child maltreatment involves neighborhood impoverishment H u m a n i t i e s

please respond to viktorea with 200 words your respond should include reference and citations

Topic 1: Socioeconomic Status

The socioeconomic status of the parents affects child-rearing because each family has their own hardships and stressors. According to Conger and Dogan (2007) (as cited by Berns (2016) “economic hardship experienced by lower-class families is associated with anxiety, depression, and irritability” (p. 128). For these families it is easier to be authoritarian, inconsistent and non-supportive because it is less time consuming and takes less effort to just discipline instead of reason with the child or explain to them (Berns, 2016). On the other hand, Novotney (2009) (as cited by Berns (2016) states that “today’s teens from the upper and upper-middle classes may be more self-centered, as well as depressed, than ever before” (p. 128). This does not only affect lower, middle, upper or anything in between, it is all because there can be struggles at every level of socioeconomic status.

The low and high socioeconomic classes are on each end of the spectrum. It is very alarming how different they are and how involved these parents will be with their child based on their social and economic factors. The social and economic factors are discussed by Berns (2016) as “income, occupation, and education of the parents” (p. 127). These things can be good, bad or in between and can cause parents to stress if they are struggling. It makes complete sense to me that depending on whether you are part of the low or high socioeconomic status you will most likely treat your child differently because you have different concerns and stressors based on these circumstances. It is very sad that parents in the low socioeconomic status are so full of depression or anxiety that they end up parenting their child with the least effort possible, but when someone doesn’t have the energy because of depression it makes complete sense that this is the only way they see fit.

Topic 2: Services/Resources in your community

While researching the services for child maltreatment and neglect, I did not find much for my area specifically. The closest center to go to was Riverside and other than that you can call or go to websites. The agency that handles child abuse is San Bernardino Department of Child and Family Services which is DCFS. My mother actually used to work in DCFS for Los Angeles County and she had to do the paperwork about the children and parents. She also knew coworkers who actually went to these houses and checked on the children’s welfare and took them out of the home if there was evidence of maltreatment, neglect or abuse of any kind. According to the CDC website (2020) some strategies to prevent maltreatment and neglect are to strengthen the economic support, support parents and positive parenting, provide quality education early in life, enhance parenting skills to promote healthy child development and intervene to prevent future risks. If a child is in childcare or school and they are being abused at home, the teacher can report and try to stop the abuse by paying close attention to the child and how they interact with others. According to Freisthler, Merritt, and La Scala (2006) (as cited by Berns (2016) “the ecology of child maltreatment involves neighborhood impoverishment, housing stress, unemployment, child-care burdens, and availability of alcohol” (p. 163). These are some huge problems in the community that can have an effect on the way a parent treats a child. According to Emery (1989) and Garbarino (1977) they have reported that “isolation from the community and consequent lack of support is a significant characteristic of families who are abusive” (p. 163). Parents who are abusive do not want anyone to find out that they are abusive and tend to not have any close family or friends and end up not having anyone to turn to when they need advice (Berns, 2016).