Uri Bronfenbrenner stated, “…the only safe way to avoid
violating principles of professional ethics is to refrain from doing social research
altogether" (Coady, 2010, p. 73).
To think about myself as a researcher that has the
ability and knowledge of conducting research on any topic in the early
childhood field. Looking at the benefits and positive contributions to young
children and their families is in a way, why research is so important to
finding the data to support families and children to overcome many struggles
and challenges they can face in their lifetime. This could be diseases,
disorders, medical conditions, and various disabilities that a child or an
adult is diagnosed with and there is no known cure to prevent the decline in a
patient or to cure the condition all together (OHRP, 45 CFR 46.406; OHRP,
section 406).
The topic I would chose would be attachment. The
attachment between parents and their child, what are the benefits of this bond
for those children and their families in the long run. The benefits of a strong
attachment with their parents, will support their child’s ability of
interacting with others and forming bonds with peers, teachers, and other
people in their community. Having a strong attachment with family members,
helps the child grow and develop learning skills, as ease; with the support
from the child’s parents. Children that have a strong attachment with their
parent or guardian, the child is able to make attachments with others around
them, their able to grow and develop their learning skills by mastering their
developmental needs to be successful. Their focus and attention span is strong
and they don’t lose focus too easily, they are able to deal with distractions
compared to other children. The
contribution that would be made for this topic, based on the research conducted
by myself and my colleagues would be the importance of a strong attachment
between a parent and child will have the ability to understand others emotions
and how to interact and socialize with others in the world around them. The research
would involve observation of young children and interviews with their parents;
to discover how their relationship with their child is and how they could
strengthen the relationship and bond with one another. I would continue to
research the topic and see what other researchers, scientists, and other early
childhood professionals, have found on the topic to continue to contribute to
the topic and the benefits of attachment between a parent and their child.
References
Coady, M. (2010). Ethics in early childhood research. Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice
(2nd ed., pp. 73 - 84). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Office
for Human Research Protections (OHRP). (n.d.) Special protections for children
as research subjects. HHS.gov. Retrieved on from http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/policy/populations/children.html.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Office
for Human Research Protections (OHRP). (n.d.). Research with children—FAQs. HHS.gov.
Retrieved from http://answers.hhs.gov/ohrp/categories/1570.
I too believe that attachment is extremely important in a child's healthy development. In my preschool classroom you can tell when a child has a healthy attachment to his or her parent/parents. This healthy attachment encourages their ability to interact with others, develop learning skills and grow academically as well as social and emotionally.
ReplyDeleteCourtney Griswold
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated with this topic as well and find reading the research on attachment very interesting. I found a study you might be interested in that examined whether emotions and coping explain the association between mother-child attachment and peer relationships.
References
Abraham, M.M. & Kerns, K.A. (2013), Positive and negative emotions and coping as mediators of mother-child attachment and peer relationships, Merrill Palmer Quarterly: Journal of Developing Psychology, Retrieved from:http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=1b253a48-34ac-43b1-b7e5-782886059828%40sessionmgr198&hid=124&bdata=JnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#db=eric&AN=EJ1015205
Erin,
ReplyDeleteThis research topic also resonate strongly to me as I am interested to understand better parents who maltreat their child and the consequences this can have on the child's development and personality. Maybe this kind of research could help to lauch campaign against child's maltreatment and help those parents understand the importance of building bond and attachment with their child to prevent causing them harm which could have life-long effects. In trying to understand the life experiences and frame of reference of those parents also, we can better support them in changing their attitudes towards their own children and change their parenting styles. I firmly believe that this is a serious issue that affect more children than we expect, as many cases of violence on children go undetected. Research can contribute significantly to help those families and protect all children.
Sorry I mistakenly clicked on Anonymous when sending you my comment. Caroline
ReplyDeleteErin,
ReplyDeleteYou have chosen a very important topic. There have been many previous studies done on this topic so my question is what might be unique about your study. I myself am particularly interested in a study that leads to strategies to support parents and children in forming attachments. To me part of the challenge of research is moving it beyond the context of early childhood professionals and journal articles and put it into the "hands" of parents and families so that they can make use of the findings. Part of that work would be to share with families all of the benefits you described above. The next challenge is what parents can do to help ensure their children reap those benefits.
I think attachment is a great topic. This is something that is critical in a child's development. Letting the families know the benefits of their child gaining the attachment role and how important it is for them later in life is something I think I would tell them before the research took place.
ReplyDelete