Introduction

According to our textbook, some factors that are associated with resilience in the family environment are: 1. Positive family communication and problem solving 2. Adequate conflict resolution skills 3. Adaptability 4. Affective involvement and family engagement  5. Individual strengths 6. Strong attachment with at least one stable parent 7. Parent holding positive perceptions of the child 8. Flexibility 9. Stability 10. Cohesion These are considered possible protective factors in the outcome of children being resilient.  Some of these have to do with the individual and their temperament, or coping skills, and some have to do with the family environment.  It's important to consider both because certain children may be more vulnerable because of their temperament or lack of resources, coping skills, and personal strengths.  Some children may be more affected because of their cognitive makeup and therefore have a harder time being resilient.  We must tak...

Reflecting on the TedTalk and this weeks readings, it's no surprise that resilience is so hard to achieve for maltreated children.  First, if the maltreatment occurs during a crucial period of development, and persists for a long time, the child will likely suffer lifelong effects.  We know how important our attachment style is and if the abuse occurs in the home by the very people who are supposed to love and protect that child, this creates an insecure attachment which then will trickle through their life in all of their relationships if not healed with the help of professionals.  Moreover, many children who experience maltreatment also experience a multitude of contextual factors as well such as low SES, parents who abuse drugs, lack of social support and more.  The cumulative effect of the circumstances coupled with the abuse make the chances of being resilient in all domains near impossible for most children.  Abuse is also linked to adverse health outcomes...

The TedTalk on a mother with a special needs child was really moving.  I learned more than I thought I would, such as the perception struggle parents go through being lifelong instead of temporary as I originally thought.  She mentions the mourning of not having an average developmental child being something she has to deal with her whole life.  Not that it is a death sentence, but acknowledging milestones that perhaps are missed, and the dreams she originally had having to be altered.  I learned how much of an advocate you must be for your child and that while it's worth it, can also be exhausting on the parent.  Social support is so vital for those with children with special needs.  I loved how she also added in how important it is to be able to take care of yourself as a parent of a special needs child.  I feel from what I have read this step is often overlooked by parents and they are often overtaxed physically and emotionally and under supported. ...

The fictional family I have created has just received a diagnosis of Alagille syndrome for their infant child.  The family is comprised of a mother, father, daughter and a new infant son.  The stresses associated with Alagille syndrome are immediate, and futuristic as well.  First, the initial stressor lies in prognosis, the wondering of what this new diagnosis means for the child and the caregivers respectively.  Secondly, another stressor might be, what does the daily care for our child now include?  Medications, doctor visits, the presence or absence of new activities, therapies etc.  With this diagnosis beginning in infancy there may be a sense of ambiguous loss as well, especially when not having a complete prognosis because this is a chronic illness with varying degrees, which is to say it's lifelong and care will have to follow accordingly.  New expectations for the child may need to be formed in terms of life expectancy, and capabilities. ...

Issues that survivors struggle with may be varied and wide depending on each unique situation.  Firstly, as our text mentions, many women struggle with still having regular contact with their abusers when there are children present within the relationship.  Often because of fear felt by the abused, there ends up being a custody arrangement that involves the abuser having partial custody of the child, therefore repeatedly exposing the victim to the abuser with child exchanges etc.  There are also psychological repercussions of abuse upon the victim that he/she will most likely need to seek help for such as psychotherapy, group therapy etc.  Depending on the level of abuse some victims will also suffer from PTSD and again need to seek professional help in coping with it.  IPV will impact the lives of the abused for a long time depending on the situation, and how well or not the victim is able to heal and separate from their abuser.  According to social learni...

I loved reading Brene's article.  I think so much resilience plays into sobriety.  It's so impressive to me that despite the odds, despite a society that glorifies the "party" life, one can find the courage and strength to say "this isn't working for me", and the vulnerability to get help.  I'm frequently amazed by the strength it takes to be resilient in the face of addiction.  It would be so easy to say you didn't care and to keep living a life that was detrimental-but somewhat acceptable to many, but Brene and many others choose the harder path, the vulnerable path to healing.  I learned so much of addiction is that it seems to be a bandaid, covering trauma, pain, suffering,  and the like.  But it's obviously not a very good bandaid, and can only be removed, when the person with the addiction, says it's time to be vulnerable and let the light in.  I've learned that so much of sobriety is a journey.  It's a journey that comes ev...

After watching the videos of recovering addicts, I learned that some of the characteristics of addiction, are very similar even though the experience can be different from each individual.  First, I noticed there seemed to always be a feeling of not belonging present within the individual, usually starting from a young age.  Many of the individuals felt emotionally abandoned by their caregivers at an early age.  It reminded me of the still-face procedure where they had an infant and their parent interacting in a room and then they would instruct the parent to become still-emotionless and unresponsive to the infant.  They found in doing this, what alarmed the infant the most, increased a release of cortisol and distress, was the parent being unresponsive to the baby.  I wondered if this type of interaction, on a repeated basis, would lead to something later such as addiction that we've seen in the videos. What surprised me was that it really didn't matter the c...

The first program I would like to identify is The Air Force Personnel Center  .  The AFPC has many programs, the one I will focus on is pre-deployment.  For pre-deployment, they will brief the service member about the deployment and get them ready to depart.  They also encourage family members, spouses etc to reach out and they will provide them resources, and services if they cannot attend the pre-deployment briefing.  The program will equip family members with information, support and assistance.  This service is offered through each service members base of operation wherever they are located.  This can be vital for families pre-deployment because it can prepare and educate them on what the deployment may look like in order to best prepare their families to endure the deployment as best they can and use the resources made for them when they need them.   The second program is called Support Military Spouses.   This is a neat organization t...

Parenting stepchildren compared to ones own children can be very different depending on the biological parents expectations, and the stepparents comfort and expectation level for themselves.  It can be complicated because the stepparent has to navigate and negotiate a new place in his/her new family as a stepparent.  The relationship dynamic also depends on the temperament of the child and whether or not the child is older/younger and willing/unwilling to accept the new stepparent.  The relationship can be similar to parenting ones own children in that it's still a parent-child dynamic, many of the same parenting skills will transfer over to the new stepparent-child relationship.  I've compiled a list of 10 step-parenting tips that will help to aid in new stepparent-child relationships. 1. First, take it slow!  New step-parent child relationships, just like any other relationship, take time.  Trust needs to be built, new roles need to be established a...

There are so many different combinations of stepfamilies I feel like the way I would define it would have to be broad to be inclusive.  I think I would refer back to more of a "family" definition.  I would define a stepfamily as any persons belonging to a group they have defined that may, or may not live together, but belong to one another and include each other in their lives.   I feel like this would be the best way to include all the different dynamics that come with stepfamilies, sometimes having children residing in their home, sometimes not.  I think I would fall in line with a more emotional, or loving definition of their attachment than a rigid, structural, and technical definition.      

I personally do believe there is still a stigma that comes with divorce.  I have personally seen it happen to friends within their social, familial, and societal contexts.  Generally speaking from talking to friends who have walked through divorce, the stigma often comes from older generations, religious circles, and even from peers.  One study stated, "the divorced come to be seen and to see themselves as a less desired kind ... reduced in our minds from a whole and usual person to a tainted, discounted one" (p. 3, cited by Gerstel, [15], p. 173).  After watching a close friend go through a divorce, I can say this was her exact feelings initially following the divorce.  Thankfully over time it changed and I believe she feels differently now, especially given she has a new relationship.  I don't however know how she is perceived in her daily life and if she encounters this notion of being "tainted and discounted".  Another study sta...

There are many reasons researchers site different effects of divorce as it pertains to adults and children.  First, we must consider everyones perspective on the event that is involved with the divorce.  These perceptions can make a significant impact on whether or not an individual is resilient to the event.  The perception of society also has an impact on the individual, for instance our text states "compared to childless women, divorced mothers experienced harsher disapproval, particularly if they had young children, whereas divorced men did not perceive any differences in social reactions based on whether or not they were parents."(Price 144).  This can make a big difference in the social life of the individual and whether or not they receive adequate support from friends and family during their transition.  Another factor that contributes to different conclusions about the effects of divorce is each individuals economic stability prior to divorce.  Tho...