Essay Example on A Seven-Year-Old's Struggles of Adjustment in an Ohio Foster Home

Introduction

Alex is a seven-year-old first-grader at Constance Elementary located in a countryside town in Ohio. Alex was adopted in a Romanian orphanage when he was at the age of three. In the foster home, there are very many children and a few staff to attend to their needs. The children from the orphanage find it difficult to interact with each other and also with the staff. Due to this reason, Alex often spends most of his time in his crib, where he can see other children in the room but is not able to communicate or interact with them. His well-meaning caregivers have time just adequate to clean and feed him, but fail to spend sufficient time playing or talking with Alex or the other children. Being a first-grader in a class of twenty-five pupils, Alex is expected to have the ability to communicate and interact with other children. However, he often plays alone and doesn't recognize other children. According to his teachers, Alex appears to be in "his own world." Whenever other children approached him, he appears not to notice them. He regularly becomes aggressive towards other children when they get in his "personal space." The school principal fails to understand why Alex reacts in that manner; as a result, he gets noticeably angry with Alex

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According to academic studies, the circumstances experienced at the Romanian orphanage are due to different reasons. The Maneimer et al. (1998) research indicates the period children spend in the orphanage has an impact on their behavior (Bailey, 2015). Foster families often report issues of identity conflicts with the children since they know that their biological parents are not in the house (Bailey, 2015). Consequently, the institutions are responsible for the social, cultural, and behavior grooming of the children. Traits such as avoidance may be as a result of limited interaction from the orphanage by its caregivers. According to the study, there are loopholes in nurturing moral behaviors in the foster homes which require rectification.

A research that involved adopting parents and youths between the ages of 17-23 indicates that children often end up like Alex due to basic issues from their real families. For instance, most of the children in the orphanage come from poor backgrounds; hence, they have encountered negligence and abuse. Some of them have been in prison as a result of misconduct as juveniles. Despite the circumstances, the adopted children still care for their foster families with knowledge that they want the best for them (Bailey, 2015). According to Erikson's psychosocial theory, the environment influences development changes in a child.

Cultural Issues

From reviewed researches, parental stress of foster families is a result of developmental difficulties from the children. Although dissimilarity is caused by emotional and moral delinquency in children, they are influenced by the circumstances of their childhood (Boyle, 2017). Studies identify the lifestyle at the orphanage, the poverty, and unsteadiness from biological family and crime associated circumstances to infuse the undesired morals in the children (Boyle, 2017). There is no contradiction since the parental stress in the foster family is a social problem with the development challenges hence necessitates psychological intervention.

Adoptive families are urged to introduce their children to behavior therapy schemes to make them abandon their standard activities (Boyle, 2017). Nations are enacting laws that prohibit the termination of adopted children by their foster parents. The initiatives in theory and implementation inform policymakers to endorse policies that will favor foster parents and children (Boyle, 2017).

Theoretical Explanation

Based on facts from a psychologist, a normal human being's development includes emotional, physical, and mental adjustment. According to studies, a child develops with a definite sense of self-identity to their social wellbeing. Their growing surroundings influence their behavior as an individual and others through communication and interaction (Gypen, Vanderfaeillie, De Maeyer, Belenger & Van Holen, 2017). According to Erikson's psychosocial theory, the utilization of development changes a human. Erikson's theory indicates that the phases of life are the points an individual negotiates for their biological and cultural identity (Gypen et al., 2017). The concept is essential to solve the relationship difficulties foster parents encounter with their children. For instance, the case of Alex can utilize the psychosocial idea to solve the complexities of Alex and the problems he causes at home and school. The information concerning his Romanian culture can use his personal social needs he requires to assist him in altering to the new environment (Gypen et al., 2017). Alex, at his early childhood and Erikson's theory, indicates that at this phase, he is negotiating to find purpose in every activity he engages in with the family.

According to Kirk's theory on social difficulties associated with adoption, foster families' sufferer mental disorder with the fact they are pretending to act the role that is not theirs. They encounter challenges of providing factual information to the child with the fear of rejection. Despite the challenge, Kirk's theory suggests a solution parents can consider (Gypen et al., 2017). For instance, the adopting family should embrace their situation to disprove the differences they have. Most foster families fear the idea that they are not genetically related to the children. Studies indicate that every individual when introduced to new surroundings, they interrelate with unfamiliar identity and culture with completely different beliefs and practices of doing things (Gypen et al., 2017). An adjustment strategy will necessitate sensitizing the adopted child to their new community concerning their original character.

Professional Behavior

Children raised under institutional care encounter various difficulties while growing up. The system that cares for them may be inefficient in establishing a norm that is coherent to the society's expectations due to unavoidable circumstances (Jankowska, 2015). Complexities such as shortage of adequate staff to take care of the social needs of the child are problematic to their personality nurturing. The foster parents may have to attend to various indiscipline cases at school and sometimes expulsion of the child affecting their livelihood (Jankowska, 2015). The adopting family may suffer embarrassment when visitors are in the house due to the wayward character of the child. Therefore, some adopted children's antisocial deeds make them unfit to be with other members of society, putting their guardians into emotional, physical, and mental stress (Jankowska, 2015).

Proposed Cultural Guidelines and Competencies

The psychologist can assist children in establishing determination through engaging with activities they communicate and interact with at school or any other social situation relevant to their age. For instance, if the children love drawing, the school can group them with children with similar interests institute communication in the progression. The Foster family should act to care for their development needs (Jankowska, 2015). Once a child develops recognizing the importance of the new family, they will alter their attitude towards the people close to them, and they change may be permanent.

Conclusion

Parental stress of fosters families is a social problem that requires expertise solutions. The models and research of psychology on social challenges are essential in developing therapy programs to establish a working relationship between parents and their adopted children. If the developmental challenges are managed, foster families will live under a stress-free environment hence, reducing the displacement of the adopted children. It is considered; wise to create a friendly interaction with adopted children through understanding their needs and being ready to learn new strategies to enhance communication between the children, foster parents, and teachers.

References

Bailey, S. J. (2015). Transnational adoption challenges: Through the eyes of Eastern European youth. Adoption Quarterly, 18(2), 85-107.

Boyle, C. (2017). 'What is the impact of birth family contact on children in adoption and longterm foster care?' A systematic review. Child & Family Social Work, 22, 22-33.

Gypen, L., Vanderfaeillie, J., De Maeyer, S., Belenger, L., & Van Holen, F. (2017). Outcomes of children who grew up in foster care: Systematic-review. Children and Youth Services Review, 76, 74-83.

Jankowska, A. M. (2015, March). Introduction to the Special Issue: Children in Foster Care and International Adoption. In-School Psychology Forum (Vol. 9, No. 1).