Competing Influences

Competing Influences

Running Head: CHILDREN AND POVERTY

Children and Poverty
Lay Saechao
California State University, Chico

Childhood poverty should be of great concern for all adults due to the innocence of children and their inability to affect change within their economic living environment. Urie Bronfenbrenner developed the Ecological Theory in order to describe the complex interactions between the different levels and/or systems within the environment and their influences on the development of children. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological theory can be utilized in order to attempt to explain the reasons for the occurrences of childhood poverty and the outcome for those affected.
Within the five systems the child is at the center. The Microsystem is the innermost layer of the Ecological Model. The immediate environment- Family, neighborhood, daycare, and etc. - would qualify as Microsystems. The family would probably be the most influential setting for a young child because this is where he/she spends the majority of his/her time. Children living in poverty face a disadvantage. According to Evans (2007), low-income families rely heavily on corporal punishment as a means of disciplining children. Young children do not possess the cognitive skills necessary to decipher the underlying reasons for administrating corporal punishment. Corporal punishment may be a successful tool in distinguishing short-term behavior that is undesirable but this punitive form of punishment teaches children that hitting is socially acceptable. Children that experience corporal punishment as an underlying form of discipline are more likely to exhibit increased aggression in their relationships with others. The family is the first interaction a child has with the world. Therefore, the child begins the process of adopting behaviors and attitudes consistent of the family which is believed to be socially acceptable.
The second innermost layer of the Ecological Model is...

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