Assessment Of The Socio- Environmental Determinant Of Emotional And Social Well Being Of Teenagers In Foster Homes

Assessment Of The Socio- Environmental Determinant Of Emotional And Social Well Being Of Teenagers In Foster Homes

Chapter One

Preface

Background of the study

nonage is the period of transition from nonage to majority, a stage of major growth and development in which significant physiological, cognitive, cerebral and behavioural changes take place. Gidion,( 2010). At this stage, important experimental tasks, similar as developing an identity and getting independent need to be fulfilled. nonetheless, the conception of nonage is socially constructed rather than being biologically determined; hence the image of nonage is a time of stormy stress, violent moodiness and obsession with the tone. nonage is a period of violent and rapid-fire development and is characterised by multitudinous experimental tasks, including gaining new and more mature connections with others, achieving a mannish or womanlike social part and achieving emotional independence from parents and other grown-ups Joseph & Moore,( 2002). When adolescent development is successful, the result is a biologically mature existent, equipped with the capacity to form close connections. The adolescent is also equipped with cognitive and cerebral coffers to face the challenges of adult life. Hazen, Schlozman & Beresin,( 2008). The families, in general, and parents, in particular, have frequently been supposed to be the most important support system available to the child during the adolescenthood processes Joanna,( 1996). The strongest factor in moulding a child ‟ s personality is the relationship with the parents; under normal circumstances every child is anticipated to be parented by his or her natural parents, and this will promote love and affection and bring about bond between the child and theparents.However, indeed- flowing,non-possessive affection and they treat him as a person, If his parents love him with a generous. But if they diverge from this, the child ‟ s development may be distorted. Cox & Cox,( 2009). This is to show that successful parenthood is grounded on a healthy, regardful, and long- lasting relationship with the child. This process of parenthood is viewed in the cerebral sense rather than natural and leads a child to perceive a given grown-up as his or her „ parent ‟. Dorsey,( 2009). That perception is essential for the child ‟ s development of emotional and social well- being. Optimal child development may do when a diapason of requirements are constantly met over an extended period. Likewise, a child develops attachments and recognises as parents, grown-ups who give a day- to- day attention to his requirements for physical care, aliment, comfort, affection, and stimulation. This attachment to a primary caregiver who can either be the natural parents or the foster parents is essential to the development of emotional security and social heart. But occasionally, this may not be the case when a child isn’t directly trained by the natural parents, which is a common trend in Africa. Troy & Beckert,( 2005).

Isiugo- Abanihe( 1983) reports that child fostering or the practice of transferring children out to be raised bynon-biological parents is wide spread among numerous societies in West Africa and Nigeria, in particular, and adolescent fostering has come a global problem that needs to be dived if they’re to be given their rights. Gelles,( 2009). The issue of adolescent fostering has been given serious attention in numerous corridor of the world, and Nigeria isn’t left out. Given this serious trouble, one would have allowed that this imminence won’t persist. Prior to the creation of juvenile and family courts, children who were maltreated by their families were dependent upon informal interventions from their communities and churches. Gil,( 2005). Children suffer grave consequences when informal defensive networks failed. Without a defensive network, neglected and homeless youths frequently wandered the road soliciting or stealing in order to live. For centuries, the Nigerian child has been seen as an instrument or property with no absolute honor of its own. Umobong,( 2010). In the traditional African society, the belief was that children should simply be seen and not heard and weren’t allowed to hear to grown-ups ‟ conversations discussion let alone make benefactions. According to Umobong( 2010), the training of the child is the sole responsibility of the parents and members of the community who have the right to punish and correct the child whenever he she goes wrong. serve it to say that the parents trained the child in a way that’s suitable and respectable to the standard of the society. Some children are taken down from their natural family of due to the incapability of their parents to watch for them as a result of colorful disasters ranging from physical or internal illness, imprisonment due to illegal behaviours similar as medicine trafficking and abuse. Other causes can be due to fiscal constraints, shy casing and severance, family and community violence. Charlotte,( 2001).

Foster care is care for children outside the home that backups for maternal care. The child may be placed with a family, cousins or nonnatives, in a group home( where up to a dozen foster children live under the nonstop supervision of a maternal figure), or in an institution. Tower,( 2001). Whatever its form, foster care is an enormous bouleversement in the life of a child, who frequently must acclimate not only to a different family, a different position, a different academy, and different peers, and different culture as well. Rawn,( 2004). Important opinions concerning the lives of foster children are in the hands of nonnatives, similar as juvenile courts, social weal agencies, substitute parents, anyone of which may have guardianship of the child. Troy,( 2005). Foster care is intended to be a temporary living situation for children with the end of reunifying similar children with their parents or guardian latterly in life. This may include an consanguineous home, custodianship, or placement with a relative. At times, the bond that develops during foster care will lead to the foster parents espousing the child. In some cases, children may have a long- term placement. For aged adolescents, a foster care programme may offer education and coffers to prepare for a transition to independent living. Zetlin,( 2004).

The foster care system faces major societal problems, similar as, high rates of child and family poverty, homelessness, severance, substance abuse, HIV/ AIDS, unstable education, family and community violence, all these directly impact the adolescent well- being and the child weal system. These factors have contributed to the development of large case loads of families that have multiple and complex requirements. Beforehand physical abuse and neglect in the course of fostering may beget adverse differences to important regions of the brain, which can have long- term cognitive, emotional and behavioural consequence. Wiley & Karr- Morse,( 2009). Fostered children abused beforehand in life may also parade poor physical and internal health well- being into majority. These goods are explosively identified with low academic achievement, substance abuse, and a myriad of other problems that help successful social adaption. Kendall, Tackett & Eckenrode, 1996; Widom, DuMont, & Czaja,( 2007). Aged children who have been constantly traumatised in the process of staying with foster parents frequently suffer from post traumatic stress complaint and automatically indurate when they feel anxious, and thus are considered oppositional or counterculturist by those who interact with them ”. American Academy of Pediatrics,( 2000). Adolescents in foster care generally have troubled backgrounds with multiple social and emotional problems that place high demands on foster parents. While the health and safety requirements of fostered adolescents are easier to observe, the emotional well- being of these adolescents is frequently delicate to identify. Recognising emotional and social well- being becomes, particularly, grueling when the adolescents move to foster homes.

Statement of Exploration Problem

Adolescent in foster care are particularly vulnerable to mischievous issues, as they frequently come into foster homes due to their exposure to maltreatment, family insecurity and a number of other threat factors that compromise their healthy development Fostered adolescents may be victims of family violence, or may not have been supervised or handed for meetly manner. They may have been subordinated to shy and disabled care- giving that results from a variety of maternal difficulties, similar as, substance abuse, internal illness and experimental disabilities. also, these children are generally from impoverished backgrounds, a situation that exacerbates threat factors. An extremely high frequence of emotional disturbance among youthful people in foster care is common, particularly those in group homes. These teens are at increase threat for similar potentially adverse issues as educational under achievement/ termination, substance abuse and eventually homelessness. junking of children from their natural parents is tremendously painful to the affected individualities. numerous children and adolescents in foster care may feel anxious, uncertain and helpless to control their lives. numerous feel angry, rejected, and pained by the separation or they develop a profound sense of loss. Some feel shamefaced, believing that they caused the dislocation of their natural family. This, thus, raises the question on how the fostering system could be made to work effectively in Nigeria. It’s on this base that the study delved the extent to which socio- environmental factors determine the position of emotional and social well- being of adolescents in foster homes in Southwestern Nigeria.

Objects Of The Study

the primary ideal of the study are as follows

l determine the extent to which socio- environmental factors impact emotional well- being of adolescents in foster homes in lagos Nigeria.

l assess the position of relationship between Socio- environmental factors and social well- being of adolescents in foster homes in Nigeria.

l examine the impact of social factors on emotional well- being of adolescents in foster homes.

Exploration Questions

the following exploration questions have been formulated for this study

1. to what extent have the social factors told the feelings of the adolescents in foster homes in Southwestern Nigeria?

2. what are the goods of environmental factors on the emotional well- being of adolescents in foster homes in Southwestern Nigeria?

3. what are the influences of social factors( peer influence, foster officers ‟ religious beliefs and media exposure) on social well- being of the adolescents in foster homes in Southwestern Nigeria?

4. what are the goods of environmental factors on social well- being of the adolescents in foster homes in Southwestern Nigeria?

Exploration Thesis

The following null suppositions were tested

Ho1 there’s no significant relationship between social and environmental factors and emotional well- being of adolescents in foster homes in lagos Nigeria.

Ho2 there’s no significant relationship between social and environmental factors and social well- being of adolescents in foster homes in lagos Nigeria.

Significance of the study

This study is important because it provides sapience into other approaches to fostering. This will help the community to give a healthy terrain which will encourage the growth of the fostered adolescent and help them to enter into new stages of life and face its challenges. The outgrowth of this study will also guide foster homes in furnishing good governance to the fostered adolescents and ground the gap between the foster family and the natural family of the adolescents

The study will also encourage the significant others like the religious organisations, seminaries, counsellors and academia

Compass Of The Study

the study will assess the socio environmental determinants of emotional and social well being of teenagers in foster homes. Hence, the study will be demarcated to manly and womanish who were raised in foster home, government and registered private foster homes in lagos state Nigeria

Limitations of the study

This study was constrained by a number of factors which are as follows

just like any other exploration, ranging from attainability of demanded accurate accoutrements on the content under study, incapability to get data

Financial constraint, was faced by the experimenter, in getting applicable accoutrements and in printing and collation of questionnaires

Time factor time factor disguise another constraint since having to shuttle between jotting of the exploration and also engaging in other academic work making it uneasy for the experimenter