attract students to find interest in the career of social work.
See also:
- Aboriginal child protection
- Cinderella effect
- National Association of Social Workers
- Parenting coordinator
- Similar organizations in other countries
- United States:
- MacLaren Hall Child Protection Institution Home Site History of Child Protection in America
- U.S. Children's Bureau (CB), includes:
- "Laws & Policies" – compendia of federal and state statutes
- "State Statutes Search" – search engine of child-maltreatment-related state statutes with user-selectable criteria
- "Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect (2005)" – summary of the states' definitions
- Snowfall – One family's account of CPS action
- Child Welfare League of America
- Child Shield USA
- Illegal and Unethical Adoptions of children in the U.S. | Divorce | Adoption
- American Family Rights
- FightCPS.com – Fighting CPS Prosecution of False Allegations
- Canada:
- Child Welfare League of Canada
- Life In Foster Care Is Like A Subway Ride (A CBC Radio documentary which takes you on a 13-minute virtual subway ride through foster care by a Canadian foster care survivor John Dunn of Reading and Understanding Canadian Legislation and Regulations)
- How to Implement Child Protection Mediation
- United Kingdom:
Pediatrics
YouTube Video Pediatric Exam - School age child
Pediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents, and the age limit usually ranges from birth up to 18 years of age (in some places until completion of secondary education, and until age 21 in the United States).
A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician, or paediatrician.
Pediatricians work both in hospitals, particularly those working in its specialized subfields such as neonatology, and as primary care physicians who specialize in children.
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A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician, or paediatrician.
Pediatricians work both in hospitals, particularly those working in its specialized subfields such as neonatology, and as primary care physicians who specialize in children.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- History
- Differences between adult and pediatric medicine
- Training of pediatricians
- Subspecialties
- See also:
Childhood Diseases and Disorders
YouTube Video of Childhood Blood Diseases by the University of Chicago Medicine
Pictured: Children with LEFT: Measles; RIGHT: Chickenpox
The term childhood disease refers to disease that is contracted or becomes symptomatic before the age of 18 years old. Many of these diseases can also be contracted by adults.
Click here for a list of childhood diseases and disorders based on age group.
Click here for a list of childhood diseases and disorders based on age group.
Child Nutrition Programs
YouTube Video Teach Your Kids About Good Nutrition
In the United States, the Child Nutrition Programs are a grouping of programs funded by the federal government to support meal and milk service programs for children in schools, residential and day care facilities, family and group day care homes, and summer day camps, and for low-income pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children under age 5 in local WIC clinics.
Programs include school lunch, school breakfast, summer food service, special milk, commodity distribution, after-school care and Department of Defense overseas dependents school programs, and the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC).
These programs are authorized under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (P.L. 79-396, as amended) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; (P.L. 89-642, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) are financed by annual agricultural appropriations laws; and are administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of USDA.
Changes to the authorizing statutes generally are made by the Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry Committee in the Senate. In the House, the Education and the Workforce Committee deals with most changes to child nutrition program authorizing statutes, although the Agriculture Committee usually is involved when proposed changes concern agricultural interests such as commodity distribution, food restrictions, and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
Programs include school lunch, school breakfast, summer food service, special milk, commodity distribution, after-school care and Department of Defense overseas dependents school programs, and the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC).
These programs are authorized under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (P.L. 79-396, as amended) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; (P.L. 89-642, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) are financed by annual agricultural appropriations laws; and are administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of USDA.
Changes to the authorizing statutes generally are made by the Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry Committee in the Senate. In the House, the Education and the Workforce Committee deals with most changes to child nutrition program authorizing statutes, although the Agriculture Committee usually is involved when proposed changes concern agricultural interests such as commodity distribution, food restrictions, and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
Childhood Obesity
YouTube Video: Childhood Obesity reported by CNN
Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity in children and its many adverse health effects it is being recognized as a serious public health concern. The term overweight rather than obese is often used in children as it is less stigmatizing.
Body mass index (BMI) is acceptable for determining obesity for children two years of age and older. It is determined by the ratio of weight to height.
The normal range for BMI in children vary with age and sex. While a BMI above the 85th percentile is defined as overweight, a BMI greater than or equal to the 95th percentile is defined as obesity by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has published tables for determining this in children.
The US Preventive Service Task Force reported that not all children with a high BMI need to lose weight though. High BMI can identify a possible weight problem, but does not differentiate between fat or lean tissue. Additionally, BMI may mistakenly rule out some children who do have excess adipose tissue. It is therefore beneficial to supplement the reliability of a BMI diagnosis with additional screening tools such as adipose tissue or skin fold measurements.
The first problems to occur in obese children are usually emotional or psychological. Obese children often experience teasing by their peers. Some are harassed or discriminated against by their own family. Stereotypes abound and may lead to low self-esteem and depression.
Childhood obesity however can also lead to life-threatening conditions including:
The early physical effects of obesity in adolescence include, almost all of the child’s organs being affected, gallstones, hepatitis, sleep apnoea and increased intracranial pressure. Overweight children are also more likely to grow up to be overweight adults. Obesity during adolescence has been found to increase mortality rates during adulthood.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
Body mass index (BMI) is acceptable for determining obesity for children two years of age and older. It is determined by the ratio of weight to height.
The normal range for BMI in children vary with age and sex. While a BMI above the 85th percentile is defined as overweight, a BMI greater than or equal to the 95th percentile is defined as obesity by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has published tables for determining this in children.
The US Preventive Service Task Force reported that not all children with a high BMI need to lose weight though. High BMI can identify a possible weight problem, but does not differentiate between fat or lean tissue. Additionally, BMI may mistakenly rule out some children who do have excess adipose tissue. It is therefore beneficial to supplement the reliability of a BMI diagnosis with additional screening tools such as adipose tissue or skin fold measurements.
The first problems to occur in obese children are usually emotional or psychological. Obese children often experience teasing by their peers. Some are harassed or discriminated against by their own family. Stereotypes abound and may lead to low self-esteem and depression.
Childhood obesity however can also lead to life-threatening conditions including:
- diabetes,
- high blood pressure,
- heart disease,
- sleep problems,
- cancer,
- liver disease,
- early puberty or menarche,
- eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia,
- skin infections,
- and asthma and other respiratory problems. Asthma severity is not affected by obesity however.
The early physical effects of obesity in adolescence include, almost all of the child’s organs being affected, gallstones, hepatitis, sleep apnoea and increased intracranial pressure. Overweight children are also more likely to grow up to be overweight adults. Obesity during adolescence has been found to increase mortality rates during adulthood.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Long-term effects
- Causes
- Prevention
- Management
- Epidemiology: United States
- Research
- See also:
- International Journal of Pediatric Obesity
- Task Force on Childhood Obesity
- Classification of childhood obesity
- Obesity and walking
- Social stigma of obesity
- EPODE International Network, the world's largest obesity-prevention network
Christmas and Santa Claus
YouTube Video: "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Bruce Springsteen
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed most commonly on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.
A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is prepared for by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an Octave.
Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated culturally by a large number of non-Christian people, and is an integral part of the holiday season. In several countries, celebrating Christmas Eve on December 24 has the main focus rather than December 25, with gift-giving and sharing a traditional meal with the family.
Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure of Western culture who is said to bring gifts to the homes of well-behaved ("good" or "nice") children on Christmas Eve (24 December) and the early morning hours of Christmas Day (25 December).
The modern Santa Claus grew out of traditions surrounding the historical Saint Nicholas, a fourth-century Greek bishop and gift-giver of Myra, the British figure of Father Christmas, the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas (himself based on Saint Nicholas), the German figure of the Christkind (a fabulized Christ Child), and the holidays of Twelfth Night and Epiphany and their associated figures of the Three Kings (based on the gift-giving Magi of the Nativity) and Befana.
Santa Claus is generally depicted as a portly, joyous, white-bearded man—sometimes with spectacles—wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white fur-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots and who carries a bag full of gifts for children.
This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of the 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" and of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books, films, and advertising.
Santa Claus is said to make lists of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior ("good" and "bad", or "naughty" and "nice") and to deliver presents, including toys, and candy to all of the well-behaved children in the world, and coal to all the misbehaved children, on the single night of Christmas Eve.
Santa accomplishes this feat with the aid of his elves, who make the toys in his workshop at the North Pole, and his flying reindeer, who pull his sleigh. He is commonly portrayed as living at the North Pole and saying "ho ho ho" often.
A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is prepared for by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an Octave.
Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated culturally by a large number of non-Christian people, and is an integral part of the holiday season. In several countries, celebrating Christmas Eve on December 24 has the main focus rather than December 25, with gift-giving and sharing a traditional meal with the family.
Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure of Western culture who is said to bring gifts to the homes of well-behaved ("good" or "nice") children on Christmas Eve (24 December) and the early morning hours of Christmas Day (25 December).
The modern Santa Claus grew out of traditions surrounding the historical Saint Nicholas, a fourth-century Greek bishop and gift-giver of Myra, the British figure of Father Christmas, the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas (himself based on Saint Nicholas), the German figure of the Christkind (a fabulized Christ Child), and the holidays of Twelfth Night and Epiphany and their associated figures of the Three Kings (based on the gift-giving Magi of the Nativity) and Befana.
Santa Claus is generally depicted as a portly, joyous, white-bearded man—sometimes with spectacles—wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white fur-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots and who carries a bag full of gifts for children.
This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of the 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" and of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books, films, and advertising.
Santa Claus is said to make lists of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior ("good" and "bad", or "naughty" and "nice") and to deliver presents, including toys, and candy to all of the well-behaved children in the world, and coal to all the misbehaved children, on the single night of Christmas Eve.
Santa accomplishes this feat with the aid of his elves, who make the toys in his workshop at the North Pole, and his flying reindeer, who pull his sleigh. He is commonly portrayed as living at the North Pole and saying "ho ho ho" often.
Sports for Children under 18 years of Age
YouTube Video of High School Women's Soccer Game
Pictured: Kids playing L-R: Little League Baseball, Egg-and-spoon race, Tee-ball
This category is for articles about sporting activities for children under the age of eighteen.
Click here for an alphabetical listing by Sport.
Click here for an alphabetical listing by Sport.
Saturday Morning Cartoons for Children
YouTube Video YouTube Video: Sesame Street*: “Let's Be Friends”
*Sesame Street Aired: NET (1969–70); PBS (1970–2016; second run, 2016–present); HBO (first run, 2016–present)
Pictured: Children’s Saturday Morning Cartoons included LEFT: The Smurfs (ABC: 1981-1989); RIGHT: Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (CBS: 1972-1985)
A Saturday-morning cartoon was the colloquial term for the original animated television programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday mornings in the United States on the major television networks.
The genre's popularity had a broad peak from the late 1960s through approximately the 1980s; after this point, it declined in the mid-late 1990s and 2000s in the face of changing cultural norms, increased competition from formats available at all times, and heavier regulations.
In the last two decades of the genre's existence, Saturday morning cartoons were primarily created and aired to meet educational television mandates. Minor television networks, in addition to the non-commercial PBS in some markets, continue to air animated programming on Saturday while partially meeting those mandates.
In the United States, the generally accepted times for these and other children's programs to air on Saturday mornings were from 8 a.m. to noon Eastern Time. Until the late 1970s, American networks also had a schedule of children's programming on Sunday mornings, though most programs at this time were repeats of Saturday morning shows that were already out of production.
In some markets, some shows were pre-empted in favor of syndicated or other types of local programming. At least one U.S. broadcast television network still aired non-E/I animated programs on Saturday mornings as late as 2014; among the "Big Three" traditional major networks, the last non-educational cartoon (Kim Possible) last aired in 2006. Cable television networks have since then revived the practice of debuting their most popular animated programming on Saturday mornings on a sporadic basis.
Click here for further amplification about Saturday Morning Children Cartoons.
The genre's popularity had a broad peak from the late 1960s through approximately the 1980s; after this point, it declined in the mid-late 1990s and 2000s in the face of changing cultural norms, increased competition from formats available at all times, and heavier regulations.
In the last two decades of the genre's existence, Saturday morning cartoons were primarily created and aired to meet educational television mandates. Minor television networks, in addition to the non-commercial PBS in some markets, continue to air animated programming on Saturday while partially meeting those mandates.
In the United States, the generally accepted times for these and other children's programs to air on Saturday mornings were from 8 a.m. to noon Eastern Time. Until the late 1970s, American networks also had a schedule of children's programming on Sunday mornings, though most programs at this time were repeats of Saturday morning shows that were already out of production.
In some markets, some shows were pre-empted in favor of syndicated or other types of local programming. At least one U.S. broadcast television network still aired non-E/I animated programs on Saturday mornings as late as 2014; among the "Big Three" traditional major networks, the last non-educational cartoon (Kim Possible) last aired in 2006. Cable television networks have since then revived the practice of debuting their most popular animated programming on Saturday mornings on a sporadic basis.
Click here for further amplification about Saturday Morning Children Cartoons.
Amusement Parks including a List of those Parks located in the United States
YouTube Video of the 5 Best Kids Rides at Disney World
Pictured: LEFT: “Jurassic Park – The Ride” (Universal Studios Hollywood); RIGHT: Lion Country Safari (Florida: America's first drive-through wildlife preserve)
Click here for an alphabetical listing by state of Amusement Parks located in the United States.
An amusement park (sometimes referred to as a funfair) or theme park is a group of entertainment attractions, rides, and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people.
Amusement parks have a fixed location, as opposed to travelling funfairs and traveling carnivals, and are more elaborate than simple city parks or playgrounds, usually providing attractions meant to cater specifically to certain age groups, as well as some that are aimed towards all ages. Theme parks, a specific type of amusement park, are usually much more intricately themed to a certain subject or group of subjects than normal amusement parks.
In common language, the terms theme park and amusement park are often synonymous. However, a theme park can be regarded as a distinct style of amusement park. A theme park has landscaping, buildings, and attractions that are based on one or more specific themes or stories.
Despite many older parks adding themed rides and areas, qualifying the park as a theme park, the first park built with the original intention of promoting a specific theme, Santa Claus Land, in Santa Claus, Indiana, did not open until 1946. Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California, built around the concept of encapsulating multiple theme parks into a single amusement park is often mistakenly cited as the first themed amusement park, but is instead the park that made the idea popular.
Click here for further amplification.
An amusement park (sometimes referred to as a funfair) or theme park is a group of entertainment attractions, rides, and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people.
Amusement parks have a fixed location, as opposed to travelling funfairs and traveling carnivals, and are more elaborate than simple city parks or playgrounds, usually providing attractions meant to cater specifically to certain age groups, as well as some that are aimed towards all ages. Theme parks, a specific type of amusement park, are usually much more intricately themed to a certain subject or group of subjects than normal amusement parks.
In common language, the terms theme park and amusement park are often synonymous. However, a theme park can be regarded as a distinct style of amusement park. A theme park has landscaping, buildings, and attractions that are based on one or more specific themes or stories.
Despite many older parks adding themed rides and areas, qualifying the park as a theme park, the first park built with the original intention of promoting a specific theme, Santa Claus Land, in Santa Claus, Indiana, did not open until 1946. Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California, built around the concept of encapsulating multiple theme parks into a single amusement park is often mistakenly cited as the first themed amusement park, but is instead the park that made the idea popular.
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Youth Organizations located in the United States
YouTube Video of YMCA Camp Surf (Imperial Beach, CA)
Pictured: LEFT: YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association): RIGHT: YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association)
Click here for an alphabetical listing of Youth Organizations based in the United States.
Youth programs are particular activities designed to involve people between the ages of 10 and 25. Activities included are generally oriented towards youth development through recreation, social life, prevention, intervention, or education.
During youth programs participants might be involved in sports, religion, community service, youth activism, youth service, or outdoor education. Topics covered include youth empowerment, consumer rights, youth-led media, and youth rights.
Youth program focuses and activities generally depend on the location, culture, class, education, and ideals of the individuals and organizations involved.
These programs are offered by government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and businesses around the world.
See also:
Examples:
Youth programs are particular activities designed to involve people between the ages of 10 and 25. Activities included are generally oriented towards youth development through recreation, social life, prevention, intervention, or education.
During youth programs participants might be involved in sports, religion, community service, youth activism, youth service, or outdoor education. Topics covered include youth empowerment, consumer rights, youth-led media, and youth rights.
Youth program focuses and activities generally depend on the location, culture, class, education, and ideals of the individuals and organizations involved.
These programs are offered by government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and businesses around the world.
See also:
- Youth development
- Youth participation
- List of youth organizations
- Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs
Examples:
- YMCA
- Scouting
- Boys and Girls Club
- National Youth Rights Association
- Snowboard Outreach Society
- Youth model governments
- Elevate (organization)
- buildon
- The First Tee
Motor Skills in Childhood Development
YouTube Video of a child standing up for the first time
Pictured: Stages of Key Gross Motor Skill Development Milestones
Motor skill is when babies start to learn how to control movement of part of the body. This process involves the coordination of muscles.
Due to the immaturity of the human nervous system at the time of birth, children grow continually throughout their childhood years. Many factors contribute to the ability and the rate that children develop their motor skills.
Uncontrollable factors include: genetic or inherited traits and children with learning disorders. A child born to short and overweight parents is much less likely to be an athlete than a child born to two athletically built parents.
Controllable factors include: the environment/society and culture they are born to. A child born in the city is much less likely to have the same opportunities to explore, hike, or trek the outdoors than one born in the rural area.
For a child to successfully develop motor skills, he or she must receive many opportunities to physically explore the surroundings.
Infantile: Early movements made by very young infants are largely reflexive. An infant is exposed to a variety of perceptual experiences through the senses. For example, very young infants have a reflexive response called "rooting". By slightly stroking the side of the infants face, the infant turns its head to that side,frequently resulting in the location of food.
Gradually, the infant learns that certain involuntary, reflexive movements can result in pleasurable sensory experiences, and will attempt to repeat the motions voluntarily in order to experience the pleasurable sensation.
Milestone Developmental Stages are:
Influences on Development include:
Stress and arousal: stress and anxiety is the result of an imbalance between demand and the capacity of the individual. Arousal is the state of interest in the skill. The optimal performance level is moderate stress or arousal. An example of too low of arousal state is an overqualified worker performing repetitive jobs. An example of stress level too high is an anxious pianist at a recital.
Fatigue: the deterioration of performance when a stressful task is continued for a long time, similar to the muscular fatigue experienced when exercised for a rapid rate or lengthy period of time. Fatigue is caused by over-arousal. Fatigue impacts an individual in many ways: perceptual changes in which visual acuity or awareness drops, slowing of performance (reaction times or movements speed), irregularity of timing, and disorganization of performance.
Vigilance: the effect of the loss of vigilance is the same as fatigue, but is otherwise caused by the lack of arousal. Some tasks include jobs that require little work and high attention.
Motor learning is a change, resulting from practice. It often involves improving the accuracy of movements both simple and complex as ones' environment changes.Motor learning is a relatively permanent skill as the capability to respond appropriately is acquired and retained.
The stages to motor learning are the cognitive phase, the associative phase, and the autonomous phase (following):
Cognitive Phase: When a learner is new to a specific task, the primary thought process starts with, “What needs to be done?” Considerable cognitive activity is required so that the learner can determine appropriate strategies to adequately reflect the desired goal. Good strategies are retained and inefficient strategies are discarded. The performance is greatly improved in a short amount of time.
Associative Phase: the learner has determined the most effective way to do the task and starts to make subtle adjustments in performance. Improvements are more gradual and movements become more consistent. This phase can last for a long time. The skills in this phase are fluent, efficient and aesthetically pleasing.
Autonomous Phase: this phase may take several months to years to reach. The phase is dubbed “autonomous” because the performer can now “automatically” complete the task without having to pay any attention to performing it. Examples include walking and talking or sight reading while doing simple arithmetic.
Law of Effect:
Motor skill acquisition has long been defined in the scientific community as an energy-intensive form of stimulus-response (S-R) learning that results in robust neuronal modifications.
In 1898, Thorndike proposed the law of effect, which states that, the association between some action (R) and some environmental condition (S) is enhanced when the action (R) is followed by a satisfying outcome (O).
For instance, if an infant motions his right hand and left leg in just the right way, he can perform a crawling motion, thereby producing the satisfying outcome of increasing his mobility. Because of the satisfying outcome, association between being on all fours and these particular arm and leg motions are enhanced.
Further, a dissatisfying outcome (O) weakens the S-R association. For instance, when a toddler contracts certain muscles, resulting in a painful fall, the child will decrease the association between these muscle contractions and the environmental condition of standing on two feet.
Feedback:
During the learning process of a motor skill, feedback is the positive or negative response that tells the learner how well the task was completed. Inherent feedback: after completing the skill, inherent feedback is the sensory information that tells the learner how well the task was completed.
A basketball player will note that he or she made a mistake when the ball misses the hoop. Another example is a diver knowing that a mistake was made when the entrance into the water is painful and undesirable. Augmented feedback: in contrast to inherent feedback, augmented feedback is information that supplements or “augments” the inherent feedback.
For example, when a person is driving over a speed limit and is pulled over by the police. Although the car did not do any harm, the policeman gives augmented feedback to the driver in order for him to drive more safely. Another example is a private tutor for a new student of a field of study.
Augmented feedback decreases the amount of time to master the motor skill and increases the performance level of the prospect.
Transfer of motor skills: the gain or loss in the capability for performance in one task as a result of practice and experience on some other task. An example would be the comparison of initial skill of a tennis player and non-tennis player when playing table tennis for the first time.
An example of a negative transfer is if it takes longer for a typist to adjust to a randomly assigned letters of the keyboard compared to a new typist. Retention: the performance level of a particular skill after a period of no use.
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Due to the immaturity of the human nervous system at the time of birth, children grow continually throughout their childhood years. Many factors contribute to the ability and the rate that children develop their motor skills.
Uncontrollable factors include: genetic or inherited traits and children with learning disorders. A child born to short and overweight parents is much less likely to be an athlete than a child born to two athletically built parents.
Controllable factors include: the environment/society and culture they are born to. A child born in the city is much less likely to have the same opportunities to explore, hike, or trek the outdoors than one born in the rural area.
For a child to successfully develop motor skills, he or she must receive many opportunities to physically explore the surroundings.
Infantile: Early movements made by very young infants are largely reflexive. An infant is exposed to a variety of perceptual experiences through the senses. For example, very young infants have a reflexive response called "rooting". By slightly stroking the side of the infants face, the infant turns its head to that side,frequently resulting in the location of food.
Gradually, the infant learns that certain involuntary, reflexive movements can result in pleasurable sensory experiences, and will attempt to repeat the motions voluntarily in order to experience the pleasurable sensation.
Milestone Developmental Stages are:
- 6 months – can sit straight
- 12 months – takes first steps
- 24 months – can jump
- 36 months – can cut with scissors; runs on toes
Influences on Development include:
Stress and arousal: stress and anxiety is the result of an imbalance between demand and the capacity of the individual. Arousal is the state of interest in the skill. The optimal performance level is moderate stress or arousal. An example of too low of arousal state is an overqualified worker performing repetitive jobs. An example of stress level too high is an anxious pianist at a recital.
Fatigue: the deterioration of performance when a stressful task is continued for a long time, similar to the muscular fatigue experienced when exercised for a rapid rate or lengthy period of time. Fatigue is caused by over-arousal. Fatigue impacts an individual in many ways: perceptual changes in which visual acuity or awareness drops, slowing of performance (reaction times or movements speed), irregularity of timing, and disorganization of performance.
Vigilance: the effect of the loss of vigilance is the same as fatigue, but is otherwise caused by the lack of arousal. Some tasks include jobs that require little work and high attention.
Motor learning is a change, resulting from practice. It often involves improving the accuracy of movements both simple and complex as ones' environment changes.Motor learning is a relatively permanent skill as the capability to respond appropriately is acquired and retained.
The stages to motor learning are the cognitive phase, the associative phase, and the autonomous phase (following):
Cognitive Phase: When a learner is new to a specific task, the primary thought process starts with, “What needs to be done?” Considerable cognitive activity is required so that the learner can determine appropriate strategies to adequately reflect the desired goal. Good strategies are retained and inefficient strategies are discarded. The performance is greatly improved in a short amount of time.
Associative Phase: the learner has determined the most effective way to do the task and starts to make subtle adjustments in performance. Improvements are more gradual and movements become more consistent. This phase can last for a long time. The skills in this phase are fluent, efficient and aesthetically pleasing.
Autonomous Phase: this phase may take several months to years to reach. The phase is dubbed “autonomous” because the performer can now “automatically” complete the task without having to pay any attention to performing it. Examples include walking and talking or sight reading while doing simple arithmetic.
Law of Effect:
Motor skill acquisition has long been defined in the scientific community as an energy-intensive form of stimulus-response (S-R) learning that results in robust neuronal modifications.
In 1898, Thorndike proposed the law of effect, which states that, the association between some action (R) and some environmental condition (S) is enhanced when the action (R) is followed by a satisfying outcome (O).
For instance, if an infant motions his right hand and left leg in just the right way, he can perform a crawling motion, thereby producing the satisfying outcome of increasing his mobility. Because of the satisfying outcome, association between being on all fours and these particular arm and leg motions are enhanced.
Further, a dissatisfying outcome (O) weakens the S-R association. For instance, when a toddler contracts certain muscles, resulting in a painful fall, the child will decrease the association between these muscle contractions and the environmental condition of standing on two feet.
Feedback:
During the learning process of a motor skill, feedback is the positive or negative response that tells the learner how well the task was completed. Inherent feedback: after completing the skill, inherent feedback is the sensory information that tells the learner how well the task was completed.
A basketball player will note that he or she made a mistake when the ball misses the hoop. Another example is a diver knowing that a mistake was made when the entrance into the water is painful and undesirable. Augmented feedback: in contrast to inherent feedback, augmented feedback is information that supplements or “augments” the inherent feedback.
For example, when a person is driving over a speed limit and is pulled over by the police. Although the car did not do any harm, the policeman gives augmented feedback to the driver in order for him to drive more safely. Another example is a private tutor for a new student of a field of study.
Augmented feedback decreases the amount of time to master the motor skill and increases the performance level of the prospect.
Transfer of motor skills: the gain or loss in the capability for performance in one task as a result of practice and experience on some other task. An example would be the comparison of initial skill of a tennis player and non-tennis player when playing table tennis for the first time.
An example of a negative transfer is if it takes longer for a typist to adjust to a randomly assigned letters of the keyboard compared to a new typist. Retention: the performance level of a particular skill after a period of no use.
For further amplification, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
Puberty
YouTube Video: How to Talk with Your Child about Sex (by Planned Parenthood)
Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy.
In response to the signals, the gonads produce hormones that stimulate libido and the growth, function, and transformation of the brain, bones, muscle, blood, skin, hair, breasts, and sex organs. Physical growth—height and weight—accelerates in the first half of puberty and is completed when an adult body has been developed. Until the maturation of their reproductive capabilities, the pre-pubertal physical differences between boys and girls are the external sex organs.
On average, girls begin puberty around ages 10–11; boys around ages 11–12. Girls usually complete puberty around ages 15–17, while boys usually complete puberty around ages 16–17.
The major landmark of puberty for females is menarche, the onset of menstruation, which occurs on average between ages 12–13; for males, it is the first ejaculation, which occurs on average at age 13.
In the 21st century, the average age at which children, especially girls, reach puberty is lower compared to the 19th century, when it was 15 for girls and 16 for boys. This can be due to any number of factors, including improved nutrition resulting in rapid body growth, increased weight and fat deposition, or exposure to endocrine disruptors such as xenoestrogens, which can at times be due to food consumption or other environmental factors.
Puberty which starts earlier than usual is known as precocious puberty. Puberty which starts later than usual is known as delayed puberty.
Notable among the morphologic changes in size, shape, composition, and functioning of the pubertal body, is the development of secondary sex characteristics, the "filling in" of the child's body; from girl to woman, from boy to man.
Derived from the Latin puberatum (age of maturity), the word puberty describes the physical changes to sexual maturation, not the psychosocial and cultural maturation denoted by the term adolescent development in Western culture, wherein adolescence is the period of mental transition from childhood to adulthood, which overlaps much of the body's period of puberty.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
In response to the signals, the gonads produce hormones that stimulate libido and the growth, function, and transformation of the brain, bones, muscle, blood, skin, hair, breasts, and sex organs. Physical growth—height and weight—accelerates in the first half of puberty and is completed when an adult body has been developed. Until the maturation of their reproductive capabilities, the pre-pubertal physical differences between boys and girls are the external sex organs.
On average, girls begin puberty around ages 10–11; boys around ages 11–12. Girls usually complete puberty around ages 15–17, while boys usually complete puberty around ages 16–17.
The major landmark of puberty for females is menarche, the onset of menstruation, which occurs on average between ages 12–13; for males, it is the first ejaculation, which occurs on average at age 13.
In the 21st century, the average age at which children, especially girls, reach puberty is lower compared to the 19th century, when it was 15 for girls and 16 for boys. This can be due to any number of factors, including improved nutrition resulting in rapid body growth, increased weight and fat deposition, or exposure to endocrine disruptors such as xenoestrogens, which can at times be due to food consumption or other environmental factors.
Puberty which starts earlier than usual is known as precocious puberty. Puberty which starts later than usual is known as delayed puberty.
Notable among the morphologic changes in size, shape, composition, and functioning of the pubertal body, is the development of secondary sex characteristics, the "filling in" of the child's body; from girl to woman, from boy to man.
Derived from the Latin puberatum (age of maturity), the word puberty describes the physical changes to sexual maturation, not the psychosocial and cultural maturation denoted by the term adolescent development in Western culture, wherein adolescence is the period of mental transition from childhood to adulthood, which overlaps much of the body's period of puberty.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Differences between male and female puberty
- Puberty onset
- Changes in males:
- Changes in females
- Variations
- Neurohormonal process
- Stages
- See also:
Youth Organizations in the United States
YouTube Video 4-H Youth Development Program (Massachusetts 4-H)
Pictured: See Descriptions below
Pictures Above:
TOP PHOTOS:
LEFT: FNE – Federation of North-American Explorers. We are a volunteer Catholic Christian faith-based youth movement. By “movement” we mean that the varied FNE program experience can help shape the character, social, environmental, spiritual, leadership aspects of your child into his or her adult life. Separate single gender male or female program experiences include weekly gatherings, regular field trips, all season weekend camping opportunities, international travel excursions and an annual summer camp.
RIGHT: What is Pioneer Clubs? Exciting new experiences and activities await children each week. They will learn a lot about God, the Bible, and themselves. They will have fun playing games, doing skits, trying out new skills, learning about God through Bible Explorations, and challenging themselves with Bible Memory work.
BOTTOM PHOTO:
The 4-H Youth Development program uses a learn-by-doing approach to enable youth to develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills they need to become competent, caring, and contributing citizens of the world. The goals of the 4-H Youth Development program are to:
Provide informal educational programs for youth in grades K-13 (one year out of high school).
Encourage responsibility, community awareness, and character development in youth.
Increase knowledge and strengthen skills in adults working with youth through training, resources, and support materials, and to improve community partnerships and collaborations.
Youth organizations in the United States are of many different types. The largest is the government run 4-H program, followed by the federally chartered but private Scouting movement groups: the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA.
Another somewhat smaller but co-ed scouting derived group is Camp Fire. Other youth groups are religious youth ministries such as the evangelical Christian Awana, Seventh-day Adventist Pathfinders, and Assemblies of God Royal Rangers.
Smaller scout-like groups include the Christian Trail Life USA for boys, American Heritage Girls for girls, the non-denominational co-ed Navigators USA and Baden-Powell Service Association, and pagan but non-discriminatory SpiralScouts International.
Click on the following blue hyperlinks for more information about Youth Organizations in the United States:
TOP PHOTOS:
LEFT: FNE – Federation of North-American Explorers. We are a volunteer Catholic Christian faith-based youth movement. By “movement” we mean that the varied FNE program experience can help shape the character, social, environmental, spiritual, leadership aspects of your child into his or her adult life. Separate single gender male or female program experiences include weekly gatherings, regular field trips, all season weekend camping opportunities, international travel excursions and an annual summer camp.
RIGHT: What is Pioneer Clubs? Exciting new experiences and activities await children each week. They will learn a lot about God, the Bible, and themselves. They will have fun playing games, doing skits, trying out new skills, learning about God through Bible Explorations, and challenging themselves with Bible Memory work.
BOTTOM PHOTO:
The 4-H Youth Development program uses a learn-by-doing approach to enable youth to develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills they need to become competent, caring, and contributing citizens of the world. The goals of the 4-H Youth Development program are to:
Provide informal educational programs for youth in grades K-13 (one year out of high school).
Encourage responsibility, community awareness, and character development in youth.
Increase knowledge and strengthen skills in adults working with youth through training, resources, and support materials, and to improve community partnerships and collaborations.
Youth organizations in the United States are of many different types. The largest is the government run 4-H program, followed by the federally chartered but private Scouting movement groups: the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA.
Another somewhat smaller but co-ed scouting derived group is Camp Fire. Other youth groups are religious youth ministries such as the evangelical Christian Awana, Seventh-day Adventist Pathfinders, and Assemblies of God Royal Rangers.
Smaller scout-like groups include the Christian Trail Life USA for boys, American Heritage Girls for girls, the non-denominational co-ed Navigators USA and Baden-Powell Service Association, and pagan but non-discriminatory SpiralScouts International.
Click on the following blue hyperlinks for more information about Youth Organizations in the United States:
- Catholic scout organizations
- Protestant youth groups
- Salvation Army
- Navigators USA
- SpiralScouts International
- Moriya
- Earth scouting
- Youth wings of political parties
- Religious
- Other
- Age groups
Sesame Street on NET (1969-1970); PBS (1970-2016); & HBO (2016-Present)
YouTube Video from Sesame Street: Elmo's Song
Sesame Street is a long-running American children's television series, produced by Sesame Workshop (formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop) and created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. The program is known for its educational content, and images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's Muppets, animation, short films, humor, and cultural references.
The series premiered on November 10, 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership; it has aired on the U.S.'s national public television provider (PBS) since its debut, with its first run moving to premium channel HBO on January 16, 2016.
The show has undergone significant changes throughout its history. The format of Sesame Street consists of a combination of commercial television production elements and techniques which have evolved to reflect the changes in American culture and the audience's viewing habits.
With the creation of Sesame Street, producers and writers of a children's television show used, for the first time, educational goals and a curriculum to shape its content. It was also the first time a show's educational effects were studied.
Shortly after creating Sesame Street, its producers developed what came to be called the "CTW model" (after the production company's previous name), a system of television show planning, production, and evaluation based on collaborations between producers, writers, educators, and researchers.
The show was initially funded by government and private foundations but has become somewhat self-supporting due to revenues from licensing arrangements, international sales, and other media. By 2006, there were independently produced versions, or "co-productions", of Sesame Street broadcast in twenty countries. In 2001 there were over 120 million viewers of various international versions of Sesame Street, and by the show's 40th anniversary in 2009, it was broadcast in more than 140 countries.
By its 40th anniversary in 2009, Sesame Street was the fifteenth-highest-rated children's television show in the United States. A 1996 survey found that 95% of all American preschoolers had watched the show by the time they were three years old. In 2008, it was estimated that 77 million Americans had watched the series as children. As of 2014, Sesame Street has won 167 Emmy Awards and 8 Grammy Awards—more than any other children's show.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "Sesame Street":
The series premiered on November 10, 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership; it has aired on the U.S.'s national public television provider (PBS) since its debut, with its first run moving to premium channel HBO on January 16, 2016.
The show has undergone significant changes throughout its history. The format of Sesame Street consists of a combination of commercial television production elements and techniques which have evolved to reflect the changes in American culture and the audience's viewing habits.
With the creation of Sesame Street, producers and writers of a children's television show used, for the first time, educational goals and a curriculum to shape its content. It was also the first time a show's educational effects were studied.
Shortly after creating Sesame Street, its producers developed what came to be called the "CTW model" (after the production company's previous name), a system of television show planning, production, and evaluation based on collaborations between producers, writers, educators, and researchers.
The show was initially funded by government and private foundations but has become somewhat self-supporting due to revenues from licensing arrangements, international sales, and other media. By 2006, there were independently produced versions, or "co-productions", of Sesame Street broadcast in twenty countries. In 2001 there were over 120 million viewers of various international versions of Sesame Street, and by the show's 40th anniversary in 2009, it was broadcast in more than 140 countries.
By its 40th anniversary in 2009, Sesame Street was the fifteenth-highest-rated children's television show in the United States. A 1996 survey found that 95% of all American preschoolers had watched the show by the time they were three years old. In 2008, it was estimated that 77 million Americans had watched the series as children. As of 2014, Sesame Street has won 167 Emmy Awards and 8 Grammy Awards—more than any other children's show.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "Sesame Street":
Alvin and the Chipmunks
YouTube Video of Alvin and the Chipmunks (Nickelodean)
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., for a novelty record in 1958.
The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual; and Theodore, the chubby, impressionable one.
The trio is managed by their human adoptive father, David (Dave) Seville. In reality, "David Seville" was Bagdasarian's stage name, and the Chipmunks themselves are named after the executives of their original record label. The characters became a success, and the singing Chipmunks and their manager were given life in several animated cartoon productions, using redrawn, anthropomorphic chipmunks, and eventually films.
The voices of the group were all performed by Bagdasarian, who sped up the playback to create high-pitched voices. This oft-used process was not entirely new to Bagdasarian, who had also used it for two previous novelty songs, including "Witch Doctor", but it was so unusual and well-executed it earned the record two Grammy Awards for engineering.
Bagdasarian, performing as the Chipmunks, released a long line of albums and singles, with "The Chipmunk Song" becoming a number-one single in the United States. After the death of Bagdasarian in 1972, the characters' voices were performed by his son Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and the latter's wife Janice Karman in the subsequent incarnations of the 1980s and 1990s.
In the 2007 CGI/live-action film adaptation and its 2009 sequel, they were voiced in dialogue by Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney. Bagdasarian, Jr. and Karman continue to perform the singing voices for Alvin, Theodore and the Chipettes, but Steve Vining does Simon's singing voice. The project has earned five Grammy awards, an American Music Award, a Golden Reel Award, and three Kids' Choice Awards, and has been nominated for three Emmy awards.
A third film installment, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, was released in theaters on December 16, 2011. Fox 2000 Pictures and Regency Enterprises announced a fourth installment, titled Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, released on December 18, 2015.
A CGI-animated TV series revival, titled ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks, premiered on Nickelodeon on August 3, 2015.
Click here for more about Alvin and the Chipmunks.
The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual; and Theodore, the chubby, impressionable one.
The trio is managed by their human adoptive father, David (Dave) Seville. In reality, "David Seville" was Bagdasarian's stage name, and the Chipmunks themselves are named after the executives of their original record label. The characters became a success, and the singing Chipmunks and their manager were given life in several animated cartoon productions, using redrawn, anthropomorphic chipmunks, and eventually films.
The voices of the group were all performed by Bagdasarian, who sped up the playback to create high-pitched voices. This oft-used process was not entirely new to Bagdasarian, who had also used it for two previous novelty songs, including "Witch Doctor", but it was so unusual and well-executed it earned the record two Grammy Awards for engineering.
Bagdasarian, performing as the Chipmunks, released a long line of albums and singles, with "The Chipmunk Song" becoming a number-one single in the United States. After the death of Bagdasarian in 1972, the characters' voices were performed by his son Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and the latter's wife Janice Karman in the subsequent incarnations of the 1980s and 1990s.
In the 2007 CGI/live-action film adaptation and its 2009 sequel, they were voiced in dialogue by Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney. Bagdasarian, Jr. and Karman continue to perform the singing voices for Alvin, Theodore and the Chipettes, but Steve Vining does Simon's singing voice. The project has earned five Grammy awards, an American Music Award, a Golden Reel Award, and three Kids' Choice Awards, and has been nominated for three Emmy awards.
A third film installment, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, was released in theaters on December 16, 2011. Fox 2000 Pictures and Regency Enterprises announced a fourth installment, titled Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, released on December 18, 2015.
A CGI-animated TV series revival, titled ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks, premiered on Nickelodeon on August 3, 2015.
Click here for more about Alvin and the Chipmunks.
[Your Webhost was encouraged to add this topic as a result of an episode of CBS Television's 60 Minutes program: amazing young lady!]
Child Prodigy, including a List of Child Prodigies featuring Alma Deutscher (60 Minutes November 12, 2017)
YouTube Video: 3rd mov. of Violin Concerto by Alma Deutscher*
* -- Violin concerto composed by Alma Deutscher (9). 3rd movement: Allegreo vivace e scherzando. Recording from June 2015: Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Roni Porat, conductor, Alma Deutscher, violin. Alma plays here on a 3/4 size French violin restored by Luthier Amnon Weinstein, and on a 3/4 bow by Albert Nürnberger on loan by Daniel Schmidt. Sound: Eshel Studios The north american premiere of Alma's opera, Cinderella, will take place in San Jose on Dec 16, 2017.
Pictured: This is a portrait of composer Alma Deutscher, created by Alex Nightingale Smith and uploaded by permission of Deutscher's Managers, Askonas Holt (Courtesy of Wikimedia)
Click here for a List of Child Prodigies.
In psychology research literature, the term child prodigy is defined as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain to the level of an adult expert performer.
Child prodigies are rare; and, in some domains, there are no child prodigies at all. Prodigies in childhood does not always predict adult eminence.
Examples of particularly extreme prodigies could include the following:
In Music:
In Chess:
In Mathematics:
In Literature:
In Art:
In Sports:
In Philosophy:
In Science:
French composer Camille Saint-Saëns has been recognized by musical historians as one of the greatest musical child prodigies, but his mother was cautious, and didn't seek to exploit her son's skills, fearing it would cause him emotional trouble.
Memory Capacity of Prodigies:
PET scans performed on several mathematics prodigies have suggested that they think in terms of long-term working memory (LTWM). This memory, specific to a field of expertise, is capable of holding relevant information for extended periods, usually hours. For example, experienced waiters have been found to hold the orders of up to twenty customers in their heads while they serve them, but perform only as well as an average person in number-sequence recognition. The PET scans also answer questions about which specific areas of the brain associate themselves with manipulating numbers.
One subject never excelled as a child in mathematics, but he taught himself algorithms and tricks for speed of calculations, becoming capable of extremely complex mental math. His brain, compared to six other controls, was studied using the PET scan, revealing separate areas of his brain that he manipulated to solve the complex problems. Some of the areas that he and presumably prodigies use are brain sectors dealing in visual and spatial memory, as well as visual mental imagery.
Other areas of the brain showed use by the subject, including a sector of the brain generally related to childlike "finger counting", probably used in his mind to relate numbers to the visual cortex.
Working memory/cerebellum theory:
Noting that the cerebellum acts to streamline the speed and efficiency of all thought processes, Vandervert explained the abilities of prodigies in terms of the collaboration of working memory and the cognitive functions of the cerebellum.
Citing extensive imaging evidence, Vandervert first proposed this approach in two publications which appeared in 2003. In addition to imaging evidence, Vandervert's approach is supported by the substantial award winning studies of the cerebellum by Masao Ito.
Vandervert provided extensive argument that, in the prodigy, the transition from visual-spatial working memory to other forms of thought (language, art, mathematics) is accelerated by the unique emotional disposition of the prodigy and the cognitive functions of the cerebellum.
According to Vandervert, in the emotion-driven prodigy (commonly observed as a "rage to master") the cerebellum accelerates the streamlining of the efficiencies of working memory in its manipulation and decomposition/re-composition of visual-spatial content into language acquisition and into linguistic, mathematical, and artistic precocity.
Essentially, Vandervert has argued that when a child is confronted with a challenging new situation, visual-spatial working memory and speech-related and other notational system-related working memory are decomposed and re-composed (fractionated) by the cerebellum and then blended in the cerebral cortex in an attempt to deal with the new situation.
In child prodigies, Vandervert believes this blending process is accelerated due to their unique emotional sensitivities which result in high levels of repetitious focus on, in most cases, particular rule-governed knowledge domains. He has also argued that child prodigies first began to appear about 10,000 years ago when rule-governed knowledge had accumulated to a significant point, perhaps at the agricultural-religious settlements of Göbekli Tepe or Cyprus.
Development:
Further information: Nature and nurture
Some researchers believe that prodigious talent tends to arise as a result of the innate talent of the child, and the energetic and emotional investment that the child ventures. Others believe that the environment plays the dominant role, many times in obvious ways.
For example, László Polgár set out to raise his children to be chess players, and all three of his daughters went on to become world-class players (two of whom are grandmasters), emphasizing the potency a child's environment can have in determining the pursuits toward which a child's energy will be directed, and showing that an incredible amount of skill can be developed through suitable training.
But on the other hand George Frideric Handel was an example of the natural talent ... "he had discovered such a strong propensity to music, that his father who always intended him for the study of the Civil Law, had reason to be alarmed. He strictly forbade him to meddle with any musical instrument but Handel found means to get a little clavichord privately convey'd to a room at the top of the house. To this room he constantly stole when the family was asleep".
Despite his father's opposition, Handel became a skillful performer on the harpsichord and pipe organ.
See Also:
Alma Elizabeth Deutscher (born February 2005) is an English composer, pianist, violinist, and child prodigy.
At age six she composed her first piano sonata. At age seven, she completed her first major composition, the opera The Sweeper of Dreams. Aged nine, she wrote a concerto for violin and orchestra, which she premiered in a 2015 performance.
At the age of ten she completed her first full-length opera, Cinderella, which had its European premiere in Vienna on 29 December 2016 under the patronage of conductor Zubin Mehta, and in July 2017, at the age of 12, she premiered her first piano concerto, and performed it on the same evening as her full violin concerto.
Click here for more about Alma Elizabeth Deutscher.
In psychology research literature, the term child prodigy is defined as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain to the level of an adult expert performer.
Child prodigies are rare; and, in some domains, there are no child prodigies at all. Prodigies in childhood does not always predict adult eminence.
Examples of particularly extreme prodigies could include the following:
In Music:
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
- Franz Liszt,
- Felix Mendelssohn,
- George Enescu,
- Evgeny Kissin,
- Teresa Milanollo,
- and Dika Newlin;
In Chess:
- Bobby Fischer,
- Samuel Reshevsky,
- Judit Polgár,
- Magnus Carlsen,
- Sergey Karjakin,
- Paul Morphy
- and José Raúl Capablanca.
In Mathematics:
- Carl Friedrich Gauss,
- Évariste Galois,
- Shakuntala Devi,
- Srinivasa Ramanujan,
- Ruth Lawrence,
- János Bólyai,
- John von Neumann
- and Terence Tao
In Literature:
In Art:
In Sports:
- Wayne Gretzky
- and Pelé
In Philosophy:
In Science:
French composer Camille Saint-Saëns has been recognized by musical historians as one of the greatest musical child prodigies, but his mother was cautious, and didn't seek to exploit her son's skills, fearing it would cause him emotional trouble.
Memory Capacity of Prodigies:
PET scans performed on several mathematics prodigies have suggested that they think in terms of long-term working memory (LTWM). This memory, specific to a field of expertise, is capable of holding relevant information for extended periods, usually hours. For example, experienced waiters have been found to hold the orders of up to twenty customers in their heads while they serve them, but perform only as well as an average person in number-sequence recognition. The PET scans also answer questions about which specific areas of the brain associate themselves with manipulating numbers.
One subject never excelled as a child in mathematics, but he taught himself algorithms and tricks for speed of calculations, becoming capable of extremely complex mental math. His brain, compared to six other controls, was studied using the PET scan, revealing separate areas of his brain that he manipulated to solve the complex problems. Some of the areas that he and presumably prodigies use are brain sectors dealing in visual and spatial memory, as well as visual mental imagery.
Other areas of the brain showed use by the subject, including a sector of the brain generally related to childlike "finger counting", probably used in his mind to relate numbers to the visual cortex.
Working memory/cerebellum theory:
Noting that the cerebellum acts to streamline the speed and efficiency of all thought processes, Vandervert explained the abilities of prodigies in terms of the collaboration of working memory and the cognitive functions of the cerebellum.
Citing extensive imaging evidence, Vandervert first proposed this approach in two publications which appeared in 2003. In addition to imaging evidence, Vandervert's approach is supported by the substantial award winning studies of the cerebellum by Masao Ito.
Vandervert provided extensive argument that, in the prodigy, the transition from visual-spatial working memory to other forms of thought (language, art, mathematics) is accelerated by the unique emotional disposition of the prodigy and the cognitive functions of the cerebellum.
According to Vandervert, in the emotion-driven prodigy (commonly observed as a "rage to master") the cerebellum accelerates the streamlining of the efficiencies of working memory in its manipulation and decomposition/re-composition of visual-spatial content into language acquisition and into linguistic, mathematical, and artistic precocity.
Essentially, Vandervert has argued that when a child is confronted with a challenging new situation, visual-spatial working memory and speech-related and other notational system-related working memory are decomposed and re-composed (fractionated) by the cerebellum and then blended in the cerebral cortex in an attempt to deal with the new situation.
In child prodigies, Vandervert believes this blending process is accelerated due to their unique emotional sensitivities which result in high levels of repetitious focus on, in most cases, particular rule-governed knowledge domains. He has also argued that child prodigies first began to appear about 10,000 years ago when rule-governed knowledge had accumulated to a significant point, perhaps at the agricultural-religious settlements of Göbekli Tepe or Cyprus.
Development:
Further information: Nature and nurture
Some researchers believe that prodigious talent tends to arise as a result of the innate talent of the child, and the energetic and emotional investment that the child ventures. Others believe that the environment plays the dominant role, many times in obvious ways.
For example, László Polgár set out to raise his children to be chess players, and all three of his daughters went on to become world-class players (two of whom are grandmasters), emphasizing the potency a child's environment can have in determining the pursuits toward which a child's energy will be directed, and showing that an incredible amount of skill can be developed through suitable training.
But on the other hand George Frideric Handel was an example of the natural talent ... "he had discovered such a strong propensity to music, that his father who always intended him for the study of the Civil Law, had reason to be alarmed. He strictly forbade him to meddle with any musical instrument but Handel found means to get a little clavichord privately convey'd to a room at the top of the house. To this room he constantly stole when the family was asleep".
Despite his father's opposition, Handel became a skillful performer on the harpsichord and pipe organ.
See Also:
- Chess prodigy
- List of music prodigies
- Genius
- Gifted education
- Intellectual giftedness
- Late bloomer
- Malleable intelligence
- Polymath
- Savant syndrome
Alma Elizabeth Deutscher (born February 2005) is an English composer, pianist, violinist, and child prodigy.
At age six she composed her first piano sonata. At age seven, she completed her first major composition, the opera The Sweeper of Dreams. Aged nine, she wrote a concerto for violin and orchestra, which she premiered in a 2015 performance.
At the age of ten she completed her first full-length opera, Cinderella, which had its European premiere in Vienna on 29 December 2016 under the patronage of conductor Zubin Mehta, and in July 2017, at the age of 12, she premiered her first piano concerto, and performed it on the same evening as her full violin concerto.
Click here for more about Alma Elizabeth Deutscher.
Childhood Memory Development
YouTube Video: Rocksmith - Baby plays Guitar | OFFICIAL | HD
Pictured: Child Playing the Guitar (See also YouTube above)
The development of memory in children becomes evident within the first 3 years of a child's life as they show considerable advances in declarative memory. This enhancement continues into adolescence with major developments in short term memory, working memory, long term memory and autobiographical memory.
Recent research on the development of memory has indicated that declarative, or explicit memory, may exist in infants who are even younger than two years old. For example, newborns who are less than 3 days old demonstrate a preference for their mother’s own voice.
Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Development:
Declarative memory develops very rapidly throughout the first 2 years of life; infants of this age show evidence of cognitive development in many ways (e.g., increased attention, language acquisition, increasing knowledge).
There is a difference in the brain development of explicit and implicit memory in infants. Implicit memory is controlled by an early-developing memory system in the brain that is present very early on, and can be explained by the early maturation of striatum, cerebellum, and brain stem, which are all involved in implicit learning and memory.
Development of explicit memory depends on a later developing memory system in the brain that reaches maturity between 8 and 10 months of age. Explicit memory depends heavily on structures in the medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus and the parahippocampal cortex. Much of the brain system is formed before birth, however the dentate gyrus within the hippocampal formation has about 70% of the number of cells in adults.
Rapid myelination of axons within the central nervous system occurs during first year of life which can dramatically increase the efficiency and speed of transmission in neurons. This can explain the higher processing speed of older infants as compared to younger ones.
Working Memory:
According to Baddeley's model of working memory, working memory is composed of three parts. First is the central executive which is responsible for a range of regulatory functions including attention, the control of action, and problem solving.
Second, the phonological loop, which is specialized for the manipulation and retention of material in particular informational domains.
Finally, the visuospatial sketchpad stores material in terms of its visual or spatial features. The strength of the relationships between the three components of working memory vary; the central executive is strongly linked with both the phonological loop as well as the visuospatial sketchpad which are both independent of each other. Some evidence indicates linear increases in performance of working memory from age 3-4 years through to adolescence
Central Executive:
In children from 2-4, the memory storage capacity limitation constrains complex comprehension processes. As the child grows older however, less processing is necessary which opens more storage space for memory.
Phonological Loop:
Evidence indicates linear increases in performance from age 4 years through to adolescence. Prior to about 7 years of age, serial recall performance is mediated by the phonological store which is one component of the phonological loop. Preschool aged children do not use a subvocal rehearsal strategy to maintain decaying phonological representations in the store but instead they identify visual features of pictures in order to remember them.
This is evident first by watching children for overt sign of rehearsal (for example lip movement) and second if the child is given nameable pictures, there are no differences in retrieval found for long versus short words. At the age of seven, children begin to use a subvocal rehearsal process to maximize retention in the phonological store. As development continues, nonauditory memory material is recoded into a phonological code suitable for the phonological loop when possible.
Visuospatial Sketchpad:
Younger children (under the age of 5) may be dependent than older children or adults on using the visuospatial sketchpad to support immediate memory for visual material. Older children adopt a strategy of verbally recoding pictures where possible and also use the phonological loop to mediate performance of the “visual” memory task. Between the ages of 5 and 11, visual memory span increases substantially and it is at this point when adult levels of performance are reached.
Long Term Memory:
Explicit memory becomes much better over the developmental years. However, there are small effects of age on implicit memory, which could be because implicit memory involves more basic processes than declarative memory which would make it less affected by a child's developing cognitive skills and abilities.
Infants:
Infants who are 5 months or older are able to use emotions to influence their memories. However, at this age, infants will be more likely to remember things that were characterized by positive emotions.
The way that researchers study the memory capabilities of infants in this age range is through measuring eye movements between test images presented. After doing this initial round of testing, the researchers would conduct follow-up tests both 5 minutes later and one day later.
The follow-up tests shown to the infants included two geometric shapes: one from the original test, and a new shape. The researchers were able to record how long the infants looked at the images in the follow-up tests and measured how long the infants stared at each shape.
The infants were more likely to gaze at the geometric shapes from the original tests if they had been paired with positive voices than if they had been paired with neutral or negative voices. This study indicated that infants at this age would be able to better remember shapes and patterns of things if they were associated with positive emotions because positivity would increase the infants' interest and attention.
Pre-school Children:
Infants at as early as 7-months-old can conceptually differentiate between categories such as animals and vehicles. Although infants’ concepts may be crude by adult standards, they still allow infants to make meaningful semantic distinctions. An example is that infants can differentiate between items belonging to a kitchen and those items belonging to a bathroom.
At the very least, these categories lay a foundation for early knowledge development, organizing information in storage and influence future encoding. Infants from 16 months old are able to draw on their semantic knowledge in generalization and inference. This knowledge can also be used by older toddlers, 24-month-olds, to facilitate acquisition and retention of new information. Their knowledge of causal ordering of events can be used to help to recall the sequence of events.
Knowledge itself will not alter retention performance, rather how well that knowledge is structured will alter performance. Better retention was shown with information that had greater cohesion and more elaborative elements.
Familiarity and repetition of an experience can also influence the organization of information in storage for preschoolers and older children. Children who experienced an event twice recalled the event better 3 months later than did children who only experienced it once and showed equally good recall at 3 months compared to recall at 2 weeks after experiences.
School Age Children:
Age differences in memory are attributed to age-correlated growth in the foundation of knowledge. What children know affects what they encode, how that information is organized in storage, and the manner in which it’s retrieved.
The greater the background knowledge about the to-be-encoded information, the better that the information is remembered. Because older children have more knowledge than younger children, older children perform better than younger children in most memory tasks.
When familiarity and meaningfulness of material were equated across age, developmental differences in memory performance was no longer a factor.
Children’s use of memory strategies and the development of metamemory skills are also instrumental in age-related changes in memory, particularly later in childhood years. Knowledge influences memory by affecting retrieval, by facilitating spread of activation among related items in memory and by facilitating the use of strategies. Knowledge also provides better elaboration of information which can strengthen its storage in memory.
Episodic Memory:
By school age, the typical child shows skill in recalling details of past experiences and in organizing those details into a narrative form with cohesion. Memories formed at this age and beyond are more likely to stand the test of time over the years and be recalled in adulthood, compared to earlier memories.
Young children can sometimes retain information from specific episodes over very long periods of time, but the particular information a child of a particular age is likely to retain over different periods of time is unpredictable. This depends on the nature of the memory event and individual differences in the child such as gender, parental style of communication, and language ability.
Autobiographical Memory:
The amount of information that is able to be recalled depends on the child’s age at the time of the event. Children at the age of 1-2 can recall personal events, though only in fragments when questioned several months later. Two-year-old children form autobiographical memories and remember them over periods of at least several months.
Difficulty in assessing memory in young children can be attributed to their level of language skills; this is because memory tests usually occur in the form of a verbal report. It is unclear whether performance on memory assessments is due to poor memory for the event or to the inability to express what they remember in words.
However, memory tests assessing performance with a nonverbal photograph recognition test and behavioral re-enactment showed that children had signs of recall from 27 months, as opposed to 33 months, where children showed only reasonable verbal recall.
Childhood Amnesia:
Infantile amnesia is the tendency to have few autobiographical memories from below the age of 2-4.This can be attributed to lack of memory rehearsal; young children do not engage in rehearsal of remembered information. There are two theoretical explanations for why this may occur; although they take different approaches, they are not mutually exclusive of each other. The development of a cognitive self is also thought by some to have an effect on encoding and storing early memories.
Cognitive Self:
Autobiographical memories can only begin to form after infants have developed a sense of self to whom events having personal significance can occur. Evidence of a sense of self develops towards the end of the second year of life, in between 21 and 24 months of age. The development of a cognitive self provides a new framework from which memories can be organized. With this cognitive advancement, we see the emergence of autobiographical memory and the end of infantile amnesia.
Social Cultural Influences:
Language and culture play central roles in the early development of autobiographical memory. The manner in which parents discuss the past with their children and how elaborative they are in reminiscing affects how the child encodes the memory.
Children whose parents talk in detail about the past are being provided with good opportunities to rehearse their memories. The parents’ use of language at the time in which the event occurred can also play a factor in how the child remembers the episode. Cultural differences in parenting styles and parent-child relationships can contribute to autobiographical memory at an early age.
Memory Strategies:
Memory strategies are ways in which individuals can organize the information that they are processing in order to enhance recall in the future. Memory strategies that are helpful may include but are not limited to verbal rehearsal or mnemonics. The use of memory strategies varies in both the types of strategies used as well as the effectiveness of the strategies used across different age groups.
Metamemory:
As children grow older, they show increasing evidence of metamemory which is the knowledge about their memory and how it works.There is strong evidence that suggests that greater awareness and knowledge about ones memory leads to increased use of memory strategies and greater levels of recall.
In children under 7, the relationship between metamemory, strategy use, and recall is generally very weak or absent. This can be seen when comparing older children (over the age of 7) and preschool children on sorting tasks where children are asked to sort objects into groups that go together (for example animals)and attempt to recall them.
Preschool Children:
Preschool children use simple tactics for remembering but do not use mental strategies and do not typically differentiate memory and perception. In order to remember objects, they tend to verbally name or visually inspect items and use memory strategies intermittently or inconsistently even if they are aware of how they can improve recall.
Memory Strategies are used more consistently by children if they are reminded and taught to use them each time they are processing something that should be remembered.
By age 7:
By the age of 7, the awareness of the benefits of memory strategies in learning generally arises. The goal is for children to recognize the advantage of using memory strategies such as categorizing rather than simply looking or naming.
At this age, children spontaneously use rehearsal to enhance short-term memory performance and retrieval strategies begin to be used spontaneously without the guidance of others.
Late Elementary School:
In late elementary school, children engage in self-directed use of organization and demonstrate the ability to impose a semantic structure on the to-be-remembered items to guide memory performance. For example, if a child is packing their bag for school they can go through each part of their day and think of each item that they need to pack.
Children at this age understand the advantages of using memory strategies and make use of strategies like categorization over looking or naming if they are instructed to think about learning strategies prior to learning.
Early Adolescence:
In early adolescence, children begin to use elaborative rehearsal meaning that items are not simply kept in mind but rather are processed more deeply. They also prefer to use memory strategies such as categorization rather than simple rehearsal, looking or naming and use these strategies without needing to think about memory strategies prior to learning.
Recent research on the development of memory has indicated that declarative, or explicit memory, may exist in infants who are even younger than two years old. For example, newborns who are less than 3 days old demonstrate a preference for their mother’s own voice.
Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Development:
Declarative memory develops very rapidly throughout the first 2 years of life; infants of this age show evidence of cognitive development in many ways (e.g., increased attention, language acquisition, increasing knowledge).
There is a difference in the brain development of explicit and implicit memory in infants. Implicit memory is controlled by an early-developing memory system in the brain that is present very early on, and can be explained by the early maturation of striatum, cerebellum, and brain stem, which are all involved in implicit learning and memory.
Development of explicit memory depends on a later developing memory system in the brain that reaches maturity between 8 and 10 months of age. Explicit memory depends heavily on structures in the medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus and the parahippocampal cortex. Much of the brain system is formed before birth, however the dentate gyrus within the hippocampal formation has about 70% of the number of cells in adults.
Rapid myelination of axons within the central nervous system occurs during first year of life which can dramatically increase the efficiency and speed of transmission in neurons. This can explain the higher processing speed of older infants as compared to younger ones.
Working Memory:
According to Baddeley's model of working memory, working memory is composed of three parts. First is the central executive which is responsible for a range of regulatory functions including attention, the control of action, and problem solving.
Second, the phonological loop, which is specialized for the manipulation and retention of material in particular informational domains.
Finally, the visuospatial sketchpad stores material in terms of its visual or spatial features. The strength of the relationships between the three components of working memory vary; the central executive is strongly linked with both the phonological loop as well as the visuospatial sketchpad which are both independent of each other. Some evidence indicates linear increases in performance of working memory from age 3-4 years through to adolescence
Central Executive:
In children from 2-4, the memory storage capacity limitation constrains complex comprehension processes. As the child grows older however, less processing is necessary which opens more storage space for memory.
Phonological Loop:
Evidence indicates linear increases in performance from age 4 years through to adolescence. Prior to about 7 years of age, serial recall performance is mediated by the phonological store which is one component of the phonological loop. Preschool aged children do not use a subvocal rehearsal strategy to maintain decaying phonological representations in the store but instead they identify visual features of pictures in order to remember them.
This is evident first by watching children for overt sign of rehearsal (for example lip movement) and second if the child is given nameable pictures, there are no differences in retrieval found for long versus short words. At the age of seven, children begin to use a subvocal rehearsal process to maximize retention in the phonological store. As development continues, nonauditory memory material is recoded into a phonological code suitable for the phonological loop when possible.
Visuospatial Sketchpad:
Younger children (under the age of 5) may be dependent than older children or adults on using the visuospatial sketchpad to support immediate memory for visual material. Older children adopt a strategy of verbally recoding pictures where possible and also use the phonological loop to mediate performance of the “visual” memory task. Between the ages of 5 and 11, visual memory span increases substantially and it is at this point when adult levels of performance are reached.
Long Term Memory:
Explicit memory becomes much better over the developmental years. However, there are small effects of age on implicit memory, which could be because implicit memory involves more basic processes than declarative memory which would make it less affected by a child's developing cognitive skills and abilities.
Infants:
Infants who are 5 months or older are able to use emotions to influence their memories. However, at this age, infants will be more likely to remember things that were characterized by positive emotions.
The way that researchers study the memory capabilities of infants in this age range is through measuring eye movements between test images presented. After doing this initial round of testing, the researchers would conduct follow-up tests both 5 minutes later and one day later.
The follow-up tests shown to the infants included two geometric shapes: one from the original test, and a new shape. The researchers were able to record how long the infants looked at the images in the follow-up tests and measured how long the infants stared at each shape.
The infants were more likely to gaze at the geometric shapes from the original tests if they had been paired with positive voices than if they had been paired with neutral or negative voices. This study indicated that infants at this age would be able to better remember shapes and patterns of things if they were associated with positive emotions because positivity would increase the infants' interest and attention.
Pre-school Children:
Infants at as early as 7-months-old can conceptually differentiate between categories such as animals and vehicles. Although infants’ concepts may be crude by adult standards, they still allow infants to make meaningful semantic distinctions. An example is that infants can differentiate between items belonging to a kitchen and those items belonging to a bathroom.
At the very least, these categories lay a foundation for early knowledge development, organizing information in storage and influence future encoding. Infants from 16 months old are able to draw on their semantic knowledge in generalization and inference. This knowledge can also be used by older toddlers, 24-month-olds, to facilitate acquisition and retention of new information. Their knowledge of causal ordering of events can be used to help to recall the sequence of events.
Knowledge itself will not alter retention performance, rather how well that knowledge is structured will alter performance. Better retention was shown with information that had greater cohesion and more elaborative elements.
Familiarity and repetition of an experience can also influence the organization of information in storage for preschoolers and older children. Children who experienced an event twice recalled the event better 3 months later than did children who only experienced it once and showed equally good recall at 3 months compared to recall at 2 weeks after experiences.
School Age Children:
Age differences in memory are attributed to age-correlated growth in the foundation of knowledge. What children know affects what they encode, how that information is organized in storage, and the manner in which it’s retrieved.
The greater the background knowledge about the to-be-encoded information, the better that the information is remembered. Because older children have more knowledge than younger children, older children perform better than younger children in most memory tasks.
When familiarity and meaningfulness of material were equated across age, developmental differences in memory performance was no longer a factor.
Children’s use of memory strategies and the development of metamemory skills are also instrumental in age-related changes in memory, particularly later in childhood years. Knowledge influences memory by affecting retrieval, by facilitating spread of activation among related items in memory and by facilitating the use of strategies. Knowledge also provides better elaboration of information which can strengthen its storage in memory.
Episodic Memory:
By school age, the typical child shows skill in recalling details of past experiences and in organizing those details into a narrative form with cohesion. Memories formed at this age and beyond are more likely to stand the test of time over the years and be recalled in adulthood, compared to earlier memories.
Young children can sometimes retain information from specific episodes over very long periods of time, but the particular information a child of a particular age is likely to retain over different periods of time is unpredictable. This depends on the nature of the memory event and individual differences in the child such as gender, parental style of communication, and language ability.
Autobiographical Memory:
The amount of information that is able to be recalled depends on the child’s age at the time of the event. Children at the age of 1-2 can recall personal events, though only in fragments when questioned several months later. Two-year-old children form autobiographical memories and remember them over periods of at least several months.
Difficulty in assessing memory in young children can be attributed to their level of language skills; this is because memory tests usually occur in the form of a verbal report. It is unclear whether performance on memory assessments is due to poor memory for the event or to the inability to express what they remember in words.
However, memory tests assessing performance with a nonverbal photograph recognition test and behavioral re-enactment showed that children had signs of recall from 27 months, as opposed to 33 months, where children showed only reasonable verbal recall.
Childhood Amnesia:
Infantile amnesia is the tendency to have few autobiographical memories from below the age of 2-4.This can be attributed to lack of memory rehearsal; young children do not engage in rehearsal of remembered information. There are two theoretical explanations for why this may occur; although they take different approaches, they are not mutually exclusive of each other. The development of a cognitive self is also thought by some to have an effect on encoding and storing early memories.
Cognitive Self:
Autobiographical memories can only begin to form after infants have developed a sense of self to whom events having personal significance can occur. Evidence of a sense of self develops towards the end of the second year of life, in between 21 and 24 months of age. The development of a cognitive self provides a new framework from which memories can be organized. With this cognitive advancement, we see the emergence of autobiographical memory and the end of infantile amnesia.
Social Cultural Influences:
Language and culture play central roles in the early development of autobiographical memory. The manner in which parents discuss the past with their children and how elaborative they are in reminiscing affects how the child encodes the memory.
Children whose parents talk in detail about the past are being provided with good opportunities to rehearse their memories. The parents’ use of language at the time in which the event occurred can also play a factor in how the child remembers the episode. Cultural differences in parenting styles and parent-child relationships can contribute to autobiographical memory at an early age.
Memory Strategies:
Memory strategies are ways in which individuals can organize the information that they are processing in order to enhance recall in the future. Memory strategies that are helpful may include but are not limited to verbal rehearsal or mnemonics. The use of memory strategies varies in both the types of strategies used as well as the effectiveness of the strategies used across different age groups.
Metamemory:
As children grow older, they show increasing evidence of metamemory which is the knowledge about their memory and how it works.There is strong evidence that suggests that greater awareness and knowledge about ones memory leads to increased use of memory strategies and greater levels of recall.
In children under 7, the relationship between metamemory, strategy use, and recall is generally very weak or absent. This can be seen when comparing older children (over the age of 7) and preschool children on sorting tasks where children are asked to sort objects into groups that go together (for example animals)and attempt to recall them.
Preschool Children:
Preschool children use simple tactics for remembering but do not use mental strategies and do not typically differentiate memory and perception. In order to remember objects, they tend to verbally name or visually inspect items and use memory strategies intermittently or inconsistently even if they are aware of how they can improve recall.
Memory Strategies are used more consistently by children if they are reminded and taught to use them each time they are processing something that should be remembered.
By age 7:
By the age of 7, the awareness of the benefits of memory strategies in learning generally arises. The goal is for children to recognize the advantage of using memory strategies such as categorizing rather than simply looking or naming.
At this age, children spontaneously use rehearsal to enhance short-term memory performance and retrieval strategies begin to be used spontaneously without the guidance of others.
Late Elementary School:
In late elementary school, children engage in self-directed use of organization and demonstrate the ability to impose a semantic structure on the to-be-remembered items to guide memory performance. For example, if a child is packing their bag for school they can go through each part of their day and think of each item that they need to pack.
Children at this age understand the advantages of using memory strategies and make use of strategies like categorization over looking or naming if they are instructed to think about learning strategies prior to learning.
Early Adolescence:
In early adolescence, children begin to use elaborative rehearsal meaning that items are not simply kept in mind but rather are processed more deeply. They also prefer to use memory strategies such as categorization rather than simple rehearsal, looking or naming and use these strategies without needing to think about memory strategies prior to learning.
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (On Various Networks from 1968 to 2001)
- YouTube Video of the Top 10 Mr. Rogers Moments That'll Make You Nostalgic
- YouTube Video: The Amazing Truth About Mister Rogers
- YouTube Video: Fred Rogers on Letterman, February 17, 1982
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (sometimes shortened to Mister Rogers) is an American half-hour educational children's television series that was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series Misterogers debuted on October 15, 1962, on CBC Television.
In 1966, Rogers moved back to the United States creating Misterogers' Neighborhood (sometimes shown as MisteRogers' Neighborhood, later called Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, on the regional Eastern Educational Network (EEN, a forerunner of today's American Public Television).
The US national debut of the show occurred on February 19, 1968. It aired on NET and its successor, PBS, until August 31, 2001.
The series is aimed primarily at preschool children ages 2 to 5, but it was labelled by PBS as "appropriate for all ages".
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was produced by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania public broadcaster WQED and Rogers' non-profit production company Family Communications, Inc., previously known as Small World Enterprises prior to 1971; the company was renamed The Fred Rogers Company after Rogers' death (it has since been renamed again to Fred Rogers Productions as of 2019).
In May 1997, the series surpassed Captain Kangaroo as the longest-running children's television series, a record the series held until June 2003, when Sesame Street beat Mister Rogers' record.
The series could be seen in reruns on most PBS stations until August 31, 2007, when it began to be removed by various PBS stations, and was then permanently removed from the daily syndicated schedule by PBS after August 29, 2008.
Eleven years after Mister Rogers' Neighborhood concluded, PBS debuted an animated spin-off, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. A 50th-anniversary tribute show, hosted by actor Michael Keaton (who got his start on the show), titled Mister Rogers: It's You I Like, premiered on PBS stations nationwide on March 6, 2018.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Mister Roger's Neighborhood:
In 1966, Rogers moved back to the United States creating Misterogers' Neighborhood (sometimes shown as MisteRogers' Neighborhood, later called Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, on the regional Eastern Educational Network (EEN, a forerunner of today's American Public Television).
The US national debut of the show occurred on February 19, 1968. It aired on NET and its successor, PBS, until August 31, 2001.
The series is aimed primarily at preschool children ages 2 to 5, but it was labelled by PBS as "appropriate for all ages".
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was produced by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania public broadcaster WQED and Rogers' non-profit production company Family Communications, Inc., previously known as Small World Enterprises prior to 1971; the company was renamed The Fred Rogers Company after Rogers' death (it has since been renamed again to Fred Rogers Productions as of 2019).
In May 1997, the series surpassed Captain Kangaroo as the longest-running children's television series, a record the series held until June 2003, when Sesame Street beat Mister Rogers' record.
The series could be seen in reruns on most PBS stations until August 31, 2007, when it began to be removed by various PBS stations, and was then permanently removed from the daily syndicated schedule by PBS after August 29, 2008.
Eleven years after Mister Rogers' Neighborhood concluded, PBS debuted an animated spin-off, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. A 50th-anniversary tribute show, hosted by actor Michael Keaton (who got his start on the show), titled Mister Rogers: It's You I Like, premiered on PBS stations nationwide on March 6, 2018.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Mister Roger's Neighborhood:
- History
- Format
- Characters
- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
- Neighborhood of Make-Believe
- Operas
- Guests
- Funding
- After the series
- Music and regular songs
- Broadcast history
- Episodes
- Specials
- Mister Rogers: It's You I Like
- Tributes
- See also:
- Fred Rogers Company
- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood at PBS Kids
- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood on IMDb
- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood at TV.com
- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Archives at the University of Pittsburgh
- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
- "It's a Beautiful 50th Birthday for 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'". Fresh Air. National Public Radio. February 19, 2018 [1984]. 1984 interview with Fred Rogers.
Captain Kangaroo (CBS: 1955-1984)
- YouTube Video: Captain Kangaroo with Dolly Parton - 1976
- YouTube Video: Captain Kangaroo with Mr. Moose and Bunny Rabbit
- YouTube Video: Captain Kangaroo "Going Places"
Captain Kangaroo is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955, until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program of its day.
In 1986, the American Program Service (now American Public Television, Boston) integrated some newly produced segments into reruns of past episodes, distributing the newer version of the series until 1993.
The show was conceived and the title character was played by Bob Keeshan, who based the show on "the warm relationship between grandparents and children".
Keeshan had portrayed the original Clarabell the Clown on The Howdy Doody Show when it aired on NBC.
Captain Kangaroo had a loose structure, built around life in the "Treasure House" (later known as "The Captain's Place") where the Captain (the name "kangaroo" came from the big pockets in his coat) would tell stories, meet guests, and indulge in silly stunts with regular characters, both humans and puppets.
Keeshan performed as the Captain more than 9000 times over the nearly 30-year run of the show.
The show was telecast live to the East Coast and the Midwest for its first four years and broadcast on kinescope for the West Coast, as Keeshan would not perform the show live three times a day, and was in black-and-white until 1966.
The May 17, 1971, episode had two major changes on the show: The Treasure House was renovated and renamed "The Captain's Place" and the Captain replaced his navy blue coat with a red coat.
In September 1981, CBS shortened the hour-long show to a half-hour, briefly retitled it Wake Up with the Captain, and moved it to an earlier time slot; it was later moved to weekends in September 1982, and returned to an hour-long format. It was cancelled by CBS at the end of 1984.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification of Captain Kangaroo:
In 1986, the American Program Service (now American Public Television, Boston) integrated some newly produced segments into reruns of past episodes, distributing the newer version of the series until 1993.
The show was conceived and the title character was played by Bob Keeshan, who based the show on "the warm relationship between grandparents and children".
Keeshan had portrayed the original Clarabell the Clown on The Howdy Doody Show when it aired on NBC.
Captain Kangaroo had a loose structure, built around life in the "Treasure House" (later known as "The Captain's Place") where the Captain (the name "kangaroo" came from the big pockets in his coat) would tell stories, meet guests, and indulge in silly stunts with regular characters, both humans and puppets.
Keeshan performed as the Captain more than 9000 times over the nearly 30-year run of the show.
The show was telecast live to the East Coast and the Midwest for its first four years and broadcast on kinescope for the West Coast, as Keeshan would not perform the show live three times a day, and was in black-and-white until 1966.
The May 17, 1971, episode had two major changes on the show: The Treasure House was renovated and renamed "The Captain's Place" and the Captain replaced his navy blue coat with a red coat.
In September 1981, CBS shortened the hour-long show to a half-hour, briefly retitled it Wake Up with the Captain, and moved it to an earlier time slot; it was later moved to weekends in September 1982, and returned to an hour-long format. It was cancelled by CBS at the end of 1984.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification of Captain Kangaroo:
Children's Television Series
- YouTube Video: Arthur S1E8 - Arthur's New Puppy and Arthur Bounces Back
- YouTube Video: The History of Mickey Mouse (WatchMojo)
- YouTube Video: The Loud House | Dress up | Nickelodeon UK
Children's television series are television programs designed for and marketed to kindergarteners, preschoolers, and toddlers normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evening, allowing younger children to watch them after school. The purpose of the shows is mainly to entertain and sometimes to educate.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Children's Television Series:
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Children's Television Series:
- History
- Channels
- See also:
- List of local children's television series (United States)
- Saturday-morning cartoon for an in-depth history of children's television in the United States
- Advertising to children
- List of children's television series by country
- Children's Television, online exhibition from screenonline, a website of the British Film Institute
- The 1950s–2000s Week-By-Week - includes listings and factoids for local/national children's shows.
Children's Movies
YouTube Video: Top 10 Movies that are Iconic to 1990s Kids
YouTube Video: Top 10 Best (REAL LIFE) 2000s Kids Movies
YouTube Video: Top 10 Disney Movies of the Decade (2010s)
Pictured below: Pass the Popcorn! The 50 Greatest Kids' Movies of All Time
YouTube Video: Top 10 Movies that are Iconic to 1990s Kids
YouTube Video: Top 10 Best (REAL LIFE) 2000s Kids Movies
YouTube Video: Top 10 Disney Movies of the Decade (2010s)
Pictured below: Pass the Popcorn! The 50 Greatest Kids' Movies of All Time
A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that contains children or relates to them in the context of home and family.
Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for the general audience, while family films are made for a wider appeal with a general audience in mind. Children's films come in several major genres like:
Psychological aspects:
Children are born with certain innate biological dispositions as a product of long evolutionary history. This provides an underlying biological framework for what may fascinate a child and also impose limitations on the same. These can be seen in certain universal features shared in children's films.
According to Grodal, films like Finding Nemo (2003), Bambi (1942), or Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (2001) are based on certain strong emotions like fear, that lead to the activation of what Boyer and Lienard called the hazard-precaution system. This enables the brain to take precautions in case of danger.
Children's films such as these explore various topics such as: attachment to parenting agency; the development of friendship; reciprocal relationships between individuals; or deal with the necessity or need in children and young people to explore and to engage in play.
Thus these diverse films deal with certain aspects that are not mere social constructions, but rather emotions relevant to all children and therefore have an appeal to a wider universal audience. While cultural aspects shape how various films are created, these films refer to underlying universal aspects that are innate and biological.
University of Melbourne scholar Timothy Laurie criticises the emphasis placed on children's innate psychic tendencies, noting that "pedagogical norms have been tirelessly heaped onto children's media", and that rather than deriving from hardwired biology, "the quality of childhood is more likely shaped by social policy, political opportunism, pedagogical institutions, and youth-specific market segmentation".
Family films versus children's films:
In both the United States and Europe, the idea of children's films began to gain relative prominence in the 1930s. According to Bazalgette and Staples, the term "family film" is essentially an American expression while "children's film" is considered to be a European expression.
However, the difference between the two terms can be seen in casting methods adopted by American and European films respectively. In American family films, the search for a child protagonist involves casting children that meet a specific criterion or standard for physical appearance.
In contrast, European children's films look to cast children who appear "ordinary". Similarly, in American family films, the adult cast can be composed of well known actors or actresses in an effort to attract a wider audience, presenting narratives from an adult or parental perspective. This is shown through the casting, content of the plot, editing, and even mise-en-scène.
According to Bazalgette and Staples, a fine example of a family film is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), which if it were a European children's film with a similar plot, the title would be Sis, Dad Shrunk Us, explaining that European children's films are told from the child's perspective, portraying the story through the various emotions and experiences of the child.
Because of these differences, American family films are more easily marketable toward domestic and international viewing audiences while European children's films are better received domestically with limited appeal to international audiences.
United States:
Early years:
The Walt Disney Company made animated adaptations of Grimms' Fairy Tales before World War II, beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The period immediately before and during World War II saw the release of three significant family films in the U.S. These were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Disney, Gulliver's Travels by Fleischer Studios, and Pinocchio (1940), also by Disney. All of these were loose adaptations of literary sources.
After the war, Disney continued to make animated features that could be classified as family films given the scope of its content. According to Wojcik, the most important film adaptations of children's literature in the immediate post-World War II period were the motion pictures The Diary of Anne Frank by George Stevens (1959), Treasure Island (1950) by Byron Haskin and Luigi Comencini's 1952 motion picture Heidi.
1960s to 1990s:
In the 1960s, motion pictures such as To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Oliver! (1968), directed by Carol Reed, portrayed children as naturally innocent. Other films of the 1960s that involved children include The Sound of Music (1965) by Robert Wise and The Miracle Worker (1962).
These were very successful musical motion picture that were in the genre of family films.
Four of the top ten highest-grossing films of the decade were family films: The Sound of Music, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Jungle Book (1967), and Mary Poppins.
Hollywood also released motion pictures starring children though these were not commercially successful and they were literary adaptations nonetheless. These include:
Other family/children films of the decade include
Children's films in the 1970s from the United States include animated films such as:
The decade also had live action children's films like
There were also combination live action/animation films such as 1971's Bedknobs and Broomsticks. This trend of films inspired the 1980s and 1990s productions of classic children's films from America including Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Matilda (1996).
American children's and family films of the 1980s include
Spielberg portrays children realistically, having to cope with issues. This is seen in E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, where the children have to cope with the issues of single parenting and divorce, as well as separation from their father.
Also, in the motion picture Empire of the Sun (1987), the protagonist child Jim Graham has to deal with separation from his parents for years, to the point where he is unable to even remember what his mother looked like. He is wounded not by bullets, but by the madness and cruelty of war and separation from his parents.
According to Robin Wood, in their films, Lucas and Spielberg both reconstruct "... the adult spectator as a child ..." or "... an adult who would like to be a child".
Other important children's films from the U.S. in the late 1970s include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Live action films like Superman (1978) and Superman II are also important children's and family films. They have been ranked as some of the best family entertainment over the past generation.
The 1970s and 1980s also include several films and their sequels as classics of family films, including: Star Wars (1977) and its sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
Other similar movies and sequels include Robert Zemeckis's film Back to the Future (1985) and its sequels Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Back to the Future Part III (1990).
"Since the resurgence of Disney feature films with The Little Mermaid (1989)", writes Laurie, "high-budget animations have become part of the Hollywood box office furniture, with phenomenal successes from Pixar Studies, DreamWorks animations and more recently, Blue Sky Studios".
Important animated family films of the 1990s include Disney titles such as:
This decade introduced the modern fairy tale film Edward Scissorhands (1990), depicting an isolated, artificially created young man with human emotions and childlike qualities who is ultimately rejected by society while the female protagonist holds on to his memory.
The 1990s also saw additional live-action family films such as:
Films such as A Little Princess (1995) were more successful in the home video market than in theaters. Direct-to-video became important for both animated and live-action films, such as The Return of Jafar (1994) and those starring Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen.
2000 to Present:
Family films of the 2000s include:
Significant Pixar computer animated films of the decade were:
Significant DreamWorks computer animated films of the decade including:
So far, in the 2010s, live-action family films include Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Hugo (2011), directed by Martin Scorsese.
Animated films in this genre include:
The year 2011 contained the sequels Kung Fu Panda 2 and Cars 2, as well as The Smurfs.
The next two years would see other successful family/children's films, such as
In 2014, there were 3 very successful family films: The Lego Movie, Rio 2, and How to Train Your Dragon 2.
In 2015, there were a few very popular films: Disney's live-action adaptation of Cinderella, two Pixar films, Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur, the sequel Hotel Transylvania 2 and the Despicable Me spinoff prequel, Minions.
2016 was the first time two animated movies grossed over $1 billion in the same year, with Zootopia and Finding Dory, both from Disney. Disney also released a successful live-action remake of the 1967 movie The Jungle Book and followed it up in 2017 with another live-action remake, Beauty and the Beast.
2017 saw the release of family films like The Boss Baby, Smurfs: The Lost Village, and Cars 3.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Children's Movies:
Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for the general audience, while family films are made for a wider appeal with a general audience in mind. Children's films come in several major genres like:
Psychological aspects:
Children are born with certain innate biological dispositions as a product of long evolutionary history. This provides an underlying biological framework for what may fascinate a child and also impose limitations on the same. These can be seen in certain universal features shared in children's films.
According to Grodal, films like Finding Nemo (2003), Bambi (1942), or Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (2001) are based on certain strong emotions like fear, that lead to the activation of what Boyer and Lienard called the hazard-precaution system. This enables the brain to take precautions in case of danger.
Children's films such as these explore various topics such as: attachment to parenting agency; the development of friendship; reciprocal relationships between individuals; or deal with the necessity or need in children and young people to explore and to engage in play.
Thus these diverse films deal with certain aspects that are not mere social constructions, but rather emotions relevant to all children and therefore have an appeal to a wider universal audience. While cultural aspects shape how various films are created, these films refer to underlying universal aspects that are innate and biological.
University of Melbourne scholar Timothy Laurie criticises the emphasis placed on children's innate psychic tendencies, noting that "pedagogical norms have been tirelessly heaped onto children's media", and that rather than deriving from hardwired biology, "the quality of childhood is more likely shaped by social policy, political opportunism, pedagogical institutions, and youth-specific market segmentation".
Family films versus children's films:
In both the United States and Europe, the idea of children's films began to gain relative prominence in the 1930s. According to Bazalgette and Staples, the term "family film" is essentially an American expression while "children's film" is considered to be a European expression.
However, the difference between the two terms can be seen in casting methods adopted by American and European films respectively. In American family films, the search for a child protagonist involves casting children that meet a specific criterion or standard for physical appearance.
In contrast, European children's films look to cast children who appear "ordinary". Similarly, in American family films, the adult cast can be composed of well known actors or actresses in an effort to attract a wider audience, presenting narratives from an adult or parental perspective. This is shown through the casting, content of the plot, editing, and even mise-en-scène.
According to Bazalgette and Staples, a fine example of a family film is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), which if it were a European children's film with a similar plot, the title would be Sis, Dad Shrunk Us, explaining that European children's films are told from the child's perspective, portraying the story through the various emotions and experiences of the child.
Because of these differences, American family films are more easily marketable toward domestic and international viewing audiences while European children's films are better received domestically with limited appeal to international audiences.
United States:
Early years:
The Walt Disney Company made animated adaptations of Grimms' Fairy Tales before World War II, beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The period immediately before and during World War II saw the release of three significant family films in the U.S. These were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Disney, Gulliver's Travels by Fleischer Studios, and Pinocchio (1940), also by Disney. All of these were loose adaptations of literary sources.
After the war, Disney continued to make animated features that could be classified as family films given the scope of its content. According to Wojcik, the most important film adaptations of children's literature in the immediate post-World War II period were the motion pictures The Diary of Anne Frank by George Stevens (1959), Treasure Island (1950) by Byron Haskin and Luigi Comencini's 1952 motion picture Heidi.
1960s to 1990s:
In the 1960s, motion pictures such as To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Oliver! (1968), directed by Carol Reed, portrayed children as naturally innocent. Other films of the 1960s that involved children include The Sound of Music (1965) by Robert Wise and The Miracle Worker (1962).
These were very successful musical motion picture that were in the genre of family films.
Four of the top ten highest-grossing films of the decade were family films: The Sound of Music, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Jungle Book (1967), and Mary Poppins.
Hollywood also released motion pictures starring children though these were not commercially successful and they were literary adaptations nonetheless. These include:
- ...And Now Miguel (1966),
- Doctor Dolittle (1967),
- and The Learning Tree (1969).
Other family/children films of the decade include
- Pollyanna (1960),
- Swiss Family Robinson (1960),
- In Search of the Castaways (1962),
- The Sword in the Stone (1963),
- That Darn Cat! (1965),
- Up the Down Staircase (1967),
- To Sir, With Love (1967),
- Yours, Mine and Ours (1968),
- and The Parent Trap (1961).
Children's films in the 1970s from the United States include animated films such as:
- The Aristocats (1970),
- Charlotte's Web (1973),
- Robin Hood,
- The Rescuers (1977),
- Pete's Dragon (1977),
- and The Hobbit (1977).
The decade also had live action children's films like
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971),
- Sounder (1972),
- Benji (1974),
- Tuck Everlasting (1976),
- The Bad News Bears (1976),
- Freaky Friday (1976),
- A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich (1978),
- the divorce drama involving a child Kramer vs. Kramer (1978),
- and The Muppet Movie (1979).
There were also combination live action/animation films such as 1971's Bedknobs and Broomsticks. This trend of films inspired the 1980s and 1990s productions of classic children's films from America including Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Matilda (1996).
American children's and family films of the 1980s include
- Popeye (1980),
- The Fox and the Hound (1981),
- Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982),
- The Great Mouse Detective (1986),
- and The Little Mermaid (1989).
Spielberg portrays children realistically, having to cope with issues. This is seen in E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, where the children have to cope with the issues of single parenting and divorce, as well as separation from their father.
Also, in the motion picture Empire of the Sun (1987), the protagonist child Jim Graham has to deal with separation from his parents for years, to the point where he is unable to even remember what his mother looked like. He is wounded not by bullets, but by the madness and cruelty of war and separation from his parents.
According to Robin Wood, in their films, Lucas and Spielberg both reconstruct "... the adult spectator as a child ..." or "... an adult who would like to be a child".
Other important children's films from the U.S. in the late 1970s include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Live action films like Superman (1978) and Superman II are also important children's and family films. They have been ranked as some of the best family entertainment over the past generation.
The 1970s and 1980s also include several films and their sequels as classics of family films, including: Star Wars (1977) and its sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
Other similar movies and sequels include Robert Zemeckis's film Back to the Future (1985) and its sequels Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Back to the Future Part III (1990).
"Since the resurgence of Disney feature films with The Little Mermaid (1989)", writes Laurie, "high-budget animations have become part of the Hollywood box office furniture, with phenomenal successes from Pixar Studies, DreamWorks animations and more recently, Blue Sky Studios".
Important animated family films of the 1990s include Disney titles such as:
- Beauty and the Beast (1991),
- Aladdin (1992),
- The Lion King (1994),
- Mulan (1998),
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996),
- and the Pixar computer animated films Toy Story (1995) and its sequel Toy Story 2 (1999),
- and A Bug's Life (1998).
This decade introduced the modern fairy tale film Edward Scissorhands (1990), depicting an isolated, artificially created young man with human emotions and childlike qualities who is ultimately rejected by society while the female protagonist holds on to his memory.
The 1990s also saw additional live-action family films such as:
- Back to the Future Part III (1990), which brought the Back to the Future franchise into this decade,
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990),
- Home Alone (1990) and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992),
- Hook (1991),
- Alan & Naomi (1992),
- Jurassic Park (1993),
- Steve Zaillian's Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993),
- Super Mario Bros (1993),
- Mrs. Doubtfire (1993),
- The Flintstones (1994),
- Babe (1995),
- Jumanji (1995),
- 101 Dalmatians (1996),
- Fly Away Home (1996),
- Vegas Vacation (1997),
- and October Sky (1999).
Films such as A Little Princess (1995) were more successful in the home video market than in theaters. Direct-to-video became important for both animated and live-action films, such as The Return of Jafar (1994) and those starring Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen.
2000 to Present:
Family films of the 2000s include:
- Dinosaur (2000),
- The Grinch (2000),
- the Ice Age film series (2002–present),
- Shark Tale (2004),
- Robots (2005),
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005),
- The Chronicles of Narnia film series (2005–10),
- Cars (2006),
- Happy Feet (2006),
- Night At the Museum (2006–14),
- Meet the Robinsons (2007),
- and Bolt (2008).
Significant Pixar computer animated films of the decade were:
- Monsters, Inc. (2001),
- Finding Nemo (2003),
- The Incredibles (2004),
- Ratatouille (2007),
- Wall-E (2008),
- and Up (2009).
Significant DreamWorks computer animated films of the decade including:
- the Shrek film series (2001–10),
- Madagascar (2005)
- and its sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008),
- and Kung Fu Panda (2008),
So far, in the 2010s, live-action family films include Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Hugo (2011), directed by Martin Scorsese.
Animated films in this genre include:
- Toy Story 3 (2010),
- Tangled (2010),
- Despicable Me (2010),
- and How to Train Your Dragon (2010).
The year 2011 contained the sequels Kung Fu Panda 2 and Cars 2, as well as The Smurfs.
The next two years would see other successful family/children's films, such as
- Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012),
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012),
- Wreck-It Ralph (2012),
- Frozen (2013),
- Despicable Me 2 (2013),
- and Monsters University (2013).
In 2014, there were 3 very successful family films: The Lego Movie, Rio 2, and How to Train Your Dragon 2.
In 2015, there were a few very popular films: Disney's live-action adaptation of Cinderella, two Pixar films, Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur, the sequel Hotel Transylvania 2 and the Despicable Me spinoff prequel, Minions.
2016 was the first time two animated movies grossed over $1 billion in the same year, with Zootopia and Finding Dory, both from Disney. Disney also released a successful live-action remake of the 1967 movie The Jungle Book and followed it up in 2017 with another live-action remake, Beauty and the Beast.
2017 saw the release of family films like The Boss Baby, Smurfs: The Lost Village, and Cars 3.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Children's Movies:
- Europe
- Asia
- Other world regions
- See also:
Youth Mentoring Programs
- YouTube Video: Setting up a Mentoring Program
- YouTube Video: How to Get a Mentor - Tedx Talk from Ellen Ensher
- YouTube Video: How Mentorship Changed Stephanie's Life
Youth mentoring is the process of matching mentors with young people who need or want a caring, responsible adult in their lives.
Adult mentors are usually unrelated to the child or teen and work as volunteers through a community-, school-, or church-based social service program. The goal of youth mentoring programs is to improve the well-being of the child by providing a role model that can support the child academically, socially and/or personally. This goal can be accomplished through school work, communication, and/or activities. Goals and settings within a mentoring program vary by country because of cultural values.
Although informal mentoring relationships exist, formal, high-quality mentoring matches made through local or state mentoring organizations are often the most effective.
According to The Encyclopedia of Informal Education:
Mentoring effects:
Research:
Much research has been conducted on youth mentoring with the intent of determining whether or not there are positive benefits for youth and, if so, under what conditions the positive effects are most likely to occur. The evidence is somewhat mixed, however, and studies caution against overestimating the potential effects due to the small overall magnitude of association.
According to some studies, not all mentoring programs are found to have positive effects. In some cases, youth involved in mentoring relationships of short duration or infrequent interactions with their mentors experienced no benefits or were harmed in the form of lower self-esteem. Even studies that demonstrated positive outcomes for youth suggested that benefits from mentoring do not always last for an extended period of time after the intervention has ended.
Meta-analysis:
One method of determining how effective mentoring relationships have become is with the use of meta-analysis. Meta-analysis allows a researcher to synthesize several studies and has been said to provide an unbiased, objective, and quantifiable method to test for significant differences in the results found across studies. Two studies utilizing this method are presented below.
In a meta-analysis of 55 studies on mentoring programs, the overall effectiveness of mentoring as well as the factors relating to variation in mentoring effects were studied. In this study, articles found on popular databases as well as possible search engines (such as Yahoo, etc.) that were published between 1970 and 1998 were selected and evaluated.
Findings from this meta-analysis indicated that there was an overall positive, though modest, effect from mentoring. The effect appeared to be especially beneficial for youth classified as “at risk” (see at-risk students) or “disadvantaged”.
Within this context, such student populations included youth in foster care, academically underachieving youth, youth with incarcerated guardians, youth involved in the juvenile justice system, disabled youth, and youth with children.
Further findings indicated that effect size may be increased with the use of specific strategies and practices, such as providing continual support and structure to the mentor and relationship. It is important to note, however, that this study cannot imply causality and further research is recommended to explore this relationship.
In another meta-analysis, 39 articles published between 1970 and 2005 were analyzed.
Articles were required to measure a quantifiable effect on either delinquency, aggression, substance use, or academic achievement. The overall effects were found to be positive with delinquency as well as with the other outcomes studied. Effects were stronger with the delinquent and aggressive outcomes, while still remaining moderate with the group measuring substance use and academic achievement.
This suggests that mentoring programs are especially effective with delinquent behavior.
Best practices:
Research indicates that the use of specific best practices can be used to improve the mentoring experience.
In the meta-analysis listed above, several best practices were found to increase effect sizes in mentoring programs:
In addition, there are several mentor websites that suggest the inclusion of similar best practices with the hopes of created greater outcomes for youth.
Informal vs. formal mentoring:
In the research, there is a distinction between a naturally occurring adult-youth relationship (referred to as informal mentoring) and a structured adult-youth relationship where the mentor is assigned or matched (referred to as formal mentoring).
There is less research available for informal mentor relationships than there is for formal, but the research indicates that benefits exist for both the mentor and protege. Research is also available that suggests no effect or negative effects from mentoring, especially if the relationship with the adult fails.
Formal mentoring has been better studied in the research and, therefore, more findings are available on this topic. In a review of literature, it was suggested that an emphasis in quality of mentoring relationship and programming has been steadily increasing in the research and a shift in outcome measures is apparent, with most studies measuring general youth development as opposed to reductions in particular deviant behaviors.
In another review of literature, 10 studies were analyzed and found a moderate positive effect on mentee grades, reduction of substance use, reduction of some delinquent behaviors, but not with youth self-esteem.
These studies suggest that, although research is conflicting, there is typically an overall positive effect as a result of a mentoring relationship. This positive effect is more likely with the use of established best practices and within the population of youth classified as delinquent or "at risk".
Quantitative analysis shows that academic-based mentoring has stronger associations with outcomes than does general youth mentoring. Most research agrees, however, that further research is necessary and that research with more rigorous methods would be beneficial to the field.
Benefits:
The mentoring program for youths was mentioned as having significant benefits such as lower dropout rates in high school and subsequently increased graduation rates, along with an increase of enrollment into and graduation from institutions of higher education.
On a day to day basis, youth participating in mentoring relationships demonstrate better attendance, having fewer unexcused absences. Students adopt a more positive attitude towards formal classroom learning with more formidable relationships between students, teachers, and parents.
Youths also acquire more self-confidence and better behavior at home and school. In turn, this improves their motivation to learn in a given subject area. At the same time, there is reduced risk of students making the first move towards alcohol and substance abuse.
For teachers, mentoring means enhanced skills in supervision and better patience, sense of fulfilment, and increased self-esteem. Successful mentorships promote positive health through the improvement of academic education, positive self-worth, and social acceptance.
Likewise, mentorships can decrease high-risk violent behaviors, usage of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.
Approaches to mentoring:
School-based:
One prevalent method is referred to as the "School-Based" approach. Oftentimes, teachers refer students to participate in a mentoring relationship due to behavioral problems or difficulties with schoolwork. The mentor meets with the youth in an academic setting and facilitates school work while acting as a supportive role-model.They may also play games, do crafts or partake in non-academic activities.
This approach is practiced by organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters which is located in eleven countries including Ireland, the United States, Israel, and Bulgaria. As of 2005, there was an estimated 870,000 adults mentoring youth in a school-based program throughout The United States alone.
An estimated 70% of all formal mentoring programs in the United States are categorized as school-based. Canada has developed an in-school program in which elderly Aboriginal mentors are paired with both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children to raise self-esteem, teach about native cultures, and provide support to youth in school.
Statistics prove that school-based mentoring will increase academic student involvement. The school-based approach revealed improvement in the classroom and socially. Mentors are matched with a student and they work one on one with the student throughout the school year.
Focusing on schoolwork, the student’s interest, and other activities. As a mentor the expectation is to be a positive role model that is supportive and encouraging. This relationship will help motivate the student to be successful in school, reducing school infractions and truancy.
Community-based:
"Community Based" is another approach to mentoring. In this setting, a mentor meets youth in the community such as a church, community facility, or by taking the child to community events. Both approaches can be done in a one-on-one or group setting. Individual vs. community based mentoring may be culturally specific, such as in India where youth are less in need of individual attention and thrive in a group setting, according to The International Journal of Social Work.
Community engagement statistics states that students after mentoring programs are 55% more likely to enroll in college, 78% more likely to volunteer regularly, 90% are interested in becoming a mentor, and 130% more likely to hold leadership positions.
A survey questioning 1,101 mentors through 98 mentoring programs found that school-based mentoring programs had fewer contact hours than community-based mentoring programs. Community-based mentors also self-reported to be “very close” to their protegees, while school-based mentors reported to be “close”.
This survey used nine factors to benchmark the developing relationships. These factors are “(1) engaging in social activities; (2) engaging in academic activities; (3) number of hours per month spent together; (4) decision-making shared by mentor and mentee; (5) prematch training; (6) postmatch training; (7) mentor screening (only important relationship development in community-based programs); (8) matching; and (9) age of the protegees."
The conclusion of this study is that school-based programs is a good compliment to community based mentoring programs, meaning that schools should strive to have a variety of mentoring programs in order to give students the best resources that fit to their needs.
Individual:
Individual mentoring, or a one on one setting is where there is one mentor who repeatedly meets with the same mentee for the duration of their program. These partnerships can be found in both community and school-based programs.
One on one mentoring is seen in programs such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters in The United States, as well as Mentor Me India in India. This mentoring style is regarded as one of the most widespread social interventions in the U.S., with an estimated 3 million youth were in formal one on one mentoring relationships.
The traditional model is structured so that mentors and youth are paired through a formal mechanism and pairings are free to spend time together in a range of different activities and settings as to help build their relationship with one another.
Individual mentor relationships or mixed with some group meetings were found to be more effective than solely group mentoring, found in a study in The New Zealand Journal of Psychology.
The most effective and successful mentoring relationships are defined by the development of trust between the mentor and the student. Studies examining such relationships show that trust is the most critical factor in determining whether the relationship will be perceived as satisfying by both parties.
In order to build trust in a one-on-one setting, the approach of the mentor is key. Mentors who prioritize relationship or friendship building tend to be more effective than those who focus largely on goals and reforming their students. Effective mentors are likely to be characterized by having a consistent presence in their protegees’ lives, respect for their protegees’ viewpoints, greater attention for their protegees’ desires or goals, and accountability for maintaining good relations.
Less effective mentors typically do not meet with their protegees regularly, attempt to reform or transform their protegees, and overemphasize behavioral or academic changes.
The progress of protegees is enhanced when mentors place attention to cultural, sporting, and extra-curricular actives, not only to academics. Working on these factors of a student’s life can improve their self-esteem, mental health, and create new relationships, and this in turn helps the students transition out of mentorships and in to higher academics. Protégé are usually overlooked and their potential can be accidentally neglected by inexperienced mentors.
This is why professional mentors can offer the best mentorship for Protégé in order to get the best out of tutoring sessions. However, mentoring is the most successful when mentoring is built on the shared enthusiasm between mentors and Protégé.
Group:
Small group mentoring can be beneficial in places where there is a shortage of mentors, or youth are able to learn collectively in a group setting. This works with career oriented mentoring, when the focus is to encourage future success of the individual by bringing in successful professionals as mentors. This has found to be a successful approach in The Romani Mentor Project throughout Europe; it is able to build self-confidence, and social skills while also teaching the importance of Romani culture.
Gender matching:
Research shows that youth mentorship relationships have the highest impact for "at-risk students” or “disadvantaged” students. Mentoring has shown to have great academic gains for these populations that have higher risk of school failure and dropping out.
Although there have been many studies that look at the impact of mentorship and the importance of the length of the mentorship relationship, there has not been many studies that look at the impact of gender in a mentoring relationship. About one third of female mentees’ mentorship was terminated earlier than males.
The termination occurred before eleven months; by twelve months an estimated of 46% females had terminated their mentorship. On the other hand, males had an average of two years of mentorship. The research that has been done on gender matching in mentoring relationships has resulted in conflicting findings.
For example, in a dissertation study the researcher looked at the impact that a male role model may have on “successful” African American middle school males. The study found that the gender of the role model is not the most important factor, the most important factor was that the role model is someone that has certain qualities such as leadership, accomplishments, work ethic, and creates a caring environment.
On the other hand, another study looked at the differences between the mentoring relationships that men and women mentors have with their mentees and found that men and women mentor differently. They found that women mentors give more psychosocial mentoring, where as male mentors give more career mentoring.
Yet another study found that natural male mentors had a significant impact on African American youth in regards to their future economic benefits. The study found that African American fatherless youth benefited the most when they had a male mentor compared to a female mentor or no mentor at all. Because of these conflicting findings on the impact of gender matching in mentorship relationships, further research needs to be done on this topic.
Youth Mentoring in the United States:
The largest mentoring program in the United States is Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a program for youth from ages 6–18. The organization implements both community-based as well as school-based mentoring, and is typically a one-on-one mentorship.
There are also programs that are for specific groups of youth such as The National CARES Mentoring Movement, which was created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The program provides strong black leaders to empower black youth in America for a better future.
At the start of the program, 86 percent of black fourth graders were reading below grade level, and 1,000 black children a day were being arrested. After joining the mentoring movement, 98 percent of participants stayed in school as well as avoided gang activity, and teen pregnancy, while 85 percent of youth in the program did not use drugs.
Since starting in 2005, the program has influenced over 125,000 black youths. The mentoring typically takes place in the community in a group setting to create positive relations amongst the youth.
In 2002, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences published a major report examining after-school and other community programs designed to foster positive youth development. The report concluded that very few after-school programs “have received the kind of comprehensive experimental evaluation necessary to make a firm recommendation about replicating the program in its entirety across the country.”
However, the report singled out mentoring programs modeled after the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program as a rare exception, and recommended its widespread replication.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Youth Mentoring programs in other countries:
See also:
Adult mentors are usually unrelated to the child or teen and work as volunteers through a community-, school-, or church-based social service program. The goal of youth mentoring programs is to improve the well-being of the child by providing a role model that can support the child academically, socially and/or personally. This goal can be accomplished through school work, communication, and/or activities. Goals and settings within a mentoring program vary by country because of cultural values.
Although informal mentoring relationships exist, formal, high-quality mentoring matches made through local or state mentoring organizations are often the most effective.
According to The Encyclopedia of Informal Education:
- "The classic definition of mentoring is of an older experienced guide who is acceptable to the young person and who can help ease the transition to adulthood by a mix of support and challenge. In this sense it is a developmental relationship in which the young person is inducted into the world of adulthood."
Mentoring effects:
Research:
Much research has been conducted on youth mentoring with the intent of determining whether or not there are positive benefits for youth and, if so, under what conditions the positive effects are most likely to occur. The evidence is somewhat mixed, however, and studies caution against overestimating the potential effects due to the small overall magnitude of association.
According to some studies, not all mentoring programs are found to have positive effects. In some cases, youth involved in mentoring relationships of short duration or infrequent interactions with their mentors experienced no benefits or were harmed in the form of lower self-esteem. Even studies that demonstrated positive outcomes for youth suggested that benefits from mentoring do not always last for an extended period of time after the intervention has ended.
Meta-analysis:
One method of determining how effective mentoring relationships have become is with the use of meta-analysis. Meta-analysis allows a researcher to synthesize several studies and has been said to provide an unbiased, objective, and quantifiable method to test for significant differences in the results found across studies. Two studies utilizing this method are presented below.
In a meta-analysis of 55 studies on mentoring programs, the overall effectiveness of mentoring as well as the factors relating to variation in mentoring effects were studied. In this study, articles found on popular databases as well as possible search engines (such as Yahoo, etc.) that were published between 1970 and 1998 were selected and evaluated.
Findings from this meta-analysis indicated that there was an overall positive, though modest, effect from mentoring. The effect appeared to be especially beneficial for youth classified as “at risk” (see at-risk students) or “disadvantaged”.
Within this context, such student populations included youth in foster care, academically underachieving youth, youth with incarcerated guardians, youth involved in the juvenile justice system, disabled youth, and youth with children.
Further findings indicated that effect size may be increased with the use of specific strategies and practices, such as providing continual support and structure to the mentor and relationship. It is important to note, however, that this study cannot imply causality and further research is recommended to explore this relationship.
In another meta-analysis, 39 articles published between 1970 and 2005 were analyzed.
Articles were required to measure a quantifiable effect on either delinquency, aggression, substance use, or academic achievement. The overall effects were found to be positive with delinquency as well as with the other outcomes studied. Effects were stronger with the delinquent and aggressive outcomes, while still remaining moderate with the group measuring substance use and academic achievement.
This suggests that mentoring programs are especially effective with delinquent behavior.
Best practices:
Research indicates that the use of specific best practices can be used to improve the mentoring experience.
In the meta-analysis listed above, several best practices were found to increase effect sizes in mentoring programs:
- Monitoring of program implementation
- Screening of prospective mentors
- Matching of mentors and youth on the basis of one or more relevant criteria
- Both pre-match and ongoing training
- Supervision for mentor
- Support group for mentors
- Structured activities for mentors and youth
- Parent support or involvement components
- Expectations for both frequency of contact and length of relationship
- Mentor background in a helping role
In addition, there are several mentor websites that suggest the inclusion of similar best practices with the hopes of created greater outcomes for youth.
Informal vs. formal mentoring:
In the research, there is a distinction between a naturally occurring adult-youth relationship (referred to as informal mentoring) and a structured adult-youth relationship where the mentor is assigned or matched (referred to as formal mentoring).
There is less research available for informal mentor relationships than there is for formal, but the research indicates that benefits exist for both the mentor and protege. Research is also available that suggests no effect or negative effects from mentoring, especially if the relationship with the adult fails.
Formal mentoring has been better studied in the research and, therefore, more findings are available on this topic. In a review of literature, it was suggested that an emphasis in quality of mentoring relationship and programming has been steadily increasing in the research and a shift in outcome measures is apparent, with most studies measuring general youth development as opposed to reductions in particular deviant behaviors.
In another review of literature, 10 studies were analyzed and found a moderate positive effect on mentee grades, reduction of substance use, reduction of some delinquent behaviors, but not with youth self-esteem.
These studies suggest that, although research is conflicting, there is typically an overall positive effect as a result of a mentoring relationship. This positive effect is more likely with the use of established best practices and within the population of youth classified as delinquent or "at risk".
Quantitative analysis shows that academic-based mentoring has stronger associations with outcomes than does general youth mentoring. Most research agrees, however, that further research is necessary and that research with more rigorous methods would be beneficial to the field.
Benefits:
The mentoring program for youths was mentioned as having significant benefits such as lower dropout rates in high school and subsequently increased graduation rates, along with an increase of enrollment into and graduation from institutions of higher education.
On a day to day basis, youth participating in mentoring relationships demonstrate better attendance, having fewer unexcused absences. Students adopt a more positive attitude towards formal classroom learning with more formidable relationships between students, teachers, and parents.
Youths also acquire more self-confidence and better behavior at home and school. In turn, this improves their motivation to learn in a given subject area. At the same time, there is reduced risk of students making the first move towards alcohol and substance abuse.
For teachers, mentoring means enhanced skills in supervision and better patience, sense of fulfilment, and increased self-esteem. Successful mentorships promote positive health through the improvement of academic education, positive self-worth, and social acceptance.
Likewise, mentorships can decrease high-risk violent behaviors, usage of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.
Approaches to mentoring:
School-based:
One prevalent method is referred to as the "School-Based" approach. Oftentimes, teachers refer students to participate in a mentoring relationship due to behavioral problems or difficulties with schoolwork. The mentor meets with the youth in an academic setting and facilitates school work while acting as a supportive role-model.They may also play games, do crafts or partake in non-academic activities.
This approach is practiced by organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters which is located in eleven countries including Ireland, the United States, Israel, and Bulgaria. As of 2005, there was an estimated 870,000 adults mentoring youth in a school-based program throughout The United States alone.
An estimated 70% of all formal mentoring programs in the United States are categorized as school-based. Canada has developed an in-school program in which elderly Aboriginal mentors are paired with both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children to raise self-esteem, teach about native cultures, and provide support to youth in school.
Statistics prove that school-based mentoring will increase academic student involvement. The school-based approach revealed improvement in the classroom and socially. Mentors are matched with a student and they work one on one with the student throughout the school year.
Focusing on schoolwork, the student’s interest, and other activities. As a mentor the expectation is to be a positive role model that is supportive and encouraging. This relationship will help motivate the student to be successful in school, reducing school infractions and truancy.
Community-based:
"Community Based" is another approach to mentoring. In this setting, a mentor meets youth in the community such as a church, community facility, or by taking the child to community events. Both approaches can be done in a one-on-one or group setting. Individual vs. community based mentoring may be culturally specific, such as in India where youth are less in need of individual attention and thrive in a group setting, according to The International Journal of Social Work.
Community engagement statistics states that students after mentoring programs are 55% more likely to enroll in college, 78% more likely to volunteer regularly, 90% are interested in becoming a mentor, and 130% more likely to hold leadership positions.
A survey questioning 1,101 mentors through 98 mentoring programs found that school-based mentoring programs had fewer contact hours than community-based mentoring programs. Community-based mentors also self-reported to be “very close” to their protegees, while school-based mentors reported to be “close”.
This survey used nine factors to benchmark the developing relationships. These factors are “(1) engaging in social activities; (2) engaging in academic activities; (3) number of hours per month spent together; (4) decision-making shared by mentor and mentee; (5) prematch training; (6) postmatch training; (7) mentor screening (only important relationship development in community-based programs); (8) matching; and (9) age of the protegees."
The conclusion of this study is that school-based programs is a good compliment to community based mentoring programs, meaning that schools should strive to have a variety of mentoring programs in order to give students the best resources that fit to their needs.
Individual:
Individual mentoring, or a one on one setting is where there is one mentor who repeatedly meets with the same mentee for the duration of their program. These partnerships can be found in both community and school-based programs.
One on one mentoring is seen in programs such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters in The United States, as well as Mentor Me India in India. This mentoring style is regarded as one of the most widespread social interventions in the U.S., with an estimated 3 million youth were in formal one on one mentoring relationships.
The traditional model is structured so that mentors and youth are paired through a formal mechanism and pairings are free to spend time together in a range of different activities and settings as to help build their relationship with one another.
Individual mentor relationships or mixed with some group meetings were found to be more effective than solely group mentoring, found in a study in The New Zealand Journal of Psychology.
The most effective and successful mentoring relationships are defined by the development of trust between the mentor and the student. Studies examining such relationships show that trust is the most critical factor in determining whether the relationship will be perceived as satisfying by both parties.
In order to build trust in a one-on-one setting, the approach of the mentor is key. Mentors who prioritize relationship or friendship building tend to be more effective than those who focus largely on goals and reforming their students. Effective mentors are likely to be characterized by having a consistent presence in their protegees’ lives, respect for their protegees’ viewpoints, greater attention for their protegees’ desires or goals, and accountability for maintaining good relations.
Less effective mentors typically do not meet with their protegees regularly, attempt to reform or transform their protegees, and overemphasize behavioral or academic changes.
The progress of protegees is enhanced when mentors place attention to cultural, sporting, and extra-curricular actives, not only to academics. Working on these factors of a student’s life can improve their self-esteem, mental health, and create new relationships, and this in turn helps the students transition out of mentorships and in to higher academics. Protégé are usually overlooked and their potential can be accidentally neglected by inexperienced mentors.
This is why professional mentors can offer the best mentorship for Protégé in order to get the best out of tutoring sessions. However, mentoring is the most successful when mentoring is built on the shared enthusiasm between mentors and Protégé.
Group:
Small group mentoring can be beneficial in places where there is a shortage of mentors, or youth are able to learn collectively in a group setting. This works with career oriented mentoring, when the focus is to encourage future success of the individual by bringing in successful professionals as mentors. This has found to be a successful approach in The Romani Mentor Project throughout Europe; it is able to build self-confidence, and social skills while also teaching the importance of Romani culture.
Gender matching:
Research shows that youth mentorship relationships have the highest impact for "at-risk students” or “disadvantaged” students. Mentoring has shown to have great academic gains for these populations that have higher risk of school failure and dropping out.
Although there have been many studies that look at the impact of mentorship and the importance of the length of the mentorship relationship, there has not been many studies that look at the impact of gender in a mentoring relationship. About one third of female mentees’ mentorship was terminated earlier than males.
The termination occurred before eleven months; by twelve months an estimated of 46% females had terminated their mentorship. On the other hand, males had an average of two years of mentorship. The research that has been done on gender matching in mentoring relationships has resulted in conflicting findings.
For example, in a dissertation study the researcher looked at the impact that a male role model may have on “successful” African American middle school males. The study found that the gender of the role model is not the most important factor, the most important factor was that the role model is someone that has certain qualities such as leadership, accomplishments, work ethic, and creates a caring environment.
On the other hand, another study looked at the differences between the mentoring relationships that men and women mentors have with their mentees and found that men and women mentor differently. They found that women mentors give more psychosocial mentoring, where as male mentors give more career mentoring.
Yet another study found that natural male mentors had a significant impact on African American youth in regards to their future economic benefits. The study found that African American fatherless youth benefited the most when they had a male mentor compared to a female mentor or no mentor at all. Because of these conflicting findings on the impact of gender matching in mentorship relationships, further research needs to be done on this topic.
Youth Mentoring in the United States:
The largest mentoring program in the United States is Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a program for youth from ages 6–18. The organization implements both community-based as well as school-based mentoring, and is typically a one-on-one mentorship.
There are also programs that are for specific groups of youth such as The National CARES Mentoring Movement, which was created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The program provides strong black leaders to empower black youth in America for a better future.
At the start of the program, 86 percent of black fourth graders were reading below grade level, and 1,000 black children a day were being arrested. After joining the mentoring movement, 98 percent of participants stayed in school as well as avoided gang activity, and teen pregnancy, while 85 percent of youth in the program did not use drugs.
Since starting in 2005, the program has influenced over 125,000 black youths. The mentoring typically takes place in the community in a group setting to create positive relations amongst the youth.
In 2002, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences published a major report examining after-school and other community programs designed to foster positive youth development. The report concluded that very few after-school programs “have received the kind of comprehensive experimental evaluation necessary to make a firm recommendation about replicating the program in its entirety across the country.”
However, the report singled out mentoring programs modeled after the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program as a rare exception, and recommended its widespread replication.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Youth Mentoring programs in other countries:
See also:
- Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring
- Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring
- Australian Youth Mentoring Network
Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Children
- YouTube Video: Coronavirus: How to Teach Kids About COVID-19 | BrainPOP
- YouTube Video: 5 Tips Kids Need to Know about Covid-19
- YouTube Video: COVID-19 test video for children to watch
A systematic review notes that children with COVID-19 have milder effects and better prognoses than adults.
However, children are susceptible to multisystem inflammatory syndrome.
Furthermore, as a vulnerable population, children and youth may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in many other domains, including education, mental health, safety, and socioeconomic stability; the infection of the virus may lead to separation or loss of their family.
As with many other crises, the COVID-19 pandemic may compound existing vulnerabilities and inequalities experienced by children.
School closures:
Main article: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education
By the end of March 2020, UNESCO estimated that over 89% of the world's student population was out of school or university due to closures aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. This raised serious concerns regarding the social, economic, and educational impacts of protracted school closures on students.
In addition, school closures disproportionately affect children from low-income or minority families, children with disabilities, and young women, due to disparities in access to distance education, unequal distribution of increased child-care and domestic responsibilities, and the fact that school subsidized meal programs and vaccinations are cornerstones of child healthcare for many families.
For example, school closures during the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa increased school dropouts, rates of child labor, violence against children, and teen pregnancies.
Impact on most at-risk groups:
Child safety is at risk during the pandemic. Children who are living in unsanitary and crowded conditions are particularly at risk.
Youth – especially young women, indigenous peoples, migrants, and refugees – face heightened socioeconomic and health impacts and an increased risk of gender-based violence due to social isolation, discrimination and increased financial stress. They are also more prone to child marriage as families seek ways to alleviate economic burdens.
Although reports of child abuse in the US declined by an average of 40.6% from April 2019 to April 2020, child welfare advocates suggest that this drop is an under-reporting artifact secondary to the closure of schools and daycare centers, where most reports of child abuse are made.
Unemployment:
Unemployment is a serious concern for young people. Following the 2008 Economic Recession, youth unemployment rates were significantly higher than overall averages, and the recent expansion of the gig economy will likely heighten this disparity. Before the pandemic, there was already an upward trend in the number of young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET). 267 million young people globally are classified as NEET.
Impact on young migrants:
This global crisis is exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and inequalities experienced by young people, amplified in humanitarian contexts where fragility, conflict, and emergencies have undermined institutional capacity and where there is limited access to services.
Particularly affected are: young migrants; young people who are internally displaced or refugees; young people living in poor, high-density urban areas; young people without a home; young people living with disabilities; and those living with HIV.
Young people separated from, unaccompanied, or left behind by migrant working parents face higher risks of exploitation, violence, and mental health issues, as well as poor access to health services and protection.
However, children are susceptible to multisystem inflammatory syndrome.
Furthermore, as a vulnerable population, children and youth may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in many other domains, including education, mental health, safety, and socioeconomic stability; the infection of the virus may lead to separation or loss of their family.
As with many other crises, the COVID-19 pandemic may compound existing vulnerabilities and inequalities experienced by children.
School closures:
Main article: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education
By the end of March 2020, UNESCO estimated that over 89% of the world's student population was out of school or university due to closures aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. This raised serious concerns regarding the social, economic, and educational impacts of protracted school closures on students.
In addition, school closures disproportionately affect children from low-income or minority families, children with disabilities, and young women, due to disparities in access to distance education, unequal distribution of increased child-care and domestic responsibilities, and the fact that school subsidized meal programs and vaccinations are cornerstones of child healthcare for many families.
For example, school closures during the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa increased school dropouts, rates of child labor, violence against children, and teen pregnancies.
Impact on most at-risk groups:
Child safety is at risk during the pandemic. Children who are living in unsanitary and crowded conditions are particularly at risk.
Youth – especially young women, indigenous peoples, migrants, and refugees – face heightened socioeconomic and health impacts and an increased risk of gender-based violence due to social isolation, discrimination and increased financial stress. They are also more prone to child marriage as families seek ways to alleviate economic burdens.
Although reports of child abuse in the US declined by an average of 40.6% from April 2019 to April 2020, child welfare advocates suggest that this drop is an under-reporting artifact secondary to the closure of schools and daycare centers, where most reports of child abuse are made.
Unemployment:
Unemployment is a serious concern for young people. Following the 2008 Economic Recession, youth unemployment rates were significantly higher than overall averages, and the recent expansion of the gig economy will likely heighten this disparity. Before the pandemic, there was already an upward trend in the number of young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET). 267 million young people globally are classified as NEET.
Impact on young migrants:
This global crisis is exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and inequalities experienced by young people, amplified in humanitarian contexts where fragility, conflict, and emergencies have undermined institutional capacity and where there is limited access to services.
Particularly affected are: young migrants; young people who are internally displaced or refugees; young people living in poor, high-density urban areas; young people without a home; young people living with disabilities; and those living with HIV.
Young people separated from, unaccompanied, or left behind by migrant working parents face higher risks of exploitation, violence, and mental health issues, as well as poor access to health services and protection.
The Impact of Smartphones on Today's Youth: YouTube Videos:
[While the following is written to include adults, smartphone addiction particularly apples to those under the age of 18 due to its impact on their Education and Other Social Growth.]
Problematic smartphone use is proposed by some researchers to be a form of psychological or behavioral dependence on cell phones, closely related to other forms of digital media overuse such as social media addiction or internet addiction disorder.
Other researchers have stated that terminology relating to behavioral addictions in regards to smartphone use can cause additional problems both in research and stigmatization of users, suggesting the term to evolve to problematic smartphone use.
Problematic use can include preoccupation with mobile communication, excessive money or time spent on mobile phones, and use of mobile phones in socially or physically inappropriate situations such as driving an automobile.
Increased use can also lead to increased time on mobile communication, adverse effects on relationships, and anxiety if separated from a mobile phone or sufficient signal. Technology is an ever growing and advancing industry that has changed the way people view and live in the modern world.
Phones, which were once considered a luxury item, are now a necessity that can effectively control all aspects of person's lives including banking information, work life, credit/debit cards, and people social interactions as well with the presence of social media.
Depression symptom severity was negatively associated with greater social smartphone use. Process smartphone use was more strongly associated with problematic smartphone use.
Finally, process smartphone use accounted for relationships between anxiety severity and problematic smartphone use.
History and terminology:
It is also known as smartphone overuse, smartphone addiction, mobile phone overuse, or cell phone dependency. Founded in current research on the adverse consequences of overusing technology, "mobile phone overuse" has been proposed as a subset of forms of "digital addiction", or "digital dependence", reflecting increasing trends of compulsive behaviour amongst users of technological devices.
Researchers have variously termed these behaviours "smartphone addiction" and "problematic smartphone use", as well as referring to use of non-smartphone mobile devices (cell phones). Forms of technology addiction have been considered as diagnoses since the mid 1990s. Panova and Carbonell published a review in 2018 that specifically encouraged terminology of "problematic use" in regard to technology behaviours, rather than continuing research based on other behavioral addictions.
Unrestrained use of technological devices may affect developmental, social, mental and physical well-being and result in symptoms akin to other behavioral addictions. However, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has not formally codified smartphone overuse as a diagnosis.
Gaming disorder has been recognised in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). Varied, changing recommendations are in part due to the lack of well established evidence or expert consensus, the differing emphasis of the classification manuals, as well as difficulties utilising animal models for behavioral addictions.
While published studies have shown associations between digital media use and mental health symptoms or diagnoses, causality has not been established, with nuances and caveats of researchers often misunderstood by the general public, or misrepresented by the media.
A systematic review of reviews published in 2019 concluded that evidence, although of mainly low to moderate quality, showed an association of screen time with poorer psychological health including symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity, low self esteem, and behavioral issues in childhood and adolescence.
Several studies have shown that females are more likely to overuse social media, and males video games. This has led experts to suggest that digital media overuse may not be a unified phenomenon, with some calling to delineate proposed disorders based on individual online activity.
Due to the lack of recognition and consensus on the concepts, diagnoses and treatments are difficult to standardise or recommend, especially considering that "new media has been subject to such moral panic."
Prevalence:
International estimates of the prevalence of forms of technology overuse have varied considerably, with marked variations by nation.
Prevalence of mobile phone overuse depends largely on definition and thus the scales used to quantify a subject's behaviors. Two main scales are in use, the 20-item self-reported Problematic Use of Mobile Phones (PUMP) scale, and the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS), which have been used both with adult and adolescent populations.
There are variations in the age, gender, and percentage of the population affected problematically according to the scales and definitions used. The prevalence among British adolescents aged 11–14 was 10%. In India, addiction is stated at 39-44% for this age group.
Under different diagnostic criteria, the estimated prevalence ranges from 0 to 38%, with self-attribution of mobile phone addiction exceeding the prevalence estimated in the studies themselves.
The prevalence of the related problem of Internet addiction was 4.9-10.7% in Korea, and is now regarded as a serious public health issue. A questionnaire survey in Korea also found that these teenagers are twice as likely to admit that they are "mobile phone addicted" as adults.
For most teenagers, smartphone communication is what they think is an important way to maintain social relationships and has become an important part of their lives.
Additional scales used to measure smartphone addictions are the Korean Scale for Internet Addiction for adolescents (K-scale), the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-SV), and the Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale (SAPS). These implicit tests were validated as means of measuring smartphone and internet addiction in children and adolescents in a study conducted by Daeyoung Roh, Soo-Young Bhang, Jung-Seok Choi, Yong Sil Kweon, Sang-Kyu Lee and Marc N. Potenza.
Behaviors associated with mobile-phone addiction differ between genders. Older people are less likely to develop addictive mobile phone behavior because of different social usage, stress, and greater self-regulation. At the same time, the study by media regulator Ofcom has shown that 50% of 10-year-olds in the UK owned a smartphone in 2019.
These children who grow with gadgets in their hands are more prone to mobile phone addiction, since their online and offline worlds merge into a single whole.
Effects:
Overuse of mobile phones may be associated with negative outcomes on mental and physical health, in addition to having an impact on how users interact socially.
Social:
Some people are replacing face-to-face conversations with cyber ones. Clinical psychologist Lisa Merlo says, "Some patients pretend to talk on the phone or fiddle with apps to avoid eye contact or other interactions at a party."
Furthermore,
This change in style from face-to-face to text-based conversation has also been observed by Sherry Turkle. Her work cites connectivity as an important trigger of social behavior change regarding communication; therefore, this adaptation of communicating is not caused only by the phone itself.
In her book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, Turkle argues that people now find themselves in a state of "continual co-presence." This means that digital communication allows the occurrence of two or more realities in the same place and time.
Subsequently, person also live in a "world of continual partial attention," the process of paying simultaneous attention to a number of sources of incoming information, but at a superficial level. Bombarded with an abundance of emails, texts, messages, people not only find themselves divesting people of their human characteristics or individuality, but also increasingly treating them as digital units. This is often referred to as depersonalization.
According to Elliot Berkman, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon, the constant checking of phones is caused by reward learning and the fear of missing out. Berkman explains that, “Habits are a product of reinforcement learning, one of our brain's most ancient and reliable systems,” and people tend, thus, to develop habits of completing behaviors that have rewarded them in the past.
For many, using mobile phone has been enjoyable in the past, leading to feel excited and positive when receive a notification from phones. Berkman also iterates that people often check their smartphones to relieve the social pressure they place upon themselves to never miss out on exciting things. As Berkman says, "Smartphones can be an escape from boredom because they are a window into many worlds other than the one right in front of you, helping us feel included and involved in society."
When people do not check their mobile phones, they are unable to satisfy this “check habit” or suppress the fear of missing out, leading to feel anxious and irritable. A survey conducted by Hejab M. Al Fawareh and Shaidah Jusoh also found that people also often feel incomplete without their smartphones. Of the 66 respondents, 61.41% strongly agreed or agreed with the statement, “I feel incomplete when my smartphone is not with me.”
Other implications of cell phone use in mental health symptoms were observed by Thomée et al. in Sweden. This study found a relationship between report of mental health and perceived stress of participants' accessibility, which is defined as the possibility to be disturbed at any moment of day or night.
Critics of smartphones have especially raised concerns about effects on youth. The presence of smartphones in everyday life may affect social interactions amongst teenagers.
Present evidence shows that smartphones are not only decreasing face-to-face social interactions between teenagers, but are also making the youth less likely to talk to adults. In a study produced by Doctor Lelia Green at Edith Cowan University, researchers discovered that, “the growing use of mobile technologies implies a progressive digital colonization of children’s lives, reshaping the interactions of younger adults.”
Face-to-face interactions have decreased because of the increase in shared interactions via social media, mobile video sharing, and digital instant messaging. Critics believe the primary concern in this shift is that the youth are inhibiting themselves of constructive social interactions and emotional practices. Engaging in a strictly digital world may isolate individuals, causing lack of social and emotional development.
Other studies show that there is actually a positive social aspect from smartphone use. A study on whether smartphone presence changed responses to social stress conducted an experiment with 148 males and females around the age of 20. Participants were split up into 3 groups where 1) phone was present and use was encouraged, 2) phone was present with use restricted, and 3) no phone access.
They were exposed to a peer, social-exclusion stressor, and saliva samples measuring levels of alpha-amylase (sAA), or stressor hormones, were measured throughout. The results showed that both of the phone-present groups had lower levels of SAA and cortisol than the group without a phone, thus suggesting that the presence of a smartphone, even if it’s not being used, can decrease the negative effects of social exclusion.
Health:
See also: Mobile phone radiation and health and Electronic media and sleep
Research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine at Queen Mary in 2011 indicated that one in six cell phones is contaminated with fecal matter. Under further inspection, some of the phones with the fecal matter were also harboring lethal bacteria such as E. coli, which can result in fever, vomiting, and diarrhea.
According to the article Mobile Phones and Nosocomial Infections, written by researchers at Mansoura University of Egypt, it states that the risk of transmitting the bacteria by the medical staff (who carry their cellphones during their shift) is much higher because cellphones act as a reservoir where the bacteria can thrive.
There has been no definitive evidence linking cancer and phone use if used moderately, but the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization said in 2011 that radio frequency is a possible human carcinogen, based on heavy usage increasing the risk of developing glioma tumors.
Although a relationship has not been fully established, research is continuing based on leads from changing patterns of mobile phone use over time and habits of phone users. Low level radio frequency radiation has also been confirmed as a promoter of tumors in mice. Minor acute immediate effects of radio frequency exposure have long been known such as the Microwave auditory effect which was discovered in 1962.
Studies show that users often associate using a mobile phone with headaches, impaired memory and concentration, fatigue, dizziness and disturbed sleep. There are also concerns that some people may develop electrosensitivity from excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields, although these symptoms may be primarily psychological in origin due to the nocebo effect.
Using a cell phone before bed can cause insomnia, according to a study by scientists from the Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden and from Wayne State University in Michigan.
The study showed that this is due to the radiation received by the user as stated, "The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals, components of sleep believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear are adversely affected."
Additional adverse health effects attributable to smartphone usage include a diminished quantity and quality of sleep due to an inhibited secretion of melatonin.
In 2014, 58% of World Health Organization states advised the general population to reduce radio frequency exposure below heating guidelines. The most common advice is to use hands-free kits (69%), to reduce call time (44%), use text messaging (36%), avoid calling with low signals (24%) or use phones with low specific absorption rate (SAR) (22%).
In 2015 Taiwan banned toddlers under the age of two from using mobile phones or any similar electronic devices, and France banned Wi-Fi from toddlers' nurseries.
As the market increases to grow, more light is being shed upon the accompanying behavioral health issues and how mobile phones can be problematic. Mobile phones continue to become increasingly multifunctional and sophisticated, which this in turn worsens the problem.
According to optician Andy Hepworth, blue violet light, a light that is transmitted from the cell phone into the eye is potentially hazardous and can be "toxic" to the back of the eye. He states that an over exposure to blue violet light can lead to a greater risk of macular degeneration which is a leading cause of blindness.
Psychological:
There are concerns that some mobile phone users incur considerable debt, and that mobile phones are being used to violate privacy and harass others. In particular, there is increasing evidence that mobile phones are being used as a tool by children to bully other children.
There is a large amount of research on mobile phone use, and its positive and negative influence on the human's psychological mind, mental health and social communication. Mobile phone users may encounter stress, sleep disturbances and symptoms of depression, especially young adults.
Consistent phone use can cause a chain reaction, affecting one aspect of a user's life and expanding to contaminate the rest. It usually starts with social disorders, which can lead to depression and stress and ultimately affect lifestyle habits such as sleeping right and eating right.
According to research done by Jean M. Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, there is a correlation between mobile phone overuse and depression.
According to Twenge and her colleagues, at the same time that smartphones were on the rise, there was also an increase seen in depressive symptoms and even suicides among adolescents in 2010.
The theory behind this research is that adolescents who are being raised as a generation of avid smartphone users are spending so much time on these devices that they forgo actual human interaction which is seen as essential to mental health, “The more time teens spend looking at screens, the more likely they are to report symptoms of depression.” While children used to spend their free time outdoors with others, with the advancement of technology, this free time is seemingly now being spent more on mobile devices.
In this research, Twenge also discusses that, three out of four American teens owned an iPhone and with this rates of teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed since 2011 which follows the release of the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010.
Another focus is that teens now spend the majority of their leisure time on their phones. This leisure time can be seen as detrimental which can be seen through eighth-graders who spend 10 or more hours a week on social media are 56% more likely they’re unhappy than those who devote less time to social media.
Psychologist Nancy Colier has argued that people have lost sight of what is truly important to them in life. She says that people have become "disconnected from what really matters, from what makes us feel nourished and grounded as human beings." People's addiction to technology has deterred neurological and relationship development because tech is being introduced to people at a very young age.
People have become so addicted to their phones that they are almost dependent on them. Humans are not meant to be constantly staring at a screen as time is needed to relax their eyes and more importantly their minds. Colier states: "Without open spaces and downtime, the nervous system never shuts down—it's in constant fight-or-flight mode. We're wired and tired all the time. Even computers reboot, but we’re not doing it."
The amount of time spent on screens appears to have a correlation with happiness levels. A nationally representative study of American 12th graders funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse titled Monitoring the Future Survey found that “teens who spent more time than average on screen activities are more likely to be unhappy, and those who spend more time than average on non-screen activities are more likely to be happy.”
One of the most important findings of this study is how the amount of time spent on non screen activities versus on screen activities affects the happiness levels of teenagers.
However, while it is easy to see a correlation between cell phone overuse and these symptoms of depression, anxiety, and isolation, it is much harder to prove that cell phones themselves cause these issues.
Studies of correlations cannot prove causation because there are multiple other factors that increase depression in people today. Although parents and other figures share these concerns, according to Peter Etchells, a psychologist at Bath Spa University in England, other possible variables must be reviewed as well.
Etchells proposes two possible alternative theories: depression could cause teens to use iPhones more or teens could be more open to discussing the topic of depression in this day and age.
A survey done by a group of independent opticians revealed that 43% of people under the age of 25 experienced anxiety or even irritation when they were not able to access their phone whenever they wanted. This survey shows the psychological effect that cell phones have on people, specifically young people. Checking a cell phone has become a normal daily event for many people over the years just as getting dressed in the morning is, people don't feel right when they don't do it.
Neural:
There has been considerable speculation about the impact problematic mobile usage may have on cognitive development and how such habits could be ‘rewiring’ the brains of those highly engaged with their mobiles. Research has shown that the reward areas of the brains of those who use their phones more exhibit different structural connectivity than those who use their phones less.
Further findings have linked digital media behaviors to the brain’s self-regulatory control structures, suggesting that variation in individuals’ ability to control behavioral impulses might also be a key psychological pathway connecting mobile technology habits to the brain.
Distracted driving:
Research has found that there is a direct relationship between mobile phone overuse and mobile phone use while driving. Mobile phone overuse can be especially dangerous in certain situations such as texting/browsing and driving or talking on the phone while driving.
Over 8 people are killed and 1,161 are injured daily because of distracted driving. At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or electronic devices while driving. The significant number of injuries and accidents from distracted driving can be contributed at least partially to mobile phone overuse.
However, many cell phone-related crashes are not reported due to drivers' reluctance to admit texting or talking behind the wheel. There is currently no national ban on texting while driving, but many states have implemented laws to try to prevent these accidents.
Sixteen states as well as Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands passed laws prohibiting the use of hand-held devices while driving. Texting and driving is banned in most of the country; new drivers in 38 states and DC are not permitted to use cell phones behind the wheel.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA (which promotes safe driving through research and education), drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 were most distracted, with women at greater risk of dying in a crash. About 20,000 of motor vehicle fatalities between 2012 and 2017 were related to distracted driving.
In the UK, the only way to currently use a mobile phone lawfully whilst driving is using a hands-free system. Any other type of phone use whilst in control of a vehicle, whether stationary or moving, carries a fine of £1, 000 and 6 penalty points. This can be increased for serious misuse.
1 in 5 of UK residents admit to checking social media while being behind the wheel. It's interesting to note that in the UK, it is also illegal for someone accompanying a learner driver to use their mobile phone whilst driving. As an instructor, they are classed as in control of the vehicle, even if they are not a professional instructor.
A text can take one's eyes off the road for an average of five seconds. Although brief, one driving at 55 mph can travel the length of a football field in that time. Approximately three percent of drivers are talking on the phone when stopped at an intersection. Furthermore, five percent of drivers are on the phone at any given time.
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) reported those who used cell phones more often tended to brake harder, drive faster, and change lanes more frequently, predisposing them to crashes and near-crashes. They are also two to six times more likely to get into an accident.
Research indicates driver performance is adversely affected by concurrent cell phone use, delaying reaction time and increasing lane deviations and length of time with eyes off the road. It can also cause "inattention blindness," in which drivers see but do not register what is in front of them.
Teen drivers are especially at risk. About 1.2 million and 341,000 crashes in 2013 involved talking and texting, respectively. Distractions such as music, games, GPS, social media, etc., are potentially deadly when combined with inexperience. The dangers of driving and multitasking continue to rise as more technology is integrated into cars.
Teens who texted more frequently were less likely to wear a seat belt and more likely to drive intoxicated or ride with a drunk driver. Cell phone use can reduce brain activity as much as 37%, affecting young drivers' abilities to control their vehicles, pay attention to the roadway, and respond promptly to traffic events.
Tools to prevent or treat mobile phone overuse:
The following tools or interventions can be used to prevent or treat mobile phone overuse.
Behavioral:
Many studies have found relationships between psychological or mental health issues and smartphone addiction. Hence, behavioral interventions such as individual or family psychotherapy for these issues may help. In fact, studies have found that psychotherapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing are able to successfully treat Internet Addiction and may be useful for mobile phone overuse too.
Further, support groups and family therapy may also help prevent and treat internet and smartphone addiction.
Further, complete abstinence from mobile phone use or abstinence from certain apps can also help treat mobile phone overuse.
Other behavioral interventions include practicing the opposite (e.g. disrupt their normal routine and re-adapt to new time patterns of use), goal-setting, reminder cards (e.g. listing 5 problems resulting from mobile phone overuse and 5 benefits of limiting overuse), and creating a personal inventory of alternative activities (e.g. exercise, music, art).
In 2019 the World Health Organization issued recommendations about active lifestyle, sleep and screen time for children at age 0-5. The recommendations are:
Phone settings:
Many smartphone addiction activists (such as Tristan Harris) recommend turning one's phone screen to grayscale mode, which helps reduce time spent on mobile phones by making them boring to look at.
Other phone settings alterations for mobile phone non-use included turning on airplane mode, turning off cellular data and/or Wi-Fi, turning off the phone, removing specific apps, and factory resetting.
Phone apps:
German psychotherapist and online addiction expert Bert te Wildt recommends using apps such as Offtime and Menthal to help prevent mobile phone overuse. In fact, there are many apps available on Android and iOS stores which help track mobile usage.
For example, in iOS 12 Apple added a function called "Screen Time" that allows users to see how much time they have spent on the phone. In Android a similar feature called "digital wellbeing" has been implemented to keep track of cell phone usage.
These apps usually work by doing one of two things: increasing awareness by sending user usage summaries, or notifying the user when he/she has exceeded some user-defined time-limit for each app or app category.
Research-based:
Studying and developing interventions for temporary mobile phone non-use is a growing area of research. Hiniker et al. generated 100 different design ideas for mobile phone non-use belonging to eight organic categories:
Users found interventions related to information, limit, and mindfulness to be the most useful. The researchers implement an Android app that combined these three intervention types and found that users reduced their time with the apps they feel are a poor use of time by 21% while their use of the apps they feel are a good use of time remained unchanged.
AppDetox allows users to define rules that limit their usage of specific apps.
PreventDark detects and prevents problematic usage of smartphones in the dark. Using vibrations instead of notifications to limit app usage has also been found to be effective.
Further, researchers have found group-based interventions that rely on users sharing their limiting behaviors with others to be effective.
Bans on mobile phone use:
See also: Mobile phone use in schools
In some places in the world the use of mobile phones was banned in classes during instructional time, for example, in France and Ontario. On the other hand, research says it improves the performance of students.
Psychological symptoms of phone usage:
The psychological symptoms that people who are addicted to smartphones might possess are depression, social isolation, low self-esteem and anxiety. Three types of disorders classified as follows:
Depression:
Depressive symptoms, in particular, are some of the most serious psychological problems in adolescents; the relationship between depressive symptoms and mobile phone addiction is a critical issue because such symptoms may lead to substance abuse, school failure, and even suicide.
Depression caused by phone addiction can result in failure of the entire life. For example, if the person is diagnosed with depression, they start to compare themselves with others. They might think everyone expects him or herself is happy and lucky. Then, the person will start to curse all the people and hate him or herself. Furthermore, the person will remind their selves that they might fail in everything they try because they cannot succeed.
Isolation:
The increase of mobile phone addiction levels would increase user’s social isolation from a decrease of face-to-face social interactions, then users would face much more interpersonal problems. The phone stops the conversation and interaction between humans.
If the communications are just done by the message in the phone, the conversation with face-to-face would no more happen and offline real life friend would not be made or resisted anymore. People might think they are happy and satisfying their life, however, only online.
Therefore, they would end up people feel lonely and isolated from the world when they are in real life. Furthermore, phone addiction not only makes the people who are addicted to phone isolated but also makes the people around them feel isolated.
Low self-esteem and anxiety:
The other psychological symptoms that are caused by phone addiction are self-esteem and anxiety. Social Network Service (SNS) is one of the main streams in the world these days, therefore it dissolved a lot in daily life too.
Studies with teens have consistently shown that there are significant relationships between high extraversion, high anxiety, low self-esteem, and mobile phone usage. The stronger the young person’s mobile phone addiction, the more likely that individual is to have high mobile phone call time, receive excessive calls, and receive excessive text messages.
Anxious people more easily perceive certain normal life matters as pressure. To reduce this stress might result in even more addictive behaviors and females are more likely to use mobile phones to maintain social relations.
Moreover, online, under the name anonymous, people utilize it in bad ways like the cyberbully or spread rumors. People also force their opinions and post bad comments that might hurt others too. All of these examples would result in people by having a symptom of anxiety and low self-esteem that connects to depression.
See also:
1) Screen time:
Screen time is the amount of time spent using a device with a screen such as a smartphone, computer, television, or video game console. The concept is under significant research with related concepts in digital media use and mental health.
Studies show that screen time directly impact child development, and mental and physical health. The positive or negative health effects of screen time are influenced by levels and content of exposure. To prevent harmful exposure to screen time, some governments have placed regulations on its usage.
History:
Statistics:
The first electronic screen was the cathode ray tube (CRT), which was invented in 1897 and commercialized in 1922. CRT's were the most popular choice for display screens until the rise of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in the early 2000s. Screens are now an essential part of entertainment, advertising, and information technologies.
Since their popularization in 2007, smartphones have become ubiquitous in daily life. In 2019, 81% of American adults reported owning a smartphone, up from 64% in 2015. An American survey in 2016 found a median of 3.7 minutes per hour of screen time over a 30-day period.
All forms of screens are frequently used by children and teens. Nationally representative data of children and teens in the United States show that the daily average of screen time increases with age. TV and video games were once largest contributors to children's screen time, but the past decade has seen a shift towards smart phones and tablets.
Specifically, a 2011 nationally representative survey of American parents of children from birth to age 8 suggests that TV accounted for 51% of children's total daily screen time, while mobile devices only accounted for 4%.
However, in 2017, TV dropped down to 42% of children's total daily screen time, and mobile media devices jumped up to 35%.
Daily Average of Screen Time of American Children & Teens follows below:
Problematic smartphone use is proposed by some researchers to be a form of psychological or behavioral dependence on cell phones, closely related to other forms of digital media overuse such as social media addiction or internet addiction disorder.
Other researchers have stated that terminology relating to behavioral addictions in regards to smartphone use can cause additional problems both in research and stigmatization of users, suggesting the term to evolve to problematic smartphone use.
Problematic use can include preoccupation with mobile communication, excessive money or time spent on mobile phones, and use of mobile phones in socially or physically inappropriate situations such as driving an automobile.
Increased use can also lead to increased time on mobile communication, adverse effects on relationships, and anxiety if separated from a mobile phone or sufficient signal. Technology is an ever growing and advancing industry that has changed the way people view and live in the modern world.
Phones, which were once considered a luxury item, are now a necessity that can effectively control all aspects of person's lives including banking information, work life, credit/debit cards, and people social interactions as well with the presence of social media.
Depression symptom severity was negatively associated with greater social smartphone use. Process smartphone use was more strongly associated with problematic smartphone use.
Finally, process smartphone use accounted for relationships between anxiety severity and problematic smartphone use.
History and terminology:
It is also known as smartphone overuse, smartphone addiction, mobile phone overuse, or cell phone dependency. Founded in current research on the adverse consequences of overusing technology, "mobile phone overuse" has been proposed as a subset of forms of "digital addiction", or "digital dependence", reflecting increasing trends of compulsive behaviour amongst users of technological devices.
Researchers have variously termed these behaviours "smartphone addiction" and "problematic smartphone use", as well as referring to use of non-smartphone mobile devices (cell phones). Forms of technology addiction have been considered as diagnoses since the mid 1990s. Panova and Carbonell published a review in 2018 that specifically encouraged terminology of "problematic use" in regard to technology behaviours, rather than continuing research based on other behavioral addictions.
Unrestrained use of technological devices may affect developmental, social, mental and physical well-being and result in symptoms akin to other behavioral addictions. However, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has not formally codified smartphone overuse as a diagnosis.
Gaming disorder has been recognised in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). Varied, changing recommendations are in part due to the lack of well established evidence or expert consensus, the differing emphasis of the classification manuals, as well as difficulties utilising animal models for behavioral addictions.
While published studies have shown associations between digital media use and mental health symptoms or diagnoses, causality has not been established, with nuances and caveats of researchers often misunderstood by the general public, or misrepresented by the media.
A systematic review of reviews published in 2019 concluded that evidence, although of mainly low to moderate quality, showed an association of screen time with poorer psychological health including symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity, low self esteem, and behavioral issues in childhood and adolescence.
Several studies have shown that females are more likely to overuse social media, and males video games. This has led experts to suggest that digital media overuse may not be a unified phenomenon, with some calling to delineate proposed disorders based on individual online activity.
Due to the lack of recognition and consensus on the concepts, diagnoses and treatments are difficult to standardise or recommend, especially considering that "new media has been subject to such moral panic."
Prevalence:
International estimates of the prevalence of forms of technology overuse have varied considerably, with marked variations by nation.
Prevalence of mobile phone overuse depends largely on definition and thus the scales used to quantify a subject's behaviors. Two main scales are in use, the 20-item self-reported Problematic Use of Mobile Phones (PUMP) scale, and the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS), which have been used both with adult and adolescent populations.
There are variations in the age, gender, and percentage of the population affected problematically according to the scales and definitions used. The prevalence among British adolescents aged 11–14 was 10%. In India, addiction is stated at 39-44% for this age group.
Under different diagnostic criteria, the estimated prevalence ranges from 0 to 38%, with self-attribution of mobile phone addiction exceeding the prevalence estimated in the studies themselves.
The prevalence of the related problem of Internet addiction was 4.9-10.7% in Korea, and is now regarded as a serious public health issue. A questionnaire survey in Korea also found that these teenagers are twice as likely to admit that they are "mobile phone addicted" as adults.
For most teenagers, smartphone communication is what they think is an important way to maintain social relationships and has become an important part of their lives.
Additional scales used to measure smartphone addictions are the Korean Scale for Internet Addiction for adolescents (K-scale), the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-SV), and the Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale (SAPS). These implicit tests were validated as means of measuring smartphone and internet addiction in children and adolescents in a study conducted by Daeyoung Roh, Soo-Young Bhang, Jung-Seok Choi, Yong Sil Kweon, Sang-Kyu Lee and Marc N. Potenza.
Behaviors associated with mobile-phone addiction differ between genders. Older people are less likely to develop addictive mobile phone behavior because of different social usage, stress, and greater self-regulation. At the same time, the study by media regulator Ofcom has shown that 50% of 10-year-olds in the UK owned a smartphone in 2019.
These children who grow with gadgets in their hands are more prone to mobile phone addiction, since their online and offline worlds merge into a single whole.
Effects:
Overuse of mobile phones may be associated with negative outcomes on mental and physical health, in addition to having an impact on how users interact socially.
Social:
Some people are replacing face-to-face conversations with cyber ones. Clinical psychologist Lisa Merlo says, "Some patients pretend to talk on the phone or fiddle with apps to avoid eye contact or other interactions at a party."
Furthermore,
- 70% check their phones in the morning within an hour of getting up.
- 56% check their phones before going to bed.
- 48% check their phones over the weekend.
- 51% constantly check their phones during vacation.
- 44% reported they would feel very anxious and irritable if they did not interact with their phones within a week.
This change in style from face-to-face to text-based conversation has also been observed by Sherry Turkle. Her work cites connectivity as an important trigger of social behavior change regarding communication; therefore, this adaptation of communicating is not caused only by the phone itself.
In her book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, Turkle argues that people now find themselves in a state of "continual co-presence." This means that digital communication allows the occurrence of two or more realities in the same place and time.
Subsequently, person also live in a "world of continual partial attention," the process of paying simultaneous attention to a number of sources of incoming information, but at a superficial level. Bombarded with an abundance of emails, texts, messages, people not only find themselves divesting people of their human characteristics or individuality, but also increasingly treating them as digital units. This is often referred to as depersonalization.
According to Elliot Berkman, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon, the constant checking of phones is caused by reward learning and the fear of missing out. Berkman explains that, “Habits are a product of reinforcement learning, one of our brain's most ancient and reliable systems,” and people tend, thus, to develop habits of completing behaviors that have rewarded them in the past.
For many, using mobile phone has been enjoyable in the past, leading to feel excited and positive when receive a notification from phones. Berkman also iterates that people often check their smartphones to relieve the social pressure they place upon themselves to never miss out on exciting things. As Berkman says, "Smartphones can be an escape from boredom because they are a window into many worlds other than the one right in front of you, helping us feel included and involved in society."
When people do not check their mobile phones, they are unable to satisfy this “check habit” or suppress the fear of missing out, leading to feel anxious and irritable. A survey conducted by Hejab M. Al Fawareh and Shaidah Jusoh also found that people also often feel incomplete without their smartphones. Of the 66 respondents, 61.41% strongly agreed or agreed with the statement, “I feel incomplete when my smartphone is not with me.”
Other implications of cell phone use in mental health symptoms were observed by Thomée et al. in Sweden. This study found a relationship between report of mental health and perceived stress of participants' accessibility, which is defined as the possibility to be disturbed at any moment of day or night.
Critics of smartphones have especially raised concerns about effects on youth. The presence of smartphones in everyday life may affect social interactions amongst teenagers.
Present evidence shows that smartphones are not only decreasing face-to-face social interactions between teenagers, but are also making the youth less likely to talk to adults. In a study produced by Doctor Lelia Green at Edith Cowan University, researchers discovered that, “the growing use of mobile technologies implies a progressive digital colonization of children’s lives, reshaping the interactions of younger adults.”
Face-to-face interactions have decreased because of the increase in shared interactions via social media, mobile video sharing, and digital instant messaging. Critics believe the primary concern in this shift is that the youth are inhibiting themselves of constructive social interactions and emotional practices. Engaging in a strictly digital world may isolate individuals, causing lack of social and emotional development.
Other studies show that there is actually a positive social aspect from smartphone use. A study on whether smartphone presence changed responses to social stress conducted an experiment with 148 males and females around the age of 20. Participants were split up into 3 groups where 1) phone was present and use was encouraged, 2) phone was present with use restricted, and 3) no phone access.
They were exposed to a peer, social-exclusion stressor, and saliva samples measuring levels of alpha-amylase (sAA), or stressor hormones, were measured throughout. The results showed that both of the phone-present groups had lower levels of SAA and cortisol than the group without a phone, thus suggesting that the presence of a smartphone, even if it’s not being used, can decrease the negative effects of social exclusion.
Health:
See also: Mobile phone radiation and health and Electronic media and sleep
Research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine at Queen Mary in 2011 indicated that one in six cell phones is contaminated with fecal matter. Under further inspection, some of the phones with the fecal matter were also harboring lethal bacteria such as E. coli, which can result in fever, vomiting, and diarrhea.
According to the article Mobile Phones and Nosocomial Infections, written by researchers at Mansoura University of Egypt, it states that the risk of transmitting the bacteria by the medical staff (who carry their cellphones during their shift) is much higher because cellphones act as a reservoir where the bacteria can thrive.
There has been no definitive evidence linking cancer and phone use if used moderately, but the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization said in 2011 that radio frequency is a possible human carcinogen, based on heavy usage increasing the risk of developing glioma tumors.
Although a relationship has not been fully established, research is continuing based on leads from changing patterns of mobile phone use over time and habits of phone users. Low level radio frequency radiation has also been confirmed as a promoter of tumors in mice. Minor acute immediate effects of radio frequency exposure have long been known such as the Microwave auditory effect which was discovered in 1962.
Studies show that users often associate using a mobile phone with headaches, impaired memory and concentration, fatigue, dizziness and disturbed sleep. There are also concerns that some people may develop electrosensitivity from excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields, although these symptoms may be primarily psychological in origin due to the nocebo effect.
Using a cell phone before bed can cause insomnia, according to a study by scientists from the Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden and from Wayne State University in Michigan.
The study showed that this is due to the radiation received by the user as stated, "The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals, components of sleep believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear are adversely affected."
Additional adverse health effects attributable to smartphone usage include a diminished quantity and quality of sleep due to an inhibited secretion of melatonin.
In 2014, 58% of World Health Organization states advised the general population to reduce radio frequency exposure below heating guidelines. The most common advice is to use hands-free kits (69%), to reduce call time (44%), use text messaging (36%), avoid calling with low signals (24%) or use phones with low specific absorption rate (SAR) (22%).
In 2015 Taiwan banned toddlers under the age of two from using mobile phones or any similar electronic devices, and France banned Wi-Fi from toddlers' nurseries.
As the market increases to grow, more light is being shed upon the accompanying behavioral health issues and how mobile phones can be problematic. Mobile phones continue to become increasingly multifunctional and sophisticated, which this in turn worsens the problem.
According to optician Andy Hepworth, blue violet light, a light that is transmitted from the cell phone into the eye is potentially hazardous and can be "toxic" to the back of the eye. He states that an over exposure to blue violet light can lead to a greater risk of macular degeneration which is a leading cause of blindness.
Psychological:
There are concerns that some mobile phone users incur considerable debt, and that mobile phones are being used to violate privacy and harass others. In particular, there is increasing evidence that mobile phones are being used as a tool by children to bully other children.
There is a large amount of research on mobile phone use, and its positive and negative influence on the human's psychological mind, mental health and social communication. Mobile phone users may encounter stress, sleep disturbances and symptoms of depression, especially young adults.
Consistent phone use can cause a chain reaction, affecting one aspect of a user's life and expanding to contaminate the rest. It usually starts with social disorders, which can lead to depression and stress and ultimately affect lifestyle habits such as sleeping right and eating right.
According to research done by Jean M. Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, there is a correlation between mobile phone overuse and depression.
According to Twenge and her colleagues, at the same time that smartphones were on the rise, there was also an increase seen in depressive symptoms and even suicides among adolescents in 2010.
The theory behind this research is that adolescents who are being raised as a generation of avid smartphone users are spending so much time on these devices that they forgo actual human interaction which is seen as essential to mental health, “The more time teens spend looking at screens, the more likely they are to report symptoms of depression.” While children used to spend their free time outdoors with others, with the advancement of technology, this free time is seemingly now being spent more on mobile devices.
In this research, Twenge also discusses that, three out of four American teens owned an iPhone and with this rates of teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed since 2011 which follows the release of the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010.
Another focus is that teens now spend the majority of their leisure time on their phones. This leisure time can be seen as detrimental which can be seen through eighth-graders who spend 10 or more hours a week on social media are 56% more likely they’re unhappy than those who devote less time to social media.
Psychologist Nancy Colier has argued that people have lost sight of what is truly important to them in life. She says that people have become "disconnected from what really matters, from what makes us feel nourished and grounded as human beings." People's addiction to technology has deterred neurological and relationship development because tech is being introduced to people at a very young age.
People have become so addicted to their phones that they are almost dependent on them. Humans are not meant to be constantly staring at a screen as time is needed to relax their eyes and more importantly their minds. Colier states: "Without open spaces and downtime, the nervous system never shuts down—it's in constant fight-or-flight mode. We're wired and tired all the time. Even computers reboot, but we’re not doing it."
The amount of time spent on screens appears to have a correlation with happiness levels. A nationally representative study of American 12th graders funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse titled Monitoring the Future Survey found that “teens who spent more time than average on screen activities are more likely to be unhappy, and those who spend more time than average on non-screen activities are more likely to be happy.”
One of the most important findings of this study is how the amount of time spent on non screen activities versus on screen activities affects the happiness levels of teenagers.
However, while it is easy to see a correlation between cell phone overuse and these symptoms of depression, anxiety, and isolation, it is much harder to prove that cell phones themselves cause these issues.
Studies of correlations cannot prove causation because there are multiple other factors that increase depression in people today. Although parents and other figures share these concerns, according to Peter Etchells, a psychologist at Bath Spa University in England, other possible variables must be reviewed as well.
Etchells proposes two possible alternative theories: depression could cause teens to use iPhones more or teens could be more open to discussing the topic of depression in this day and age.
A survey done by a group of independent opticians revealed that 43% of people under the age of 25 experienced anxiety or even irritation when they were not able to access their phone whenever they wanted. This survey shows the psychological effect that cell phones have on people, specifically young people. Checking a cell phone has become a normal daily event for many people over the years just as getting dressed in the morning is, people don't feel right when they don't do it.
Neural:
There has been considerable speculation about the impact problematic mobile usage may have on cognitive development and how such habits could be ‘rewiring’ the brains of those highly engaged with their mobiles. Research has shown that the reward areas of the brains of those who use their phones more exhibit different structural connectivity than those who use their phones less.
Further findings have linked digital media behaviors to the brain’s self-regulatory control structures, suggesting that variation in individuals’ ability to control behavioral impulses might also be a key psychological pathway connecting mobile technology habits to the brain.
Distracted driving:
Research has found that there is a direct relationship between mobile phone overuse and mobile phone use while driving. Mobile phone overuse can be especially dangerous in certain situations such as texting/browsing and driving or talking on the phone while driving.
Over 8 people are killed and 1,161 are injured daily because of distracted driving. At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or electronic devices while driving. The significant number of injuries and accidents from distracted driving can be contributed at least partially to mobile phone overuse.
However, many cell phone-related crashes are not reported due to drivers' reluctance to admit texting or talking behind the wheel. There is currently no national ban on texting while driving, but many states have implemented laws to try to prevent these accidents.
Sixteen states as well as Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands passed laws prohibiting the use of hand-held devices while driving. Texting and driving is banned in most of the country; new drivers in 38 states and DC are not permitted to use cell phones behind the wheel.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA (which promotes safe driving through research and education), drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 were most distracted, with women at greater risk of dying in a crash. About 20,000 of motor vehicle fatalities between 2012 and 2017 were related to distracted driving.
In the UK, the only way to currently use a mobile phone lawfully whilst driving is using a hands-free system. Any other type of phone use whilst in control of a vehicle, whether stationary or moving, carries a fine of £1, 000 and 6 penalty points. This can be increased for serious misuse.
1 in 5 of UK residents admit to checking social media while being behind the wheel. It's interesting to note that in the UK, it is also illegal for someone accompanying a learner driver to use their mobile phone whilst driving. As an instructor, they are classed as in control of the vehicle, even if they are not a professional instructor.
A text can take one's eyes off the road for an average of five seconds. Although brief, one driving at 55 mph can travel the length of a football field in that time. Approximately three percent of drivers are talking on the phone when stopped at an intersection. Furthermore, five percent of drivers are on the phone at any given time.
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) reported those who used cell phones more often tended to brake harder, drive faster, and change lanes more frequently, predisposing them to crashes and near-crashes. They are also two to six times more likely to get into an accident.
Research indicates driver performance is adversely affected by concurrent cell phone use, delaying reaction time and increasing lane deviations and length of time with eyes off the road. It can also cause "inattention blindness," in which drivers see but do not register what is in front of them.
Teen drivers are especially at risk. About 1.2 million and 341,000 crashes in 2013 involved talking and texting, respectively. Distractions such as music, games, GPS, social media, etc., are potentially deadly when combined with inexperience. The dangers of driving and multitasking continue to rise as more technology is integrated into cars.
Teens who texted more frequently were less likely to wear a seat belt and more likely to drive intoxicated or ride with a drunk driver. Cell phone use can reduce brain activity as much as 37%, affecting young drivers' abilities to control their vehicles, pay attention to the roadway, and respond promptly to traffic events.
Tools to prevent or treat mobile phone overuse:
The following tools or interventions can be used to prevent or treat mobile phone overuse.
Behavioral:
Many studies have found relationships between psychological or mental health issues and smartphone addiction. Hence, behavioral interventions such as individual or family psychotherapy for these issues may help. In fact, studies have found that psychotherapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing are able to successfully treat Internet Addiction and may be useful for mobile phone overuse too.
Further, support groups and family therapy may also help prevent and treat internet and smartphone addiction.
Further, complete abstinence from mobile phone use or abstinence from certain apps can also help treat mobile phone overuse.
Other behavioral interventions include practicing the opposite (e.g. disrupt their normal routine and re-adapt to new time patterns of use), goal-setting, reminder cards (e.g. listing 5 problems resulting from mobile phone overuse and 5 benefits of limiting overuse), and creating a personal inventory of alternative activities (e.g. exercise, music, art).
In 2019 the World Health Organization issued recommendations about active lifestyle, sleep and screen time for children at age 0-5. The recommendations are:
- For children in age less than one year: 30 minute physical activity, 0 hours screen time and 14 – 17 hours of sleep time per day.
- For children in age 1 year: 180 minutes physical activity, 0 hours screen time, 11–14 hours of sleep time per day.
- For children in age 2 year: 180 minutes physical activity, 1 hour screen time, 11–14 hours of sleep time per day.
- For 3-4 year-old children: 180 minutes physical activity, 1 hour screen time, 10–13 hours of sleep time per day.
Phone settings:
Many smartphone addiction activists (such as Tristan Harris) recommend turning one's phone screen to grayscale mode, which helps reduce time spent on mobile phones by making them boring to look at.
Other phone settings alterations for mobile phone non-use included turning on airplane mode, turning off cellular data and/or Wi-Fi, turning off the phone, removing specific apps, and factory resetting.
Phone apps:
German psychotherapist and online addiction expert Bert te Wildt recommends using apps such as Offtime and Menthal to help prevent mobile phone overuse. In fact, there are many apps available on Android and iOS stores which help track mobile usage.
For example, in iOS 12 Apple added a function called "Screen Time" that allows users to see how much time they have spent on the phone. In Android a similar feature called "digital wellbeing" has been implemented to keep track of cell phone usage.
These apps usually work by doing one of two things: increasing awareness by sending user usage summaries, or notifying the user when he/she has exceeded some user-defined time-limit for each app or app category.
Research-based:
Studying and developing interventions for temporary mobile phone non-use is a growing area of research. Hiniker et al. generated 100 different design ideas for mobile phone non-use belonging to eight organic categories:
- information (i.e. agnostically providing information to the user about his or her behavior),
- reward (i.e. rewarding the user for engaging in behaviors that are consistent with his or her self-defined goals),
- punishment (i.e. punishing the user for engaging in behaviors that are inconsistent with his or her self-defined goals),
- disruption (i.e. a temporary barrier momentarily prevents the user from engaging in a specific behavior),
- limit (i.e. certain behaviors are time or context-bound or otherwise constrained within defined parameters),
- mindfulness (i.e. the user is asked to reflect on his or her choices, before, during or after making them),
- appeal to values (i.e. reminding the user about the underlying values that shaped his or her decisions about de- sired use and non-use),
- social support (i.e. opportunities for including other individuals into the intervention).
Users found interventions related to information, limit, and mindfulness to be the most useful. The researchers implement an Android app that combined these three intervention types and found that users reduced their time with the apps they feel are a poor use of time by 21% while their use of the apps they feel are a good use of time remained unchanged.
AppDetox allows users to define rules that limit their usage of specific apps.
PreventDark detects and prevents problematic usage of smartphones in the dark. Using vibrations instead of notifications to limit app usage has also been found to be effective.
Further, researchers have found group-based interventions that rely on users sharing their limiting behaviors with others to be effective.
Bans on mobile phone use:
See also: Mobile phone use in schools
In some places in the world the use of mobile phones was banned in classes during instructional time, for example, in France and Ontario. On the other hand, research says it improves the performance of students.
Psychological symptoms of phone usage:
The psychological symptoms that people who are addicted to smartphones might possess are depression, social isolation, low self-esteem and anxiety. Three types of disorders classified as follows:
- Depression is a medical illness that adversely influences people in emotion, imagination, and action. It is the common word related to the mental problem that everyone might have heard. It is the symptom that people possess a lot offline, however, the number of people gets in online these days.
- social isolation—the lack of interaction between individuals and society. If the communications are just done by the message on the phone, the conversation with face-to-face would no more happen and the offline real-life friends would not be made or resisted anymore. People might think they are happy and satisfying their life, however, only online. Therefore, they would end up people feel lonely and isolated from the world when they are in real life.
- low self-esteem and anxiety are a lack of confidence and feeling negative about oneself. People check the reaction to their posts and care about likes, comments, and other's post, which decreases self-esteem. These connect to anxiety; caring other's reaction to show off themselves, checking phone frequently with no reason.
Depression:
Depressive symptoms, in particular, are some of the most serious psychological problems in adolescents; the relationship between depressive symptoms and mobile phone addiction is a critical issue because such symptoms may lead to substance abuse, school failure, and even suicide.
Depression caused by phone addiction can result in failure of the entire life. For example, if the person is diagnosed with depression, they start to compare themselves with others. They might think everyone expects him or herself is happy and lucky. Then, the person will start to curse all the people and hate him or herself. Furthermore, the person will remind their selves that they might fail in everything they try because they cannot succeed.
Isolation:
The increase of mobile phone addiction levels would increase user’s social isolation from a decrease of face-to-face social interactions, then users would face much more interpersonal problems. The phone stops the conversation and interaction between humans.
If the communications are just done by the message in the phone, the conversation with face-to-face would no more happen and offline real life friend would not be made or resisted anymore. People might think they are happy and satisfying their life, however, only online.
Therefore, they would end up people feel lonely and isolated from the world when they are in real life. Furthermore, phone addiction not only makes the people who are addicted to phone isolated but also makes the people around them feel isolated.
Low self-esteem and anxiety:
The other psychological symptoms that are caused by phone addiction are self-esteem and anxiety. Social Network Service (SNS) is one of the main streams in the world these days, therefore it dissolved a lot in daily life too.
Studies with teens have consistently shown that there are significant relationships between high extraversion, high anxiety, low self-esteem, and mobile phone usage. The stronger the young person’s mobile phone addiction, the more likely that individual is to have high mobile phone call time, receive excessive calls, and receive excessive text messages.
Anxious people more easily perceive certain normal life matters as pressure. To reduce this stress might result in even more addictive behaviors and females are more likely to use mobile phones to maintain social relations.
Moreover, online, under the name anonymous, people utilize it in bad ways like the cyberbully or spread rumors. People also force their opinions and post bad comments that might hurt others too. All of these examples would result in people by having a symptom of anxiety and low self-esteem that connects to depression.
See also:
- Computer addiction
- De Quervain syndrome
- Digital detox, a period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic connecting devices
- Digital media use and mental health
- Instagram's impact on people
- Internet addiction disorder
- Mobile phone § Health effects
- Mobile phone radiation and health
- Mobile phones and driving safety
- Nomophobia, a proposed name for the fear of being out of cellular phone contact
- Smartphone zombie
- Television addiction
- Video game overuse
1) Screen time:
Screen time is the amount of time spent using a device with a screen such as a smartphone, computer, television, or video game console. The concept is under significant research with related concepts in digital media use and mental health.
Studies show that screen time directly impact child development, and mental and physical health. The positive or negative health effects of screen time are influenced by levels and content of exposure. To prevent harmful exposure to screen time, some governments have placed regulations on its usage.
History:
Statistics:
The first electronic screen was the cathode ray tube (CRT), which was invented in 1897 and commercialized in 1922. CRT's were the most popular choice for display screens until the rise of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in the early 2000s. Screens are now an essential part of entertainment, advertising, and information technologies.
Since their popularization in 2007, smartphones have become ubiquitous in daily life. In 2019, 81% of American adults reported owning a smartphone, up from 64% in 2015. An American survey in 2016 found a median of 3.7 minutes per hour of screen time over a 30-day period.
All forms of screens are frequently used by children and teens. Nationally representative data of children and teens in the United States show that the daily average of screen time increases with age. TV and video games were once largest contributors to children's screen time, but the past decade has seen a shift towards smart phones and tablets.
Specifically, a 2011 nationally representative survey of American parents of children from birth to age 8 suggests that TV accounted for 51% of children's total daily screen time, while mobile devices only accounted for 4%.
However, in 2017, TV dropped down to 42% of children's total daily screen time, and mobile media devices jumped up to 35%.
Daily Average of Screen Time of American Children & Teens follows below:
Race, socioeconomic class, and screen time:
Research has shown that race and socioeconomic class are associated with overall screen time. Younger demographics and individuals who self-identified as Black and "Other" were associated with above average screen use.
Additionally, Black and Latino Americans had longer screen times because of less access to desktop computers, which thus leads to more time on phones. In children, the divide is much larger.
On average in 2011, White children spent 8.5 hours a day with digital media, and Black and Latino children spent about 13 hours a day on screens. Black and Latino children were also more likely to have TVs in their rooms, which contributed to their increased use of screen time.
The discrepancy in the amount of screen time can also be attributed to a difference in income. In more affluent private schools, there has been a larger push to remove screens from education in order to limit the negative impacts that have been found from screen time.
However, in public schools there is more push for the use of technology with some public schools advertising free iPads and laptops to students. Additionally, affluent families are able to afford nannies and extracurriculars that can limit the need for entertainment from screens.
Coronavirus and screen time:
The COVID-19 pandemic increased screen time as people stayed indoors, adding to concerns about the effects of excessive screen time. Specialists called for limiting screen time and for living a more active lifestyle.
Physical health effects:
Sleep:
More screen-time has been linked with shorter sleep duration, decreased sleep efficiency, and longer sleep onset delay. When using any screen before bedtime, the blue light emitted disrupts the body's natural melatonin hormone production.
Melatonin is produced by the brain's pineal gland and controls the body's internal clock. This clock is what is referred to as the body's circadian rhythm and it naturally is responsive to light.
Melatonin levels increase as the sun sets and remain at that increased state for the remainder of the night. As the sun rises, melatonin levels start to drop. This hormone reduction is what helps the body's natural rhythm wake up due to the bursts of natural sunlight.
The light screens emit are in a similar spectrum of sunlight, but the blue light emission is what human circadian rhythms are most sensitive to. Studies have shown that the blue wavelengths are closely correlated to those from sunlight, which is what helps the body keep in sync with the sunrise and sunset.
Therefore, using any screen prior to bedtime disrupts the body's production of natural bedtime hormones which can trick the brain to believe it is still daytime making it harder to fall asleep.
Increased use of screens in children has also been shown to have a negative impact on the sleep of children. A 2010 review concluded that "the use of electronic media by children and adolescents does have a negative impact on their sleep, although the precise effects and mechanisms remain unclear", with the most consistent results associating excessive media use with shorter sleep duration and delayed bed times.
A 2016 meta-analysis found that "Bedtime access and use of media devices was significantly associated with inadequate sleep quantity; poor sleep quality; and excessive daytime sleepiness". This relationship is because much of the time spent on screens for children is at night, which can cause them to go to sleep later in addition to the blue light from the screens making it more difficult to sleep.
Night-time use of screens is common for Americans ages 12–18: A 2018 nationally representative survey found that 70% use their mobile device within 30 minutes of going to sleep. Data suggests those who had spent more time on their screens were more likely to wake in the night from notifications on their phone, or experience disruptive sleep.
In a series of nationally representative surveys, 36% of Americans age 12-18 and 35% of Mexican teens age 13-18 woke up during the night before to check their mobile device.
For American children and teens, 54% of those did so because of getting a notification and 51% did so because of the desire to check social media. Content that stirs emotions has been linked with a delay in the onset of sleep.
Many apps promise to improve sleep by filtering out blue light produced by media devices; there have been no large studies to assess whether such apps work. Some users express dissatisfaction with the resultant orange tint of screens. Some people use blue-blocking glasses, for the purpose of attempting to block out blue light both from electronic media and from other artificial light sources.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screen time for children be limited for multiple reasons, among them that "Too much screen time can also harm the amount and quality of sleep".
Affects on physical health:
As well as negatively impacting the adult sleep cycle, using screens can also affect one's physical health. Obesity is a common result of spending great amounts on screens like a television, video games, or a computer screen. Studies have shown that if the amount of screen time adolescents spend was limited, the likelihood of obesity can be reduced.
This sedentary behavior is largely due to the nature of most electronic activities. Sitting to watch television, playing computer games or surfing the Internet takes time away from physical activities which leads to an increased risk of weight gain. It has been found that children (kindergarten and 1st graders) who watch 1–2 hours of television a day are more likely to be overweight or obese than children who watch less than one hour a day.
Additionally, one study showed that the increased use of video games and other forms of media consumption led to more back pain among Norwegian teens.
It has been reported that screen time negatively affects health in children independently of their physical activity and eating habits. One possible explanation for the link between TV and obesity is the number of commercials for sugary and unhealthy foods. This advertising can have an effect on what gets purchased and consumed in a household.
The effect of advertising was demonstrated in a study where children were shown cartoons with and without food commercials. The children who watched the food commercials along with the cartoons ate 45% more unhealthy snacks than the group who watched the cartoons without food ads.
Mental health effects:
Main article: Digital media use and mental health § Screen time and ADHD/NPD
As previously discussed, sleep and screen time are heavily impacted by the other and can lead to affecting one's behavior as well. If someone does not get an adequate amount of sleep, it can affect their behavior and performance for the day. High amounts of screen time also can significantly affect a person's mental health, although some have called these findings into question.
With screen usage increasing as time progresses, adults have begun spending more and more time focusing their attention of screens. This time spent sitting and viewing a screen has been linked to mental health effects such as anxiety and depression. Adults who spend six hours or greater using screen time are more likely to suffer from moderate to severe depression.
This increased use in screen time has been shown to be directly correlated with an increased chance of depression in adults. With this added risk, lack of sleep plays a major role in a healthy mindset, and without proper rest, mental health can degrade at a higher rate.
Brain development:
An increase in screen time has been associated with negative cognitive outcomes for children between 0 and 4. A study on Korean children aged 24–30 months old found that toddlers with 3 hours of TV viewing per day were three times as likely to experience a language delay.
Toddlers with higher TV time also scored lower on school readiness tests, which measured vocabulary, number knowledge, and classroom engagement. The same outcomes are not present in children older than 4. Children who watched more TV were found to have less brain connectivity between language, visual and cognitive control regions of the brain than their peers who watched less TV.
An ongoing study reported from the National Institutes of Health concluded that preteens who spent over 7 hours on screens a day and children who spend less than 7 hours a day had noticeably different development of their cerebral cortex. This part of the brain usually thins as people mature but the accelerated decrease could potentially be linked to amounts spent on screens.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommend for children in age 3 - 5, a screen time not longer than 1 hour per day. According to study published in November 2019, children who have a longer screen time, have slower brain development, what hurt "skills like imagery, mental control and self-regulation".
The scientists add that: "This is important because the brain is developing the most rapidly in the first five years," "That's when brains are very plastic and soaking up everything, forming these strong connections that last for life." They also stated that screens changed childhood rapidly. The over exposure also hurts skills of literacy, cognition and language.
Behavioral impact:
Screen use has been implicated with a slew of behavioral effects, especially in children. The primary effect is an increase in sedentary activity. Approximately 47% of American children spend 2 or more hours per day on screen-based sedentary activities. Research results indicated children who had high amounts of screen time had delayed white matter development, decreased ability to rapidly name objects, and poorer literacy skills.
This is in contrast with the 25.5% who reported at least 20 minutes of physical per day for a week. Additionally, the likelihood of a child participating in physical activity has been shown to decrease with increasing screen use. Screen use can also affect interpersonal skills. UCLA researchers reported that sixth-graders who went five days without screen use were significantly better at reading human emotions than sixth-graders with average screen use.
The article "Screen time for kids: how it affects their behavior", explains why technology makes kids more aggressive and why it is more difficult to take kids off of electronic devices without having to argue and fight. Lindsay Kneteman, the writer of this article, argues that screen time releases dopamine, a type of neurotransmitter that is associated with pleasure, which makes it harder for people to get off of their electronic devices. This means that when they stop using their electronic devices, the process of releasing dopamine stops as well, and for some people, this can cause irritability.
Academic performance:
Academic performance can be improved by screen time depending on the length and content of exposure. Toddlers after the age of 18 months can be exposed to high-quality programming such as Sesame Street or PBS that provide educational television.
The right content can prove beneficial, but too much screen time distracts students from studying. It is important for parents to establish a limit to how much screen time their children can use per day. Limiting and monitoring children's screen usage can increase cognitive development, but further research is required to get a better understanding of how screen time positively affects academic performance.
On the other hand, increased screen use has been associated with missing school assignments. Students who used screens for more than two hours a day are twice as likely to not turn in homework on a regular basis. It is yet to be proven that screen time can significantly enhance academic performance, but it is known that increased use in screen time distracts students from focusing on class assignments.
Environmental effects:
More screen time generally leads to less time spent in nature[49] and therefore a weaker connection to it.
Digital technologies emitted approximately 4% of world Greenhouse-gas emissions in the year 2019 and the number could be two times larger by the year 2025. For comparison, the paper pulp and print industries emitted together about 1% in 2010 and about 0.9% in 2012.
Limitations on screen time:
Adults:
There is no consensus on the safe amount of screen time for adults. Ideally, adults should limit their screen time similar to children and only use screens for about two hours a day.
However, many adults spend up to 11 hours a day looking at a screen. Adults many times work jobs that require viewing screens which leads to the high screen time usage. Adults obligated to view screens for a means of work may not be able to use screen time less than two hours, but there are other recommendations that help mitigate negative health effects.
For example, breaking up continuous blocks of screen time usage by stretching, maintaining good posture, and intermittently focusing on a distant object for 20 seconds. Furthermore, to mitigate the behavioral effects, adults are encouraged not to eat in front of a screen to avoid habit formation and to keep track of their screen use every day.
Specialists also recommend that adults analyze their daily screen time usage and replace some of the unnecessary usage with a physical activity or social event.
Children:
In 2019, the World Health Organization came out with guidelines about media use for children under 5
More extensive guidelines have been put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2016 for children up to age 5, which include screen time, the quality of content used, and how parents are using screens with their children. The screen time limits are as follows:
In addition to these screen time guidelines, the AAP recommends that when screen time does occur, the content should be high-quality, educational, slower-paced, and free of violence.
Caregivers should avoid giving apps to children that have highly distracting content.
They also recommend that families try to use media with their child so that they can help explain what content is on the screen and how it applies to their own lives. They recommend to turn off devices (including TVs) when the child is not actively using them and to keep bedrooms as screen-free zones. Additionally, they recommend that screens should be put away at least 1 hour before bedtime.
For children from ages 5 to 18, the AAP came out with recommendations in 2016 that focus less on the amount of screen time and more on how media is being used. They recommend children and teens should keep devices (including TVs) out of the bedroom during bedtime, and screens should be put away at least 1 hour before bedtime.
They recommend that caregivers discourage children and teens to use screens during homework for entertainment purposes. Additionally, they recommend that families come up with a "Family Use Plan" that aligns with their family's needs, values, and goals.
This plan should have consistent guidelines and limits for each family member, and families should consider having designated times of the day and areas in the house that are screen-free.
Parents should be involved in monitoring their child's screen usage and try to implement better and healthier practices by encouraging better bedtime routines, educating youth about the lasting effects, and limiting the number of available screens in the environment.
See also:
2) Video game addiction
Video game addiction, also known as gaming disorder or internet gaming disorder, is generally defined as the problematic, compulsive use of video games that results in significant impairment to an individual's ability to function in various life domains over a prolonged period of time.
This and associated concepts have been the subject of considerable research, debate, and discussion among experts in several disciplines and has generated controversy within the medical, scientific, and gaming communities. Such disorders can be diagnosed when an individual engages in gaming activities at the cost of fulfilling daily responsibilities or pursuing other interests without regard for the negative consequences.
As defined by the ICD-11, the main criterion for this disorder is a lack of self control over gaming.
The World Health Organization included gaming disorder in the 11th revision of its International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The American Psychiatric Association (APA), while stating there is insufficient evidence for the inclusion of Internet gaming disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 2013, considered it worthy of further study.
Controversy around the diagnosis includes whether the disorder is a separate clinical entity or a manifestation of underlying psychiatric disorders. Research has approached the question from a variety of viewpoints, with no universally standardized or agreed definitions, leading to difficulties in developing evidence-based recommendations.
Definition and diagnosis:
In its report, the Council on Science and Public Health to the American Medical Association (AMA) used this two-hour-per-day limit to define "gaming overuse", citing the American Academy of Pediatrics guideline of no more than one to two hours per day of "screen time". However, the ESA document cited in the Council report does not contain the two-hour-per-day data.
American Psychiatric Association:
While the American Psychiatric Association (APA) does not recognise video game addiction as a disorder, in light of existing evidence, the organisation included video game addiction as a "condition requiring further study" in the DSM-5 as Internet gaming disorder.
Video game addiction is a broader concept than internet gaming addiction, but most video game addiction is associated with internet gaming. APA suggests, like Khan, the effects (or symptoms) of video game addiction may be similar to those of other proposed psychological addictions.
Video game addiction may be an impulse control disorder, similar to compulsive gambling.
The APA explains why Internet Gaming Disorder has been proposed as a disorder: This decision was based upon the large number of studies of this condition and the severity of its consequences. ... Because of the distinguishing features and increased risks of clinically significant problems associated with gaming in particular, the Workgroup recommended the inclusion of only internet gaming disorder in Section 3 of the DSM-5.
Some players become more concerned with their interactions in the game than in their broader lives. Players may play many hours per day, neglect personal hygiene, gain or lose significant weight, disrupt sleep patterns resulting in sleep deprivation, play at work, avoid phone calls from friends, or lie about how much time they spend playing video games.
The APA has developed nine criteria for characterising the proposed Internet Gaming Disorder:
One of the most commonly used instruments for the measurement of addiction, the PVP Questionnaire (Problem Video Game Playing Questionnaire), was presented as a quantitative measure, not as a diagnostic tool.
According to Griffiths, "all addictions (whether chemical or behavioral) are essentially about constant rewards and reinforcement". He proposes that addiction has six components: salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse. But the APA's nine criteria for diagnosing Internet Gaming Disorder were made by taking point of departure in eight different diagnostic/measuring tools proposed in other studies. Thus, the APA's criteria attempt to condense the scientific work on diagnosing Internet Gaming Disorder.
World Health Organization:
The World Health Organization (WHO) had proposed and later included "gaming disorder" in the 11th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11), released in June 2018, which was approved by the World Health Assembly in May 2019. The use and enforcement of ICD-11 is expected to start on 1 January 2022.
Screening tools:
The first psychometric test to assess IGD was the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20). This test includes 20 questions designed to assess the extent of problems caused by disordered gaming and the degree of symptoms experienced by gamers. The test was first published in a journal article published in the PLoS ONE journal on 14 October 2014.
The Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) is a short psychometric test to assess video game addiction according to the American Psychiatric Association framework for IGD.
Recent review studies suggest that the IGDS9-SF presents with robust empirical and clinical evidence and is an effective tool to assess IGD. Moreover, the scale was adapted in several languages as Spanish, Chinese, Czech, German, and many more.
On 3 June 2019, a screening tool for Gaming Disorder, specifically as defined by the World Health Organization, called the "Gaming Disorder Test" was published in a journal article.
Risk factors:
The Internet can foster various addictions including addiction to game-playing.
Addictive playing of MMORPGs is associated with negative effects, whereas normal play is not.
Younger people and men are more likely to experience a gaming disorder than older people and women respectively. Adolescents are at a higher risk of sustaining video game disorder over time than adults.
An international meta-analysis over 34 jurisdictions quantified the effect size of gender as small, with most effect in Asia, lesser in Europe and Africa, and null in North America, and further finding that economic factors, internet availability, social norms and addiction-related health factors mediate the effect of gender, with nations with a greater GDP per capita having less differences in video game addiction between genders.
Comorbid psychiatric disorders act as both risk factors and consequences. Indeed, there is a strong association between video game addiction and anxiety, depression, ADHD, social phobia, and poor psycho-social support. ADHD and its symptoms, such as impulsivity and conduct problems, also increase risks of developing video game disorder.
Although internet gaming disorder has a strong relationship with obsessive-compulsive disorder, it is not specific and internet gaming disorder is both phenomenologically and neurobiologically distinct, which indicates that internet gaming disorder is more characterized by impulsivity than compulsivity.
Familial factors appear to play an important role, although not well understood.
Some personality traits, such as high neuroticism, high impulsivity, and high aggressiveness are consistently significant predictors of internet gaming disorder, and combination of personality traits seem to play a pivotal role in the acquisition, maintenance and development of the disorder.
Mechanisms:
Although there is much research since the 1980s on problematic online gaming use, the mechanisms are not well understood, due to inconsistent definitions used in studies.
Video game structure:
Some theories focus on the presumed built-in reward systems of video games, such as compulsion loops, to explain their potentially addictive nature. The anticipation of such rewards can create a neurological reaction that releases dopamine into the body, so that once the reward is obtained, the person will remember it as a pleasurable feeling.
This has been found to be similar to the neurological reaction of other behavioral addictions such as substance abuse and gambling disorder, although not to the same magnitude and with some differences.
Mark Griffiths has proposed another reason online video games are potentially addictive is because they "can be played all day every day." The fact there is no end to the game can feel rewarding for some, and hence players are further engaged in the game.
Addiction circuits in the brain:
Long-term internet video/mobile game playing affects brain regions responsible for reward, impulse control and sensory-motor coordination. Structural analyses shown modifications in the volume of the ventral striatum, possibly as result of changes in rewards, and video game addicts had faulty inhibitory control and reward mechanisms.
Video game playing is associated with dopamine release similar in magnitude to that of drug abuse, and the presentation of gaming pictures activates brain regions similarly to drug pictures for drug addicts.
Treatment studies which used fMRI to monitor the brain connectivity changes found a decrease in the activity of the regions associated with cravings. Although there are evidences that video game addiction may be supported by similar neural mechanisms underlying drug abuse, as video game and internet addictions reduce the sensitivity of the dopaminergic reward system, it is still premature to conclude that this addiction is equivalent to substance addictions, as the research is in its early stages.
There is evidence of a dual processing model of digital technology addictions characterized by an imbalance between the reactive and the reflective reward systems. Other studies shown increased difficulties in decision making in specific contexts, such as risky situations but not in ambiguous situations, and an increased preference for short-term rewards.
Although the number of neuroimaging studies on internet gaming disorder is rising, there are several methodological shortcomings, particularly in the inconsistency of psychometric assessments. Furthermore, the conclusions on reduced inhibition should be moderated, as only one study included a functional control, which then showed no difference in inhibition.
A meta-analytic review of the research concluded the evidence suggests video game addiction arises out of other mental health problems, rather than causing them. Thus it is unclear whether video game addiction should be considered a unique diagnosis.
Management:
As concern over video game addiction grows, the use of psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, twelve-step programs, and use of continuing developing treatment enhancements have been proposed to treat this disorder.
Empirical studies indeed indicate that internet gaming disorder is associated with detrimental health-related outcomes. However, the clinical trials of potential treatments remain of low quality, except for cognitive-behavioral therapies, which shows efficacy to reduce gaming disorder and depressive symptoms but not total time spent.
Although there is a scientific consensus that cognitive-behavioral therapy is preferable to pharmacological treatment, it remains difficult to make definitive statements about its benefits and efficiency due to methodological inconsistencies and lack of follow-up.
Since efficacious treatments have not been well established, prevention of video gaming disorder is crucial. Some evidence suggest that up to 50% of people affected by the internet gaming disorder may recover naturally.
Some countries, such as South Korea, China, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States, have responded to the perceived threat of video game addiction by opening treatment centres.
China:
Main article: Video game addiction in China
See also: Yang Yongxin
China was the first country to treat "internet addiction" clinically in 2008. The Chinese government operates several clinics to treat those who overuse online games, chatting and web surfing. Treatment for the patients, most of whom have been forced to attend by parents or government officials, includes various forms of pain including shock therapy.
In August 2009, Deng Sanshan was reportedly beaten to death in a correctional facility for video game and Web addiction. Most of the addiction "boot camps" in China are actually extralegal militaristically managed centers, but have remained popular despite growing controversy over their practices.
In 2019, China set up a curfew, banning minors from playing between certain hours.
Netherlands:
In June 2006, the Smith and Jones clinic in Amsterdam—which has now gone bankrupt—became the first treatment facility in Europe to offer a residential treatment program for compulsive gamers. Keith Bakker, founder and former head of the clinic, has stated that 90% of the young people who seek treatment for compulsive computer gaming are not addicted.
Canada:
At a Computer Addiction Services center in Richmond, British Columbia, excessive gaming accounts for 80% of one youth counselor's caseload.
United Kingdom:
In 2018, the National Health Service announced its plans to open a treatment center, run by the Central and North West London NHS foundation trust, that will initially focus on gaming disorder, but is planned to expand to cover other internet-based addictions. The specialist treatment center opened in 2019 for treating adolescents and young people aged 13–25 who are addicted to video games.
Outcomes:
Mental health:
Internet gaming disorder is associated with increased
anxiety, social phobia and depression, with adults and young adults being more affected than adolescents.
Physical health:
The most frequent physical health-related outcome are alterations in physical functioning such as somatisation and sleep disturbances. Preliminary evidence suggest that internet gaming disorder and the induced sedentarity may contribute to a lack of physical exercise, even though the relationship is not causal.
Epidemiology:
The prevalence of internet gaming disorder range from 0.7% to 25.5% worldwide, or 1.0% to 26.8% worldwide, and 3.5% to 17% in China, and is higher among males than females and among younger than older people, with geographical region being an insignificant contributor.
A longer time spent on video games predicts a tendency towards pathological gaming in the future. The studies, however, used various methodologies and definitions, which renders consensus difficult to achieve and may explain the wide range of prevalence.
Research:
Debates on the classification:
A meta-analytic review of pathological gaming studies concluded that about 3% of gamers may experience some symptoms of pathological gaming. The report noted problems in the field with defining and measuring pathological gaming and concluded that pathological gaming behaviors were more likely the product of underlying mental health problems rather than the inverse.
Barnett and Coulson expressed concern that much of the debate on the issue of addiction may be a knee jerk response stimulated by poor understanding of games and game players.
Such issues may lead both society and scholars to exaggerate the prevalence and nature of problematic gaming, and over-focus on games specifically, while ignoring underlying mental health issues.
Other scholars have cautioned that comparing the symptoms of problematic gaming with problematic gambling is flawed, and that such comparisons may introduce research artifacts and artificially inflate prevalence estimates.
For instance, Richard Wood has observed that behaviors which are problematic in regards to gambling may not be as problematic when put into the context of other behaviors that are rewarding such as gaming. Similarly, Barnett and Coulson have cautioned that discussions of problematic gaming have moved forward prematurely without proper understanding of the symptoms, proper assessment and consequences.
Rather than video gaming disorder being a subtype of gambling disorder, a majority of researchers support the idea of video game addiction being a part of a more comprehensive framework of impulse control disorders with "pathological technology use" with similar characteristics, including the pathological use of video games, internet, computers and other interactive medias.
Although internet and video game addictions are generally considered different from gambling disorder and substance abuse, there is a growing body of evidence indicating they share common features, including behavioral and neural features. Indeed, it is suggested that while behavioral addiction may differ with drug addictions in magnitude, they share several characteristics, with Hellman et al. proposing that the concept of addiction should be de-medicalized.
On the contrary, a literature review found that as the video game addiction develops, online gaming addicts spend increasing amounts of time not only playing but also preparing for and organizing their playing sessions, suggesting this addiction may be behavioral rather than a disorder of impulse control.
There is recent evidence suggesting that internet gaming disorder can cause two distinct types of dysfunctions: cognitive and metacognitive.
Griffiths has suggested that psycho-social dependence may revolve around the intermittent reinforcements in the game and the need to belong. Hagedorn & Young have suggested that social dependence may arise due to video games occurring online where players interact with others and the relationships "often become more important for gamers than real-life relationships".
Controversy and alternative viewpoints:
Common challenges involve the reliability of the methodology and validity of the results in some studies. Many rely on self-surveys from university students and also lack time frames making it difficult to study the impact, if any, of addiction on a long term scale. Other concerns also address the definition of addiction and how to measure it, questioning whether or not time is a proper unit to determine how addicted someone is to gaming.
Daria Joanna Kuss and Mark D. Griffiths have argued the current scientific knowledge on internet gaming addiction is copious in scope and complexity. They state that instead, a simple framework should be provided to allow all current and future studies to be categorised, as internet gaming addiction lies on a continuum beginning with etiology and risk factors all the way through the development of "full-blown" addiction and ending with ramifications and potential treatment.
In addition, they caution the deployment of the label "addiction" since it heavily denotes the use of substances or engagement in certain behaviors. Finally, the researcher promotes other researchers to assess the validity and reliability of existing measures instead of developing additional measurement instruments.
Other challenges include the lack of context of the participant's life and the negative portrayal of gaming addicts. Some state that gamers sometimes use video games to either escape from an uncomfortable environment or alleviate their already existing mental issues—both possibly important aspects in determining the psychological impact of gaming.
Negative portrayal also deals with the lack of consistency in measuring addictive gaming. This leads to discussions that sometimes exaggerate the issue and create a misconception in some that they, themselves, may be addicted when they are not.
The evidence of video game addiction to create withdrawal symptoms is very limited and thus debated, due to different definitions and low quality trials.
The concept of video game disorder is itself being debated, with the overlap of its symptoms with other mental disorders, the unclear consensus on a definition and thresholds, and the lack of evidence raising doubts on whether or not this qualifies as a mental disorder of its own.
Despite the lack of a unified definition, there is an emerging consensus among studies that Internet gaming disorder is mainly defined by three features: 1) withdrawal, 2) loss of control, and 3) conflict. Although the DSM-5 definition of video game disorder has a good fit to current methodological definitions used in trials and studies, there are still debates on the clinical pertinence
Michael Brody, M.D., head of the TV and Media Committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, stated in a 2007 press release that "... there is not enough research on whether or not video games are addictive." However, Brody also cautioned that for some children and adolescents, "... it displaces physical activity and time spent on studies, with friends, and even with family."
A major issue concerns the lack of consistent measures and definitions and of acquisition of follow-up data. Furthermore, the study design quality has not greatly improved between the 2000s and 2017.
For instance, most studies measured internet gaming behaviors in terms of frequency of use (total time spent), without considering the type of game (e.g., MMORPG), the social context (e.g., physically or virtually with friends), nor the motivations (e.g., competitive, achievement-oriented "grinding").
Although the amount of time spent was postulated by Johanssonn and Götestam in 2004 to lead to pathological behaviors, it is unclear whether the time spent is a cause or a consequence of pathological use. These criticisms, however, mostly pertain to Western research since there is more data of higher quality available in Asian regions, where the Internet gaming disorder is more prevalent.
A survey conducted in 2019 of 214 scholars shown that 60.8% agreed that pathological video game use could be a mental health problems, whereas 30.4% were skeptical. However, only 49.7% agreed with the DSM-5 definition of Internet gaming disorder, and 56.5% to the definition of the World Health Organization.
Most scholars were worried that WHO's and DSM-5's inclusion of Internet gaming disorder was "overpathologizing normal youth" and "precipitated moral panic over video games". This indicates a lack of consensus on the issue as of 2019.
History:
Video game addiction has been studied since the 1980s, and has seen a significant increase in the number of empirical studies since then.
The press has reported concerns over online gaming since at least 1994, when Wired mentioned a college student who was playing a MUD game for 12 hours a day instead of attending class.
Press reports have noted that some Finnish Defence Forces' conscripts were not mature enough to meet the demands of military life and were required to interrupt or postpone military service for a year. One reported source of the lack of needed social skills is overuse of computer games or the internet. Forbes termed this overuse "Web fixations" and stated they were responsible for 13 such interruptions or deferrals over the five years from 2000 to 2005.
In an April 2008 article, The Daily Telegraph reported that surveys of 391 players of Asheron's Call showed that three percent of respondents suffered from agitation when they were unable to play, or missed sleep or meals to play. The article reports that University of Bolton lead researcher John Charlton said, "Our research supports the idea that people who are heavily involved in game playing may be nearer to autistic spectrum disorders than people who have no interest in gaming."
On 6 March 2009, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) national news magazine program the fifth estate aired an hour-long report on video game addiction and the Brandon Crisp story, titled "Top Gun", subtitled "When a video gaming obsession turns to addiction and tragedy."
In August 2010, Wired reported that a man in Hawaii, Craig Smallwood, sued the gaming company NCSoft for negligence and for not specifying that their game, Lineage II, was so addictive. He alleged he would not have begun playing if he was aware he would become addicted. Smallwood says he has played Lineage for 20,000 hours between 2004 and 2009.
In 2013, a man from China observed his son's addiction to video games, and decided to take action. He hired online assassins to kill his son's virtual avatar every time he logged in. He hoped that being relentlessly killed would help his son lose interest in this destructive habit.
Inclusion in the ICD-11:
In the draft versions leading to the final ICD-11 document, gaming disorder was included alongside gambling disorder under "Disorders Due to Addictive Behaviors". The addition defines as "a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour ('digital gaming' or 'video-gaming')", defined by three criteria: the lack of control over playing video games, priority given to video games over other interests, and the inability to stop playing video games even after being affected by negative consequences.
For gaming disorder to be diagnosed, the behavior pattern must be of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months.
Research shows gaming disorders can be associated with anxiety, depression, loneliness, obesity, sleeping disorders, attention problems, and stress.
Vladimir Poznyak, the coordinator for the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, defended the addition of gaming disorder, believing the backlash against the addition to be a moral panic as they chose a very narrow definition that encompasses only the most extreme cases of gaming disorder. He said evaluating a disorder for inclusion is nominally done without any external feedback "to avoid interference from commercial and other entities which may have vested interest in the outcome of the process".
Dr. Poznyak asserted that several medical professionals consulting on the ICD-11 did believe gaming disorder to be real, and by including it in the ICD-11, there can now be earnest efforts to define its causes and symptoms betters and methods to deal with it, and now include the video game industry within the conversation to help reduce the effects of video games on public health.
The addition of "gaming disorder" to the ICD-11 was criticized by gamers and the video game industry, while some researchers remained skeptical. Some of these researchers said the evidence remains weak and "there is a genuine risk of abuse of diagnoses." A group of 26 scholars wrote an open letter to the WHO, suggesting that the proposed diagnostic categories lacked scientific merit and were likely to do more harm than good.
In counter-argument, a group of fifty academic researchers in behavioral science agreed that the evidence to support gaming disorder was weak, but it would be best that WHO identify gaming disorder in ICD-11 so that it could be considered a clinical and public health need.
A report, prepared by mental health experts at Oxford University, Johns Hopkins University, Stockholm University and the University of Sydney, sponsored by The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment argues that while there may be potential addiction associated with video gaming, it is premature to consider it a disorder without further study, given the stigmatisation that surrounds video, and ask the WHO to use caution when finalising the ICD draft.
This report was promoted by 22 video game industry trade organizations including the Entertainment Software Association of the United States and Interactive Software Federation of Europe
As the final approval of the ICD-11 neared, several video game trade associations issued a statement requesting WHO to reconsider the addition of "gaming disorder", stating that, "The evidence for its inclusion remains highly contested and inconclusive". The Entertainment Software Association had meetings with the WHO during December 2018 to try to convince them to hold off including gaming disorder within ICD-11, with more planned meetings to follow.
Society and culture:
Parental concerns:
According to ABC News, parents have many concerns about their children playing video games, including concerns about age appropriateness, the amount of time spent playing games, physical health, and aggressive behaviour.
Governmental concerns:
The first video game to attract political controversy was the 1978 arcade game Space Invaders. In 1981, a political bill called the Control of Space Invaders (and other Electronic Games) Bill was drafted by British Labour Party MP George Foulkes in an attempt to ban the game for its "addictive properties" and for causing "deviancy". The bill was debated and only narrowly defeated in parliament by 114 votes to 94 votes.
In August 2005, the government of the People's Republic of China, where more than 20 million people play online games, introduced an online gaming restriction limiting playing time to three hours, after which the player would be expelled from whichever game they were playing.
In 2006, China relaxed the rule so only citizens under the age of 18 would face the limitation. Reports indicate underage gamers found ways to circumvent the measure. In July 2007, the rule was relaxed yet again. Internet games operating in China must require users identify themselves by resident identity numbers. After three hours, players under 18 are prompted to stop and "do suitable physical exercise". If they continue, their in-game points are "slashed in half". After five hours, all their points are automatically erased.
In 2008 in the United States (US), one of the five Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioners, Deborah Taylor Tate, stated that online gaming addiction was "one of the top reasons for college drop-outs". However, she did not mention a source for the statement nor identify its position in relation to other top reasons.
In 2011, the South Korean government implemented a law, known as the Shutdown law or the Cinderella Law, which prohibits children under the age of 16 from playing online video games between the hours of 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. However, as of 2014, the law was amended and now children under the age of 16 can play after midnight if they have permission from their parents.
A systematic review identified in 2017 three types of currently attempted governmental policies: 1) limiting the availability of video games (shutdown, fatigue system, parental controls), 2) reduce the risks and harm (warning messages), 3) provide addiction help services to gamers.
Most of these policies were either not as efficient as intended or not yet evaluated for efficiency, which lead some researchers to prompt for a global public health approach to prevent the onset and progression of this disorder. Some researchers suggest that the video game industry should itself place preventive measures against video game addiction.
Deaths:
There have been at least a few deaths caused directly by exhaustion from playing games for excessive periods of time.
China:
In 2005, thirteen-year-old Zhang XiaoYi committed suicide by jumping from the top of a 24-story tower block in his home province Tianjin. After previously having spent two straight days playing online role-playing games in an Internet cafe, Zhang had told his parents that he had "been poisoned by games and could no longer control himself".
The head of a software association said to gaming website Play.tm that same year: "In the hypothetical world created by such games, [players] become confident and gain satisfaction, which they cannot get in the real world."
In 2007, a 26-year-old man identified only as "Zhang" died of a heart attack due to lack of physical activity following a seven-day gaming binge, while a 30-year-old man died in a Guangzhou Internet cafe after playing online games for three straight days.
South Korea:
In 2005, 28-year old industrial repairman Seungseob Lee (Hangul: 이승섭) visited an Internet cafe in the city of Daegu and played StarCraft almost continuously for fifty hours. He went into cardiac arrest and died at a local hospital. A friend reported: "... he was a game addict. We all knew about it. He couldn't stop himself." About six weeks before his death, his girlfriend, also an avid gamer, broke up with him. In addition, he was fired from his job.
In 2009, Kim Sa-rang, a 3-month-old Korean girl, starved to death after both her parents spent hours each day in an Internet cafe, rearing a virtual child in an online game, Prius Online. The death is covered in the 2014 documentary Love Child.
United States:
In November 2001, Shawn Woolley committed suicide; it has been inferred that his death was related to the popular computer game EverQuest. Shawn's mother said the suicide was due to a rejection or betrayal in the game from a character Shawn called "iluvyou".
Ohio teenager Daniel Petric shot his parents, killing his mother, after they took away his copy of Halo 3 in October 2007. In a sentencing hearing after the teen was found guilty of aggravated murder, the judge said, "I firmly believe that Daniel Petric had no idea at the time he hatched this plot that if he killed his parents they would be dead forever", in reference to his disconnection from reality caused by playing violent video games. On 16 June 2009, Petric was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison.
See also: ___________________________________________________________________________
3) Mobile phone use in schools
The use of mobile phones in schools by students has become a controversial topic debated by students, parents, teachers and authorities.
People who support the use of cell phones believe that these phones are essential for safety by allowing children to communicate with their parents and guardians, could simplify many school matters, and it is important in today's world that children learn how to deal with new media properly as early as possible.
Many persons also think that you should take advantage of the fact that nowadays, there is no need to memorize every fact anymore, as cell phones can be used to access all human knowledge virtually anywhere, allowing schools to shift their focus from imparting knowledge to understanding how certain things work together and promoting the development of personality, teamwork, creativity, social skills etc.
Opponents of students using mobile phones during school believe that mobile phones cause disruption and may be used inappropriately such as by cheating on tests, taking inappropriate photographs, and playing mobile games. Rather than paying attention to teachers, students are spending more time distracted by their phones.
To prevent distractions caused by mobile phones, some schools have implemented policies that restrict students from using their phones during school hours. Some administrators have attempted cell phone jamming, but this practice is illegal in certain jurisdictions.
The software can be used in order to monitor and restrict phone usage to reduce distractions and prevent unproductive use. However, these methods of regulation raise concerns about privacy violation and abuse of power.
Studies:
A 2015 study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior demonstrated that among undergraduate students total usage of mobile phones, measured in number of minutes per day and not limited to school time, was "a significant and negative predictor of college students' academic performance, which was objectively measured s cumulative GPA."
Moreover, the abundant use of mobile technology among young people largely explains the inadequate use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in both personal and school environments. Consequently, actions have been taken that contribute to more responsible use of this type of technology in students' personal, school, and social lives.
In 2015, Dakota Lawson and Bruce B. Henderson performed a study to examine the relationship between mobile phone use in class and information comprehension. The study involved 120 students from an introductory psychology course, mostly first-year students.
The result showed that students who were texting in the class had significantly lower test scores even when the material that was presented was simple: mobile phone use in class impairs students’ comprehension and performance. This study was performed after several similar studies in the past and corroborated their results.
Furthermore, researchers Julia Irwin and Natasha Gupta of Macquarie University performed an experiment in 2016 testing the effect of Facebook-related distractions in the classroom.
The researchers found that students who were interested in the subject material and the way it was presented were less likely to be distracted by Facebook. However, the students with access to phones still performed poorer than students that were not allowed access to cell phones during the lecture.
A 2017 collective study, published by Applied Cognitive Psychology, indicated that college students retained less knowledge when allowed to use or possess a cell phone during lectures. During the experiment, students who were not allowed access to a cell phone tested better than those who had access to cell phones.
Despite the numerous drawbacks that come with the use of cell phones in classrooms, there are benefits to having them available in a school setting. In 2017, Dr. James Derounian conducted a study involving a hundred participants at the University of Gloucestershire. His study revealed that 45% of students believe that the use of phones in classrooms supports their education.
One of the most commonly mentioned ways that phones provided such academic support was digital access to textbooks. The ability to access scholarly material on mobile devices allowed students to engage more deeply with the information presented. Still, Derounian mentioned that there could be "an element of social desirability conveyed in the student views given."
An article by Emma Henderson, a journalist for the United Kingdom (UK) publication The Independent, describes phantom vibrations caused by "learned bodily behavior," where the part of the body to which the phone is closest becomes very sensitive.
As a result, even the slightest vibrations can cause a person to believe that the phone has vibrated when, in reality, it has not. These are known as phantom vibrations. Nine out of ten people claimed to have felt these phantom vibrations in their pockets, raising serious concerns about the overuse of cell phones and the resulting dependency that people develop.
Therefore, breaking the habit of frequently checking one's phone can not only be beneficial for students but also convey more respect towards the professors and teachers whose lectures are constantly interrupted by cellular distractions.
Regulations in the United States:
In the past, some United States schools installed mobile phone jammers to prevent cell phones from working on campuses. However, the sale and use of jammers is illegal in the US under the Federal Communications Act of 1934, because jammers cut off 9-1-1 calls and can disrupt air navigation if they are used near airports.
In 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) became stricter in enforcing the ban on jammers. Mt. Spokane High School in Washington state once installed a jammer to prevent students from calling and text-messaging but removed the device after it decided that it was "probably not legal" under federal law. In 2015, a Florida science teacher received a five-day unpaid suspension for installing a jammer in his classroom.
In 2005, the New York City Department of Education imposed a citywide ban on mobile phones in public schools. However, according to The New York Times, the ban was "inconsistently enforced, with some schools allowing students to carry phones as long as staff members [did] not hear or see them, and other schools—particularly those with metal detectors at the doors—maintaining a strict ban."
The ban was unpopular among parents as well because it impeded communication between them and their children. In March 2015, the citywide ban was lifted, with Mayor Bill de Blasio fulfilling a campaign promise. Under the new policy, school principals in consultation with teachers and parents may set rules on use and storage of mobile phones during instructional time and lunch breaks.
While the default rule is that phones must remain hidden, principals may also elect to "require students to store phones in backpacks or other designated places, allow the use of phones during lunch, or allow phones to be used for instructional purposes." De Blasio said that the policy shift would allow parents to stay in better touch with their children, especially in case of an emergency.
The New York City Schools Chancellor, Carmen Fariña, supported this policy by noting that the change means that students in schools with metal detectors would no longer have to pay outside vendors to store phones for them during the school day.
When asked which type of phone-restriction policy they prefer, students tended to support the side that grants them the opportunity to bring mobile phones onto the school campus, arguing that phones allow them to reach their parents if any problem occurs.
In response to the issue of parent-student communication, parents also argue that there is not a replacement for mobile phones and therefore that phones are an essential device for students to have accessible, raising concerns about a child in danger or not feeling safe not being able to contact a parent and receive assistance.
Parents also believe that giving a child a phone teaches responsibility.
Theft of mobile phones is another concern in some schools. In 2012, following an undercover investigation, thirteen juvenile students in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, were arrested and charged with running a cell-phone-theft ring that resulted in the theft of several thousand dollars worth of mobile phones, tablets, and other electronics.
An increasing number of schools are now allowing the use of cell phones as learning tools. However, the collective use of cell phones in schools poses other technological challenges. Some schools reported that allowing all students to use cell phones at the same time slows down school bandwidth speeds, and hence some schools have blocked phones from accessing the school Wi-Fi.
Phone use in schools is not just an issue for students and teachers but also for other employees of educational institutions. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, while no state bans all mobile phone use for all drivers, twenty states and the District of Columbia prohibit school bus drivers from using mobile phones. School bus drivers have been fired or suspended for using their phones or text-messaging while driving.
Messaging applications:
Cellphone applications have been created to support the use of phones in school environments. As of February 2018, about 80,000 applications are available for teacher use.
A variety of messaging apps provide communication for student-to-student relationships as well as teacher-to-student communication. Some popular apps for both students, teachers, and parents are Remind and ClassDojo. About 72% of top-selling education apps on iOS are for preschoolers and elementary school students. These apps offer many different services such as language translation, scheduled reminders and messages to parents.
The app Remind is another way for teachers to communicate with parents and school administration. This app not only allows teachers to send out scheduled text messages to parents but also provides a class blog for teachers to share upcoming due dates, tests and quizzes, and other class information.
Another app that allows students to communicate with one another is GroupMe. GroupMe allows students to communicate in a group-chat format through Wi-Fi instead of using cellular data. Even some college-aged students use this app for sharing course information.
Technology in schools is becoming a common academic feature throughout many grade levels and age groups. The creation of messaging applications helps support this boom of phone usage in schools. An advantage of messaging apps is their easy usage and accessibility for students, teachers, and parents.
These apps make efficient communication easier for parents with disabilities, parents with demanding full-time jobs, or parents with language barriers. One disadvantage to cell phone usage in schools is that not all students and parents have this technology available to them.
This can cause a socioeconomic gap between students who have cell phones and computers and those who do not. Another problem is that the ease of sharing of information can lead to academic dishonesty. Colleges and universities, in particular, have had many issues with academic dishonesty by digital sharing of tests and other sensitive materials.
As a result, these institutions are becoming more strict with their policies and increasing the severity of consequences for committing plagiarism and other acts of academic dishonesty.e
With time, messaging applications will be consistently improved.
If administrators, teachers, and policy-makers work hard to minimize both student and parent entitlement, set communication boundaries, state expectations early, and reinforce student responsibility, some of the problems caused by messaging apps can be reduced or eliminated.
See also:
Research has shown that race and socioeconomic class are associated with overall screen time. Younger demographics and individuals who self-identified as Black and "Other" were associated with above average screen use.
Additionally, Black and Latino Americans had longer screen times because of less access to desktop computers, which thus leads to more time on phones. In children, the divide is much larger.
On average in 2011, White children spent 8.5 hours a day with digital media, and Black and Latino children spent about 13 hours a day on screens. Black and Latino children were also more likely to have TVs in their rooms, which contributed to their increased use of screen time.
The discrepancy in the amount of screen time can also be attributed to a difference in income. In more affluent private schools, there has been a larger push to remove screens from education in order to limit the negative impacts that have been found from screen time.
However, in public schools there is more push for the use of technology with some public schools advertising free iPads and laptops to students. Additionally, affluent families are able to afford nannies and extracurriculars that can limit the need for entertainment from screens.
Coronavirus and screen time:
The COVID-19 pandemic increased screen time as people stayed indoors, adding to concerns about the effects of excessive screen time. Specialists called for limiting screen time and for living a more active lifestyle.
Physical health effects:
Sleep:
More screen-time has been linked with shorter sleep duration, decreased sleep efficiency, and longer sleep onset delay. When using any screen before bedtime, the blue light emitted disrupts the body's natural melatonin hormone production.
Melatonin is produced by the brain's pineal gland and controls the body's internal clock. This clock is what is referred to as the body's circadian rhythm and it naturally is responsive to light.
Melatonin levels increase as the sun sets and remain at that increased state for the remainder of the night. As the sun rises, melatonin levels start to drop. This hormone reduction is what helps the body's natural rhythm wake up due to the bursts of natural sunlight.
The light screens emit are in a similar spectrum of sunlight, but the blue light emission is what human circadian rhythms are most sensitive to. Studies have shown that the blue wavelengths are closely correlated to those from sunlight, which is what helps the body keep in sync with the sunrise and sunset.
Therefore, using any screen prior to bedtime disrupts the body's production of natural bedtime hormones which can trick the brain to believe it is still daytime making it harder to fall asleep.
Increased use of screens in children has also been shown to have a negative impact on the sleep of children. A 2010 review concluded that "the use of electronic media by children and adolescents does have a negative impact on their sleep, although the precise effects and mechanisms remain unclear", with the most consistent results associating excessive media use with shorter sleep duration and delayed bed times.
A 2016 meta-analysis found that "Bedtime access and use of media devices was significantly associated with inadequate sleep quantity; poor sleep quality; and excessive daytime sleepiness". This relationship is because much of the time spent on screens for children is at night, which can cause them to go to sleep later in addition to the blue light from the screens making it more difficult to sleep.
Night-time use of screens is common for Americans ages 12–18: A 2018 nationally representative survey found that 70% use their mobile device within 30 minutes of going to sleep. Data suggests those who had spent more time on their screens were more likely to wake in the night from notifications on their phone, or experience disruptive sleep.
In a series of nationally representative surveys, 36% of Americans age 12-18 and 35% of Mexican teens age 13-18 woke up during the night before to check their mobile device.
For American children and teens, 54% of those did so because of getting a notification and 51% did so because of the desire to check social media. Content that stirs emotions has been linked with a delay in the onset of sleep.
Many apps promise to improve sleep by filtering out blue light produced by media devices; there have been no large studies to assess whether such apps work. Some users express dissatisfaction with the resultant orange tint of screens. Some people use blue-blocking glasses, for the purpose of attempting to block out blue light both from electronic media and from other artificial light sources.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screen time for children be limited for multiple reasons, among them that "Too much screen time can also harm the amount and quality of sleep".
Affects on physical health:
As well as negatively impacting the adult sleep cycle, using screens can also affect one's physical health. Obesity is a common result of spending great amounts on screens like a television, video games, or a computer screen. Studies have shown that if the amount of screen time adolescents spend was limited, the likelihood of obesity can be reduced.
This sedentary behavior is largely due to the nature of most electronic activities. Sitting to watch television, playing computer games or surfing the Internet takes time away from physical activities which leads to an increased risk of weight gain. It has been found that children (kindergarten and 1st graders) who watch 1–2 hours of television a day are more likely to be overweight or obese than children who watch less than one hour a day.
Additionally, one study showed that the increased use of video games and other forms of media consumption led to more back pain among Norwegian teens.
It has been reported that screen time negatively affects health in children independently of their physical activity and eating habits. One possible explanation for the link between TV and obesity is the number of commercials for sugary and unhealthy foods. This advertising can have an effect on what gets purchased and consumed in a household.
The effect of advertising was demonstrated in a study where children were shown cartoons with and without food commercials. The children who watched the food commercials along with the cartoons ate 45% more unhealthy snacks than the group who watched the cartoons without food ads.
Mental health effects:
Main article: Digital media use and mental health § Screen time and ADHD/NPD
As previously discussed, sleep and screen time are heavily impacted by the other and can lead to affecting one's behavior as well. If someone does not get an adequate amount of sleep, it can affect their behavior and performance for the day. High amounts of screen time also can significantly affect a person's mental health, although some have called these findings into question.
With screen usage increasing as time progresses, adults have begun spending more and more time focusing their attention of screens. This time spent sitting and viewing a screen has been linked to mental health effects such as anxiety and depression. Adults who spend six hours or greater using screen time are more likely to suffer from moderate to severe depression.
This increased use in screen time has been shown to be directly correlated with an increased chance of depression in adults. With this added risk, lack of sleep plays a major role in a healthy mindset, and without proper rest, mental health can degrade at a higher rate.
Brain development:
An increase in screen time has been associated with negative cognitive outcomes for children between 0 and 4. A study on Korean children aged 24–30 months old found that toddlers with 3 hours of TV viewing per day were three times as likely to experience a language delay.
Toddlers with higher TV time also scored lower on school readiness tests, which measured vocabulary, number knowledge, and classroom engagement. The same outcomes are not present in children older than 4. Children who watched more TV were found to have less brain connectivity between language, visual and cognitive control regions of the brain than their peers who watched less TV.
An ongoing study reported from the National Institutes of Health concluded that preteens who spent over 7 hours on screens a day and children who spend less than 7 hours a day had noticeably different development of their cerebral cortex. This part of the brain usually thins as people mature but the accelerated decrease could potentially be linked to amounts spent on screens.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommend for children in age 3 - 5, a screen time not longer than 1 hour per day. According to study published in November 2019, children who have a longer screen time, have slower brain development, what hurt "skills like imagery, mental control and self-regulation".
The scientists add that: "This is important because the brain is developing the most rapidly in the first five years," "That's when brains are very plastic and soaking up everything, forming these strong connections that last for life." They also stated that screens changed childhood rapidly. The over exposure also hurts skills of literacy, cognition and language.
Behavioral impact:
Screen use has been implicated with a slew of behavioral effects, especially in children. The primary effect is an increase in sedentary activity. Approximately 47% of American children spend 2 or more hours per day on screen-based sedentary activities. Research results indicated children who had high amounts of screen time had delayed white matter development, decreased ability to rapidly name objects, and poorer literacy skills.
This is in contrast with the 25.5% who reported at least 20 minutes of physical per day for a week. Additionally, the likelihood of a child participating in physical activity has been shown to decrease with increasing screen use. Screen use can also affect interpersonal skills. UCLA researchers reported that sixth-graders who went five days without screen use were significantly better at reading human emotions than sixth-graders with average screen use.
The article "Screen time for kids: how it affects their behavior", explains why technology makes kids more aggressive and why it is more difficult to take kids off of electronic devices without having to argue and fight. Lindsay Kneteman, the writer of this article, argues that screen time releases dopamine, a type of neurotransmitter that is associated with pleasure, which makes it harder for people to get off of their electronic devices. This means that when they stop using their electronic devices, the process of releasing dopamine stops as well, and for some people, this can cause irritability.
Academic performance:
Academic performance can be improved by screen time depending on the length and content of exposure. Toddlers after the age of 18 months can be exposed to high-quality programming such as Sesame Street or PBS that provide educational television.
The right content can prove beneficial, but too much screen time distracts students from studying. It is important for parents to establish a limit to how much screen time their children can use per day. Limiting and monitoring children's screen usage can increase cognitive development, but further research is required to get a better understanding of how screen time positively affects academic performance.
On the other hand, increased screen use has been associated with missing school assignments. Students who used screens for more than two hours a day are twice as likely to not turn in homework on a regular basis. It is yet to be proven that screen time can significantly enhance academic performance, but it is known that increased use in screen time distracts students from focusing on class assignments.
Environmental effects:
More screen time generally leads to less time spent in nature[49] and therefore a weaker connection to it.
Digital technologies emitted approximately 4% of world Greenhouse-gas emissions in the year 2019 and the number could be two times larger by the year 2025. For comparison, the paper pulp and print industries emitted together about 1% in 2010 and about 0.9% in 2012.
Limitations on screen time:
Adults:
There is no consensus on the safe amount of screen time for adults. Ideally, adults should limit their screen time similar to children and only use screens for about two hours a day.
However, many adults spend up to 11 hours a day looking at a screen. Adults many times work jobs that require viewing screens which leads to the high screen time usage. Adults obligated to view screens for a means of work may not be able to use screen time less than two hours, but there are other recommendations that help mitigate negative health effects.
For example, breaking up continuous blocks of screen time usage by stretching, maintaining good posture, and intermittently focusing on a distant object for 20 seconds. Furthermore, to mitigate the behavioral effects, adults are encouraged not to eat in front of a screen to avoid habit formation and to keep track of their screen use every day.
Specialists also recommend that adults analyze their daily screen time usage and replace some of the unnecessary usage with a physical activity or social event.
Children:
In 2019, the World Health Organization came out with guidelines about media use for children under 5
- Birth to age 1: No sedentary screen time
- Ages 2–4 No more than 60 minutes of sedentary screen time
More extensive guidelines have been put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2016 for children up to age 5, which include screen time, the quality of content used, and how parents are using screens with their children. The screen time limits are as follows:
- Birth up to 18–24 months: No screen time (with the exception of video chatting)
- 18–24 months: Limit screen time as much as possible
- Ages 2–5: Limit screen time to about an hour a day
In addition to these screen time guidelines, the AAP recommends that when screen time does occur, the content should be high-quality, educational, slower-paced, and free of violence.
Caregivers should avoid giving apps to children that have highly distracting content.
They also recommend that families try to use media with their child so that they can help explain what content is on the screen and how it applies to their own lives. They recommend to turn off devices (including TVs) when the child is not actively using them and to keep bedrooms as screen-free zones. Additionally, they recommend that screens should be put away at least 1 hour before bedtime.
For children from ages 5 to 18, the AAP came out with recommendations in 2016 that focus less on the amount of screen time and more on how media is being used. They recommend children and teens should keep devices (including TVs) out of the bedroom during bedtime, and screens should be put away at least 1 hour before bedtime.
They recommend that caregivers discourage children and teens to use screens during homework for entertainment purposes. Additionally, they recommend that families come up with a "Family Use Plan" that aligns with their family's needs, values, and goals.
This plan should have consistent guidelines and limits for each family member, and families should consider having designated times of the day and areas in the house that are screen-free.
Parents should be involved in monitoring their child's screen usage and try to implement better and healthier practices by encouraging better bedtime routines, educating youth about the lasting effects, and limiting the number of available screens in the environment.
See also:
- Dark therapy
- Delayed sleep phase disorder
- f.lux
- Light effects on circadian rhythm
- Night Shift (software)
- Red Moon (software)
- Digital media use and mental health
- Evolutionary psychiatry
- Gaming disorder
- Social aspects of television
2) Video game addiction
Video game addiction, also known as gaming disorder or internet gaming disorder, is generally defined as the problematic, compulsive use of video games that results in significant impairment to an individual's ability to function in various life domains over a prolonged period of time.
This and associated concepts have been the subject of considerable research, debate, and discussion among experts in several disciplines and has generated controversy within the medical, scientific, and gaming communities. Such disorders can be diagnosed when an individual engages in gaming activities at the cost of fulfilling daily responsibilities or pursuing other interests without regard for the negative consequences.
As defined by the ICD-11, the main criterion for this disorder is a lack of self control over gaming.
The World Health Organization included gaming disorder in the 11th revision of its International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The American Psychiatric Association (APA), while stating there is insufficient evidence for the inclusion of Internet gaming disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 2013, considered it worthy of further study.
Controversy around the diagnosis includes whether the disorder is a separate clinical entity or a manifestation of underlying psychiatric disorders. Research has approached the question from a variety of viewpoints, with no universally standardized or agreed definitions, leading to difficulties in developing evidence-based recommendations.
Definition and diagnosis:
In its report, the Council on Science and Public Health to the American Medical Association (AMA) used this two-hour-per-day limit to define "gaming overuse", citing the American Academy of Pediatrics guideline of no more than one to two hours per day of "screen time". However, the ESA document cited in the Council report does not contain the two-hour-per-day data.
American Psychiatric Association:
While the American Psychiatric Association (APA) does not recognise video game addiction as a disorder, in light of existing evidence, the organisation included video game addiction as a "condition requiring further study" in the DSM-5 as Internet gaming disorder.
Video game addiction is a broader concept than internet gaming addiction, but most video game addiction is associated with internet gaming. APA suggests, like Khan, the effects (or symptoms) of video game addiction may be similar to those of other proposed psychological addictions.
Video game addiction may be an impulse control disorder, similar to compulsive gambling.
The APA explains why Internet Gaming Disorder has been proposed as a disorder: This decision was based upon the large number of studies of this condition and the severity of its consequences. ... Because of the distinguishing features and increased risks of clinically significant problems associated with gaming in particular, the Workgroup recommended the inclusion of only internet gaming disorder in Section 3 of the DSM-5.
Some players become more concerned with their interactions in the game than in their broader lives. Players may play many hours per day, neglect personal hygiene, gain or lose significant weight, disrupt sleep patterns resulting in sleep deprivation, play at work, avoid phone calls from friends, or lie about how much time they spend playing video games.
The APA has developed nine criteria for characterising the proposed Internet Gaming Disorder:
- Pre-occupation. Do you spend a lot of time thinking about games even when you are not playing, or planning when you can play next?
- Withdrawal. Do you feel restless, irritable, moody, angry, anxious or sad when attempting to cut down or stop gaming, or when you are unable to play?
- Tolerance. Do you feel the need to play for increasing amounts of time, play more exciting games, or use more powerful equipment to get the same amount of excitement you used to get?
- Reduce/stop. Do you feel that you should play less, but are unable to cut back on the amount of time you spend playing games?
- Give up other activities. Do you lose interest in or reduce participation in other recreational activities due to gaming?
- Continue despite problems. Do you continue to play games even though you are aware of negative consequences, such as not getting enough sleep, being late to school/work, spending too much money, having arguments with others, or neglecting important duties?
- Deceive/cover up. Do you lie to family, friends or others about how much you game, or try to keep your family or friends from knowing how much you game?
- Escape adverse moods. Do you game to escape from or forget about personal problems, or to relieve uncomfortable feelings such as guilt, anxiety, helplessness or depression?
- Risk/lose relationships/opportunities. Do you risk or lose significant relationships, or job, educational or career opportunities because of gaming?
One of the most commonly used instruments for the measurement of addiction, the PVP Questionnaire (Problem Video Game Playing Questionnaire), was presented as a quantitative measure, not as a diagnostic tool.
According to Griffiths, "all addictions (whether chemical or behavioral) are essentially about constant rewards and reinforcement". He proposes that addiction has six components: salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse. But the APA's nine criteria for diagnosing Internet Gaming Disorder were made by taking point of departure in eight different diagnostic/measuring tools proposed in other studies. Thus, the APA's criteria attempt to condense the scientific work on diagnosing Internet Gaming Disorder.
World Health Organization:
The World Health Organization (WHO) had proposed and later included "gaming disorder" in the 11th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11), released in June 2018, which was approved by the World Health Assembly in May 2019. The use and enforcement of ICD-11 is expected to start on 1 January 2022.
Screening tools:
The first psychometric test to assess IGD was the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20). This test includes 20 questions designed to assess the extent of problems caused by disordered gaming and the degree of symptoms experienced by gamers. The test was first published in a journal article published in the PLoS ONE journal on 14 October 2014.
The Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) is a short psychometric test to assess video game addiction according to the American Psychiatric Association framework for IGD.
Recent review studies suggest that the IGDS9-SF presents with robust empirical and clinical evidence and is an effective tool to assess IGD. Moreover, the scale was adapted in several languages as Spanish, Chinese, Czech, German, and many more.
On 3 June 2019, a screening tool for Gaming Disorder, specifically as defined by the World Health Organization, called the "Gaming Disorder Test" was published in a journal article.
Risk factors:
The Internet can foster various addictions including addiction to game-playing.
Addictive playing of MMORPGs is associated with negative effects, whereas normal play is not.
Younger people and men are more likely to experience a gaming disorder than older people and women respectively. Adolescents are at a higher risk of sustaining video game disorder over time than adults.
An international meta-analysis over 34 jurisdictions quantified the effect size of gender as small, with most effect in Asia, lesser in Europe and Africa, and null in North America, and further finding that economic factors, internet availability, social norms and addiction-related health factors mediate the effect of gender, with nations with a greater GDP per capita having less differences in video game addiction between genders.
Comorbid psychiatric disorders act as both risk factors and consequences. Indeed, there is a strong association between video game addiction and anxiety, depression, ADHD, social phobia, and poor psycho-social support. ADHD and its symptoms, such as impulsivity and conduct problems, also increase risks of developing video game disorder.
Although internet gaming disorder has a strong relationship with obsessive-compulsive disorder, it is not specific and internet gaming disorder is both phenomenologically and neurobiologically distinct, which indicates that internet gaming disorder is more characterized by impulsivity than compulsivity.
Familial factors appear to play an important role, although not well understood.
Some personality traits, such as high neuroticism, high impulsivity, and high aggressiveness are consistently significant predictors of internet gaming disorder, and combination of personality traits seem to play a pivotal role in the acquisition, maintenance and development of the disorder.
Mechanisms:
Although there is much research since the 1980s on problematic online gaming use, the mechanisms are not well understood, due to inconsistent definitions used in studies.
Video game structure:
Some theories focus on the presumed built-in reward systems of video games, such as compulsion loops, to explain their potentially addictive nature. The anticipation of such rewards can create a neurological reaction that releases dopamine into the body, so that once the reward is obtained, the person will remember it as a pleasurable feeling.
This has been found to be similar to the neurological reaction of other behavioral addictions such as substance abuse and gambling disorder, although not to the same magnitude and with some differences.
Mark Griffiths has proposed another reason online video games are potentially addictive is because they "can be played all day every day." The fact there is no end to the game can feel rewarding for some, and hence players are further engaged in the game.
Addiction circuits in the brain:
Long-term internet video/mobile game playing affects brain regions responsible for reward, impulse control and sensory-motor coordination. Structural analyses shown modifications in the volume of the ventral striatum, possibly as result of changes in rewards, and video game addicts had faulty inhibitory control and reward mechanisms.
Video game playing is associated with dopamine release similar in magnitude to that of drug abuse, and the presentation of gaming pictures activates brain regions similarly to drug pictures for drug addicts.
Treatment studies which used fMRI to monitor the brain connectivity changes found a decrease in the activity of the regions associated with cravings. Although there are evidences that video game addiction may be supported by similar neural mechanisms underlying drug abuse, as video game and internet addictions reduce the sensitivity of the dopaminergic reward system, it is still premature to conclude that this addiction is equivalent to substance addictions, as the research is in its early stages.
There is evidence of a dual processing model of digital technology addictions characterized by an imbalance between the reactive and the reflective reward systems. Other studies shown increased difficulties in decision making in specific contexts, such as risky situations but not in ambiguous situations, and an increased preference for short-term rewards.
Although the number of neuroimaging studies on internet gaming disorder is rising, there are several methodological shortcomings, particularly in the inconsistency of psychometric assessments. Furthermore, the conclusions on reduced inhibition should be moderated, as only one study included a functional control, which then showed no difference in inhibition.
A meta-analytic review of the research concluded the evidence suggests video game addiction arises out of other mental health problems, rather than causing them. Thus it is unclear whether video game addiction should be considered a unique diagnosis.
Management:
As concern over video game addiction grows, the use of psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, twelve-step programs, and use of continuing developing treatment enhancements have been proposed to treat this disorder.
Empirical studies indeed indicate that internet gaming disorder is associated with detrimental health-related outcomes. However, the clinical trials of potential treatments remain of low quality, except for cognitive-behavioral therapies, which shows efficacy to reduce gaming disorder and depressive symptoms but not total time spent.
Although there is a scientific consensus that cognitive-behavioral therapy is preferable to pharmacological treatment, it remains difficult to make definitive statements about its benefits and efficiency due to methodological inconsistencies and lack of follow-up.
Since efficacious treatments have not been well established, prevention of video gaming disorder is crucial. Some evidence suggest that up to 50% of people affected by the internet gaming disorder may recover naturally.
Some countries, such as South Korea, China, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States, have responded to the perceived threat of video game addiction by opening treatment centres.
China:
Main article: Video game addiction in China
See also: Yang Yongxin
China was the first country to treat "internet addiction" clinically in 2008. The Chinese government operates several clinics to treat those who overuse online games, chatting and web surfing. Treatment for the patients, most of whom have been forced to attend by parents or government officials, includes various forms of pain including shock therapy.
In August 2009, Deng Sanshan was reportedly beaten to death in a correctional facility for video game and Web addiction. Most of the addiction "boot camps" in China are actually extralegal militaristically managed centers, but have remained popular despite growing controversy over their practices.
In 2019, China set up a curfew, banning minors from playing between certain hours.
Netherlands:
In June 2006, the Smith and Jones clinic in Amsterdam—which has now gone bankrupt—became the first treatment facility in Europe to offer a residential treatment program for compulsive gamers. Keith Bakker, founder and former head of the clinic, has stated that 90% of the young people who seek treatment for compulsive computer gaming are not addicted.
Canada:
At a Computer Addiction Services center in Richmond, British Columbia, excessive gaming accounts for 80% of one youth counselor's caseload.
United Kingdom:
In 2018, the National Health Service announced its plans to open a treatment center, run by the Central and North West London NHS foundation trust, that will initially focus on gaming disorder, but is planned to expand to cover other internet-based addictions. The specialist treatment center opened in 2019 for treating adolescents and young people aged 13–25 who are addicted to video games.
Outcomes:
Mental health:
Internet gaming disorder is associated with increased
anxiety, social phobia and depression, with adults and young adults being more affected than adolescents.
Physical health:
The most frequent physical health-related outcome are alterations in physical functioning such as somatisation and sleep disturbances. Preliminary evidence suggest that internet gaming disorder and the induced sedentarity may contribute to a lack of physical exercise, even though the relationship is not causal.
Epidemiology:
The prevalence of internet gaming disorder range from 0.7% to 25.5% worldwide, or 1.0% to 26.8% worldwide, and 3.5% to 17% in China, and is higher among males than females and among younger than older people, with geographical region being an insignificant contributor.
A longer time spent on video games predicts a tendency towards pathological gaming in the future. The studies, however, used various methodologies and definitions, which renders consensus difficult to achieve and may explain the wide range of prevalence.
Research:
Debates on the classification:
A meta-analytic review of pathological gaming studies concluded that about 3% of gamers may experience some symptoms of pathological gaming. The report noted problems in the field with defining and measuring pathological gaming and concluded that pathological gaming behaviors were more likely the product of underlying mental health problems rather than the inverse.
Barnett and Coulson expressed concern that much of the debate on the issue of addiction may be a knee jerk response stimulated by poor understanding of games and game players.
Such issues may lead both society and scholars to exaggerate the prevalence and nature of problematic gaming, and over-focus on games specifically, while ignoring underlying mental health issues.
Other scholars have cautioned that comparing the symptoms of problematic gaming with problematic gambling is flawed, and that such comparisons may introduce research artifacts and artificially inflate prevalence estimates.
For instance, Richard Wood has observed that behaviors which are problematic in regards to gambling may not be as problematic when put into the context of other behaviors that are rewarding such as gaming. Similarly, Barnett and Coulson have cautioned that discussions of problematic gaming have moved forward prematurely without proper understanding of the symptoms, proper assessment and consequences.
Rather than video gaming disorder being a subtype of gambling disorder, a majority of researchers support the idea of video game addiction being a part of a more comprehensive framework of impulse control disorders with "pathological technology use" with similar characteristics, including the pathological use of video games, internet, computers and other interactive medias.
Although internet and video game addictions are generally considered different from gambling disorder and substance abuse, there is a growing body of evidence indicating they share common features, including behavioral and neural features. Indeed, it is suggested that while behavioral addiction may differ with drug addictions in magnitude, they share several characteristics, with Hellman et al. proposing that the concept of addiction should be de-medicalized.
On the contrary, a literature review found that as the video game addiction develops, online gaming addicts spend increasing amounts of time not only playing but also preparing for and organizing their playing sessions, suggesting this addiction may be behavioral rather than a disorder of impulse control.
There is recent evidence suggesting that internet gaming disorder can cause two distinct types of dysfunctions: cognitive and metacognitive.
Griffiths has suggested that psycho-social dependence may revolve around the intermittent reinforcements in the game and the need to belong. Hagedorn & Young have suggested that social dependence may arise due to video games occurring online where players interact with others and the relationships "often become more important for gamers than real-life relationships".
Controversy and alternative viewpoints:
Common challenges involve the reliability of the methodology and validity of the results in some studies. Many rely on self-surveys from university students and also lack time frames making it difficult to study the impact, if any, of addiction on a long term scale. Other concerns also address the definition of addiction and how to measure it, questioning whether or not time is a proper unit to determine how addicted someone is to gaming.
Daria Joanna Kuss and Mark D. Griffiths have argued the current scientific knowledge on internet gaming addiction is copious in scope and complexity. They state that instead, a simple framework should be provided to allow all current and future studies to be categorised, as internet gaming addiction lies on a continuum beginning with etiology and risk factors all the way through the development of "full-blown" addiction and ending with ramifications and potential treatment.
In addition, they caution the deployment of the label "addiction" since it heavily denotes the use of substances or engagement in certain behaviors. Finally, the researcher promotes other researchers to assess the validity and reliability of existing measures instead of developing additional measurement instruments.
Other challenges include the lack of context of the participant's life and the negative portrayal of gaming addicts. Some state that gamers sometimes use video games to either escape from an uncomfortable environment or alleviate their already existing mental issues—both possibly important aspects in determining the psychological impact of gaming.
Negative portrayal also deals with the lack of consistency in measuring addictive gaming. This leads to discussions that sometimes exaggerate the issue and create a misconception in some that they, themselves, may be addicted when they are not.
The evidence of video game addiction to create withdrawal symptoms is very limited and thus debated, due to different definitions and low quality trials.
The concept of video game disorder is itself being debated, with the overlap of its symptoms with other mental disorders, the unclear consensus on a definition and thresholds, and the lack of evidence raising doubts on whether or not this qualifies as a mental disorder of its own.
Despite the lack of a unified definition, there is an emerging consensus among studies that Internet gaming disorder is mainly defined by three features: 1) withdrawal, 2) loss of control, and 3) conflict. Although the DSM-5 definition of video game disorder has a good fit to current methodological definitions used in trials and studies, there are still debates on the clinical pertinence
Michael Brody, M.D., head of the TV and Media Committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, stated in a 2007 press release that "... there is not enough research on whether or not video games are addictive." However, Brody also cautioned that for some children and adolescents, "... it displaces physical activity and time spent on studies, with friends, and even with family."
A major issue concerns the lack of consistent measures and definitions and of acquisition of follow-up data. Furthermore, the study design quality has not greatly improved between the 2000s and 2017.
For instance, most studies measured internet gaming behaviors in terms of frequency of use (total time spent), without considering the type of game (e.g., MMORPG), the social context (e.g., physically or virtually with friends), nor the motivations (e.g., competitive, achievement-oriented "grinding").
Although the amount of time spent was postulated by Johanssonn and Götestam in 2004 to lead to pathological behaviors, it is unclear whether the time spent is a cause or a consequence of pathological use. These criticisms, however, mostly pertain to Western research since there is more data of higher quality available in Asian regions, where the Internet gaming disorder is more prevalent.
A survey conducted in 2019 of 214 scholars shown that 60.8% agreed that pathological video game use could be a mental health problems, whereas 30.4% were skeptical. However, only 49.7% agreed with the DSM-5 definition of Internet gaming disorder, and 56.5% to the definition of the World Health Organization.
Most scholars were worried that WHO's and DSM-5's inclusion of Internet gaming disorder was "overpathologizing normal youth" and "precipitated moral panic over video games". This indicates a lack of consensus on the issue as of 2019.
History:
Video game addiction has been studied since the 1980s, and has seen a significant increase in the number of empirical studies since then.
The press has reported concerns over online gaming since at least 1994, when Wired mentioned a college student who was playing a MUD game for 12 hours a day instead of attending class.
Press reports have noted that some Finnish Defence Forces' conscripts were not mature enough to meet the demands of military life and were required to interrupt or postpone military service for a year. One reported source of the lack of needed social skills is overuse of computer games or the internet. Forbes termed this overuse "Web fixations" and stated they were responsible for 13 such interruptions or deferrals over the five years from 2000 to 2005.
In an April 2008 article, The Daily Telegraph reported that surveys of 391 players of Asheron's Call showed that three percent of respondents suffered from agitation when they were unable to play, or missed sleep or meals to play. The article reports that University of Bolton lead researcher John Charlton said, "Our research supports the idea that people who are heavily involved in game playing may be nearer to autistic spectrum disorders than people who have no interest in gaming."
On 6 March 2009, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) national news magazine program the fifth estate aired an hour-long report on video game addiction and the Brandon Crisp story, titled "Top Gun", subtitled "When a video gaming obsession turns to addiction and tragedy."
In August 2010, Wired reported that a man in Hawaii, Craig Smallwood, sued the gaming company NCSoft for negligence and for not specifying that their game, Lineage II, was so addictive. He alleged he would not have begun playing if he was aware he would become addicted. Smallwood says he has played Lineage for 20,000 hours between 2004 and 2009.
In 2013, a man from China observed his son's addiction to video games, and decided to take action. He hired online assassins to kill his son's virtual avatar every time he logged in. He hoped that being relentlessly killed would help his son lose interest in this destructive habit.
Inclusion in the ICD-11:
In the draft versions leading to the final ICD-11 document, gaming disorder was included alongside gambling disorder under "Disorders Due to Addictive Behaviors". The addition defines as "a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour ('digital gaming' or 'video-gaming')", defined by three criteria: the lack of control over playing video games, priority given to video games over other interests, and the inability to stop playing video games even after being affected by negative consequences.
For gaming disorder to be diagnosed, the behavior pattern must be of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months.
Research shows gaming disorders can be associated with anxiety, depression, loneliness, obesity, sleeping disorders, attention problems, and stress.
Vladimir Poznyak, the coordinator for the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, defended the addition of gaming disorder, believing the backlash against the addition to be a moral panic as they chose a very narrow definition that encompasses only the most extreme cases of gaming disorder. He said evaluating a disorder for inclusion is nominally done without any external feedback "to avoid interference from commercial and other entities which may have vested interest in the outcome of the process".
Dr. Poznyak asserted that several medical professionals consulting on the ICD-11 did believe gaming disorder to be real, and by including it in the ICD-11, there can now be earnest efforts to define its causes and symptoms betters and methods to deal with it, and now include the video game industry within the conversation to help reduce the effects of video games on public health.
The addition of "gaming disorder" to the ICD-11 was criticized by gamers and the video game industry, while some researchers remained skeptical. Some of these researchers said the evidence remains weak and "there is a genuine risk of abuse of diagnoses." A group of 26 scholars wrote an open letter to the WHO, suggesting that the proposed diagnostic categories lacked scientific merit and were likely to do more harm than good.
In counter-argument, a group of fifty academic researchers in behavioral science agreed that the evidence to support gaming disorder was weak, but it would be best that WHO identify gaming disorder in ICD-11 so that it could be considered a clinical and public health need.
A report, prepared by mental health experts at Oxford University, Johns Hopkins University, Stockholm University and the University of Sydney, sponsored by The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment argues that while there may be potential addiction associated with video gaming, it is premature to consider it a disorder without further study, given the stigmatisation that surrounds video, and ask the WHO to use caution when finalising the ICD draft.
This report was promoted by 22 video game industry trade organizations including the Entertainment Software Association of the United States and Interactive Software Federation of Europe
As the final approval of the ICD-11 neared, several video game trade associations issued a statement requesting WHO to reconsider the addition of "gaming disorder", stating that, "The evidence for its inclusion remains highly contested and inconclusive". The Entertainment Software Association had meetings with the WHO during December 2018 to try to convince them to hold off including gaming disorder within ICD-11, with more planned meetings to follow.
Society and culture:
Parental concerns:
According to ABC News, parents have many concerns about their children playing video games, including concerns about age appropriateness, the amount of time spent playing games, physical health, and aggressive behaviour.
Governmental concerns:
The first video game to attract political controversy was the 1978 arcade game Space Invaders. In 1981, a political bill called the Control of Space Invaders (and other Electronic Games) Bill was drafted by British Labour Party MP George Foulkes in an attempt to ban the game for its "addictive properties" and for causing "deviancy". The bill was debated and only narrowly defeated in parliament by 114 votes to 94 votes.
In August 2005, the government of the People's Republic of China, where more than 20 million people play online games, introduced an online gaming restriction limiting playing time to three hours, after which the player would be expelled from whichever game they were playing.
In 2006, China relaxed the rule so only citizens under the age of 18 would face the limitation. Reports indicate underage gamers found ways to circumvent the measure. In July 2007, the rule was relaxed yet again. Internet games operating in China must require users identify themselves by resident identity numbers. After three hours, players under 18 are prompted to stop and "do suitable physical exercise". If they continue, their in-game points are "slashed in half". After five hours, all their points are automatically erased.
In 2008 in the United States (US), one of the five Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioners, Deborah Taylor Tate, stated that online gaming addiction was "one of the top reasons for college drop-outs". However, she did not mention a source for the statement nor identify its position in relation to other top reasons.
In 2011, the South Korean government implemented a law, known as the Shutdown law or the Cinderella Law, which prohibits children under the age of 16 from playing online video games between the hours of 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. However, as of 2014, the law was amended and now children under the age of 16 can play after midnight if they have permission from their parents.
A systematic review identified in 2017 three types of currently attempted governmental policies: 1) limiting the availability of video games (shutdown, fatigue system, parental controls), 2) reduce the risks and harm (warning messages), 3) provide addiction help services to gamers.
Most of these policies were either not as efficient as intended or not yet evaluated for efficiency, which lead some researchers to prompt for a global public health approach to prevent the onset and progression of this disorder. Some researchers suggest that the video game industry should itself place preventive measures against video game addiction.
Deaths:
There have been at least a few deaths caused directly by exhaustion from playing games for excessive periods of time.
China:
In 2005, thirteen-year-old Zhang XiaoYi committed suicide by jumping from the top of a 24-story tower block in his home province Tianjin. After previously having spent two straight days playing online role-playing games in an Internet cafe, Zhang had told his parents that he had "been poisoned by games and could no longer control himself".
The head of a software association said to gaming website Play.tm that same year: "In the hypothetical world created by such games, [players] become confident and gain satisfaction, which they cannot get in the real world."
In 2007, a 26-year-old man identified only as "Zhang" died of a heart attack due to lack of physical activity following a seven-day gaming binge, while a 30-year-old man died in a Guangzhou Internet cafe after playing online games for three straight days.
South Korea:
In 2005, 28-year old industrial repairman Seungseob Lee (Hangul: 이승섭) visited an Internet cafe in the city of Daegu and played StarCraft almost continuously for fifty hours. He went into cardiac arrest and died at a local hospital. A friend reported: "... he was a game addict. We all knew about it. He couldn't stop himself." About six weeks before his death, his girlfriend, also an avid gamer, broke up with him. In addition, he was fired from his job.
In 2009, Kim Sa-rang, a 3-month-old Korean girl, starved to death after both her parents spent hours each day in an Internet cafe, rearing a virtual child in an online game, Prius Online. The death is covered in the 2014 documentary Love Child.
United States:
In November 2001, Shawn Woolley committed suicide; it has been inferred that his death was related to the popular computer game EverQuest. Shawn's mother said the suicide was due to a rejection or betrayal in the game from a character Shawn called "iluvyou".
Ohio teenager Daniel Petric shot his parents, killing his mother, after they took away his copy of Halo 3 in October 2007. In a sentencing hearing after the teen was found guilty of aggravated murder, the judge said, "I firmly believe that Daniel Petric had no idea at the time he hatched this plot that if he killed his parents they would be dead forever", in reference to his disconnection from reality caused by playing violent video games. On 16 June 2009, Petric was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison.
See also: ___________________________________________________________________________
3) Mobile phone use in schools
The use of mobile phones in schools by students has become a controversial topic debated by students, parents, teachers and authorities.
People who support the use of cell phones believe that these phones are essential for safety by allowing children to communicate with their parents and guardians, could simplify many school matters, and it is important in today's world that children learn how to deal with new media properly as early as possible.
Many persons also think that you should take advantage of the fact that nowadays, there is no need to memorize every fact anymore, as cell phones can be used to access all human knowledge virtually anywhere, allowing schools to shift their focus from imparting knowledge to understanding how certain things work together and promoting the development of personality, teamwork, creativity, social skills etc.
Opponents of students using mobile phones during school believe that mobile phones cause disruption and may be used inappropriately such as by cheating on tests, taking inappropriate photographs, and playing mobile games. Rather than paying attention to teachers, students are spending more time distracted by their phones.
To prevent distractions caused by mobile phones, some schools have implemented policies that restrict students from using their phones during school hours. Some administrators have attempted cell phone jamming, but this practice is illegal in certain jurisdictions.
The software can be used in order to monitor and restrict phone usage to reduce distractions and prevent unproductive use. However, these methods of regulation raise concerns about privacy violation and abuse of power.
Studies:
A 2015 study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior demonstrated that among undergraduate students total usage of mobile phones, measured in number of minutes per day and not limited to school time, was "a significant and negative predictor of college students' academic performance, which was objectively measured s cumulative GPA."
Moreover, the abundant use of mobile technology among young people largely explains the inadequate use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in both personal and school environments. Consequently, actions have been taken that contribute to more responsible use of this type of technology in students' personal, school, and social lives.
In 2015, Dakota Lawson and Bruce B. Henderson performed a study to examine the relationship between mobile phone use in class and information comprehension. The study involved 120 students from an introductory psychology course, mostly first-year students.
The result showed that students who were texting in the class had significantly lower test scores even when the material that was presented was simple: mobile phone use in class impairs students’ comprehension and performance. This study was performed after several similar studies in the past and corroborated their results.
Furthermore, researchers Julia Irwin and Natasha Gupta of Macquarie University performed an experiment in 2016 testing the effect of Facebook-related distractions in the classroom.
The researchers found that students who were interested in the subject material and the way it was presented were less likely to be distracted by Facebook. However, the students with access to phones still performed poorer than students that were not allowed access to cell phones during the lecture.
A 2017 collective study, published by Applied Cognitive Psychology, indicated that college students retained less knowledge when allowed to use or possess a cell phone during lectures. During the experiment, students who were not allowed access to a cell phone tested better than those who had access to cell phones.
Despite the numerous drawbacks that come with the use of cell phones in classrooms, there are benefits to having them available in a school setting. In 2017, Dr. James Derounian conducted a study involving a hundred participants at the University of Gloucestershire. His study revealed that 45% of students believe that the use of phones in classrooms supports their education.
One of the most commonly mentioned ways that phones provided such academic support was digital access to textbooks. The ability to access scholarly material on mobile devices allowed students to engage more deeply with the information presented. Still, Derounian mentioned that there could be "an element of social desirability conveyed in the student views given."
An article by Emma Henderson, a journalist for the United Kingdom (UK) publication The Independent, describes phantom vibrations caused by "learned bodily behavior," where the part of the body to which the phone is closest becomes very sensitive.
As a result, even the slightest vibrations can cause a person to believe that the phone has vibrated when, in reality, it has not. These are known as phantom vibrations. Nine out of ten people claimed to have felt these phantom vibrations in their pockets, raising serious concerns about the overuse of cell phones and the resulting dependency that people develop.
Therefore, breaking the habit of frequently checking one's phone can not only be beneficial for students but also convey more respect towards the professors and teachers whose lectures are constantly interrupted by cellular distractions.
Regulations in the United States:
In the past, some United States schools installed mobile phone jammers to prevent cell phones from working on campuses. However, the sale and use of jammers is illegal in the US under the Federal Communications Act of 1934, because jammers cut off 9-1-1 calls and can disrupt air navigation if they are used near airports.
In 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) became stricter in enforcing the ban on jammers. Mt. Spokane High School in Washington state once installed a jammer to prevent students from calling and text-messaging but removed the device after it decided that it was "probably not legal" under federal law. In 2015, a Florida science teacher received a five-day unpaid suspension for installing a jammer in his classroom.
In 2005, the New York City Department of Education imposed a citywide ban on mobile phones in public schools. However, according to The New York Times, the ban was "inconsistently enforced, with some schools allowing students to carry phones as long as staff members [did] not hear or see them, and other schools—particularly those with metal detectors at the doors—maintaining a strict ban."
The ban was unpopular among parents as well because it impeded communication between them and their children. In March 2015, the citywide ban was lifted, with Mayor Bill de Blasio fulfilling a campaign promise. Under the new policy, school principals in consultation with teachers and parents may set rules on use and storage of mobile phones during instructional time and lunch breaks.
While the default rule is that phones must remain hidden, principals may also elect to "require students to store phones in backpacks or other designated places, allow the use of phones during lunch, or allow phones to be used for instructional purposes." De Blasio said that the policy shift would allow parents to stay in better touch with their children, especially in case of an emergency.
The New York City Schools Chancellor, Carmen Fariña, supported this policy by noting that the change means that students in schools with metal detectors would no longer have to pay outside vendors to store phones for them during the school day.
When asked which type of phone-restriction policy they prefer, students tended to support the side that grants them the opportunity to bring mobile phones onto the school campus, arguing that phones allow them to reach their parents if any problem occurs.
In response to the issue of parent-student communication, parents also argue that there is not a replacement for mobile phones and therefore that phones are an essential device for students to have accessible, raising concerns about a child in danger or not feeling safe not being able to contact a parent and receive assistance.
Parents also believe that giving a child a phone teaches responsibility.
Theft of mobile phones is another concern in some schools. In 2012, following an undercover investigation, thirteen juvenile students in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, were arrested and charged with running a cell-phone-theft ring that resulted in the theft of several thousand dollars worth of mobile phones, tablets, and other electronics.
An increasing number of schools are now allowing the use of cell phones as learning tools. However, the collective use of cell phones in schools poses other technological challenges. Some schools reported that allowing all students to use cell phones at the same time slows down school bandwidth speeds, and hence some schools have blocked phones from accessing the school Wi-Fi.
Phone use in schools is not just an issue for students and teachers but also for other employees of educational institutions. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, while no state bans all mobile phone use for all drivers, twenty states and the District of Columbia prohibit school bus drivers from using mobile phones. School bus drivers have been fired or suspended for using their phones or text-messaging while driving.
Messaging applications:
Cellphone applications have been created to support the use of phones in school environments. As of February 2018, about 80,000 applications are available for teacher use.
A variety of messaging apps provide communication for student-to-student relationships as well as teacher-to-student communication. Some popular apps for both students, teachers, and parents are Remind and ClassDojo. About 72% of top-selling education apps on iOS are for preschoolers and elementary school students. These apps offer many different services such as language translation, scheduled reminders and messages to parents.
The app Remind is another way for teachers to communicate with parents and school administration. This app not only allows teachers to send out scheduled text messages to parents but also provides a class blog for teachers to share upcoming due dates, tests and quizzes, and other class information.
Another app that allows students to communicate with one another is GroupMe. GroupMe allows students to communicate in a group-chat format through Wi-Fi instead of using cellular data. Even some college-aged students use this app for sharing course information.
Technology in schools is becoming a common academic feature throughout many grade levels and age groups. The creation of messaging applications helps support this boom of phone usage in schools. An advantage of messaging apps is their easy usage and accessibility for students, teachers, and parents.
These apps make efficient communication easier for parents with disabilities, parents with demanding full-time jobs, or parents with language barriers. One disadvantage to cell phone usage in schools is that not all students and parents have this technology available to them.
This can cause a socioeconomic gap between students who have cell phones and computers and those who do not. Another problem is that the ease of sharing of information can lead to academic dishonesty. Colleges and universities, in particular, have had many issues with academic dishonesty by digital sharing of tests and other sensitive materials.
As a result, these institutions are becoming more strict with their policies and increasing the severity of consequences for committing plagiarism and other acts of academic dishonesty.e
With time, messaging applications will be consistently improved.
If administrators, teachers, and policy-makers work hard to minimize both student and parent entitlement, set communication boundaries, state expectations early, and reinforce student responsibility, some of the problems caused by messaging apps can be reduced or eliminated.
See also:
- Mobile learning
- Social media in education
- Cell Phones in American High Schools: A National Survey, Journal of Technology Studies
4) Social media and the effects on American adolescents:
The effect of social media on adolescents has been studied increasingly as social media have become more prevalent. By using social media, adolescents can develop issues associated with mental health, but positive effects also can be present.
Research:
Positive impacts:
Social media may positively affect adolescents by promoting a feeling of inclusion, providing greater access to more friends, and enhancing romantic relationships. Social media allows people to communicate with other people, no matter how far away they are from each other.
Some adolescents with social and emotional issues feel more included with social media and online activities. Social media can give people a sense of belonging which can lead to an increase in identity development. Adolescents that post pictures on social media can look back on their memories, and their positive emotions can be related to a sense of their true identity.
Additionally, social media provide a way to communicate with friends and family when alone.
Adolescents who use social media tend to be more outgoing and interact more with others online and in person. According to Newport Academy, teens who spend more time on non- screen activities, such as sports, exercise, in-person social interaction, or any other in-person activities are less likely to report any mental issue, such as anxiety or depression.
Social media provide adolescents within the United States the ability to connect with people from other countries. Being involved in social media typically improves communication skills, social connections, and technical skills. Furthermore, adolescents who are students can use social media to seek academic help.
The appropriate usage of social media has developed favourable academic environments for both, the students and the teaching faculty, offering them potential benefits in the process of learning information.
Social media also allows for the expression of creativity and can display people's interests and talents digitally. For example, high schoolers can feel more connected with their community by seeing what everyone is being involved in. When adolescents use the app Instagram, what they are reading and who they follow is based on their interests. When engaging in this, they are exploring and learning new things regarding their interests.
According to the Mayo Clinic, these platforms can expose teens to current events and teach them many things, such as developing healthy habits.
Some social media platforms are also used for entertainment. For example, the app Vine consists of videos that are intended to create a positive response from the audience.
Negative impacts:
Social comparison theory examines how people establish their personal value by comparing themselves to others. These social comparisons and related feelings of jealousy, when made on social media platforms, can lead to the development of symptoms of depression in users.
Depression is common also for children and adolescents who have been cyberbullied. According to Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance — United States, 2015, nationwide, 15.5% of students had been electronically bullied, counting being bullied through e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging, websites, or texting, during the 12 months before the survey.
Using 7 or more social media platforms has been correlated with a higher risk of anxiety and depression in adolescents. While making friends is possible on social media, adolescents using social media may experience loneliness and question others' genuineness.
The parents of adolescents may not understand social media fully and are concerned about safety and the effect of social media on social development and increased role of social media and technology in adolescents' daily communications may affect their development of in-person relationships.
Increased social media usage may impact how adolescents socialize face-to-face, leading to social isolation when faced with self-doubt or a lack of confidence. Social media can significantly influence body image concerns in female adolescents. Young women who are easily influenced by the images of others on social media may hold themselves to an unrealistic standard for their bodies because of the prevalence of digital image alteration.
Engaging with social media platforms two hours before falling asleep can seriously affect sleep quality, and a longer duration of digital media use is associated with reduced total sleep time. The phenomena of "Facebook depression" is a condition which comes to surface when young adults have a higher usage of Facebook and tend to manifest the actual symptoms of depression.
Youths who frequently use social media increase their risk of depression by 27 percent, while those who dedicate themselves to outdoor activities don't have that much risk. Health Social media has effects on the physical health of teens impacting their development with both short- and long-term consequences. Sleep deprivation may also be another common factor in teens.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a 2016 study that was conducted to more than 450 teens found that greater social media use, nighttime social media use and emotional investment in social media, such as feeling upset when prevented from logging on, were each linked with worse sleep quality that could increase the levels of anxiety and depression. Mayo Clinic Staff. (2019). Teens and Social Media Use: What's The Impact?
With the amount of access teens have to social media the, “harmful consequences include health problems emotional problems, including suicide, internet addiction, including video game addiction; risky Internet use; and social/functional impairment. (Guinta & John, 2018, p.1).”
Each of the following issues can lead to secondary complications from their academic performances to health behaviors that are impacted upon their lives indirectly. In addition, it increases their risk or worsens their current health conditions with a lack of care or time for their health condition.
Research has shown how YouTube has been a good learning tool for many students and how it has proven to be a medium where students are able to learn any type of subject they want and many people have been self taught through this medium; however not everything that is on YouTube is to help us improve our academic performance.
Social media such as YouTube has also proven to distract people from doing their homework and studies show how many students in college procrastinate for many hours by watching YouTube or scrolling through other social media. Social media can be a distraction, with 99% of adolescents using social media for an average of nine out of the 24-hour day.
Social Media has shown that it creates an environment where everyone feels as if they have to look and act a certain way.
Adolescents are feeling “judged” when they post on Instagram and worry constantly if their post will reach a certain number of likes and if the social community will accept them.
Teens often will even look for a friends acceptance of a picture they want to post. If they receive negative feedback, this allows for a decrease in their self-esteem. For example, Facebook is correlated with girls feeling dissatisfied with their weight. Other concerns with social media on adolescents is anxiety and stress. This can be from jealousy and also the fear of missing out or not looking like everyone else.
From the month of January to March 2016, a survey displaying 44 questions was given to patients at the Adolescent Medicine and General Academics Pediatric outpatient offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This survey's participants ranged from 11 to 22. The results of this survey concluded that if a person receives a higher PHQ-9 score, reported that they have increased feelings of depression and anxiety after social media use.
Higher scores also showed there was greater occurrence of jealousy and the participants comparing their life to others on social media. When it comes to communication, adolescents can feel overwhelmed at times by how many messages they are receiving and the negative stigma that is behind not answering.
Social media can be a gateway to Body dysmorphic disorder. Dana Johns, MD, a plastic surgeon at University of Utah Health says, "Selfie' or 'snapchat' dysmorphia is essentially the new age social media upgrade to a long-standing disorder." The current social media age we're in puts a new level of expectations for adolescents and how they should look.
See also:
The effect of social media on adolescents has been studied increasingly as social media have become more prevalent. By using social media, adolescents can develop issues associated with mental health, but positive effects also can be present.
Research:
Positive impacts:
Social media may positively affect adolescents by promoting a feeling of inclusion, providing greater access to more friends, and enhancing romantic relationships. Social media allows people to communicate with other people, no matter how far away they are from each other.
Some adolescents with social and emotional issues feel more included with social media and online activities. Social media can give people a sense of belonging which can lead to an increase in identity development. Adolescents that post pictures on social media can look back on their memories, and their positive emotions can be related to a sense of their true identity.
Additionally, social media provide a way to communicate with friends and family when alone.
Adolescents who use social media tend to be more outgoing and interact more with others online and in person. According to Newport Academy, teens who spend more time on non- screen activities, such as sports, exercise, in-person social interaction, or any other in-person activities are less likely to report any mental issue, such as anxiety or depression.
Social media provide adolescents within the United States the ability to connect with people from other countries. Being involved in social media typically improves communication skills, social connections, and technical skills. Furthermore, adolescents who are students can use social media to seek academic help.
The appropriate usage of social media has developed favourable academic environments for both, the students and the teaching faculty, offering them potential benefits in the process of learning information.
Social media also allows for the expression of creativity and can display people's interests and talents digitally. For example, high schoolers can feel more connected with their community by seeing what everyone is being involved in. When adolescents use the app Instagram, what they are reading and who they follow is based on their interests. When engaging in this, they are exploring and learning new things regarding their interests.
According to the Mayo Clinic, these platforms can expose teens to current events and teach them many things, such as developing healthy habits.
Some social media platforms are also used for entertainment. For example, the app Vine consists of videos that are intended to create a positive response from the audience.
Negative impacts:
Social comparison theory examines how people establish their personal value by comparing themselves to others. These social comparisons and related feelings of jealousy, when made on social media platforms, can lead to the development of symptoms of depression in users.
Depression is common also for children and adolescents who have been cyberbullied. According to Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance — United States, 2015, nationwide, 15.5% of students had been electronically bullied, counting being bullied through e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging, websites, or texting, during the 12 months before the survey.
Using 7 or more social media platforms has been correlated with a higher risk of anxiety and depression in adolescents. While making friends is possible on social media, adolescents using social media may experience loneliness and question others' genuineness.
The parents of adolescents may not understand social media fully and are concerned about safety and the effect of social media on social development and increased role of social media and technology in adolescents' daily communications may affect their development of in-person relationships.
Increased social media usage may impact how adolescents socialize face-to-face, leading to social isolation when faced with self-doubt or a lack of confidence. Social media can significantly influence body image concerns in female adolescents. Young women who are easily influenced by the images of others on social media may hold themselves to an unrealistic standard for their bodies because of the prevalence of digital image alteration.
Engaging with social media platforms two hours before falling asleep can seriously affect sleep quality, and a longer duration of digital media use is associated with reduced total sleep time. The phenomena of "Facebook depression" is a condition which comes to surface when young adults have a higher usage of Facebook and tend to manifest the actual symptoms of depression.
Youths who frequently use social media increase their risk of depression by 27 percent, while those who dedicate themselves to outdoor activities don't have that much risk. Health Social media has effects on the physical health of teens impacting their development with both short- and long-term consequences. Sleep deprivation may also be another common factor in teens.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a 2016 study that was conducted to more than 450 teens found that greater social media use, nighttime social media use and emotional investment in social media, such as feeling upset when prevented from logging on, were each linked with worse sleep quality that could increase the levels of anxiety and depression. Mayo Clinic Staff. (2019). Teens and Social Media Use: What's The Impact?
With the amount of access teens have to social media the, “harmful consequences include health problems emotional problems, including suicide, internet addiction, including video game addiction; risky Internet use; and social/functional impairment. (Guinta & John, 2018, p.1).”
Each of the following issues can lead to secondary complications from their academic performances to health behaviors that are impacted upon their lives indirectly. In addition, it increases their risk or worsens their current health conditions with a lack of care or time for their health condition.
Research has shown how YouTube has been a good learning tool for many students and how it has proven to be a medium where students are able to learn any type of subject they want and many people have been self taught through this medium; however not everything that is on YouTube is to help us improve our academic performance.
Social media such as YouTube has also proven to distract people from doing their homework and studies show how many students in college procrastinate for many hours by watching YouTube or scrolling through other social media. Social media can be a distraction, with 99% of adolescents using social media for an average of nine out of the 24-hour day.
Social Media has shown that it creates an environment where everyone feels as if they have to look and act a certain way.
Adolescents are feeling “judged” when they post on Instagram and worry constantly if their post will reach a certain number of likes and if the social community will accept them.
Teens often will even look for a friends acceptance of a picture they want to post. If they receive negative feedback, this allows for a decrease in their self-esteem. For example, Facebook is correlated with girls feeling dissatisfied with their weight. Other concerns with social media on adolescents is anxiety and stress. This can be from jealousy and also the fear of missing out or not looking like everyone else.
From the month of January to March 2016, a survey displaying 44 questions was given to patients at the Adolescent Medicine and General Academics Pediatric outpatient offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This survey's participants ranged from 11 to 22. The results of this survey concluded that if a person receives a higher PHQ-9 score, reported that they have increased feelings of depression and anxiety after social media use.
Higher scores also showed there was greater occurrence of jealousy and the participants comparing their life to others on social media. When it comes to communication, adolescents can feel overwhelmed at times by how many messages they are receiving and the negative stigma that is behind not answering.
Social media can be a gateway to Body dysmorphic disorder. Dana Johns, MD, a plastic surgeon at University of Utah Health says, "Selfie' or 'snapchat' dysmorphia is essentially the new age social media upgrade to a long-standing disorder." The current social media age we're in puts a new level of expectations for adolescents and how they should look.
See also:
Disciplining Your Child
Pictured below: Extent of corporal punishment of minors in the United States and Europe
Child discipline is the methods used to prevent future behavioral problems in children. The word discipline is defined as imparting knowledge and skill, in other words, to teach. In its most general sense, discipline refers to systematic instruction given to a disciple. To discipline means to instruct a person to follow a particular code of conduct.
Discipline is used by parents to teach their children about expectations, guidelines and principles. Children need to be given regular discipline to be taught right from wrong and to be maintained safe. Child discipline can involve rewards and punishments to teach self-control, increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviors.
While the purpose of child discipline is to develop and entrench desirable social habits in children, the ultimate goal is to foster sound judgement and morals so the child develops and maintains self-discipline throughout the rest of his/her life.
Because the values, beliefs, education, customs and cultures of people vary so widely, along with the age and temperament of the child, methods of child discipline vary widely. Child discipline is a topic that draws from a wide range of interested fields, such as parenting, the professional practice of behavior analysis, developmental psychology, social work, and various religious perspectives.
In recent years, advances in the understanding of attachment parenting have provided a new background of theoretical understanding and advanced clinical and practical understanding of the effectiveness and outcome of parenting methods.
In Western society, there has been debate in recent years over the use of corporal punishment for children in general, and increased attention to the concept of "positive parenting" where good behavior is encouraged and rewarded. Consistency, firmness and respect are all important components of positive discipline.
The goal of positive discipline is to teach, train and guide children so that they learn, practice self-control and develop the ability to manage their emotions, and make wise choices regarding their personal behavior.
Cultural differences exist among many forms of child discipline. Shaming is a form of discipline and behavior modification. Children raised in different cultures experience discipline and shame in various ways. This generally depends on whether the society values Individualism or Collectivism.
History:
Historical research suggests that there has been a great deal of individual variation in methods of discipline over time.
Medieval times:
Nicholas Orme of the University of Exeter argues that children in medieval times were treated differently from adults in legal matters, and the authorities were as troubled about violence to children as they were to adults. In his article, "Childhood in Medieval England," he states, "Corporal punishment was in use throughout society and probably also in homes, although social commentators criticized parents for indulgence towards children rather than for harsh discipline."
Salvation was the main goal of discipline, and parents were driven to ensure their children a place in heaven.
In one incident in early 14th-century London, neighbors intervened when a cook and clerk were beating a boy carrying water. A scuffle ensued and the child's tormentors were subdued.
The neighbors didn't even know the boy, but they firmly stood up for him even when they were physically attacked, and they stood by their actions when the cook and clerk later sued for damages.
Colonial times:
During colonial times in the United States, parents were able to provide enjoyments for their children in the form of toys, according to David Robinson, writer for the Colonial Williamsburg Journal. Robinson notes that even the Puritans permitted their young children to play freely. Older children were expected to swiftly adopt adult chores and accountabilities, to meet the strict necessities of daily life.
Harsh punishments for minor infractions were common. Beatings and other forms of corporal punishment occurred regularly; one legislator even suggested capital punishment for children's misbehavior.
Pre-Civil War and Post-Civil War times:
According to Stacey Patton, corporal punishment in African American families has its roots in punishment meted out by parents and family members during the era of slavery in the United States.
Europeans would use physical discipline on their children, whereas she states that it was uncommon in West African and Indigenous North American societies and only became more prevalent as their lives grew more difficult due to slavery and genocide.
As such, Patton argues that traditional parenting styles were not preserved due to the "violent suppression of West African cultural practices". Parents were expected and pressured to teach their children to behave in a certain way in front of white people, as well as to expect the physical, sexual, and emotional violence and dehumanizing actions that typically came with slavery.
While the Emancipation Proclamation ended the institution of slavery, in the south many expected former slaves to conform to the prior expectations of deference and demeanor. Patton states that black parents continued to use corporal punishment with their children out of fear that doing otherwise would put them and their family at risk of violence and discrimination, a form of parenting that she argues is still common today.
Biblical views:
The Book of Proverbs mentions the importance of disciplining children, as opposed to leaving them neglected or unruly, in several verses. Interpretation of these verses varies, as do many passages from the Bible, from literal to metaphorical.
The most often paraphrased is from Proverbs 13:24, "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." (King James Version.) Other passages that mention the 'rod' are Proverbs 23:14, "Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell," and Proverbs 29:15, "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."
Although the Bible's lessons have been paraphrased for hundreds of years, the modern phrase, "Spare the rod and spoil the child," was coined by Samuel Butler, in Hudibras, a mock heroic narrative poem published in 1663. The Contemporary English Version of Proverbs 13:24 is: 'If you love your children you will correct them; if you don't love them, you won't correct them'.
Medieval views:
The primary guidelines followed by medieval parents in training their children were from the Bible. Scolding was considered ineffectual, and cursing a child was a terrible thing. In general, the use of corporal punishment was as a disciplinary action taken to shape behavior, not a pervasive dispensing of beatings for no reason.
Corporal punishment was undoubtedly the norm. The medieval world was a dangerous place, and it could take harsh measures to prepare a child to live in it. Pain was the medieval way of illustrating that actions had consequences.
Influence of John Locke:
In his 1690 Essay Concerning Human Understanding English physician and philosopher John Locke argued that the child resembled a blank tablet (tabula rasa) at birth, and was not inherently full of sin. In his 1693 Some Thoughts Concerning Education he suggested that the task of the parent was to build in the child the strong body and habits of mind that would allow the capacity of reason to develop, and that parents could reward good behavior with their esteem and punish bad behavior with disgrace – the withdrawal of parental approval and affection - as opposed to beatings.
The twentieth century:
In the early twentieth century, child-rearing experts abandoned a romantic view of childhood and advocated formation of proper habits to discipline children. A 1914 U.S. Children's Bureau pamphlet, Infant Care, urged a strict schedule and admonished parents not to play with their babies.
John B. Watson's 1924 Behaviorism argued that parents could train malleable children by rewarding good behavior and punishing bad, and by following precise schedules for food, sleep, and other bodily functions.
Although such principles began to be rejected as early as the 1930s, they were firmly renounced in the 1946 best-seller Baby and Child Care, by pediatrician Benjamin Spock, which told parents to trust their own instincts and to view the child as a reasonable, friendly human being.
Dr. Spock revised his first edition to urge more parent-centered discipline in 1957, but critics blamed his popular book for its permissive attitude during the youth rebellions of the 1960s and 1970s.
In the last half of the century, Parent Management Training was developed and found to be effective in reducing child disruptive behavior in randomized controlled trials.
Conservative backlash:
Following the permissive trend of the 1960s and early 1970s, American evangelical Christian James Dobson sought the return of a more conservative society and advocated spanking of children up to age eight Dobson's position is controversial. As early as 1985 The New York Times stated that "most child-care experts today disapprove of physical punishment."
Corporal punishment:
Main article: Corporal punishment in the home
In many cultures, parents have historically had the right to spank their children when appropriate.
A 2006 retrospective study in New Zealand, showed that physical punishment of children remained quite common in the 1970s and 1980s, with 80% of the sample reporting some kind of corporal punishment from parents, at some time during childhood.
Among this sample, 29% reported being hit with an empty hand. However 45% were hit with an object, and 6% were subjected to serious physical abuse. The study noted that abusive physical punishment tended to be given by fathers and often involved striking the child's head or torso instead of the buttocks or limbs.
Attitudes have changed in recent years, and legislation in some countries, particularly in continental Europe, reflect an increased skepticism toward corporal punishment.
As of December 2017, domestic corporal punishment has been outlawed in 56 countries around the world, most of them in Europe and Latin America, beginning with Sweden in 1966. Official figures show that just 10 percent of Swedish children had been spanked or otherwise struck by their parents by 2010, compared to more than 90 percent in the 1960s.
The Swedish law does not actually lay down any legal punishment for smacking but requires social workers to support families with problems.
A 2013 study by Murray A. Straus at the University of New Hampshire found that children across numerous cultures who were spanked committed more crimes as adults than children who were not spanked, regardless of the quality of their relationship to their parents.
Even as corporal punishment became increasingly controversial in North America, Britain, Australia and much of the rest of the English-speaking world, limited corporal punishment of children by their parents remained lawful in all 50 states of the United States.
It was not until 2012 that Delaware became the first state to pass a statute defining "physical injury" to a child to include "any impairment of physical condition or pain."
Cultural differences:
A number of authors have emphasized the importance of cultural differences in assessing disciplinary methods. Baumrind argues that "The cultural context critically determines the meaning and therefore the consequences of physical discipline . . ." (Baumrind, 1996; italics in original).
Polite (1996) emphasizes that the "debate over whether or not to use corporal punishment rages in many ethnic communities." Larzelare, Baumrind and Polite assert that "After ignoring decades of cultural differences in the effects of spanking, these 2 ARCHIVES [1997] studies and 2 other studies in the past year have each found significantly different effects for African Americans than for non-Hispanic European Americans.
The effects of spanking in African American families are generally beneficial to children, unless it is used excessively, either in severity or in frequency." (Larzelere et al., 1998; references to other articles omitted). Our results confirm the serious differences of opinion on discipline, even in a relatively homogenous ethnic community.
Child discipline is often affected by cultural differences. Many Eastern countries typically emphasize beliefs of collectivism in which social conformity and the interests of the group are valued above the individual.
Families that promote collectivism will frequently employ tactics of shaming in the form of social comparisons and guilt induction in order to modify behavior. A child may have their behavior compared to that of a peer by an authority figure in order to guide their moral development and social awareness. Many Western countries place an emphasis on individualism. These societies often value independent growth and self esteem.
Disciplining a child by contrasting them to better-behaved children is contrary to the individualistic societies value of nurturing children's self-esteem. These children of individualistic societies are more likely to feel a sense of guilt when shame is used as a form of behavior correction.
For the collectivist societies, shaming corresponds with the value of promoting self improvement without negatively affecting self esteem.
Parenting styles:
There are different parenting styles which parents use to discipline their children. Four types have been identified: authoritative parents, authoritarian parents, indulgent parents, and indifferent parents.
Authoritative parents are parents who use warmth, firm control, and rational, issue-oriented discipline, in which emphasis is placed on the development of self-direction. They place a high value on the development of autonomy and self-direction, but assume the ultimate responsibility for their child's behavior. "You live under my roof, you follow my rules!" is a cliché, but one that parents may often find themselves speaking - and it probably most closely mimics the authoritative parenting style.
Authoritarian parents are parents who use punitive, absolute, and forceful discipline, and who place a premium on obedience and conformity. If parents exhibit good emotional understanding and control, children also learn to manage their own emotions and learn to understand others as well. These parents believe it is their responsibility to provide for their children and that their children have little to no right to tell the parent how best to do this. Adults are expected to know from experience what is really in the child's best interest and so adult views are allowed to take precedence over child desires. Children are perceived to know what they want but not necessarily what is best for them.
Indulgent parents are parents who are characterized by responsiveness but low demandingness, and who are mainly concerned with the child's happiness. They behave in an accepting, benign, and somewhat more passive way in matters of discipline.
Indifferent parents are parents who are characterized by low levels of both responsiveness and demandingness. They try to do whatever is necessary to minimize the time and energy they must devote to interacting with their child. In extreme cases, indifferent parents may be neglectful. They ask very little of their children. For instance, they rarely assign their children chores. They tend to be relatively uninvolved in their children's lives. It's not that they don't love their children. It's just that they believe their children should live their own lives, as free of parental control as possible.
Connected parents are parents who want to improve the way in which they connect with their children using an empathetic approach to challenging or even tumultuous relationships. Using the 'CALM' technique, by Jennifer Kolari, parents recognize the importance of empathy and aspire to build capacity in their children in hopes of them becoming confident and emotionally resilient. The CALM acronym stands for: Connect emotionally, match the Affect of the child, Listen to what your child is saying and Mirror their emotion back to show understanding.
Non-physical discipline:
Non-physical discipline consists of both punitive and non-punitive methods but does not include any forms of corporal punishment such as hitting or spanking. The regular use of any single form of discipline becomes less effective when used too often, a process psychologists call habituation. Thus, no single method is considered to be for exclusive use.
Non-Physical discipline is used in the concerted cultivation style of parenting that comes from the middle and upper class. Concerted cultivation is the method of parenting that includes heavy parental involvement, and use reasoning and bargaining as disciplinary methods.
Time-outs:
Main article: Time-out (parenting)
A common method of child discipline is sending the child away from the family or group after misbehavior. Children may be told to stand in the corner ("corner time") or may be sent to their rooms for a period of time. A time-out involves isolating or separating a child for a few minutes and is intended to give an over-excited child time to calm down.
Alternatively, time-outs have been recommended as a time for parents to separate feelings of anger toward the child for their behavior and to develop a plan for discipline.
When using time-outs as a discipline strategy, individuals must also take into consideration the temperaments of the child if one decides to use time-outs. If a child, for example, has a feisty temperament, or a temperament that expresses emotion in a highly intense way, then discipline strategies of using time-outs would be ineffective because of the clash of discipline strategy to the child's temperament trait.
If an individual decides to use the time-out with a child as a discipline strategy, the individual must be unemotional and consistent with the undesired behavior. Along with taking into consideration the child's temperament, the length of the time-out needs to also depend on the age of the child.
For example, the time-out should last one minute per year of the child's age, so if the child is five years old, the time-out should go no longer than five minutes.
Several anti-discipline experts do not recommend the use of any form of punishment, including time-outs. These authors include Thomas Gordon, Alfie Kohn, and Aletha Solter.
Grounding:
Main article: Grounding (discipline technique)
Another common method of discipline used for, usually, preteens and teenagers, is restricting the child's freedom of movement, optionally compounded by restricting activities. Examples of restriction of movement would be confinement to the yard, or to the house, or to just the bedroom and restroom, excepting, of course, for required activities, e.g., attending school or religious services, going to work, or obtaining healthcare, etc.
Examples of restriction of activities would be disallowing visits by friends, forbidding use of a telephone and other means of communications, or prohibiting games and electronic entertainment, taking away books and toys, and forbidding watching television and listening to music.
Hotsaucing:
Hotsaucing is the practice of reprimanding a child by putting hot sauce in the child's mouth. Some pediatricians, psychologists and experts on child care strongly recommend against this practice.
Former child star Lisa Whelchel advocates hot saucing in her parenting book Creative Correction. In the book, Whelchel claims the practice is more effective and humane than traditional corporal punishments, such as spanking; she repeated this opinion when promoting her book on Good Morning America, where she said in raising her own child she found the technique successful where other measures had failed.
Whelchel's book recommends using only "tiny" amounts of hot sauce, and lists alternatives such as lemon juice or vinegar.
The practice had also been suggested in a 2001 article in Today's Christian Woman magazine, where only "a drop" is suggested, and alternative substances are listed.
While these publications are credited with popularizing hot saucing, the practice is believed by some to come from Southern United States culture. It is well-known among pediatricians, psychologists and child welfare professionals. If a child is allergic to any of the ingredients in a hot sauce, it can cause swelling of the child's tongue and esophagus, presenting a choking hazard.
Scolding:
Scolding involves reproving or criticizing a child's negative behavior and/or actions.
Some research suggests that scolding is counter-productive because parental attention (including negative attention) tends to reinforce behavior.
Non-punitive discipline:
While punishments may be of limited value in consistently influencing rule-related behavior, non-punitive discipline techniques have been found to have greater impact on children who have begun to master their native language.
Non-punitive discipline (also known as empathic discipline and positive discipline) is an approach to child-rearing that does not use any form of punishment. It is about loving guidance, and requires parents to have a strong relationship with their child so that the child responds to gentle guidance as opposed to threats and punishment.
According to Dr. Laura Markham, the most effective discipline strategy is to make sure your child wants to please you.
Non-punitive discipline also excludes systems of "manipulative" rewards. Instead, a child's behavior is shaped by "democratic interaction" and by deepening parent-child communication. The reasoning behind it is that while punitive measures may stop the problem behavior in the short term, by themselves they do not provide a learning opportunity that allows children the autonomy to change their own behavior.
Punishments such as time-outs may be seen as banishment and humiliation. Consequences as a form of punishment are not recommended, but natural consequences are considered to be possibly worthwhile learning experiences provided there is no risk of lasting harm.
Positive discipline is both non-violent discipline and non-punitive discipline. Criticizing, discouraging, creating obstacles and barriers, blaming, shaming, using sarcastic or cruel humor, or using physical punishment are some negative disciplinary methods used with young children.
Any parent may occasionally do any of these things, but doing them more than once in a while may lead to low self-esteem becoming a permanent part of the child's personality.
Authors in this field include Aletha Solter, Alfie Kohn, Pam Leo, Haim Ginott, Thomas Gordon, Lawrence J. Cohen, and John Gottman.
Essential aspects:
In the past, harsh discipline has been the norm for families in society. However, research by psychologists has brought about new forms of effective discipline. Positive discipline is based on minimizing the child's frustrations and misbehavior rather than giving punishments.
The main focus in this method is the "Golden Rule", treat others the way you want to be treated. Parents follow this when disciplining their children because they believe that their point will reach the children more effectively rather than traditional discipline.
The foundation of this style of discipline is encouraging children to feel good about themselves and building the parent's relationship with the child so the child wants to please the parent.
In traditional discipline, parents would instill fear in their child by using shame and humiliation to get their point across. However, studies show that this type of punishment ultimately causes the children to have more psychological problems in their adolescence and adulthood.
Physical and harsh punishment shows the child that violence and negative treatment is acceptable in some circumstances, wheres, positive discipline demonstrates the opposite.
In positive discipline the parents avoid negative treatment and focus on the importance of communication and showing unconditional love. Feeling loved, important and well liked has positive and negative effects on how a child perceives themselves. The child will feel important if the child feels well liked and loved by a person.
Other important aspects are reasonable and age-appropriate expectations, feeding healthy foods and providing enough rest, giving clear instructions which may need to be repeated, looking for the causes of any misbehavior and making adjustments, and building routines.
Children are helped by knowing what is happening in their lives. Having some predictability about their day without necessarily being regimental will help reduce frustration and misbehavior. Not only are the children taught to be open-minded, but the parents must demonstrate this as well.
Methods:
Praise and rewards:
Main article: Operant conditioning
Simply giving the child spontaneous expressions of appreciation or acknowledgement when they are not misbehaving will act as a reinforcer for good behavior. Focusing on good behavior versus bad behavior will encourage appropriate behavior in the given situation.
According to B. F. Skinner, past behavior that is reinforced with praise is likely to repeat in the same or similar situation.
In operant conditioning, schedules of reinforcement are an important component of the learning process. When and how often we reinforce a behavior can have a dramatic impact on the strength and rate of the response. A schedule of reinforcement is basically a rule stating which instances of a behavior will be reinforced.
In some case, a behavior might be reinforced every time it occurs. Sometimes, a behavior might not be reinforced at all. Either positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement might be used, depending on the situation. In both cases, the goal of reinforcement is always to strengthen the behavior and increase the likelihood that it will occur again in the future.
In real-world settings, behaviors are probably not going to be reinforced each and every time they occur. For situations where you are purposely trying to train and reinforce an action, such as in the classroom, in sports or in animal training, you might opt to follow a specific reinforcement schedule.
As you'll see below, some schedules are best suited to certain types of training situations. In some cases, training might call for starting out with one schedule and switching to another once the desired behavior has been taught.
Example of operant conditioning:
Positive reinforcement: Whenever he is being good, cooperative, solves things non-aggressively, immediately reward those behaviors with praise, attention, goodies.
Punishment: If acting aggressively, give immediate, undesired consequence (send to corner; say "NO!" and couple with response cost).
Response cost: Most common would be "time-out". Removing sources of attention by placing in an environment without other people. Careful: This can become (aversive) punishment, depending on how done. To be response cost, it can only simply be taking away a desirable thing; not adding a negative one.
Negative reinforcement: One example would be to couple negative reinforcement with response cost—after some period of time in which he has acted cooperatively or calmly while in the absence of others, can bring him back with others. Thus, taking away the isolation should reinforce the desired behavior (being cooperative).
Extinction: Simply ignoring behaviors should lead to extinction. Note: that initially when ignored, can expect an initial increase in the behavior—a very trying time in situations such as a child that is acting out.
It is common for children who are otherwise ignored by their parents to turn to misbehavior as a way of seeking attention. An example is a child screaming for attention. Parents often inadvertently reward the bad behavior by immediately giving them the attention, thereby reinforcing it. On the other hand, parents may wait until the child calms down and speaks politely, then reward the more polite behavior with the attention.
Natural consequences:
Main article: Operant conditioning
Natural consequences involve children learning from their own mistakes. In this method, the parent's job is to teach the child which behaviors are inappropriate. In order to do this, parents should allow the child to make a mistake and let them experience the natural results from their behavior.
For instance, if a child forgets to bring his lunch to school, he will find himself hungry later. Using natural consequences would be indicative of the theory of accomplishment of natural growth, which is the parenting style of the working class and poor.
The accomplishment of natural growth focuses on separation between children and family.
Children are given directives and expected to carry them out without complaint or delay.
Children are responsible for themselves during their free time, and the parent's main concern is caring for the children's physical needs.
Research:
Non-violent discipline options:
A systematic overview of evidence on non-violent discipline options conducted by Karen Quail and Catherine Ward was published in 2020.This meta study reviewed 223 systematic reviews covering data from 3,921 primary studies, and available research evidence was summarized for over 50 discipline tools.
Non-violent parenting tools were defined as any skills "which can be used to address a child's resistance, lack of cooperation, problem behavior or dysregulation, or to teach and support appropriate behavior". This is distinguished from a coercive approach, "in which the adult tries to force a certain reaction from the child using threats, intimidation and punishment." Coercive approaches have been found to increase child aggression and conduct problems.
Quail and Ward observed that information on discipline skills on the internet and in parenting books is limited and often inaccurate and misleading. "There is advice against time-outs or praise and rewards, when in fact these are evidence-supported skills which, used appropriately, have positive effects on behavior.".
They highlight the need for an evidence-based toolkit of individual skills from which parents and teachers can choose techniques that best suit the situation and fit with their cultural norms. The meta-study found a wide range of evidence-supported non-violent discipline tools, many of which have been found effective with severe problem behavior. Quail organized these into a Peace Discipline model supported by a toolkit of techniques.
A few of the specific tools showing positive effects include the following.
Other, more technical tools include behavior contracts, utilizing cost, group contingencies, and restorative justice interventions.
Quail and Ward suggest that parental attunement is a key parent-skill to effectively use positive parenting tools. Attunement involves giving focused attention to the child's needs behavioral signals, and matching an appropriate choice of discipline tool.
They use this example as an illustration: "rewards undermined intrinsic motivation for children who were already motivated, but had positive effects where motivation was low, and were found to be particularly important for children with ADHD." From this perspective, reward should not be considered a good or bad tool in itself, but rather evaluated according to its fit with the needs and signals of the child.
Beyond their effectiveness and usefulness as alternatives to corporal punishment, reviewed skills also showed important and often long-term positive effects. Examples included:
Quail and Ward concluded that the "important positive outcomes shown suggest that use of these tools should be promoted not only for prevention of violence, but for optimum child development."
Obedience and internal discipline:
Show respect is a part of the Elements of Discipline distinguished from obedience-based with a respectful intervention and effective discipline model, state “When setting a limit, caregivers should avoid commenting on a child’s motives, intentions or overall patterns of behavior.”.
Accept feelings is stated as; “caregivers should provide symbolic [experiential] outlets for the child’s expression of feelings, even when setting a limit on an overt behavior stemming from that feeling.”.
A child's feelings is never a problem, even when action is. Assert needs can be stated as: “Caregivers have a right and a responsibility to set a limit whenever a child does something, dangerous, destructive or that violates the caregiver’s standards of acceptability.” providing respect to the child's needs and feelings/emotions, expecting likewise in return while being careful to prevent providing praise when the caregiver doesn't like the behavior, and to refrain from punishing behavior the caregiver does like.
This umbrella of principles is called warmth, being warm is respectful, encouraging, giving room for experience, firm ground rules and praise. Warmth, tolerance and influence are the three forming this framework of child development and psychological practical application in a schooling context.
See also:
Discipline is used by parents to teach their children about expectations, guidelines and principles. Children need to be given regular discipline to be taught right from wrong and to be maintained safe. Child discipline can involve rewards and punishments to teach self-control, increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviors.
While the purpose of child discipline is to develop and entrench desirable social habits in children, the ultimate goal is to foster sound judgement and morals so the child develops and maintains self-discipline throughout the rest of his/her life.
Because the values, beliefs, education, customs and cultures of people vary so widely, along with the age and temperament of the child, methods of child discipline vary widely. Child discipline is a topic that draws from a wide range of interested fields, such as parenting, the professional practice of behavior analysis, developmental psychology, social work, and various religious perspectives.
In recent years, advances in the understanding of attachment parenting have provided a new background of theoretical understanding and advanced clinical and practical understanding of the effectiveness and outcome of parenting methods.
In Western society, there has been debate in recent years over the use of corporal punishment for children in general, and increased attention to the concept of "positive parenting" where good behavior is encouraged and rewarded. Consistency, firmness and respect are all important components of positive discipline.
The goal of positive discipline is to teach, train and guide children so that they learn, practice self-control and develop the ability to manage their emotions, and make wise choices regarding their personal behavior.
Cultural differences exist among many forms of child discipline. Shaming is a form of discipline and behavior modification. Children raised in different cultures experience discipline and shame in various ways. This generally depends on whether the society values Individualism or Collectivism.
History:
Historical research suggests that there has been a great deal of individual variation in methods of discipline over time.
Medieval times:
Nicholas Orme of the University of Exeter argues that children in medieval times were treated differently from adults in legal matters, and the authorities were as troubled about violence to children as they were to adults. In his article, "Childhood in Medieval England," he states, "Corporal punishment was in use throughout society and probably also in homes, although social commentators criticized parents for indulgence towards children rather than for harsh discipline."
Salvation was the main goal of discipline, and parents were driven to ensure their children a place in heaven.
In one incident in early 14th-century London, neighbors intervened when a cook and clerk were beating a boy carrying water. A scuffle ensued and the child's tormentors were subdued.
The neighbors didn't even know the boy, but they firmly stood up for him even when they were physically attacked, and they stood by their actions when the cook and clerk later sued for damages.
Colonial times:
During colonial times in the United States, parents were able to provide enjoyments for their children in the form of toys, according to David Robinson, writer for the Colonial Williamsburg Journal. Robinson notes that even the Puritans permitted their young children to play freely. Older children were expected to swiftly adopt adult chores and accountabilities, to meet the strict necessities of daily life.
Harsh punishments for minor infractions were common. Beatings and other forms of corporal punishment occurred regularly; one legislator even suggested capital punishment for children's misbehavior.
Pre-Civil War and Post-Civil War times:
According to Stacey Patton, corporal punishment in African American families has its roots in punishment meted out by parents and family members during the era of slavery in the United States.
Europeans would use physical discipline on their children, whereas she states that it was uncommon in West African and Indigenous North American societies and only became more prevalent as their lives grew more difficult due to slavery and genocide.
As such, Patton argues that traditional parenting styles were not preserved due to the "violent suppression of West African cultural practices". Parents were expected and pressured to teach their children to behave in a certain way in front of white people, as well as to expect the physical, sexual, and emotional violence and dehumanizing actions that typically came with slavery.
While the Emancipation Proclamation ended the institution of slavery, in the south many expected former slaves to conform to the prior expectations of deference and demeanor. Patton states that black parents continued to use corporal punishment with their children out of fear that doing otherwise would put them and their family at risk of violence and discrimination, a form of parenting that she argues is still common today.
Biblical views:
The Book of Proverbs mentions the importance of disciplining children, as opposed to leaving them neglected or unruly, in several verses. Interpretation of these verses varies, as do many passages from the Bible, from literal to metaphorical.
The most often paraphrased is from Proverbs 13:24, "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." (King James Version.) Other passages that mention the 'rod' are Proverbs 23:14, "Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell," and Proverbs 29:15, "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."
Although the Bible's lessons have been paraphrased for hundreds of years, the modern phrase, "Spare the rod and spoil the child," was coined by Samuel Butler, in Hudibras, a mock heroic narrative poem published in 1663. The Contemporary English Version of Proverbs 13:24 is: 'If you love your children you will correct them; if you don't love them, you won't correct them'.
Medieval views:
The primary guidelines followed by medieval parents in training their children were from the Bible. Scolding was considered ineffectual, and cursing a child was a terrible thing. In general, the use of corporal punishment was as a disciplinary action taken to shape behavior, not a pervasive dispensing of beatings for no reason.
Corporal punishment was undoubtedly the norm. The medieval world was a dangerous place, and it could take harsh measures to prepare a child to live in it. Pain was the medieval way of illustrating that actions had consequences.
Influence of John Locke:
In his 1690 Essay Concerning Human Understanding English physician and philosopher John Locke argued that the child resembled a blank tablet (tabula rasa) at birth, and was not inherently full of sin. In his 1693 Some Thoughts Concerning Education he suggested that the task of the parent was to build in the child the strong body and habits of mind that would allow the capacity of reason to develop, and that parents could reward good behavior with their esteem and punish bad behavior with disgrace – the withdrawal of parental approval and affection - as opposed to beatings.
The twentieth century:
In the early twentieth century, child-rearing experts abandoned a romantic view of childhood and advocated formation of proper habits to discipline children. A 1914 U.S. Children's Bureau pamphlet, Infant Care, urged a strict schedule and admonished parents not to play with their babies.
John B. Watson's 1924 Behaviorism argued that parents could train malleable children by rewarding good behavior and punishing bad, and by following precise schedules for food, sleep, and other bodily functions.
Although such principles began to be rejected as early as the 1930s, they were firmly renounced in the 1946 best-seller Baby and Child Care, by pediatrician Benjamin Spock, which told parents to trust their own instincts and to view the child as a reasonable, friendly human being.
Dr. Spock revised his first edition to urge more parent-centered discipline in 1957, but critics blamed his popular book for its permissive attitude during the youth rebellions of the 1960s and 1970s.
In the last half of the century, Parent Management Training was developed and found to be effective in reducing child disruptive behavior in randomized controlled trials.
Conservative backlash:
Following the permissive trend of the 1960s and early 1970s, American evangelical Christian James Dobson sought the return of a more conservative society and advocated spanking of children up to age eight Dobson's position is controversial. As early as 1985 The New York Times stated that "most child-care experts today disapprove of physical punishment."
Corporal punishment:
Main article: Corporal punishment in the home
In many cultures, parents have historically had the right to spank their children when appropriate.
A 2006 retrospective study in New Zealand, showed that physical punishment of children remained quite common in the 1970s and 1980s, with 80% of the sample reporting some kind of corporal punishment from parents, at some time during childhood.
Among this sample, 29% reported being hit with an empty hand. However 45% were hit with an object, and 6% were subjected to serious physical abuse. The study noted that abusive physical punishment tended to be given by fathers and often involved striking the child's head or torso instead of the buttocks or limbs.
Attitudes have changed in recent years, and legislation in some countries, particularly in continental Europe, reflect an increased skepticism toward corporal punishment.
As of December 2017, domestic corporal punishment has been outlawed in 56 countries around the world, most of them in Europe and Latin America, beginning with Sweden in 1966. Official figures show that just 10 percent of Swedish children had been spanked or otherwise struck by their parents by 2010, compared to more than 90 percent in the 1960s.
The Swedish law does not actually lay down any legal punishment for smacking but requires social workers to support families with problems.
A 2013 study by Murray A. Straus at the University of New Hampshire found that children across numerous cultures who were spanked committed more crimes as adults than children who were not spanked, regardless of the quality of their relationship to their parents.
Even as corporal punishment became increasingly controversial in North America, Britain, Australia and much of the rest of the English-speaking world, limited corporal punishment of children by their parents remained lawful in all 50 states of the United States.
It was not until 2012 that Delaware became the first state to pass a statute defining "physical injury" to a child to include "any impairment of physical condition or pain."
Cultural differences:
A number of authors have emphasized the importance of cultural differences in assessing disciplinary methods. Baumrind argues that "The cultural context critically determines the meaning and therefore the consequences of physical discipline . . ." (Baumrind, 1996; italics in original).
Polite (1996) emphasizes that the "debate over whether or not to use corporal punishment rages in many ethnic communities." Larzelare, Baumrind and Polite assert that "After ignoring decades of cultural differences in the effects of spanking, these 2 ARCHIVES [1997] studies and 2 other studies in the past year have each found significantly different effects for African Americans than for non-Hispanic European Americans.
The effects of spanking in African American families are generally beneficial to children, unless it is used excessively, either in severity or in frequency." (Larzelere et al., 1998; references to other articles omitted). Our results confirm the serious differences of opinion on discipline, even in a relatively homogenous ethnic community.
Child discipline is often affected by cultural differences. Many Eastern countries typically emphasize beliefs of collectivism in which social conformity and the interests of the group are valued above the individual.
Families that promote collectivism will frequently employ tactics of shaming in the form of social comparisons and guilt induction in order to modify behavior. A child may have their behavior compared to that of a peer by an authority figure in order to guide their moral development and social awareness. Many Western countries place an emphasis on individualism. These societies often value independent growth and self esteem.
Disciplining a child by contrasting them to better-behaved children is contrary to the individualistic societies value of nurturing children's self-esteem. These children of individualistic societies are more likely to feel a sense of guilt when shame is used as a form of behavior correction.
For the collectivist societies, shaming corresponds with the value of promoting self improvement without negatively affecting self esteem.
Parenting styles:
There are different parenting styles which parents use to discipline their children. Four types have been identified: authoritative parents, authoritarian parents, indulgent parents, and indifferent parents.
Authoritative parents are parents who use warmth, firm control, and rational, issue-oriented discipline, in which emphasis is placed on the development of self-direction. They place a high value on the development of autonomy and self-direction, but assume the ultimate responsibility for their child's behavior. "You live under my roof, you follow my rules!" is a cliché, but one that parents may often find themselves speaking - and it probably most closely mimics the authoritative parenting style.
Authoritarian parents are parents who use punitive, absolute, and forceful discipline, and who place a premium on obedience and conformity. If parents exhibit good emotional understanding and control, children also learn to manage their own emotions and learn to understand others as well. These parents believe it is their responsibility to provide for their children and that their children have little to no right to tell the parent how best to do this. Adults are expected to know from experience what is really in the child's best interest and so adult views are allowed to take precedence over child desires. Children are perceived to know what they want but not necessarily what is best for them.
Indulgent parents are parents who are characterized by responsiveness but low demandingness, and who are mainly concerned with the child's happiness. They behave in an accepting, benign, and somewhat more passive way in matters of discipline.
Indifferent parents are parents who are characterized by low levels of both responsiveness and demandingness. They try to do whatever is necessary to minimize the time and energy they must devote to interacting with their child. In extreme cases, indifferent parents may be neglectful. They ask very little of their children. For instance, they rarely assign their children chores. They tend to be relatively uninvolved in their children's lives. It's not that they don't love their children. It's just that they believe their children should live their own lives, as free of parental control as possible.
Connected parents are parents who want to improve the way in which they connect with their children using an empathetic approach to challenging or even tumultuous relationships. Using the 'CALM' technique, by Jennifer Kolari, parents recognize the importance of empathy and aspire to build capacity in their children in hopes of them becoming confident and emotionally resilient. The CALM acronym stands for: Connect emotionally, match the Affect of the child, Listen to what your child is saying and Mirror their emotion back to show understanding.
Non-physical discipline:
Non-physical discipline consists of both punitive and non-punitive methods but does not include any forms of corporal punishment such as hitting or spanking. The regular use of any single form of discipline becomes less effective when used too often, a process psychologists call habituation. Thus, no single method is considered to be for exclusive use.
Non-Physical discipline is used in the concerted cultivation style of parenting that comes from the middle and upper class. Concerted cultivation is the method of parenting that includes heavy parental involvement, and use reasoning and bargaining as disciplinary methods.
Time-outs:
Main article: Time-out (parenting)
A common method of child discipline is sending the child away from the family or group after misbehavior. Children may be told to stand in the corner ("corner time") or may be sent to their rooms for a period of time. A time-out involves isolating or separating a child for a few minutes and is intended to give an over-excited child time to calm down.
Alternatively, time-outs have been recommended as a time for parents to separate feelings of anger toward the child for their behavior and to develop a plan for discipline.
When using time-outs as a discipline strategy, individuals must also take into consideration the temperaments of the child if one decides to use time-outs. If a child, for example, has a feisty temperament, or a temperament that expresses emotion in a highly intense way, then discipline strategies of using time-outs would be ineffective because of the clash of discipline strategy to the child's temperament trait.
If an individual decides to use the time-out with a child as a discipline strategy, the individual must be unemotional and consistent with the undesired behavior. Along with taking into consideration the child's temperament, the length of the time-out needs to also depend on the age of the child.
For example, the time-out should last one minute per year of the child's age, so if the child is five years old, the time-out should go no longer than five minutes.
Several anti-discipline experts do not recommend the use of any form of punishment, including time-outs. These authors include Thomas Gordon, Alfie Kohn, and Aletha Solter.
Grounding:
Main article: Grounding (discipline technique)
Another common method of discipline used for, usually, preteens and teenagers, is restricting the child's freedom of movement, optionally compounded by restricting activities. Examples of restriction of movement would be confinement to the yard, or to the house, or to just the bedroom and restroom, excepting, of course, for required activities, e.g., attending school or religious services, going to work, or obtaining healthcare, etc.
Examples of restriction of activities would be disallowing visits by friends, forbidding use of a telephone and other means of communications, or prohibiting games and electronic entertainment, taking away books and toys, and forbidding watching television and listening to music.
Hotsaucing:
Hotsaucing is the practice of reprimanding a child by putting hot sauce in the child's mouth. Some pediatricians, psychologists and experts on child care strongly recommend against this practice.
Former child star Lisa Whelchel advocates hot saucing in her parenting book Creative Correction. In the book, Whelchel claims the practice is more effective and humane than traditional corporal punishments, such as spanking; she repeated this opinion when promoting her book on Good Morning America, where she said in raising her own child she found the technique successful where other measures had failed.
Whelchel's book recommends using only "tiny" amounts of hot sauce, and lists alternatives such as lemon juice or vinegar.
The practice had also been suggested in a 2001 article in Today's Christian Woman magazine, where only "a drop" is suggested, and alternative substances are listed.
While these publications are credited with popularizing hot saucing, the practice is believed by some to come from Southern United States culture. It is well-known among pediatricians, psychologists and child welfare professionals. If a child is allergic to any of the ingredients in a hot sauce, it can cause swelling of the child's tongue and esophagus, presenting a choking hazard.
Scolding:
Scolding involves reproving or criticizing a child's negative behavior and/or actions.
Some research suggests that scolding is counter-productive because parental attention (including negative attention) tends to reinforce behavior.
Non-punitive discipline:
While punishments may be of limited value in consistently influencing rule-related behavior, non-punitive discipline techniques have been found to have greater impact on children who have begun to master their native language.
Non-punitive discipline (also known as empathic discipline and positive discipline) is an approach to child-rearing that does not use any form of punishment. It is about loving guidance, and requires parents to have a strong relationship with their child so that the child responds to gentle guidance as opposed to threats and punishment.
According to Dr. Laura Markham, the most effective discipline strategy is to make sure your child wants to please you.
Non-punitive discipline also excludes systems of "manipulative" rewards. Instead, a child's behavior is shaped by "democratic interaction" and by deepening parent-child communication. The reasoning behind it is that while punitive measures may stop the problem behavior in the short term, by themselves they do not provide a learning opportunity that allows children the autonomy to change their own behavior.
Punishments such as time-outs may be seen as banishment and humiliation. Consequences as a form of punishment are not recommended, but natural consequences are considered to be possibly worthwhile learning experiences provided there is no risk of lasting harm.
Positive discipline is both non-violent discipline and non-punitive discipline. Criticizing, discouraging, creating obstacles and barriers, blaming, shaming, using sarcastic or cruel humor, or using physical punishment are some negative disciplinary methods used with young children.
Any parent may occasionally do any of these things, but doing them more than once in a while may lead to low self-esteem becoming a permanent part of the child's personality.
Authors in this field include Aletha Solter, Alfie Kohn, Pam Leo, Haim Ginott, Thomas Gordon, Lawrence J. Cohen, and John Gottman.
Essential aspects:
In the past, harsh discipline has been the norm for families in society. However, research by psychologists has brought about new forms of effective discipline. Positive discipline is based on minimizing the child's frustrations and misbehavior rather than giving punishments.
The main focus in this method is the "Golden Rule", treat others the way you want to be treated. Parents follow this when disciplining their children because they believe that their point will reach the children more effectively rather than traditional discipline.
The foundation of this style of discipline is encouraging children to feel good about themselves and building the parent's relationship with the child so the child wants to please the parent.
In traditional discipline, parents would instill fear in their child by using shame and humiliation to get their point across. However, studies show that this type of punishment ultimately causes the children to have more psychological problems in their adolescence and adulthood.
Physical and harsh punishment shows the child that violence and negative treatment is acceptable in some circumstances, wheres, positive discipline demonstrates the opposite.
In positive discipline the parents avoid negative treatment and focus on the importance of communication and showing unconditional love. Feeling loved, important and well liked has positive and negative effects on how a child perceives themselves. The child will feel important if the child feels well liked and loved by a person.
Other important aspects are reasonable and age-appropriate expectations, feeding healthy foods and providing enough rest, giving clear instructions which may need to be repeated, looking for the causes of any misbehavior and making adjustments, and building routines.
Children are helped by knowing what is happening in their lives. Having some predictability about their day without necessarily being regimental will help reduce frustration and misbehavior. Not only are the children taught to be open-minded, but the parents must demonstrate this as well.
Methods:
Praise and rewards:
Main article: Operant conditioning
Simply giving the child spontaneous expressions of appreciation or acknowledgement when they are not misbehaving will act as a reinforcer for good behavior. Focusing on good behavior versus bad behavior will encourage appropriate behavior in the given situation.
According to B. F. Skinner, past behavior that is reinforced with praise is likely to repeat in the same or similar situation.
In operant conditioning, schedules of reinforcement are an important component of the learning process. When and how often we reinforce a behavior can have a dramatic impact on the strength and rate of the response. A schedule of reinforcement is basically a rule stating which instances of a behavior will be reinforced.
In some case, a behavior might be reinforced every time it occurs. Sometimes, a behavior might not be reinforced at all. Either positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement might be used, depending on the situation. In both cases, the goal of reinforcement is always to strengthen the behavior and increase the likelihood that it will occur again in the future.
In real-world settings, behaviors are probably not going to be reinforced each and every time they occur. For situations where you are purposely trying to train and reinforce an action, such as in the classroom, in sports or in animal training, you might opt to follow a specific reinforcement schedule.
As you'll see below, some schedules are best suited to certain types of training situations. In some cases, training might call for starting out with one schedule and switching to another once the desired behavior has been taught.
Example of operant conditioning:
Positive reinforcement: Whenever he is being good, cooperative, solves things non-aggressively, immediately reward those behaviors with praise, attention, goodies.
Punishment: If acting aggressively, give immediate, undesired consequence (send to corner; say "NO!" and couple with response cost).
Response cost: Most common would be "time-out". Removing sources of attention by placing in an environment without other people. Careful: This can become (aversive) punishment, depending on how done. To be response cost, it can only simply be taking away a desirable thing; not adding a negative one.
Negative reinforcement: One example would be to couple negative reinforcement with response cost—after some period of time in which he has acted cooperatively or calmly while in the absence of others, can bring him back with others. Thus, taking away the isolation should reinforce the desired behavior (being cooperative).
Extinction: Simply ignoring behaviors should lead to extinction. Note: that initially when ignored, can expect an initial increase in the behavior—a very trying time in situations such as a child that is acting out.
It is common for children who are otherwise ignored by their parents to turn to misbehavior as a way of seeking attention. An example is a child screaming for attention. Parents often inadvertently reward the bad behavior by immediately giving them the attention, thereby reinforcing it. On the other hand, parents may wait until the child calms down and speaks politely, then reward the more polite behavior with the attention.
Natural consequences:
Main article: Operant conditioning
Natural consequences involve children learning from their own mistakes. In this method, the parent's job is to teach the child which behaviors are inappropriate. In order to do this, parents should allow the child to make a mistake and let them experience the natural results from their behavior.
For instance, if a child forgets to bring his lunch to school, he will find himself hungry later. Using natural consequences would be indicative of the theory of accomplishment of natural growth, which is the parenting style of the working class and poor.
The accomplishment of natural growth focuses on separation between children and family.
Children are given directives and expected to carry them out without complaint or delay.
Children are responsible for themselves during their free time, and the parent's main concern is caring for the children's physical needs.
Research:
Non-violent discipline options:
A systematic overview of evidence on non-violent discipline options conducted by Karen Quail and Catherine Ward was published in 2020.This meta study reviewed 223 systematic reviews covering data from 3,921 primary studies, and available research evidence was summarized for over 50 discipline tools.
Non-violent parenting tools were defined as any skills "which can be used to address a child's resistance, lack of cooperation, problem behavior or dysregulation, or to teach and support appropriate behavior". This is distinguished from a coercive approach, "in which the adult tries to force a certain reaction from the child using threats, intimidation and punishment." Coercive approaches have been found to increase child aggression and conduct problems.
Quail and Ward observed that information on discipline skills on the internet and in parenting books is limited and often inaccurate and misleading. "There is advice against time-outs or praise and rewards, when in fact these are evidence-supported skills which, used appropriately, have positive effects on behavior.".
They highlight the need for an evidence-based toolkit of individual skills from which parents and teachers can choose techniques that best suit the situation and fit with their cultural norms. The meta-study found a wide range of evidence-supported non-violent discipline tools, many of which have been found effective with severe problem behavior. Quail organized these into a Peace Discipline model supported by a toolkit of techniques.
A few of the specific tools showing positive effects include the following.
- Good, warm, open communication between parent and child, especially the kind that encourages child disclosure. This could imply the use of skills such as active listening and open-ended questions, and the absence of judgment, criticism or other reactions on the part of the parent that would shut child disclosure down.
- Time-in. Time with parents during which there is physical touch and ample expressions of care, compassion and praise.
- Parental monitoring. It has been shown that aside from supervision or surveillance, child disclosure is an important part of monitoring. This underlines the importance of a good parent-child relationship, with warm, open communication and good listening skills.
- Setting expectations (rules).
- Distracting a child with an acceptable toy, object, or activity.
- Modelling the behavior parents wish to see.
- Prompting or reminding a child to do something.
- Feedback on behavior.
- Praise.
- Rewards.
- Goal-setting with the child.
- Promoting self-management.
- Promoting problem-solving skills. This can be done by collaborating with children to find solutions for discipline problems e.g. having a meeting with children to discuss the problem of them getting to school late every morning, brainstorming possible solutions with them, and together choosing the solution that would work best
- Giving appropriate choices.
- Time-out. There are two kinds, exclusionary (e.g. the child must stay in their room for a few minutes if they lash out and hurt someone) and non-exclusionary (e.g. a time-out from a toy or cell phone if they are fighting over the toy or abusing phone privileges). Time-outs are most often used for aggression or non-compliance. Exclusionary timeouts may be necessary in the case of aggression, but in other situations either kind has been shown to work. The wide variation in timeouts that work suggests that parents can tailor timeouts according to what feels right for them and what best suits their child's needs. Some examples: time-out in a room, timeout from a toy, from screen time, from attention, from playing in a game they are disrupting etc). Timeouts in the studies reviewed were implemented calmly, not in a harsh or rejecting manner, and work better in a context where interaction between parent and child is usually of good quality (see time-in).
- Emotion Coaching or teaching children emotional communication skills. This involves the parents developing an emotional vocabulary for themselves and their children, and learning to become comfortable using emotional experiences as teaching and connection opportunities.
Other, more technical tools include behavior contracts, utilizing cost, group contingencies, and restorative justice interventions.
Quail and Ward suggest that parental attunement is a key parent-skill to effectively use positive parenting tools. Attunement involves giving focused attention to the child's needs behavioral signals, and matching an appropriate choice of discipline tool.
They use this example as an illustration: "rewards undermined intrinsic motivation for children who were already motivated, but had positive effects where motivation was low, and were found to be particularly important for children with ADHD." From this perspective, reward should not be considered a good or bad tool in itself, but rather evaluated according to its fit with the needs and signals of the child.
Beyond their effectiveness and usefulness as alternatives to corporal punishment, reviewed skills also showed important and often long-term positive effects. Examples included:
- "improved school engagement,
- academic achievement,
- participation,
- communication and social relationships,
- better self-regulation,
- higher self-esteem and independence,
- and lower rates of:
- depression,
- suicide,
- substance abuse,
- sexual risk behavior,
- conduct disorders,
- aggression,
- and crime.".
Quail and Ward concluded that the "important positive outcomes shown suggest that use of these tools should be promoted not only for prevention of violence, but for optimum child development."
Obedience and internal discipline:
Show respect is a part of the Elements of Discipline distinguished from obedience-based with a respectful intervention and effective discipline model, state “When setting a limit, caregivers should avoid commenting on a child’s motives, intentions or overall patterns of behavior.”.
Accept feelings is stated as; “caregivers should provide symbolic [experiential] outlets for the child’s expression of feelings, even when setting a limit on an overt behavior stemming from that feeling.”.
A child's feelings is never a problem, even when action is. Assert needs can be stated as: “Caregivers have a right and a responsibility to set a limit whenever a child does something, dangerous, destructive or that violates the caregiver’s standards of acceptability.” providing respect to the child's needs and feelings/emotions, expecting likewise in return while being careful to prevent providing praise when the caregiver doesn't like the behavior, and to refrain from punishing behavior the caregiver does like.
This umbrella of principles is called warmth, being warm is respectful, encouraging, giving room for experience, firm ground rules and praise. Warmth, tolerance and influence are the three forming this framework of child development and psychological practical application in a schooling context.
See also:
- Assertive discipline
- Chastisement
- Behavior analysis of child development
- Blab school
- Blanket training
- Bullying
- Graduated Electronic Decelerator
- Nanny 911
- Parent Management Training
- Pindown
- Poisonous pedagogy
- School discipline
- Spoiled child
- Supernanny
- Tactical ignoring
- Tantrum
- The Five Love Languages of children
- Washing out mouth with soap
- Child Discipline Act
- Child abuse
Adolescence
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Adolescence (from Latin adolescere 'to mature') is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority).
Adolescence is usually associated with the teenage years, but its physical, psychological or cultural expressions may begin earlier or end later. Puberty typically begins during preadolescence, particularly in females. Physical growth (particularly in males) and cognitive development can extend past the teens.
Age provides only a rough marker of adolescence, and scholars have not agreed upon a precise definition. Some definitions start as early as 10 and end as late as 25 or 26. The World Health Organization definition officially designates an adolescent as someone between the ages of 10 and 19.
Biological development:
Puberty in general:
Main article: Puberty
Puberty is a period of several years in which rapid physical growth and psychological changes occur, culminating in sexual maturity. The average age of onset of puberty is at 11 for girls and 12 for boys.
Every person's individual timetable for puberty is influenced primarily by heredity, although environmental factors, such as diet and exercise, also exert some influences. These factors can also contribute to precocious and delayed puberty.
Some of the most significant parts of pubertal development involve distinctive physiological changes in individuals' height, weight, body composition, and circulatory and respiratory systems. These changes are largely influenced by hormonal activity.
Hormones play an organizational role, priming the body to behave in a certain way once puberty begins, and an active role, referring to changes in hormones during adolescence that trigger behavioral and physical changes.
Puberty occurs through a long process and begins with a surge in hormone production, which in turn causes a number of physical changes. It is the stage of life characterized by the appearance and development of secondary sex characteristics (for example, a deeper voice and larger Adam's apple in boys, and development of breasts and more curved and prominent hips in girls) and a strong shift in hormonal balance towards an adult state.
This is triggered by the pituitary gland, which secretes a surge of hormonal agents into the blood stream, initiating a chain reaction. The male and female gonads are thereby activated, which puts them into a state of rapid growth and development; the triggered gonads now commence mass production of hormones. The testes primarily release testosterone, and the ovaries predominantly dispense estrogen.
The production of these hormones increases gradually until sexual maturation is met. Some boys may develop gynecomastia due to an imbalance of sex hormones, tissue responsiveness or obesity.
Facial hair in males normally appears in a specific order during puberty: The first facial hair to appear tends to grow at the corners of the upper lip, typically between 14 and 17 years of age. It then spreads to form a moustache over the entire upper lip. This is followed by the appearance of hair on the upper part of the cheeks, and the area under the lower lip.
The hair eventually spreads to the sides and lower border of the chin, and the rest of the lower face to form a full beard. As with most human biological processes, this specific order may vary among some individuals. Facial hair is often present in late adolescence, around ages 17 and 18, but may not appear until significantly later.
Some men do not develop full facial hair for 10 years after puberty. Facial hair continues to get coarser, much darker and thicker for another 2–4 years after puberty.
The major landmark of puberty for males is spermarche, the first ejaculation, which occurs, on average, at age 13. For females, it is menarche, the onset of menstruation, which occurs, on average, between ages 12 and 13. The age of menarche is influenced by heredity, but a girl's diet and lifestyle contribute as well.
Regardless of genes, a girl must have a certain proportion of body fat to attain menarche. Consequently, girls who have a high-fat diet and who are not physically active begin menstruating earlier, on average, than girls whose diet contains less fat and whose activities involve fat reducing exercise (e.g. ballet and gymnastics). Girls who experience malnutrition or are in societies in which children are expected to perform physical labor also begin menstruating at later ages.
The timing of puberty can have important psychological and social consequences. Early maturing boys are usually taller and stronger than their friends. They have the advantage in capturing the attention of potential partners and in being picked first for sports. Pubescent boys often tend to have a good body image, are more confident, secure, and more independent.
Late maturing boys can be less confident because of poor body image when comparing themselves to already developed friends and peers. However, early puberty is not always positive for boys; early sexual maturation in boys can be accompanied by increased aggressiveness due to the surge of hormones that affect them.
Because they appear older than their peers, pubescent boys may face increased social pressure to conform to adult norms; society may view them as more emotionally advanced, despite the fact that their cognitive and social development may lag behind their appearance.
Studies have shown that early maturing boys are more likely to be sexually active and are more likely to participate in risky behaviors.
For girls, early maturation can sometimes lead to increased self-consciousness, a typical aspect in maturing females. Because of their bodies' developing in advance, pubescent girls can become more insecure and dependent. Consequently, girls that reach sexual maturation early are more likely than their peers to develop eating disorders (such as anorexia nervosa).
Nearly half of all American high school girls' diets are to lose weight. In addition, girls may have to deal with sexual advances from older boys before they are emotionally and mentally mature.
In addition to having earlier sexual experiences and more unwanted pregnancies than late maturing girls, early maturing girls are more exposed to alcohol and drug abuse. Those who have had such experiences tend to not perform as well in school as their "inexperienced" peers.
Girls have usually reached full physical development around ages 15–17, while boys usually complete puberty around ages 16–17. Any increase in height beyond the post-pubertal age is uncommon.
Girls attain reproductive maturity about four years after the first physical changes of puberty appear. In contrast, boys develop more slowly but continue to grow for about six years after the first visible pubertal changes.
Growth spurt:
The physical development of girls during their teenage years can be broken down into three distinct stages. At the start, which generally coincides with the beginning of rapid growth, there is the development of breast buds and pubic hair. The peak period of physical growth occurs approximately one year later in concert with stage two of sexual maturity.
Approximately 1 to 1.6 years after the onset of secondary sex characteristics, girls enter into the third stage which typically includes menarche. By this time, they will have finished their growth spurt and experience a notable broadening of the hips as well as an adult fat distribution.
Additionally, breast development is complete and hair in both the pubic region and armpits (axillary hair) will be darker and more widespread. In comparison to girls, it can be tricky to define when exactly sexual development in boys begins.
For boys, puberty typically takes around 5 years to finish, as opposed to just 3 and a half years for girls (menarche). By this point in time, they have already experienced their growth spurt and there are evident changes in their body shape - wider hips and fat distribution is more adult-like.
Breast development will also be completed by this stage. In boys, four stages in development can be correlated with the curve of general body growth at adolescence. The initial sign of sexual maturation in boys usually is the "fat spurt."
The maturing boy gains weight and becomes almost chubby, with a somewhat feminine fat distribution. This probably occurs because estrogen production by the Leydig cells in the testes is stimulated before the more abundant Sertoli cells begin to produce significant amounts of testosterone.
During this stage, boys may appear obese and somewhat awkward physically. Approximately 1 year after the scrotum begins to increase in size, stage II can be seen. During this time, there is a redistribution of subcutaneous fat and the start of pubic hair growth. Following 8 to 12 months of the peak velocity in height gain, stage III ensues.
This period is marked by an obvious widenening of hips with a more adult-like fat distribution and full development of the breasts. All together, these three stages culminate in a complete growth spurt for most individuals. At this time, axillary hair appears and facial hair appears on the upper lip only. A spurt in muscle growth also occurs, along with a continued decrease in subcutaneous fat and an obviously harder and more angular body form.
Pubic hair distribution appears more adult but has not yet spread to the medial area of the thighs. The penis and scrotum are near adult size. Stage IV for boys, which occurs anywhere from 15 to 24 months after stage III, is difficult to pinpoint. At this time, the spurt of growth in height ends. There is facial hair on the chin and the upper lip, adult distribution and color of pubic and axillary hair, and a further increase in muscular strength.
The adolescent growth spurt is a rapid increase in the individual's height and weight during puberty resulting from the simultaneous release of growth hormones, thyroid hormones, and androgens. Males experience their growth spurt about two years later, on average, than females.
During their peak height velocity (the time of most rapid growth), adolescents grow at a growth rate nearly identical to that of a toddler—about 10.3 cm (4 inches) per year for males and 9 cm (3.5 inches) per year for females. In addition to changes in height, adolescents also experience a significant increase in weight (Marshall, 1978).
The weight gained during adolescence constitutes nearly half of one's adult body weight. Teenage and early adult males may continue to gain natural muscle growth even after puberty.
The accelerated growth in different body parts happens at different times, but for all adolescents, it has a fairly regular sequence. The first places to grow are the extremities—the head, hands and feet—followed by the arms and legs, then the torso and shoulders. This non-uniform growth is one reason why an adolescent body may seem out of proportion.
During puberty, bones become harder and more brittle. At the conclusion of puberty, the ends of the long bones close during the process called epiphysis. There can be ethnic differences in these skeletal changes. For example, in the United States, bone density increases significantly more among black than white adolescents, which might account for decreased likelihood of black women developing osteoporosis and having fewer bone fractures there.
Another set of significant physical changes during puberty happen in bodily distribution of fat and muscle. This process is different for females and males. Before puberty, there are nearly no sex differences in fat and muscle distribution; during puberty, boys grow muscle much faster than girls, although both sexes experience rapid muscle development.
In contrast, though both sexes experience an increase in body fat, the increase is much more significant for girls. Frequently, the increase in fat for girls happens in their years just before puberty. The ratio between muscle and fat among post-pubertal boys is around three to one, while for girls it is about five to four. This may help explain sex differences in athletic performance.
Pubertal development also affects circulatory and respiratory systems as an adolescents' heart and lungs increase in both size and capacity. These changes lead to increased strength and tolerance for exercise. Sex differences are apparent as males tend to develop "larger hearts and lungs, higher systolic blood pressure, a lower resting heart rate, a greater capacity for carrying oxygen to the blood, a greater power for neutralizing the chemical products of muscular exercise, higher blood hemoglobin and more red blood cells".
Despite some genetic sex differences, environmental factors play a large role in biological changes during adolescence. For example, girls tend to reduce their physical activity in preadolescence and may receive inadequate nutrition from diets that often lack important nutrients, such as iron. These environmental influences, in turn, affect female physical development.
Reproduction-related changes:
Primary sex characteristics are those directly related to the sex organs. In males, the first stages of puberty involve growth of the testes and scrotum, followed by growth of the penis.
At the time that the penis develops, the seminal vesicles, the prostate, and the bulbourethral gland also enlarge and develop. The first ejaculation of seminal fluid generally occurs about one year after the beginning of accelerated penis growth, although this is often determined culturally rather than biologically, since for many boys first ejaculation occurs as a result of masturbation. Boys are generally fertile before they have an adult appearance.
In females, changes in the primary sex characteristics involve growth of the uterus, vagina, and other aspects of the reproductive system. Menarche, the beginning of menstruation, is a relatively late development which follows a long series of hormonal changes.
Generally, a girl is not fully fertile until several years after menarche, as regular ovulation follows menarche by about two years. Unlike males, therefore, females usually appear physically mature before they are capable of becoming pregnant.
Changes in secondary sex characteristics include every change that is not directly related to sexual reproduction. In males, these changes involve appearance of pubic, facial, and body hair, deepening of the voice, roughening of the skin around the upper arms and thighs, and increased development of the sweat glands.
In females, secondary sex changes involve elevation of the breasts, widening of the hips, development of pubic and underarm hair, widening of the areolae, and elevation of the nipples. The changes in secondary sex characteristics that take place during puberty are often referred to in terms of five Tanner stages, named after the British pediatrician who devised the categorization system.
Changes in the brain:
The human brain is not finished developing by the time a person reaches puberty, or even finishes it. The frontal lobe of the brain has been known to shape itself well into one's 30s.
Neuroscientists often cannot agree precisely on when this developmental period ends or if there is an exact age for the end of brain development. Below the age of about roughly 30, the human brain has been implicated in human behavior and social immaturity.
However, there has been no empirical study indicating a causal relationship with the development of the prefrontal cortex in adole
Adolescence is usually associated with the teenage years, but its physical, psychological or cultural expressions may begin earlier or end later. Puberty typically begins during preadolescence, particularly in females. Physical growth (particularly in males) and cognitive development can extend past the teens.
Age provides only a rough marker of adolescence, and scholars have not agreed upon a precise definition. Some definitions start as early as 10 and end as late as 25 or 26. The World Health Organization definition officially designates an adolescent as someone between the ages of 10 and 19.
Biological development:
Puberty in general:
Main article: Puberty
Puberty is a period of several years in which rapid physical growth and psychological changes occur, culminating in sexual maturity. The average age of onset of puberty is at 11 for girls and 12 for boys.
Every person's individual timetable for puberty is influenced primarily by heredity, although environmental factors, such as diet and exercise, also exert some influences. These factors can also contribute to precocious and delayed puberty.
Some of the most significant parts of pubertal development involve distinctive physiological changes in individuals' height, weight, body composition, and circulatory and respiratory systems. These changes are largely influenced by hormonal activity.
Hormones play an organizational role, priming the body to behave in a certain way once puberty begins, and an active role, referring to changes in hormones during adolescence that trigger behavioral and physical changes.
Puberty occurs through a long process and begins with a surge in hormone production, which in turn causes a number of physical changes. It is the stage of life characterized by the appearance and development of secondary sex characteristics (for example, a deeper voice and larger Adam's apple in boys, and development of breasts and more curved and prominent hips in girls) and a strong shift in hormonal balance towards an adult state.
This is triggered by the pituitary gland, which secretes a surge of hormonal agents into the blood stream, initiating a chain reaction. The male and female gonads are thereby activated, which puts them into a state of rapid growth and development; the triggered gonads now commence mass production of hormones. The testes primarily release testosterone, and the ovaries predominantly dispense estrogen.
The production of these hormones increases gradually until sexual maturation is met. Some boys may develop gynecomastia due to an imbalance of sex hormones, tissue responsiveness or obesity.
Facial hair in males normally appears in a specific order during puberty: The first facial hair to appear tends to grow at the corners of the upper lip, typically between 14 and 17 years of age. It then spreads to form a moustache over the entire upper lip. This is followed by the appearance of hair on the upper part of the cheeks, and the area under the lower lip.
The hair eventually spreads to the sides and lower border of the chin, and the rest of the lower face to form a full beard. As with most human biological processes, this specific order may vary among some individuals. Facial hair is often present in late adolescence, around ages 17 and 18, but may not appear until significantly later.
Some men do not develop full facial hair for 10 years after puberty. Facial hair continues to get coarser, much darker and thicker for another 2–4 years after puberty.
The major landmark of puberty for males is spermarche, the first ejaculation, which occurs, on average, at age 13. For females, it is menarche, the onset of menstruation, which occurs, on average, between ages 12 and 13. The age of menarche is influenced by heredity, but a girl's diet and lifestyle contribute as well.
Regardless of genes, a girl must have a certain proportion of body fat to attain menarche. Consequently, girls who have a high-fat diet and who are not physically active begin menstruating earlier, on average, than girls whose diet contains less fat and whose activities involve fat reducing exercise (e.g. ballet and gymnastics). Girls who experience malnutrition or are in societies in which children are expected to perform physical labor also begin menstruating at later ages.
The timing of puberty can have important psychological and social consequences. Early maturing boys are usually taller and stronger than their friends. They have the advantage in capturing the attention of potential partners and in being picked first for sports. Pubescent boys often tend to have a good body image, are more confident, secure, and more independent.
Late maturing boys can be less confident because of poor body image when comparing themselves to already developed friends and peers. However, early puberty is not always positive for boys; early sexual maturation in boys can be accompanied by increased aggressiveness due to the surge of hormones that affect them.
Because they appear older than their peers, pubescent boys may face increased social pressure to conform to adult norms; society may view them as more emotionally advanced, despite the fact that their cognitive and social development may lag behind their appearance.
Studies have shown that early maturing boys are more likely to be sexually active and are more likely to participate in risky behaviors.
For girls, early maturation can sometimes lead to increased self-consciousness, a typical aspect in maturing females. Because of their bodies' developing in advance, pubescent girls can become more insecure and dependent. Consequently, girls that reach sexual maturation early are more likely than their peers to develop eating disorders (such as anorexia nervosa).
Nearly half of all American high school girls' diets are to lose weight. In addition, girls may have to deal with sexual advances from older boys before they are emotionally and mentally mature.
In addition to having earlier sexual experiences and more unwanted pregnancies than late maturing girls, early maturing girls are more exposed to alcohol and drug abuse. Those who have had such experiences tend to not perform as well in school as their "inexperienced" peers.
Girls have usually reached full physical development around ages 15–17, while boys usually complete puberty around ages 16–17. Any increase in height beyond the post-pubertal age is uncommon.
Girls attain reproductive maturity about four years after the first physical changes of puberty appear. In contrast, boys develop more slowly but continue to grow for about six years after the first visible pubertal changes.
Growth spurt:
The physical development of girls during their teenage years can be broken down into three distinct stages. At the start, which generally coincides with the beginning of rapid growth, there is the development of breast buds and pubic hair. The peak period of physical growth occurs approximately one year later in concert with stage two of sexual maturity.
Approximately 1 to 1.6 years after the onset of secondary sex characteristics, girls enter into the third stage which typically includes menarche. By this time, they will have finished their growth spurt and experience a notable broadening of the hips as well as an adult fat distribution.
Additionally, breast development is complete and hair in both the pubic region and armpits (axillary hair) will be darker and more widespread. In comparison to girls, it can be tricky to define when exactly sexual development in boys begins.
For boys, puberty typically takes around 5 years to finish, as opposed to just 3 and a half years for girls (menarche). By this point in time, they have already experienced their growth spurt and there are evident changes in their body shape - wider hips and fat distribution is more adult-like.
Breast development will also be completed by this stage. In boys, four stages in development can be correlated with the curve of general body growth at adolescence. The initial sign of sexual maturation in boys usually is the "fat spurt."
The maturing boy gains weight and becomes almost chubby, with a somewhat feminine fat distribution. This probably occurs because estrogen production by the Leydig cells in the testes is stimulated before the more abundant Sertoli cells begin to produce significant amounts of testosterone.
During this stage, boys may appear obese and somewhat awkward physically. Approximately 1 year after the scrotum begins to increase in size, stage II can be seen. During this time, there is a redistribution of subcutaneous fat and the start of pubic hair growth. Following 8 to 12 months of the peak velocity in height gain, stage III ensues.
This period is marked by an obvious widenening of hips with a more adult-like fat distribution and full development of the breasts. All together, these three stages culminate in a complete growth spurt for most individuals. At this time, axillary hair appears and facial hair appears on the upper lip only. A spurt in muscle growth also occurs, along with a continued decrease in subcutaneous fat and an obviously harder and more angular body form.
Pubic hair distribution appears more adult but has not yet spread to the medial area of the thighs. The penis and scrotum are near adult size. Stage IV for boys, which occurs anywhere from 15 to 24 months after stage III, is difficult to pinpoint. At this time, the spurt of growth in height ends. There is facial hair on the chin and the upper lip, adult distribution and color of pubic and axillary hair, and a further increase in muscular strength.
The adolescent growth spurt is a rapid increase in the individual's height and weight during puberty resulting from the simultaneous release of growth hormones, thyroid hormones, and androgens. Males experience their growth spurt about two years later, on average, than females.
During their peak height velocity (the time of most rapid growth), adolescents grow at a growth rate nearly identical to that of a toddler—about 10.3 cm (4 inches) per year for males and 9 cm (3.5 inches) per year for females. In addition to changes in height, adolescents also experience a significant increase in weight (Marshall, 1978).
The weight gained during adolescence constitutes nearly half of one's adult body weight. Teenage and early adult males may continue to gain natural muscle growth even after puberty.
The accelerated growth in different body parts happens at different times, but for all adolescents, it has a fairly regular sequence. The first places to grow are the extremities—the head, hands and feet—followed by the arms and legs, then the torso and shoulders. This non-uniform growth is one reason why an adolescent body may seem out of proportion.
During puberty, bones become harder and more brittle. At the conclusion of puberty, the ends of the long bones close during the process called epiphysis. There can be ethnic differences in these skeletal changes. For example, in the United States, bone density increases significantly more among black than white adolescents, which might account for decreased likelihood of black women developing osteoporosis and having fewer bone fractures there.
Another set of significant physical changes during puberty happen in bodily distribution of fat and muscle. This process is different for females and males. Before puberty, there are nearly no sex differences in fat and muscle distribution; during puberty, boys grow muscle much faster than girls, although both sexes experience rapid muscle development.
In contrast, though both sexes experience an increase in body fat, the increase is much more significant for girls. Frequently, the increase in fat for girls happens in their years just before puberty. The ratio between muscle and fat among post-pubertal boys is around three to one, while for girls it is about five to four. This may help explain sex differences in athletic performance.
Pubertal development also affects circulatory and respiratory systems as an adolescents' heart and lungs increase in both size and capacity. These changes lead to increased strength and tolerance for exercise. Sex differences are apparent as males tend to develop "larger hearts and lungs, higher systolic blood pressure, a lower resting heart rate, a greater capacity for carrying oxygen to the blood, a greater power for neutralizing the chemical products of muscular exercise, higher blood hemoglobin and more red blood cells".
Despite some genetic sex differences, environmental factors play a large role in biological changes during adolescence. For example, girls tend to reduce their physical activity in preadolescence and may receive inadequate nutrition from diets that often lack important nutrients, such as iron. These environmental influences, in turn, affect female physical development.
Reproduction-related changes:
Primary sex characteristics are those directly related to the sex organs. In males, the first stages of puberty involve growth of the testes and scrotum, followed by growth of the penis.
At the time that the penis develops, the seminal vesicles, the prostate, and the bulbourethral gland also enlarge and develop. The first ejaculation of seminal fluid generally occurs about one year after the beginning of accelerated penis growth, although this is often determined culturally rather than biologically, since for many boys first ejaculation occurs as a result of masturbation. Boys are generally fertile before they have an adult appearance.
In females, changes in the primary sex characteristics involve growth of the uterus, vagina, and other aspects of the reproductive system. Menarche, the beginning of menstruation, is a relatively late development which follows a long series of hormonal changes.
Generally, a girl is not fully fertile until several years after menarche, as regular ovulation follows menarche by about two years. Unlike males, therefore, females usually appear physically mature before they are capable of becoming pregnant.
Changes in secondary sex characteristics include every change that is not directly related to sexual reproduction. In males, these changes involve appearance of pubic, facial, and body hair, deepening of the voice, roughening of the skin around the upper arms and thighs, and increased development of the sweat glands.
In females, secondary sex changes involve elevation of the breasts, widening of the hips, development of pubic and underarm hair, widening of the areolae, and elevation of the nipples. The changes in secondary sex characteristics that take place during puberty are often referred to in terms of five Tanner stages, named after the British pediatrician who devised the categorization system.
Changes in the brain:
The human brain is not finished developing by the time a person reaches puberty, or even finishes it. The frontal lobe of the brain has been known to shape itself well into one's 30s.
Neuroscientists often cannot agree precisely on when this developmental period ends or if there is an exact age for the end of brain development. Below the age of about roughly 30, the human brain has been implicated in human behavior and social immaturity.
However, there has been no empirical study indicating a causal relationship with the development of the prefrontal cortex in adole