Child Development Reading Assignment

T F 1. Acceptance by their peer group is more important to schoolchildren than having a few close friends.   Why is the answer you selected Correct? What chapter and what page of the text did you find your response?

This statement is true, because according to Chapter 13; page 385 it states that: Children want to be liked; consequently they learn faster and feel happier when they have friends. If they had to choose between being friendless but popular (looked up to by many peers) or having close friends but being unpopular (ignored by peers) most would choose to have friends (Bagwell & Schmidt, 2012. A wise choice.

T F 2. Older children change friends more often than do younger children.  Why is the answer you selected Correct? What chapter and what page of the text did you find your response?

This statement is true, because according to Chapter 13; page 385 it states that: Friendships become more intense and intimate over the years of middle childhood, as social cognition and effortful control advance. Six- year-olds may be friends with anyone of the same sex and age who is willing to play with them cooperatively. By age 10, children demand more of their friends. They share secrets, change friends less often, become more upset when a friendship breaks up, and find it harder to make new friends.    

T F 3. Those in middle childhood tend to choose best friends whose backgrounds, interests, and values are similar to their own.  Why is the answer you selected Correct? What chapter and what page of the text did you find your response?

This statement is true, because according to Chapter 13; page 385 it states that:  Older children tend to choose friends whose interest, values, and backgrounds are similar to their own. By the end of middle childhood, close friendships are almost always between children of the same sex, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (Rubin et al., 2013). This occurs not only because children naturally become more prejudiced over the course of middle childhood (they do not) but because they seek friends who understand and agree with them.

T F 4. Bullying during middles childhood seems to be universal. Why is the answer you selected Correct? What chapter and what page of the text did you find your response?

This statement is true, because according to Chapter 13; page 386 it states that: Bullying is defined as repeated, systematic attacks intended to harm those who are unable or unlikely to defend themselves. It occurs in every nation, in every community, and in every kind of school (religious or secular, public or private, progressive or traditional, large or small) and perhaps in every child. As one girl said, “There’s a little bit of bully in everyone” (Guerra et al., 2011, p. 303). 

T F 5. Bullies and their victims are usually of the same gender. Why is the answer you selected Correct? What chapter and what page of the text did you find your response? 

This statement is true, because according to Chapter 13; page 387 it states that: Boys bully more that girls, usually physically attacking smaller, weaker boys. Girl bullies usually use words to attack shyer, more soft-spoken girls. Young boys can sometimes bully girls, but by puberty (about age 11), boys who bully girls are not admired (Veenstra et al., 2010), although sexual teasing is. Especially in the final years of middle childhood, boys who are thought to be gay become targets, with suicide attempts one consequence (Hong et al., 2012)

T F 6. Bullies generally are not socially perceptive. Why is the answer you selected Correct? What chapter and what page of the text did you find your response? 

This statement is false, because according to Chapter 13; page 387: Often they are socially perceptive, picking victims who are rejected by most classmates (Veenstra et al., 2010). Over the years of middle childhood, they become skilled at avoiding adult awareness, attacking victims who will not resist or tell.

T F 7. Children in a shared home environment tend to react to family situations in a similar way. Why is the answer you selected Correct? What chapter and what page of the text did you find your response?

This statement is true, because according to Chapter 13; page 373 it states that: Many studies have found that children are much less effected by shared environment (influences that arise from being in the same environment, such as for two siblings living in one home, raised by their parents) than by nonshared environment (e.g., the different experiences of two siblings).

Most personality traits and intellectual characteristics can be traced to genes and nonshared environments, with little left over for the shared influence of being raised by the same parents. Even psychopathology, happiness, and sexual orientation (Burt, 2009; Langstrom et al., 2010; Bartels et al., 2013) arise primarily from genes and nonshared environment.

T F 8. Foster parents are more dedicated to their children than are adoptive parents. Why is the answer you selected Correct? What chapter and what page of the text did you find your response?

This statement can be either true or false, because as stated in Chapter 13; page 379: Adoptive and same-sex parents function well for children, as do stepfamilies if a single biological parent chooses a new partner who will be a good parent. Especially when children are under age 2 and the stepparent forms a close and loving relationship with the biological parent, the children may thrive (Ganong et al., 2011). Of course, no structure always functions well, but circumstances (such as biological connections, or adoptive choices) nudge in the right direction.

T F 9. School-age children typically are more self-critical than they were as preschoolers. Why is the answer you selected Correct? What chapter and what page of the text did you find your response?

This statement is True, because according to Chapter 13; page 369 it states that: For all children, this increasing self-understanding and social awareness come at a price. Self-criticism and self-consciousness rise from ages 6 to 11, and “by middle childhood this (earlier) overestimate of their ability or judgments decreases” (Davis Kean et al., 2009, p. 184) while self-esteem falls. Children’s self-concept becomes influenced by the opinions of others, even by other children whom they do not know (Thomaes et al., 2010)

T F 10. Children’s ability to cope with stress may depend on their resilience when dealing with difficult situations. Why is the answer you selected Correct? What chapter and what page of the text did you find your response?

This statement is true because according to Chapter 13; page 370 it states that: Resilience has been defined as “a dynamic process encompassing positive adaptation within the context of significant adversity” (Luthar et al., 2000, p. 543).

·         Resilience is dynamic, not a stable trait. That means a given person may be resilient at some periods but not others.

·         Resilience is a positive adaptation to stress. For example, if parental rejection adaptation, not mere passive endurance. That child is resilient.

·         Adversity must be significant. Some adversities are comparatively minor (large class size, poor vision), and some are major (victimization, neglect). Children need to cope with both kinds, but not all coping qualifies them as resilient