The stressor that I personally experienced was violence as a child. I coped and survived many of the violent acts by keeping my distance, staying focused and motivated to do what was right. Many of the violent acts that I witnessed as a child came from drug, gang activity and domestic violence. I always stated to myself and never indulged in any violence. When I did witness domestic violence, I would cry and pray that it never happens to me. I grew up in the projects and many of my neighbors and school mates were trying to do whatever they could to make a fast buck to get out. Unfortunately it did not turn out that way. many of my neighbors turned on each other, which resulted in gangs, shoot outs and other types of violence. may of them also started to abuse the drugs themselves which resulted in a overdose at times. In my opinion, children all around the country are experiencing some type of stressor.
Violence can target any region or country. The effects of violence on a child's biosocial, cognitive and psychosocial development can be detrimental for life. The child that have to experience or see this type of stressor can develop mental issues, depression, post traumatic stress syndrome, and behavioral issues such as being violent as well. The child can grow up not knowing how to interact in a appropriate manner when in a different environment or around other children. This type of stressor can affect their learning ability in school in which in they will not be attentive in school, focused or happy (Berger, 2009).
The region that I focused was Philadelphia, because I am from part of this area. There is not much that is being done, only that people are moving out due to the violence escalating over the years. The majority of the violence in Philadelphia are in the schools. There is not much security in the schools of Philadelphia and the administrators are pointing the finger at each and the parents. Some of the authorities are holding all that take part in the child's responsible, because they all have a role in the child's education and development (The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2011).
Reference
Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
The Philadelphia Inquirer (2011). Violence. Retrieved from http://www.philly.com/philly/news/special_packages/inquirer/violence/
Tammie,
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that you were exposed to such violence. I was lucky that my father was not abusive in a physical manner. In my area of upstate NY violence was not a problem. I had heard of it in bigger cities such as Albany, NY and as I went to college there, I witnessed some of the gang violence, sometimes even killings! I couldn't imagine being part of the families there. Such an emotional and scary experience. Thank you for sharing yours.