Research Paper on "Stress Caused on Children Due to Overprotective Overindulgent and Over-Controlling Parents"

Research Paper 7 pages (1992 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Childhood Stress

"Between a touchy temperament in infancy and anxiety disorders in adulthood lie two highly significant things: Parents" (Hortrum, 1994, p. 18). Most parents want to protect their children from harm; however, this sometimes leads to overprotection which results in the child experiencing stress that may later manifest itself as anxiety in adulthood. Coplan et al. (2007) describe overprotective parents as those who over manage situations for their child, restrict child behaviors, discourage child independence, and direct child activities. Chorpita & Barlow (1998) describe overprotection as "as involving excessive parental involvement in controlling the child's environment to minimize aversive experiences for the child." While these behaviors may be well-intentioned, they have been shown to cause children to develop stress and anxiety disorders later in life. Overprotective parenting results in shyness and social anxiety in children, and may lead to psychological disorders in adulthood such as adjustment disorder, panic disorder, and depression.

Causes of Overprotection

Overprotection is a form of psychological control. According to Mills et al. (2007), "psychological control is control of the child through psychological intrusion or invasion of the child's inner self. Psychological control is a form of boundary dissolution in which the parent denies or fails to recognize the child's psychological separateness and uniqueness." (p. 360). Parents consider their own needs rather than those of their child. Mills et al. (2007) add that psychological control is a result of shame. When this shame is internalized, it results in anxiety. When it is externalized, it results in hostility. In parenting internalized shame results in worrying and overprotecting, while externalized shame results in critical or rejecting parenting (Mills et al., 2007).

One explanation is that shame-related anxiety results in a sense of lack of control or helplessness regarding the self and fear of rejection of others. As a result, the individual develops coping mechanism to alleviate these fears. These coping mechanisms may include worry about "threatening possibilities and their potential negative consequences." (Mills et al., 2007, p. 360). The parent may then develop a "worrisome approach to the child" and exhibit overprotective behaviors. These behaviors include a preoccupation with potential threats to the child's health and well-being. In order to avoid these threats the parent will engage in "excessive care or overprotection by discouraging independence, restricting behavior, and/or infantilizing the child." (Mills et al., 2007, p. 361).

This psychological control creates a cycle of behaviors which, according to Spokas & Heimberg (2008) "the child holds an assumption that the outcomes of behavior are determined by others or chance. This cognitive style leads to certain behaviors, such as clinging to parents for protection, which results in greater overprotection and control on the part of the parents. The parents' reaction to increase protection serves to both reinforce the child's belief in external control and increase social anxiety." (p. 544).

Prenatal Stress

The stress caused to children by their parents can actually begin in the womb. According to Lazinski et al. (2008) "Heightened emotional stress during pregnancy may interfere with the necessary adaptation and lead to dysregulation of the two major stress response systems: the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis and the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)" (p. 363). This dysregulation can result in many detrimental effects on the developing fetus, including birth outcomes, neurodevelopmental impacts, as well as emotional and behavioral effects. Birth outcomes related to maternal stress during pregnancy include low birth weight, preterm birth, and smaller head circumference. Lazinski et al. (2008) report a French study of over 600 women that demonstrated that preterm birth was twice as likely in women who had experienced depression during their pregnancy. In a similar study involving 400 American women, the rate of low birth weight was 20% for women experiencing depression during pregnancy versus 7.6% for those who did not experience depression, and preterm births occurred in 25% of women experiencing depression versus 8% in pregnancies where the mothers did not experience depression (Lazinski et al., 2008).

These birth outcomes can have negative neurodevelopmental results. Lazinski et al. (2008) explain that "smaller head circumference, low birth weight, and prematurity have all been associated with & #8230; decreased academic ability, poorer cognitive ability, lower IQ scores, behavioral problems, psychological distress, and major depressive disorder" (p. 365). Smaller head circumference, which reflects total brain volume in infants, has been shown to impact IQ scores, reading ability, and problem solving skills. Additionally, maternal stress during pregnancy is linked with delayed motor and mental development, and poor language abilities (Lazinski et al., 2008).

In addition to neurodevelopmental impacts, maternal stress during pregnancy can have emotional and behavioral effects that last into adulthood. Lazinski et al. (2008) report that maternal stress during pregnancy is linked with increased distress to novelty when the infant is 4 months old. This increased distress to novelty is a possible predictor of fear-related behavior and anxiety in adulthood. Additional studies cited by Lazinski et al. (2008) found that maternal prenatal stress was related to lower attention regulation in infants at 3 months and 8 months of age, particularly when the stress occurred early in the pregnancy. Further studies have found that maternal stress during pregnancy is related to behavioral problems in infants such as irritability, inconsolability, and excessive crying. These emotional and behavioral problems continue into childhood, especially for boys (Lazinski, 2008).

Shyness in Kindergarten

Overprotective parenting, according to Coplan et al. (2007), has a documented relationship with shyness in early childhood. Shyness, as defined by Coplan et al. (2007), "refers to wariness and anxiety in the face of social novelty and perceived social evaluation and is characterized by an approach-avoidance conflict in such situations" (p. 359). This shyness can cause social, emotional, and adjustment difficulties for the child. In kindergarten, shyness is linked with difficulties with peers and teachers. According to Coplan et al. (2007) shy children may be perceived as unwilling or unable to participate in classroom activities because of their reluctance to speak in class. Coplan et al. (2007) explain further that shyness is related to problems in middle school and adolescence including loneliness, depression, social anxiety, deficits in social competence, lower self-esteem and peer rejection. This comes at a time when peer relationships are particularly important to the child. Additionally "shyness in early childhood appears to be a risk for factor for the later development of anxiety disorders" (Coplan et al., 2007, p. 359).

In a study conducted by Coplan et al. (2007), shyness in children is related to a maladaptive family environment created by "fretful parenting." Fretful parenting is described as a combination of maternal neuroticism, behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitivity, and overprotective parenting (Coplan et al., 2007). The results of the study suggest that fretful parenting can exacerbate adjustment difficulties on shy children in kindergarten. Coplan et al. (2007) explain that there may be two causes for this. First of all fretful mothers are more likely to "model anxious behaviors and highlight the risks and dangers in the environment" (p. 367). Additionally, overprotective behavior by these fretful parents, such as removing children from stressful environments, may inhibit development of coping strategies in shy children.

Adjustment Disorder

Overprotection has also been linked with adjustment disorders in adults. Giotakos (2002) describes two styles of parenting that contribute to these adjustment disorders. These are the affectionless control style and affectionate constraint style. According to Giotakos (2002) "the affectionless control style of bonding indicates high overprotective behavior with low care by the parent and has been found to be characteristic of adults with depression, delinquency, and adolescent drug abuse. Affectionate constraint (high care, high protection) appears to have some specificity to panic disorder." (p. 28).

In a study of fifty-four soldiers suffering from adjustment disorder, Giotakos (2002) found that overprotection during childhood was one of the most important factors for the development of adjustment disorder as well as for the severity of the symptoms. The study confirmed the findings of several other studies which showed correlations between overprotective parenting and psychological disorders including panic disorder, social phobia, and depression. In a similar study conducted with 167 African-American college students, Love (2008), found that maternal overprotection emerged as a significant predictor of anxiety and depression. In fact, perceptions of maternal invasiveness and control results in increased levels of anxiety and depression. According to Love (2008) "those who had mothers who were overprotective and invasive tended to report higher levels of psychological distress, which may indicate that overprotective behaviors hinder students' development of healthy identities as independent, psychologically adjusted young adults." (p. 38). A study of 923 college students by Spokas & Heimberg (2008) found that college students' reports of social anxiety were associated with ratings of low parental warmth and high parental overprotection.

Spokas & Heimberg (2008) explain that "overprotective parenting contributes to the development of a cognitive style in which an individual believes that outcomes are largely determined by external factors." (p. 548). This feeling of lack of control over external factors results in social anxiety. Rekert (2007) agrees adding "numerous empirical studies with both clinical and community samples have confirmed that… READ MORE

How to Reference "Stress Caused on Children Due to Overprotective Overindulgent and Over-Controlling Parents" Research Paper in a Bibliography

Related Research Papers:

Basis for Child Support Obligations Essay

Child Support Obligations

Generally speaking, child support law argues that the behavior of the parent or guardian makes them have child support obligations. Traditionally, child support obligations were only granted… read more

Essay 3 pages (1254 words) Sources: 9 Topic: Child Development / Youth / Teens

---

Parenting Styles in Correlation to Alcoholism and Social Change Research Paper

Parenting Styles & Alcoholism in College Students

Parenting Styles in Relation to Alcoholism & Social Change

Parenting Styles & Alcoholism

Research regularly Conducted on Parenting Styles & Adolescents' Alcohol Intake… read more

Research Paper 18 pages (6779 words) Sources: 18 Topic: Child Development / Youth / Teens

---

Parenting Styles and the Impact of Alcohol Term Paper

Parenting Styles and the Impact of Alcohol Consumption of College Freshmen Aged Men

Introduction to Area of Interest

Whether or not parents want to admit it, they have the biggest… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1164 words) Sources: 12 Topic: Child Development / Youth / Teens

---

Children, Especially Teenagers, Are at a Vulnerable Essay

Children, especially teenagers, are at a vulnerable age where desires for acceptance and love reach beyond their families, resulting in a risk that did not exist before. With the increasing… read more

Essay 6 pages (1762 words) Sources: 14 Topic: Child Development / Youth / Teens

---

Child Abuse You Are an Experienced Protective Essay

Child Abuse

You are an experienced protective services social worker. You have just been assigned a new case to investigate as a result of an abuse report. Your first task… read more

Essay 8 pages (3295 words) Sources: 20 Topic: Child Development / Youth / Teens

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>