Child Discipline

Evidence shows that 1 in 5 children from low socioeconomic status (SES) have a greater chance of experiencing a psychiatric disorder (Reiss, 2013). Reiss’ systematic review of socioeconomic inequalities and mental health problems among children and teens suggest there is a “need for individual-level early childhood interventions as well as reduction in socioeconomic inequalities at a societal level to improve mental health in childhood and adolescence” (Reiss, 2013). To implement successful interventions, we must first aim to understand factors contributing to the child’s poor financial environment to make adequate recommendations for policies and community development programs.

Hypothesis’ have been formulated to comprehend the correlation between poor mental health and SES. While some theorists may argue that one’s mental health status may be the root cause for poor SES, others view socioeconomic deprivation as a catalyst for mental health problems (Reiss, 2013). However, across the board both hypotheses argue that resources and policies must be in place in order to decrease childhood mental illness.

School settings have played a crucial part in connecting families from low-income communities to recourses that support the development and mental health of students (Cappella et al., 2008). Due to lack of funding and suitable policies, “prevention and intervention programs are difficult to implement and sustain, particularly in high poverty communities, and in many schools, mental health programs remain marginalized form school routines and structures” (Cappella et al., 2008). Children living in less financially conducive environments are at a larger risk to have deficits in academic, cognitive and verbal skills (Cappella et al., 2008). When a child lacks in those skills, they are less likely to understand and advocate for their own mental health needs.

“Education, achievement, and family structure in one generation can therefore be determinants of family income poverty and then children’s health and development in the next generation” (Yoshikawa et al., 2012). Parents are a child’s first role model and perhaps the most crucial element in securing the mental wellbeing of that child through the years. Children whose parents have endured poverty in their upbringing are more likely to experience it themselves which brings about a variety of mental health problems. In one study, participants who were from low SES demonstrated an increase of ongoing depression by the age of 14 (Yoshikawa et al., 2012). To avoid the inheritance of mental health illnesses, parents need to be equipped with learning and practice of healthy parenting as well as be provided with recourses to improve their SES. By doing so, parents can focus entirely on the development and mental health wellbeing of their child.

While some theorists believe that families at the poverty level can reach “an emotional equilibrium” once the surprise of their financial loss has set in (Mcleod et al., 1993). Families who have experienced loss demonstrate their stress to their children when they become less consistent in their parenting and discipline (Mcleod et al., 1993). “Rejection and hard discipline, in turn, are associated with poor goal orientation, low levels of self-adequacy and social competence and high levels of moodiness and conduct problems among children” (Mcleod et al., 1993). Children are emotional sponges, who because of their young age and lack of understanding of environmental stressors are unable to articulate why there’s been a change in their interactions with parents. Furthermore, children who spend most of their lives in low income households experience effects on emotional dependence, happiness and anxiety (Mcleod et al., 1993).

The effect of poverty on children’s mental health begs for drastic changes and improvements in resources and opportunities for families at or below socioeconomic status. “Societies need to recognize that economic levels do have important implications for both family functioning and child mental health but, equally, policy makers need to ensure that economic benefits actually have the intended psychological benefits” (Rutter ,2003). Parents who experience high levels of distress are more likely to react with harsh parenting (Mcleod et al., 1993). Living in poverty can have an affect on the children’s ability to succeed in areas of appropriate socialization as well as having access to adequate education and proper health care (Reiss, 2013). Children who are at a socioeconomic disadvantage can experience a significant delay in their development and social-emotional abilities (Reiss, 2013). To correct the cycle of children’s mental illness, as a response to living in poverty, it is proposed that parents are equipped with the knowledge and opportunities to improve their socio-economic status and understand in depth the consequences it has placed on the wellbeing of their children.

Throughout the United States, mental health services have worked diligently to address the mental health needs of their patients. However, while some may have easy access to these services, poor families do not and are less likely to set aside work to attend these services. An expansion of mental health services on school campuses can help bridge the overlap in number of enrolled students and their engagement in recommended services. One example is Positive Attitudes towards Learning in School (PALS), a school-based mental health service model that aims to improve the initiation and ongoing implementation of services in the classroom and in the home (Atkins et al., 2006). This would allow for services to be provided consistently at school and in the home when parents or teachers aren’t available for the delivery of those services (Atkins et al., 2006). Barriers to this approach may be the lack of funding to support programs within the schools and push back from school officials with concerns of classroom disruptions.

In retrospect, the cycle of poverty and childhood mental health illnesses is one that must be broken with an accumulation of resources and understanding of reasons for low socio-economic status. Children should have the chance to thrive, but not at the expense of their mental health, when they have stable emotional and financial environments that are favorable to their developmental growth. In order to do so, parents much have the tools and financial resources available to provide their children with that environments.

References

Atkins, M. S., Frazier, S. L., Birman, D., Adil, J. A., Jackson, M., Graczyk, P. A., … Mckay, M. M. (2006). School-Based Mental Health Services for Children Living in High Poverty Urban Communities. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 33(2), 146–159. doi: 10.1007/s10488-006-0031-9
Cappella, E., Frazier, S. L., Atkins, M. S., Schoenwald, S. K., & Glisson, C. (2008). Enhancing Schools’ Capacity to Support Children in Poverty: An Ecological Model of School-Based Mental Health Services. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 35(5), 395–409. doi: 10.1007/s10488-008-0182-y
Mcleod, J. D., & Shanahan, M. J. (1993). Poverty, Parenting, and Children’s Mental Health. American Sociological Review, 58(3), 351. doi: 10.2307/2095905
Reiss, F. (2013). Socioeconomic inequalities and mental health problems in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Social Science & Medicine, 90, 24–31. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.04.026
Rutter, M. (2003). Poverty and Child Mental Health. Jama, 290(15), 2063. doi: 10.1001/jama.290.15.2063
Yoshikawa, H., Aber, J. L., & Beardslee, W. R. (2012). The effects of poverty on the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of children and youth: Implications for prevention. American Psychologist, 67(4), 272–284. doi: 10.1037/a0028015

Children are a source of happiness and joy, but sometimes they can be a source of stress, frustration, worry, and heartache. All parent’s face some type of challenge in the role of parenting so therefore it is important to learn about healthy parenting. Healthy parenting is the most important way of raising a child in the family. When having a child and raising them in a happy and healthy environment is one of the most challenging jobs that a parent can have and also one of the most rewarding. Good and healthy parenting is not just being nice and saying yes to a child because that is not healthy parenting and it will affect the child in the long term. Healthy parenting involves not just relying on our instincts or doing what our parents did before us, but knowing what best works for us and our children is the main thing we should acknowledge for healthy parenting.

There is 10 principles towards healthy parenting style which are the following: What you do matters, You cannot be too loving, Be involved in your child’s life, Adapt your parenting to fit your child, Establish and Set rules, Foster your child’s independence, Be consistent, Avoid harsh discipline, Explain your rules and decisions, Treat your child with respect, all of these are the principles of what a healthy parenting should be and what parents have to provide for the child to be successful. A healthy parenting style that a family has is the path of a strong family which has certain practices towards the way of parenting. I believe that Authoritative is the healthiest parenting style that a child can have.

According to Baumrind parenting styles it is said that the healthiest parenting style is Authoritative, which causes the best outcome in children’s development. Authoritative parenting is a style that is said by the parent having high responsiveness along with high demands. These types of parents are also responsive to the child’s emotional needs for example, the parents ask the child how they feel towards any anxious situation they might be going through. Authoritative parents set limits and are very consistent in boundaries. When setting boundaries and having some type of limits the child learns to adapt and have a routine, which in the long run it will help the child achieve their goals. According to Brain, A. P. F. (2020, May 8) studies have found that children raised with authoritative parents tend to be more happy, they are independent and self- reliant, have good social skills, self- control, less fear of situations, higher academic success,engaged in more school activities, good self- esteem, better mental health and they are assertive.

Most parents want others to see them as good parents. With being an authoritative parent you express warmth and nurturance and administer fair and consistent discipline. According to (Fletcher et al 1999) researchers suggest that having at least one authoritative parent can make a big difference. When a child has the healthy parenting of an authoritative they are less likely to report any signs of depression and anxiety. Authoritative parents communicate a lot of warmth to their kids and avoid harsh punishments, less likely to shame their kids, or attempt to control the kids behaviors. For example, when a child has made a mistake the parent’s talk to them with no screaming or any violent actions. Authoritative parents explain the issue and let the child know the consequences towards the bad and good behavior. Healthy parenting unables both the child and the parent to develop trust among one another. Overall, healthy parenting tends to use induction to control a child. According to Blog The parent control (2020, March 9) only 43% of parents are Authoritative.

I grew up with Authoritative parents, which is why I believe in healthy parenting. Looking back into my teenage years I thought my parents were against me because of all the limits, also on how strict they were with me following a daily routine. When it came to getting in trouble because of me overpassing my curfew time is when I thought my parents were being dramatic and over exaggerated. But then, I understood where my parents were coming from and they were just worried about me being out at a certain time and we had the opportunity to discuss the issue with my parents explaining why it was not the right choice. Both of my parents let me express myself with no hesitation and I was able to trust them in all. All of my emotions were taken into account which made me feel acceptable and comfortable when reaching out in any situation.

My parents never hit me or punished me to a certain extent that I was scared of them, instead my parents which in this case it was my dad he was more about talking to me and telling me why I did what I did and that we are all humans and we all make mistakes. I also believe that when parents talk to you and express their feelings towards you it is more hurtful and you take it more deep down instead of a punishment or a physical action. When growing up I would see children my age doing stuff that at that age we were not supposed to do and now I realize that it all reflects on the parents. Even now as I am older I get many compliments about the personality that I carry myself with and I can honestly say it has not been easy but at the end it has a positive outcome. Now that I am in college I follow a daily routine that helps me achieve my goals and for that reason I appreciate that I had and still continue to have authoritative parents.

A healthy parenting style that a family has is the path of a strong family which has certain practices towards the way of parenting. I believe that Authoritative is the healthiest parenting style that a child can have. Authoritative parents communicate a lot of warmth to their kids and avoid harsh punishments, less likely to shame their kids, or attempt to control the kids behaviors. When children are guided by this parenting they develop into being independent, successful and it prevents them from developing aggressive behavior problems. Overall, healthy parenting tends to use induction to control a child. For all these evidence and facts I can say that Authoritative parenting is the healthiest.

Reference Page

Brain, A. P. F. (2020, May 8). What Is Authoritative Parenting? [With Examples]. Retrieved from https://www.parentingforbrain.com/authoritative-parenting/
Cherry, K. (2019, September 20). Do You Have an Authoritative Parenting Style? Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-authoritative-parenting-2794956
The authoritative parenting style. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.parentingscience.com/authoritative-parenting-style.html
What Is Authoritative Parenting? Examples and Effects. (2020, March 9). Retrieved from https://blog.theparentalcontrol.com/authoritative-parenting/
Navuluri, B., & Navuluri, B. (2019, June 19). Authoritative Parenting Style – Characteristics And
Effects. Retrieved from https://www.momjunction.com/articles/what-is-authoritative-parenting_00376548/
Office of Adolescent Health. (2019, March 25). Healthy Parent-Child Relationships. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-development/healthy-relationships/parents-child/index.html
Anneclaire.loughman. (2016, November 14). How to raise a happy child. Retrieved from https://www.psychologies.co.uk/how-raise-happy-child

Knox (2018) states that a parent’s main purpose is to guide a child to make the best decisions they can in life. There are many roles that parents fulfill, such as a caregiver, emotional resource, teacher, etc. (Knox, 2018). But often, these roles become complicated as children grow older, and parents have to adjust their parenting styles. There are many good and bad aspects of parenting, so to discuss these further, Jenny, a well-practiced parent, was interviewed on her ideas.

Jenny first stated that by far, the most rewarding part of parenting is seeing your kids succeed, or rather, do better than the parent may have done in their past; therefore, it is important to have the right balance of discipline, expectations, and communication. From Jenny’s description of herself, she would best be described as an authoritative parent. Jenny tried to maintain a good relationship with her children, but would make sure there were moderate expectations that would help them achieve their goals (J.M. Vaterlaus, personal communication, October 23, 2018).

The next thing Jenny mentioned was that the role of each person in the relationship is greatly affected once kids are brought into the equation. She stated that there definitely is less time for husband and wife to spend alone time together. J.M. Vaterlaus (personal communication, October 9, 2018) brought up the fact that marriages require more work once kids are brought in. Family time may become more prominent than couple time, therefore, making sure to schedule both types of activities is important in maintaining a healthy marriage and family. Knox (2018) also states that the degree in which a baby negatively impacts spouses is also dependent on how upset the infant gets regularly.

One of the last things that Jenny brought up, was the idea that the hardest part of helping kids is when they have problems in their daily life, especially adult children who feel independent and don’t want to be helped. According to J.M. Vaterlaus (personal communication, October 23, 2018), the best way to help a challenging child is to have positive discipline, and to have five positive interactions to one negative interaction. There is a strong importance in having a structure and to give responsibility to the child as well. According to a peer reviewed article done on challenging behaviors within children, previous research was validated in that in child care programs, children with challenging behaviors are a serious concern.

While there are many strategies that the participating teachers in the study used to try and address the problems found within the challenging children, few strategies were found to be enforced in an individualized manner. Therefore, the researchers of the study concluded that there is a strong need for teachers to spend time aiding young children with challenging behaviors in a positive direction, and to allow for social and emotional development in a supportive environment. (Quesenberry, A.C., Hemmeter, M.L., Ostrosky, M.M., Hamann, K., 2014)

In all, parenting has many effects, good and bad. There are many rewarding aspects of parenting, while there are also multiple challenging aspects. Family and couple time are also a big factor in maintaining a healthy family and relationship, which can be difficult to balance. But in the end, creating an emotional and supportive environment is one of the most important concepts of parenting.

Social psychologist Rudolf Dreikurs approach towards classroom management is that teachers and students should show mutual respect towards each other, collaborating in decision making and problem solving. One of his main ideas is that all people have an innate desire to belong to a group and that any act of bad behavior is due to one feeling insignificant. As it relates to students, he believes that feelings of isolation or displacement leads to four levels of misbehavior: attention getting, power seeking, revenge, and feelings of inadequacy.

Traditionally, teachers reward good behavior with some type of incentive and generally bad behavior is stopped with a punishment. Dreikurs, on the other hand, endorses consequences over punishment and encouraging words over rewards. Ultimately, I believe Rudolf Dreikurs advocation for democratic discipline does offer an untraditional and unconfrontational solution to student misbehavior which could aid in a positive classroom environment, however this approach alone does not provide enough support for teacher’s as they try to identify the motivation behind student behavior and the most effective solution to curb it.

Strengths of Democratic Discipline

One of the major strengths of Dreikurs approach is that he is not an advocate for punishment, but rather supports the idea of logical and natural consequences. The difference between punishment and consequences is that punishment points the finger at the child whereas consequences make the behavior the “bad guy” instead of the child. Consequences pressure students to make better decisions because they know specific results will follow specific actions. For example, if students know that consistently being off task during group work will result in separation and individualized work, then they can consciously and carefully decide what choice they want to make.

Dreikurs had the same pattern of thought about natural consequences. They teach children to discipline themselves and be accountable for their choices. For example, if the student does not bring his signed field trip permission slip back to class, then naturally he cannot go on the trip. Furthermore, a positive aspect of consequences is that they create a level playing field where all students receive the same consequence. Unlike other disciplinary methods where the teacher delves out punishments and rewards based on how they feel from day to day, consequences are established and accepted by the class so that there is no room for confusion or biases.

During my research, I discovered a media-based parenting advice company called Active Parent Publishers, whose entire program is based on Rudolf Dreikurs and his predecessor Alfred Adler’s disciplinary ideas. Dr. Michael Popkin founded it in 1983 and it is still going strong today. In a study published in the Journal of Individual Psychology, the company gave 274 parents of elementary to high school level children an opportunity to try their product, making sure each parent attended a class once a week for six weeks to learn about Dreikurs methods and concepts. The program taught the parents to be more attentive to their children’s emotional needs and encourage them more.

At the end of the study, 84% of parents reported an improvement in their children’s behavior and 97% indicated that they would recommend the program to friends (Mullis 1999). The researchers did not directly measure the children’s behavioral growth, so the results are solely based on the parent’s perception of their child’s behavior after the study. Regardless, the results show that one of the strengths of Dreikurs approach is that it may help raise teachers and parent’s tolerance levels for student misbehavior and instead of reacting harshly, they will stop and think of the kindest but firmest way to deal with the student instead.

Weaknesses of Democratic Discipline

So far, this paper has focused on a summation of the key ideas and strengths of a democratic classroom. The following section will discuss its weaknesses. Dr. Dreikurs believes that all students will eventually control their behavior through self-discipline, but I contest that not all students will adopt this adult skill, especially younger children. Some students are not concerned about consequences and may even choose to behave badly if the intensity of the consequence does not outweigh the enjoyment of the unfavorable action.

For example, if the only consequence for a student texting during class is the teacher confiscating it until the end of the period, some students will perceive that consequence as “not that bad” so they will take a chance and break the no phone rule. This disciplinary measure gives students too much freedom to act out over and over, resulting in the teacher having to create a Rolodex of solutions to stop the behavior while also maintaining a degree of respect and kindness towards the child. Without a complete understanding on how to execute Dreikurs methods, the teacher will not have any luck controlling the classroom and students will eventually have the power.

Another serious weakness with this approach is in the four mistaken goals: attention getting, power seeking, revenge, and feelings of inadequacy. Dreikurs says that he “never met a youngster – a preadolescent – whose faulty behavior could not be conceptualized in one of these four mistaken goal patterns, although the particular behavior might be displayed in some slightly different variation” (Christensen 1980). I should note that he made this statement in 1947 when society and the way kids were raised was a lot different than how it is today. At that time, most kids were raised in two parent homes and did not have as many adult responsibilities as kids have nowadays. As a result of these pressures, kids can act out in many different ways, some of which may not fit into Dreikurs small boxed thinking.

Lastly, the most compelling evidence for why this approach may not be the most effective is in the lack of formal evidence I was able to find on the topic. Many of the case studies were conducted at least forty years ago and I found them irrelevant. There were little to no teacher comments or blog posts on this method either. One possible implication of this lack of support is that this approach takes a great deal of effort on the part of the teacher. They must learn to find the difference between punishments and consequences and decipher what is encouragement and what is praise. I believe many teachers would rather stick to the traditional route and use tired and true methods over the democratic approach.

Final Recommendation

I think the idea that bad behavior and social insignificance directly correlate is a good basis for understanding the motivation behind elementary and middle school student’s behavior, however I don’t find this explanation fitting for older students. To support this idea, Dreikurs says, “Later in adolescence they may develop many different goals in addition to the four faulty goals, such as constantly seeking excitement, entertainment, and fun in order to achieve social significance in their peer group” (Christensen 1980). If older students suddenly find new motivations for their behavior, consequently teachers will have to figure out another set of solutions which can be quite stressful.

Additionally, I personally believe older students are facing more real-world problems beyond social acceptance from peers, like figuring out their future career paths, passing SATs and ACTs, and a dealing with a litany of family related problems. With that said, before high school teachers decide to implement Dreikurs’s methods into their class, they should consider that his methods are a great foundation to build off of, but they are not all encompassing. Some students who act out may not be seeking attention or trying to get power or revenge, there behavior could be resistance to conformity and a way to gain their independence and voice. The point is that people express their feelings in different ways, and what may seem likely is not always the case.

In conclusion, if secondary teachers and preservice teachers are looking for guidance in understanding their students, then the democratic discipline approach is a great place to start. But also know that Dreikurs approach benefits the student more than the teacher because it emphasizes student choice, and ultimately the basis of the theory does not provide support for every instance of misbehavior, resulting in the teacher’s difficulty to determine the motivation behind the behavior and the most effective solution to curb the behavior.

Throughout this summer, working with the SafeCare Colorado program has brought many issues to my attention. Among them mostly surround child abuse and neglect. While starting my research with very broad topics and interests, I finally found a topic that sparked my interest and pushed me to explore it further; my research now focuses mainly on parenting and a child’s subsequent behavior. Many factors play into this relationship, including the personality of the parent, the parenting style, and the parent-child dyad itself.

Many issues can come of a disharmonious parent-child dyad, including aggressions and both internalizing and externalizing behaviors, specifically from the child. This can be avoided however with simple screening and evaluation. Ultimately, when parents and children do not pair well as far as parenting styles and personalities, there is bound to be a clash between them. The most important thing a parent can do is learn what both they and the child need and how they can accomplish that safely and with loving support.

Researching parenting is extremely convenient since I have been working with SafeCare Colorado this summer. The SafeCare Colorado program is a unique home visiting program for child abuse and neglect prevention. Trained providers enter the home and teach parents about safety and best ways to interact with their child or infant; the four main pillars of the program are safety, health, parent-child interactions (PCI), and parent-infant interactions (PII). These pillars assist at-risk parents and families in creating and maintaining a safe and nurturing home environment. At-risk parent demographics include but are not limited to single parents, teen mothers, low socioeconomic status (SES) families, and parents with a history of their own abuse.

Before I could start my own research, I had to be well informed on the SafeCare program and trained as a mandated child abuse reporter. Some of the other trainings I was fortunate enough to complete were child development trainings specifically for home visitors. These trainings through the Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals and Colorado Child Welfare Training System explained both normative and atypical language, emotional, social, cognitive and physical development and how a home visitor can best support a family in these ways. Trainings for home visitors lay the foundation of their education on creating a harmonious family, which starts with the parent-child dyad.

During my time at the SafeCare Colorado program, my focus has been on research for my honors thesis in Dr. Lindsey Hamilton’s class. When I initially started, I had a plethora of interests revolving around children, parenting, personality, abuse, neglect, and mental illness. All of these topics fall under the SafeCare umbrella, so any of them would have been appropriate. Unfortunately however, that was too many different directions in which to go, so Dr. Casillas and I worked very hard to narrow these interests down to find something more specific for me to study. My finalized focus became the relationship between parenting and child mental illness. This helped immensely in searching through an overwhelming amount of literature.

By working through SafeCare’s models and research methods, I found five different assessment surveys relating to my focus. The first was the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), which examines anxiety, depression, alcohol use, physical symptoms, and psychosis. This interested me in imagining how a parent might answer the survey and how that might affect a child. The second assessment that relates to my research is the Child Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ), which examines child behavior and temperament. This is helpful in exploring how children react to a specific parenting style. Third, the Parenting Self-Agency Measure (PSAM) seemed useful for assessing how a caregiver thinks of himself or herself as a parent overall. Fourth, the Parenting Scale interested me in my research in its assessment of exactly what a parent’s parenting style is.

Fifth, the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) Form A examines the parent-child dyad and the parent’s form of discipline (yelling, time-out, physical aggression, etc). The survey advertises the identification of child maltreatment. Finally, coupling the CTS is its results, identifying different levels of assault, reasoning, non-violent discipline, and psychological aggression. Through these surveys, I hope to uncover data on the most important dyad in the family by learning about the parent’s behavior, the child’s behavior, and the way the parent responds to the child in the dyad.

In my research, multiple scholars have confirmed that parenting plays a significant role in a child’s development. Achtergarde, Postert, Wessing, Romer, & Miller (2014) found that a parent’s personality affects their parenting and the subsequent child reaction. Mazur & Mickle (2017) found that primary caregivers who sought support on online forums were hoping to find advice, support, understanding, and/or a place to vent about their child’s mental illness. Finally, Nikolaev, Baranova, & Petunova (2016) discovered maternal well-being being a significant influence of adolescents and children with developmental problems.

Parents model their child’s behavior through their personality, which directly influences child development and mental health (Achtergarde, Postert, Wessing, Romer, & Müller 2014). When a child’s temperament frustrates a parent, the parent is likely to resort to harsh parenting. This type of parenting, which includes power-assertive or overprotective behaviors, is proven to create dysfunction in the parent-child dyad, worsening the cycle of a disharmonious dyad. The “Big Five” personality traits that directly affect parenting are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Neuroticism suggests an individual’s tendency to feel a negative affect such as fear, depression, sadness, anger and insecurity, and mothers who scored high on neuroticism showed more power-assertive and less supportive parenting, which manifested more behavior problems in their children (Achtergarde et al. 2014).

Extraversion encapsulates not only sociability, but also warmth. High extraversion in fathers was associated with more responsive parenting, but interestingly the same was not true for mothers (Achtergarde et al. 2014). Openness refers to aesthetic sensitivity, active imagination, intellectual curiosity, and independence of judgment; high openness was associated with parental support, but low openness was associated with parental control (Achtergarde et al. 2014). People high on conscientiousness tend to make plans and are organized, structured, tenacious and purposeful, and these characteristics are positive influencers on parenting behavior (Achtergarde et al. 2014). Finally, agreeableness characterizes people who appear altruistic, sympathetic, kind, and willing to help others; as a result, maternal agreeableness was positively associated with mothers’ observed responsiveness, while low parental agreeableness correlated with less supportive parenting (Achtergarde et al. 2014).

Parenting a child with a mental illness is undoubtedly more stressful than parenting a child without one, so the parent-child dyad is challenged even more than normal. Problems for the parents include the stress of discipline, feelings of helplessness, and needing advice for their own coping (Mazur & Mickle 2017). When a parent reaches out for help on an online forum, the overall topics of the posts fell into eight main categories: effects on parents, medication, other therapies, school and education, cause of child’s mental illness, child’s symptoms and illness-related behaviors, child diagnosis, societal attitudes and discrimination, and concerns for child’s future (Mazur et al. 2017). Within these categories, parents, stepparents, spouses and primary caregivers alike all elicit a certain type of help. If a parent already struggles with some of the negative aspects of the Big Five traits however, chaos is guaranteed in the dyad. Specifically, data proves that parents of children with Bipolar Disorder (BD) are eleven times more likely to report verbal or physical conflict than parents of children diagnosed with ADHD (Mazur et al. 2017).

As crucial as the parent-child dyad is to a harmonious environment, a mother’s well-being plays a key role in said environmental harmony. When a mother fails to cope in a healthy way, young children are more likely to exhibit both emotional and behavioral disorders. Specifically, young boys are more prone to these disorders in the conditions of authoritarian or rejecting parenting styles (Nikolaev et al. 2016). In addition, her coping methods directly affect her parenting style. Possible coping strategies include problem-solving, social support-seeking, or avoidance coping. Parenting styles have direct correlations to a child’s mental health, and especially maternal characteristics are strong predictors of child behavior problems and cognitive competence (Nikolaev et al. 2016).

This all affects my opinion on the subject; in my opinion, parents have a crucial responsibility to learn about both themselves and their children in order to create a harmonious development environment with minimal conflict. Firstly, a parent should understand where they stand in the Big Five personality traits. Next, it is up to the parents to have both them and their child analyzed in the assessments described above, or something similar. With that knowledge and proper action, a safe and peaceful parent-child dyad can be born. There is no relationship in the world that is more key than the relationship with a parent. Coming in close second may be your spouse, but parents set up a foundation for all other relationships, so it has to start with the parent. In the situation of a disharmonious parent-child dyad, there is high risk for mental illness in the parent and/or child.

This issue affects me in many ways. As the child of a single mother, I understand being at-risk, as my biological father was very problematic. Our parent-child dyad was the farthest thing from harmonious, and it ended up being an extremely traumatic relationship. This man is high on neuroticism in terms of insecurity, and is very low on openness and agreeableness. If other parents at similar risk can prevent a destructive parent-child dyad, every measure should be taken to prevent it. This is one of the closest things to my heart as a victim of abuse as a result of this toxic dyad, and specializing my work with kids makes it all the more special to me. I am proud to be an advocate for children in my personal life and through multiple jobs working with children.

Anything I can do to reduce or prevent disharmonious parent-child dyads helps me feel just a little better about the global and cross-cultural issue, so this research helps me with that. I will be using this research to continue my education in a Clinical and Counseling Psychology PhD program, after which I will be accredited with the American Psychological Association to be free to begin my practice somewhere in the country.

Though there is much more research to be discovered on a parent-child dyad, this is a humble start towards understanding parenting styles, personalities, and a child’s behavior or mental illness. Working with SafeCare Colorado has given the tools I need to begin my research project in relation to types of parenting and child behavior, and this internship has really taught me a lot about parents, children, and how to conduct research.