The nurse midwife role in facilitating successful breastfeeding

The nurse midwife role in facilitating successful breastfeeding Introduction Breastfeeding has been viewed as the healthiest approach of feeding. A wide range of literatures have supported this opinion (Acheson, 1998). Since breastfeeding is helpful to promote babies health and is generally considered as a professional issue, mothers require professional support for appropriate breastfeeding (Riordan, 2005). One of the primary responsibilities of nurses/midwives is to promote the health of babies (Riordan, 2005). Thus, it is required for them master the skills to support the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding. The aim of this essay is to investigate the role of nurse/midwife in facilitating successful breastfeeding. Firstly, approaches to support the initiation of breast feeding in the postnatal period will be studied and discussed. Secondly, methods than can be adopted to support the continuation of breast feeding in the first six months will be discussed. And thirdly, the role of the midwife/ nurse in facilitating breast feeding will be concluded. Approaches to support the initiation of breast feeding in the postnatal period All mothers own the right to decide the way to feed their babies. Thus, breastfeeding should be provided as an informed choice for them (Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, 2003). Nurses and midwives play the role to provide concise and clear information to all mothers in the antenatal period. They should not discriminate any women due to their choice of the approach of infant feeding but offer fully support for them when making that choice. To ensure that the potential health risks of formula feeding and the benefits of breastfeeding can be conveyed to and understood by pregnant women, discussion about infant feeding between nurse/midwife and pregnant woman can be conducted on the one to one basis (Tayside Breastfeeding Policy Group, 2007). In this kind of discussion, nurse/midwife should explain the physiology of breastfeeding to all pregnant women simply and clearly. This is helpful to reduce common problems such as misunderstanding of breastfeeding and to cultivate pregnant womens confidence in the ability to breastfeed. Besides, written information such as documents on the antennal feeding checklist can also be printed and offered to pregnant women. No matter which feeding method is about to take, early skin-to-skin contact between mothers and babies should be encouraged. Once pregnant women decided to take breastfeeding, they should be encouraged to offer the first breastfeed as soon as possible. Early experiences indicated that early opportunity to suckle and skin-to-skin contact contribute to improved breastfeeding outcome (Tayside Breastfeeding Policy Group, 2007). Nurse/midwife should provide help if it is required. The infant should be left with the mother continuously after birth. When mothers give first breastfeed, nurse/midwife should show them the appropriate gestures for feeding, such as how to support babys head, shoulders and neck (MDPH, 2008). Besides, it is essential for mothers to have proper latch for milk production and transfer and to reduce possible pain. Nurse/midwife should also provide explanations to this point (MDPH, 2008). As to frequency and duration of breastfeeding, timed and scheduled feedings shoul d be discouraged. While frequent breastfeeding in the early stage of postnatal should be encouraged to build milk supply, for example, at the 8 to 12 time of feeding should be provided at 24 hours (MDPH, 2008). Baby-led feeding should be encouraged. Breastfeeding should be provided according to infants interests. Unnecessary introduction of supplements such as formula and water and artificial nipples should be avoided. In order to maximize milk supply and increase the overall success of breastfeeding, mothers should be instructed to delay the introduction of formula and bottles during the first 3 to 4 weeks after delivery, which is a critical period for establishment of breastfeeding (MDPH, 2008). The continuation of breastfeeding in the first six months It was found that one of the major factors influencing mothers decision of the continuation of breastfeeding is the brevity of a postpartum hospitalization. Previous studies indicated that many mothers leave hospital before breastfeeding is well established (Morrow et al., 1999). Thus, the brevity of a postpartum hospitalization can directly impact the continuation of breastfeeding. Based on this consideration, mothers require more professional immediate and consistent assistance with breastfeeding. Thus, in order to support the continuation of breastfeeding, nurse/midwife play the role to ensure the breastfeeding is well established between mother and baby during the period of hospitalization. During the first six months of breastfeeding, nurse/midwife should try to provide sufficient information and support to enable the mothers to breastfeed exclusively. According to the review of Sikorski et al. (2001) concerning the approaches in facilitating breast feeding, they observed that the breastfeeding supported offered by professional health staff who are typically specialized in guiding breastfeeding such as nurse and midwife, can significantly increased exclusive breastfeeding to two months. In details, breastfeeding support interventions provided during both the antenatal and postnatal period were more supportive to increase both the rate and period of breastfeeding than interventions offered just during the postnatal period. Therefore, in order to increase the continuation of breast feeding in the first six months, supports from nurse/midwife should be provided since the antenatal period. According to the suggestions given by the World Health Organization (WHO) (1998), the use of pacifiers and artificial teats is associated with early cessation of breastfeeding. Previous studies also suggested that although pacifiers and artificial teats are safe to use, they can directly impact the continuation of breastfeeding in the first six months. Thus, nurse and midwife should encourage mothers to minimize the use or avoid the use of pacifiers and artificial teats. Besides, it was found by Jones (1994) that cupfed preterm infants when their mothers were not able to present and breastfeed were more likely to continue breastfeed than those were fed by bottles. This suggests that even in some medical conditions, bottle fed should be avoided in order to ensure that babies can be breastfeed afterward. The role of the midwife/ nurse in facilitating breastfeeding It is health care professionals responsibility to concerns over the babys health. Support of breastfeed has been viewed as the responsibility of midwife and nurse who directly contact with pregnant women and mothers with postnatal babies in their daily work. To facilitate breastfeeding, firstly, nurse and midwife play an important role in advocating for breastfeeding friendly environments (RNAO, 2003). Their role in this aspect includes advocating for supportive facilities and systems. For example, it was suggested by RNAO (2003) that public breastfeeding areas, mother and baby areas for breastfeeding, day-care facilities, and 24-hour help for mothers with difficulties in breastfeeding should be included. Then, community based supportive activities for breastfeeding can also be integrated into their role. For example, it was suggested by Canadian Institute of Child Health (1996) that nurse and midwife can encourage and help parents to find and join in a supportive community breastfee ding network. Educations can be provided to couples during the age for childbearing. This is helpful to assist them to make informed decisions relating to breastfeeding. Secondly, nurses and midwifes are responsible to convey new research evidence to the parents to guide the breastfeeding (RNAO, 2003). Nurses and midwifes have more information access about health promotion than the common individuals. And the new health research findings may help the mothers to breastfeed in a better way. For example, it was recommended by the WHO (2000) that exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months; with introduction of other supplementary food later on with continued breastfeeding up two years is a suitable approach for breastfeeding. It is necessary for nurses and midwives to communicate this new evidence to the pregnant women and mothers. However, to ensure nurses and midwifes can keep up with the latest evidence, education and training course for them is also necessary. Thirdly, nurses and midwives should be responsible for conducting comprehensive assessments for breastfeeding both prenatal and postnatal based on the condition of mother, baby and family (RNAO, 2003). This is helpful to facilitate the development of plan for breastfeeding and conduct correspondent interventions. For example, prenatal assessment can include attitude about breastfeeding, intent to breastfeed, access to support for breastfeeding and physical factor that may influence a womans ability to breastfeed. Conclusion To sum up, breastfeeding plays an important role to promote the health of babies. And the nurses and midwives role in promoting and facilitating breastfeeding. To support the initiation of breast feeding in the postnatal period, breastfeeding should be provided as an informed choice for them. Physiology of breastfeeding and its benefits should be explained to all pregnant women simply and clearly. Guidance during the initiation period should be provided by midwives and nurses to help mothers to establish breastfeeding with their babies. During the first six months, in order to support the continuation of breastfeeding, nurse/midwife need to ensure the breastfeeding is well established between mother and baby during the period of hospitalization and to help mothers established good habit of breastfeeding. Midwives and nurses roles in facilitating breastfeeding include advocating for breastfeeding friendly environments, to convey new research evidence to the parents to guide the breast feeding and to conduct comprehensive assessments for breastfeeding both prenatal and postnatal based on the condition of mother, baby and family.

Analysis of Cusp Catastrophe Model

Analysis of Cusp Catastrophe Model Social Psychology of Sport Critical discussion on cusp catastrophe model and using its principles of anxiety on an athlete’s performance. Introduction The ability to cope with pressure and anxiety under strenuous conditions such as a large sporting event is an essential skill to have, especially for an elite level athlete. Anxiety can be associated with an unpleasant state of mind, which can have different effects on performance. There have been many reported situations among athletes relating the feeling of being anxious or stressed in different sporting events. Dias et, al (2009) have participated in a research reporting 550 results among different level athletes linking to stress and anxiety to an important event. Some research have been shown that there were decrease in performance in correlation to anxiety such as memory, complex motor tasks such as shooting into the hoop in basketball () or indoor rock climbing (). However, there have also been positive anxiety correlations on performance regarding rebound shot in basketball and () have shown to have improvement in motor tasks skills such as anagram-solving. However, the relationships between anxiety and performance have been difficult to explain. Things such as methodological flaws, lack of operational definitions and unclear theoretical construction all conjunct within different theories (). Hardy’s (1990) cups catastrophe model (CCM) has been attempting to explain the contradicting effects of anxiety on performance, using multidimensional construct model. Cusp catastrophe model The catastrophe theory was originally proposed by a mathematician Rene Thom (1975). Rene developed the model geometrically explaining all naturally discontinuities in the world. Hardy (1990) has then developed a model of anxiety and performance (), attempting to explain the contradicting findings that have been previously reported regarding anxiety on performance. The model is based on the view on anxiety performance as a multidimensional construct; it combines the cognitive components â€Å"interactive effects of anxiety-performance relationship, the facilitative effects of cognitive anxiety and hysteresis†(), and physiological arousals ‘the organism’s natural physiological response to anxiety-including satiations’(). Cups catastrophe model shows an interactive, three-dimensional model predicting the effects for cognitive anxiety in a form of worry and physiological arousal on performance. Cups catastrophe model proposes that there are a series of four relationships which exists between cognitive anxiety, physiological arousal and performance. Cognitive arousal (CA) components are explained as expectations and cognitive concerns about one self, their situation and potential consequences (). Physiological arousal (PA) component is regarded as physiological response to anxiety, such as pain, feeling sick or feeling uncomfortable (). The first predictor suggests that cognitive anxiety has a positive connection with performance, when physiological arousal is at the lower end of the spectrum. The second predictor shows to have a negative relationship with performance, when physiological arousal is high. Third, is when the CA is low, the PA is shown to have an inverted U-shaped relationship on performance. The final predictor suggests that, when CA is high and physiological arousal is increasing a break in the wave of performance surface occurs. The split factor suggests that there will be a catastrophic drop in performance from the upper performance surface to lower performance surface. Moreover, when the catastrophic drop has occurred, with the large reduction in physiological arousal it is possible to bring performance back to the upper performance surface ().The change that occur when cognitive anxiety is high and physiological arousal increases is called hysteresis, which occurs under the condition of high cogn itive anxiety but not low cognitive anxiety. Hysteresis can be explained as the condition within the model where performance can catastrophically decrease from the upper performance surface to the lower performance surface. However, with the decrease in PA levels below the level at which the catastrophic drop occurred performance of the athlete may increase. Analysing one of the quotes made by Jessica Ennis, (2011) who is a professional 100 meter hurdler, have said: Im really, really nervous before every event, she admits. There are different levels of nerves. Before the hurdles Im particularly nervous as its the first event and, once thats out of the way, I relax a little bit†. Using cups catastrophe model it can be seen that Jessica experience signs of anxiety, having different levels of nervousness throughout the event. It can be expected that her cognitive and physiological arousals are pretty high, as the pressure from an Olympic event such as crowd, competition, winning the gold medal or podium position could have an effect on her performance. So before the event Jessica’s anxiety levels are high, with cognitive anxiety being high and physiological arousal decreasing the hysteresis effect may occur with Jessica feeling the pressure. However, her personal coping strategies could help reverse that effect, bringing her ba ck to the upper performance surface when the competition begins. Balancing the high cognitive state and physiological arousal may help increase performance during the event. Straight after the event it can be seen that she may relax, so her cognitive anxiety and physiological arousal decrease straight after the event leaving her of being more stress-free. Moreover, if she had to perform the hurdles after a certain amount of time, cognitive anxiety could be in at the middle and physiological arousal being low, to maintain the concentration for her to progress on to the next tier. Critical discussion The cups catastrophe model can handle complex linear and nonlinear relationship simultaneously in a three-dimensional manner, with the use of high-order probability density within the model, the functions have the advantage of being able to integrate sudden changes within behavioural jumps in the hysteresis(). Researches by Hardy et al, 2010 have applied the theory behind the cusp model over two experiments, supporting the process and the theory behind performance catastrophes and anxiety by using it with high levels of trait anxiety with competitive environment. The second study was social pressure and ego within the competitive environment which suggest that the cups catastrophe model is plausible. Hardy at al, 2007 have also found that hysteresis did occur in high CA condition, with the significant drops in performance with the increase in PA and CA. Another study by Marshall et al. 2005 looked into how interaction effects of cognitive anxiety and physiological arousal on have an effect on golf performance. The research did confirm that using the model, it had a positive relationship in regards of different situations and how anxiety is coped. However, the research also indicated that even though the methodology is plausible other factors needed to be assessed, as the theory is multidimensional it is very complex. Edwards et al, 2002 on the other hand, implemented that the theory of cusp catastrophe model may be plausible; however other factors such as confidence could appear to play a significant part in the catastrophic performance. Also () has implemented that other models such as endogenous learning-by-doing (ELBD), supports similar fundamentals of anxiety literature. All of the studies and theories suggest that anxiety does have different effects on physiological arousal and on anticipation timing performance during competition and practice. Also most of the models do tend to support the hysteresis theory and the catastrophe phenomenon. Most of the literature supports the different implementation of anxiety which occurs within the human mind, however it is very complex and needs to be further investigated to find a greater explanation on how anxiety affects sporting performance. Conclusion Determining the effects on anxiety on performance is still ripe at this stage; there are plenty of implementations which could be added to all of the models and theories. However, with the use of combined theories it may help further explanation and elimination of how there are relationships within understanding of anxiety, and how potentially it could increase and decrease performance of the athletes. With the cups catastrophe model being one of the most used in the research, it cannot be overlooked that other factors may affect the relationship between anxiety and performance. With the implementation of cups catastrophe model researchers could use other models or theories to round up the conclusion. Reads Anxiety-induced performance catastrophes: Investigating effort required as an asymmetry factor Lew Hardy*, Stuart Beattie and Tim Woodman

The Success of Gateway Computer :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

The Success of Gateway Computer Gateway 2000 was formed by Ted Waitt(CEO), in September 1985, in Sioux City, Iowa. The company was founded along with Senior Vice president Mike Hammond. In 1990, as the company began to blossom it was moved to its current location in North Sioux City, South Dakota. They formed Gateway 2000 with one goal in mind- to offer PC buyers a logical alternative to high markups, limited choices and inadequate support, common in the retail PC market (Gateway.com 1). These two partners started selling hardware and software to people who owned Texas Instrument computers. The placed ads in computer related publications, selling to the end user. These two guys were the pioneers of direct-marketing in the PC industry. Finally in 1987 Ted Waitt recognized the possibility of selling fully configured computers, at good prices. This idea gave Gateway a tremendous push forward into the computer industry. In 1987 the company reported revenues of 1.5 million dollars, later in 1989, it jumped to an astounding 70.6 million dollars. Finally, in 1996, they jumping into the billions with 5.04 billion dollars. In 1993, Gateway became a traded company in the NASDAQ market system under the symbol GATE. Making improvement along the way they moved to the New York Stock Exchange on May 22, 1997 and uses the symbol GTW. On June 16, 1997 the stock split. Gateway 2000 is a leading global marketer of personal computers. Although they are a leader in global marketing they have a problem with their laptop division. the laptop division holds one of the lowest market shares in the market. Toshiba the leader in market share holds 21.2 percent of the market, Compaq holding 15.7, IBM with 12.4, Dell with 6.1, Acer with 5.0, Packard Bell with 4.4, Fujitsu with 3.4, Hitachi with 3.3, Micron with 3.2, and finally Gateway with 2.8 percent. With Gateways new and improved marketing plan, they should increase to the top over the next five years. Gateway’s current target market is the home PC user. They put forth most of their energy trying to make the customer feel comfortable with its product. They also want the customer to feel as though they made the right decision buying from Gateway. This attitude will help Gateway in selling itself. They will not need to use extreme advertising because the word of mouth is the most powerful advertising tool.

Compare The Ostler and The Darkness Out There Essay -- English Literat

Compare The Ostler and The Darkness Out There In this essay I will compare two stories - The Ostler, written in the 19th century by a man called Wilkie Coliins, and The Darkness Out There, by Penelope Lively, written in the 20th century. They are both horror stories, a genre which has been popular throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. This is perhaps because, since we are no longer scared on a daily basis, as would have been the case in medieval times, we need to find an artificial way of creating the thrill. I will look at the similarities and differences between the way each story is structured, the build up of tension, the settings and the characters. First I will summarise each story and look at their 19th and 20th century features. The Ostler is about an unlucky, not very bright man who has a very vivid dream on his birthday that a woman is trying to kill him. Years later, also on his birthday, he meets this woman again and gets engaged to her before he realises who she is. By the time his mother realises, it is to late and he feels he has to marry her. She turns out to be an alcoholic and one day, after she is particularly cruel to him, Isaac hits her. She runs away, and comes back seven days later, on the night of his birthday, to try and attack him, in exactly the same way as the dream-woman did. He manages to stop her and she runs away again, this time never to be seen again, but Isaac continues to be terrified that she will return and kill him, especially on his birthday. The Darkness Out There is about two teenagers who are part of a group which helps out old people with things like cleaning and gardening. They go to help one old lady and she tells them a how, in the war, she l... ...an people's mind's. The stories are similar in that nothing too horrific actually happens in either of them. They are more about the character's fears. Personally, I liked The Ostler less than The Darkness Out There, as it deals with a more supernatural horror which only affects the character in the story, and so did not have such an impact on me. I liked The Darkness Out There as it makes you think, and it applies to everyone, which makes it truly chilling. At the end Sandra is changed forever. The wood is emptied of the fictional witches, wolves, tigers and prowling blokes, but this does not make her feel better. The old fears were in a way comforting - "It was cosy to think of Packer's End, where you weren't", but the new fear cannot be shut out or escaped from because it is a part of her, a part of every human that is capable of unspeakable horror.

Dance: My First Love Essay -- Personal Experience, Personal Narrative

Dance has been a part of human history since the earliest records of human life (Praagh 30). Cave paintings found in Spain and France from 30,000 -10,000 BC had life-like drawings of dancing figures participating in rituals. They illustrated the prominence of dance in early human society. Later in the Renaissance Era a new attitude towards the body, the arts, and dance was originated. The courts of Italy and France became the center of new developments in dance, providing support to dancing masters and musicians who created large scale social dances for the acknowledgment of celebrations and festivities. In the court of Catherine de Medici, the Italian wife of Henry II of France, the first forms of ballet stemmed from the genius dancer, Balthazar de Beauhoyeulx. In 1581, Balthazar displayed the first full-length ballet for an audience. His piece was an idealized dance that told the story of a legend by combining spoken texts, intricate settings, and costumes with group dances f ull of strong technique (Praagh 100). In 1661, Louis XIV of France granted the organization of the first Royal Academy of Dance (Praagh 101). Because of this, during the next centuries, ballet developed into a high-class discipline and art form. Social couple dances such as the minuet and the waltz began to emerge as a display of free will and expression. In the 19th century, the era of romantic ballet reflected the struggles ballerinas had in the new time period in such ballet classics as Giselle (1841), Swan Lake (1895), and the Nutcracker (1892) (Praagh 125). At the turn of the new century, with the commotion of World War I, the arts reflected a major questioning of values and a hysterical search for new forms that reflected individual expression an... ...orld of dance. Bibliography: Works Cited Baughman, Kristen â€Å"Martha Graham’s Life.† Graham Index. 1998. http://userpages.wittenberg.edu/s02.cscaia/graham_life.html (20 Dec. 2000). Conner, Lynnen â€Å"Chapter 3: The Modern Dancers.† Early Moderns. 1996. http://www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/martha.html (20 Dec. 2000). Marshal, Stephanie. Personal Interview on Dance Experience. Butler, PA, 18, Dec. 2000. Maynard, Olga. American Modern Dancers. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. 1965. Praagh, Peggy. The Choreographic Art. New York: Alfred A. Knopt. 1963. Teachout, Terry â€Å"The Dancer: Martha Graham.† Time 100. 2000. http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/graham.html (12 Dec. 2000). Zermeno, Rogelio. â€Å"Dancing to Success.† Martha Graham. 1994. http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~rortizze/graham.htm (15 Dec. 2000).

Homelessness In The Community Essay

Today it is impossible to keep count of the homeless men and women in our city. As we commute through our neighborhoods we see a lot of men and women sleeping on our street corners and highway by passes. As citizens and human beings we must understand that homelessness is a complex issue. Many people are homeless because of economic factors, family relationships, and mental illness. While some people do not have a choice in becoming homeless, there are individuals who make bad choices and even refuse help that is available to them. Many people in the society today feel guilty when approached by any homeless man or woman. Many of the homeless men and women have family and children. But they have chosen to take another route of life. We as people are quick to pass judgment on men and women for being homeless. When we don’t know what events took place in that person life to force them to become homeless. Statistics show people living in poverty are most at risk of becoming homeless. Economically they are at a higher risk of losing what little they already have. The number of homeless families with children has increased significantly over the past decade. There are approximately 40% of people who are homeless. In rural areas the largest groups of homeless people are families, single mothers, and children. In a 1998 survey of 30 cities,† it was found that the homeless population was 53% African-American, 35% Caucasian, 12% Hispanic, 4% Native-American, and 3% Asian (U.S Conference of Mayors1998). The ethnic makeup of homeless population varies depending upon geographic location.†Homelessness and poverty are closely linked. Poor people commonly are unable to pay for housing, food, child care, health care, and education. Choices must be mad when only their income covers some of these necessities. The world we live in today is very competitive so everyone is working and fighting to survive. This society we live in today is full of different kinds of people. Some have very impressive jobs, cars and houses. But we all have a common struggle many  citizens are just trying to live the American dream. That is full of everyday struggles to stop us from achieving our dream. As a child I am sure these homeless men and women had some type of dream. Rather than just becoming more than just another ordinary person. Many may argue that we choose the life that we live. Personally I agree, we all pick and choose who, what, and where we involve ourselves. The only person who can direct a person future is that person. I’ve only had the opportunity to get a true story to why a person was homeless. Around the age of 12 there was a lady by the name of Betty Rankin. She would always be at the Shell gas station by my house. She became homeless by choice after the passing of her husband. She started to drink stopped paying bills and eventually lost her house and was forced to move with her son. He was a very successful black man with a family of his own. Many days he would come get her and take her home. She always found a way to be unhappy and find her way back to the gas station. About 1 year ago she was raped and killed by another homeless man behind the same store she stood at every day. Past experiences and behaviors can also create significant struggles for individuals and families who are trying to escape homelessness. Being homeless can lead to arrests For behaviors such as trespassing and loitering, criminal offenses such as these, and Certainly more serious convictions can make it difficult to pass a required background check when trying to rent permanent housing. Once they have found a job and trying to turn their life around. In Atlanta, the homeless men and women congregate near Martin Luther King Jr.’s house. Within blocks of the King Center, the homeless find shelter in abandoned or run-down housing. Many Atlanta visitors see many homeless men and women with children on their way to museums and other tourist locations there are panhandlers looking for $2 for lunch. Winter months we find hundreds of homeless people spending the night on the city streets and parks. Hundreds of people swell the bus stations and shelters for warm water and a place to rest. We must do whatever we can to help the homeless. It is really easy to do so. We can volunteer at a shelter, we can protest to the government; we can donate money or clothes. It is such a shame to just sit  back and watch them struggling to survive in a cruel world.

School Adjustment of Children from Divorced Families

The family is the basic unit of society where human beings are brought to life. It is considered a small society where children learn basic virtues. Therefore, the relationship between parents and children is very important for their growth and development. Through this relationship, children gain the virtues of trust, autonomy and initiative. Children also learn about socio-emotional relationships, self-respect and self-control. Thus, family environment and parent behaviour are crucial for children to grow as healthy, happy, and responsible people.Yet, despite the importance of parent support, there are still many children devoid of proper care from their parents resulting from the increasing number of divorces, or separations. In spite of the negative effects caused by divorce on children, the society seems to think divorce is something that can be easily done. Since the early 1990’s, divorce rate in Korea has risen rapidly not withstanding the fact that Korean society has a negative view on the divorce as compared to those in western countries. The influence of Confucianism is still deeply imbedded in Korean culture where family and marriage are supreme for most Koreans.Hence, many children from divorced families encounter deep-seated prejudice as if they have psychological defects. Although this may not be true for every child with divorced parents, some studies have shown that because they are exposed to a series of changes and are more disadvantaged than those who grow up in intact families, their school performance may be poor and they may exhibit antisocial behaviour. For example, children living in single parent families are less likely to have as many economic resources as children living in intact families.Other problems relating to aspects like parenting, education, housework, psychological issues will, as well, rise. Further, children of divorced families have to deal with sorrows from the absence of either their father or mother and that th ey will have to adapt to the change in family system. A study shows that children from divorced parents often become a laughingstock, and develop wrath towards their mother or father. Moreover, some children may find it difficult to focus during class, hence, receive poor academic grades. Childhood experience can have large impact in determining how they might turn out in the future.Parent-child relationship can largely influence children’s personality formation or intellectual development due to the account that children learn by imitating adults. Divorced parents may find more financial responsibility when it comes to parenting thus they may suffer from depression. Kurdek and Hetherrington also mention that single parent tend to raise their children with more rules and restrictions and less attention. Unfortunately, these single parents’ mental, emotional and family disorder difficulties will influence growing children and society at large. Parents’ divorce is a crisis which stirs up the ordinary life of children.For this reason, studies on divorce and its effects on children should be taken seriously. Divorce does not appear to have consistent effects across all children and ages as observed in two children, ages 10 and 11, from divorced families. Thus, this study is limited to elementary school age. It hopes to aid in understanding the behaviour of children from divorced families in school environment by illustrating researcher’s own experience with such children in class. It is related to theories which support their behaviour and possibly suggest ways for parents and educators to contribute to children’s well-being.The structure of this essay is as follows: ? the effects of divorce on children ? the differences between the children of intact and divorced families ? gender differences in the effects of divorce ? school adjustment of children from divorced families ? personal experience with children from divorced familie s The Effects of Divorce on Children Children’s reactions towards divorce can vary. Not only can the fact that the absence of one of the parents influences children but the change of environment after divorce settlement also affects children.They can suffer from psychological, behavioural and social problems. Psychological problems Study shows that children from divorced families have difficulties in adapting to new family environment. They are also likely to develop wrath towards one parent and some of them may even blame themselves for the divorce and show constant nervousness and incompetence. These effects may only be negative for a period of time or for children who have been exposed to parental conflict for a long time and recover rapidly in consequence of the stress released by their family environment.The most influenced psychological part of children of divorced families is that of depression and nervousness. Twenty-five percent of these children suffer from depressi on and fifty percent of them experience emotional turmoil or often appeared to be in despair. Social and behavioural problems Other influences on children from divorced families are external evidence like performance disorder, lack of sense of responsibility and understanding. They develop antisocial behaviour problems, aggressiveness, antagonizing manner and attention deficit in school settings.According to Lee’s research, during two years of their parents’ divorce children show antisocial behaviour and their social ability tend to decline. Children living with mothers exhibit impulsive behaviour, more oppositional and aggressiveness after two months of parents divorce. They also have difficulties in peer relationship and become troublesome at school, and perform lower academic achievement. Some children may seem to have overcome their parents divorce however even these children may have possibility of becoming troublesome when they are confronted with a new challenge and advancement task in school.As different studies have shown, divorce can have negative influence on children’s psychological, social and behavioural problems. Comparison between Children of Divorced and Intact Families Several researchers mention in their findings that children from divorced families differ significantly from children from intact families. Amato and Keith studied 13,000 children from preschool to young adulthood to find out if there are any significant behaviour differences between children of divorce and intact families.Their research indicates that children from divorced families have more problems in school, delinquency in the community, mental health problems and negative self-concepts. Besides differences in their behaviour problems, there is also a difference in economical stature. Children from divorced families are more likely to suffer from economic difficulty. Weitzman reported that woman’s standard of living after divorce falls by 29% th an previous household. And this can lead children to be more distressed in school from constant comparison with other children and receive lower academic achievement.This is because single parents may not have enough time to spend with their children because of their work and a decrease in income can increase frequent residential mobility. Hammaond compared the behaviour of children of divorced families and intact families and he found that boys of divorced families exhibit more behavioural problems than boys from intact families whereas girls show no significant differences. Boys from divorced families seem more distracted in class and exhibit acting out behaviour than boys from intact families do.This implies that in school setting, boys respond more negatively to their parent divorce than girls. The reason could be that in many countries including Korea, children live with their mothers after their parent divorce hence boys react more to absence of their father than girls do. Thi s means losing father’s monitoring homework or playing sports with them and sometimes there are issues they would want to share with their fathers only. From observing a student in class, I notice that sudden loss of affection from a father after divorce can influence school achievement.This is because children suffer from constant distress and tension and they become emotionally unstable. Therefore in comparison with children from intact families, their school grade naturally drops. However, recent studies show that nowadays there is less difference in the behaviour of children from divorced and intact families. This is probably due to the fact that divorce rate is increasing rapidly. Even though the difference is statistically significant, differences are becoming small.In Hetherington’s findings, she found differences between children of divorce and intact families, but she also found that children from intact families exhibit behavioural problems because of constan t parent conflict. She reports that over 90% of children including both genders from intact families are supposedly experiencing average range of problems. Remaining 10% suffer from severe family problem which would require professional help. In terms of children from divorced families, there are 74% of the boys and 66% of the girls in the normal range and remaining boys and girls are considered to have severe behavioural problems.Forty percent of adolescent boys and girls from divorced families have less behavioural problems than those from intact families. More recent studies show that the behaviour of children from divorced families are not much different from children of intact families. Based on experience, children still seem to experience considerable distress about the breakup of their parents and these feelings remain and affect them in some ways. Most of illustrated studies are carried in the West but Korea’s situation is also taken at hand to see if there are any b ehavioural differences in this area. Although H.Kim suggests that divorce is still viewed negatively in Korea, nevertheless her findings in the behaviour of children of divorce in school ages 8 to 13 shows similar effects of divorce on children’s school behaviour, which appear to be similar to that experienced by Western children studied in Amato & Keith’s research in 1991. Korean children from divorced families also exhibit aggressiveness, seek more attention and disobey in school. Gender Differences in the Effects of Divorce Besides behaviour differences among children of divorced and intact families, there are also gender differences to consider.Hyatt suggests that boys and girls react differently to parental divorce. Boys tend to create more behavioural problems in school than girls do. Boys’ self-esteem tends to decline as a result of divorce and they seek constant attention from the teacher and disturb class with irrelevant talks. Their effort in school wo rk also decline. Hyatt mentions that boys are more prone to difficulty of losing contact to their father hence regular communication with the father can help these adjustment problems.Girls’ behaviour in school after parental divorce is not as noticeable as boys because they do not manifest their difficulties by acting out in class. Rather, they tend to become more anxious or unhappy or showing over controlled good behaviour. Another findings concerning gender difference in the effects of divorce is that girls do accept help from their teachers unlike boys. This is because girls see their school as a place where they can be supported during divorce while boys conduct socially unacceptable behaviour.School Behaviour of Children of Divorced Families Human beings grow by constantly adapting to new environment therefore adapting to an environment is part of life cycle. Children’s educational place can be divided into home, school and the society. The child and environment continuously interact and the school takes over large part of a child’s life. Therefore as well as having a settled family life, school period is also important in determining how children might turn out in the future.School is a place where children enjoy, and gain sense of satisfaction by experiencing various activities and maintain harmonized relationships with the teachers and other students. Similarly, school adjustment is defines as taking interest in school environment and feel comfortable being in school with other children. This adjustment reflects on their school achievement and development. For instance, children who enjoy being in school and participate in school activities are likely to gain more educational experiences than those who have adjustment disorder.Liebman defines school adjustment disorder as excessive reaction where individuals are unable to harmonize with the school environment and other students which will prohibit individual development. Children of divorced families are likely to have more difficulties in school adjustment than those of children from intact families. Berbe suggests that children with adjustment disorder tend to attract teacher’s attention by inappropriate questions in class, distract other children and find it hard to pay attention in class. They also refuse teacher’s request and are often disobedient.And if they continue to show irresponsible academic behaviour, it leads to serious adjustment disorder. Heck’s idea is also similar to Berbe’s suggestion that children with adjustment disorder problems are frequently absent and tend to be oppositional in class. However, it is difficult to judge the cause of maladjustment solely on divorce. How children respond to above stress can vary from a child to child. It can differ according to their age, gender or disposition and the environment includes economic stature of parents, social approval rating of parents and family conflict.Variab les are categorized as they may affect children’s school adjustment into demographic differences and family variables. Demographic differences include race, gender, and parental socioeconomic status and family variables include relationships, organisation, control, social support, mother rejection and father rejection. Behaviour of children of divorced in school As mentioned earlier, children from divorced families appear to have difficulty in academic achievement and relationship with other children at school than children from intact families.The cause of this should not be looked at solely on the primary factor which is divorce. Secondary factors are to be considered as well, such as the change in socioeconomic structure and resources after divorce. For example, as mentioned earlier, economic loss, poor parental adjustment, lack of parental competence and parental loss can cause behavioural problems. As mentioned in the section of ‘Comparison between children of divo rce and intact families’, women’s standard of living is reduced by 29 % after divorce and absence of father can have negative influence on children more on boys than girls.Regarding studies on children’s maladjustment behaviour, Liner categorizes disorder behaviour as: ? action-out behaviour like hitting someone and being aggressive ? withdrawing behaviour: very quiet, sucking fingers, restricted behaviour ? defensive behaviour: lying, ignoring ? disorganised behaviour: escaping from reality Similarly, Wickman describes behaviour of children with adjustment disorder as: ? immoral, dishonest, in resistance to authority, stealer, cheater, disobedient, rude and rebellious ? often violates regulation of class, careless, loses interest in study, negligent and trustless? exaggerated and offensive personality ? unsociable, overly sensitive, and liar Based on experience, as a teacher of young children, those from divorced families have lower academic achievement, are so cially isolated, overly sensitive, either humiliate themselves or boast and show negative behaviour in class. Specifically, their academic grade is poorer than it used to be and they do not try to socialize with others in class. Further, they often seem absent-minded and tend to change their mood easily.If they are scolded for not doing their homework or asked to answer something they do not know, they use violent language in response. They also suffer from headache and easily get tired. This behaviour of children can also be explained by Rotter’s theory of locus of control. Locus of control refers to how individuals attribute the cause of their behaviour to internal or external forces. In applying to children of divorced families, children who have internal locus of control believe that if their parents are divorced, it is their fate.Therefore these children are able to handle any difficulties and feel less psychological distress. In contrast, children who have external locu s of control believe that if they do not perform well in school, they tend to blame external factors such as parental divorce rather than blame themselves. Hence, these children are likely to suffer from severe distress than those who have internal locus of control. When elementary school children experience parents’ divorce, they can become aggressive and develop sense fear and sorrow.Some children also imagine reunion of their parents. And they also explain that children’s school behaviour depend on how they are treated at home. As per experience, the relationship between custodial parent and the child seem to have a large impact. Prior research says that the relationship between the behaviour of custodial parents and children’s school adjustment illustrate that the attitude of custodial parents has large influence on children’s school achievement. Mothers’ affection can influence enormously on developing children’s social skills.From moth er-child relationship, children learn responsibility, self-control and social skills, hence, hostile attitude towards children can act as hindrance in developing social skills. Therefore one can learn that the attitude of custodial parent becomes important factor which influence children’s school adjustment. Personal Experience with Children from Divorced Families Case study 1 Two years ago, I was teaching young Korean children ages 8 to 11. Before I started teaching, I was briefly explained about the behaviour of several children by their tutors.A couple of them were from divorced families. I had a difficulty in handling one particular child called J, who was 11 years old at that time. According to his tutor, his parents were divorced recently and as a result, he enrolled in this school. I did not know the reason of his parents’ divorce but his mother was diagnosed with cancer. The tutor was the custodial parent of J. My first impression on J in class was that he was very loud and also it became a routine for him not to do his homework and turn up late in class.He became aggressive and tried to embarrass me by making ridiculous comments when scolded about his behaviour. On one occasion, J had a fight with another boy in class. J actually stabbed this boy with a pencil during break time. Although it was a minor injury, parents of both boys had to be called in and J’s tutor tried to make both boys talk about why it happened. But they did not say a word. Since J’s mother was sick, his grandmother came instead, apologizing for her grandson’s action. Nonetheless, explanation of J’s grandmother helped me to understand his behaviour.J became difficult to control since his parents’ divorce. He was furious with the fact that his father left his sick mother for another woman. His grade from previous school was average but with the change of family environment, he was achieving lower grade. However, considering he was fai rly new to the school, he seemed to socialize with other boys easily and seemed to lead them as well. I have also noticed that when he was not being loud or seeking attention in my class, he would sit absent-minded and continuously shake his leg. Besides being aggressive he was probably feeling insecure as well.In the period immediately following the divorce, J’s mother’s ability to be a good parent probably declined and became more inconsistent in disciplining her son due to her illness. J’s reaction towards his parent’s divorce is all mentioned in past studies by Anthony (1974), Hoyt et al. (1990), Kurdekrikberg (1987), Liner (1976), Wickman (1987) where action-out behaviour was most apparent in his behaviour when he had stabbed a boy with a pencil and his reaction also showed that he was very aggressive, as Lee (1993) suggested that children of divorce can become aggressive.J’s behaviour of making comments in class also shares Hyatt (1999)â€⠄¢s findings of making irrelevant comments in class. J had also developed anger towards his father because he had left his mother when she was sick and Kurdekriberg (1987) mentioned that some children may develop wrath towards one parent after divorce. As illustrated in Lee (1993), Kurdekriberg (1987) and Weitzman (1985)’s study, J’s academic grade declined and exhibited withdrawing behaviour (1976) such as shaking his leg in class.He was also spotted lost in thoughts in class sitting completely absent-minded and this can refer to what Liner (1976) called disorganized behaviour that J probably wanted to escape from this painful reality of his. Case study 2 Another child called B, age 10, in my class, also experienced parents divorce. I got to know B’s background through a homework I assigned in class. Unlike J, her parents were divorced when B had just turned 5 and at that time, none of her parents were willing to look after her. Therefore she was left under the care of her grandparents in her mother’s side for a few years.And then, she joined her mother at the age of 9 who was by then re-married and had children of their own. Being with her mother’s also meant moving to another school, hence everything was new to her. Despite the change of the environment, she seemed to have adjusted herself well in school life. She had her own circle of friends and she was also active and lively during class and there was not much change in her school grade. I also noticed her suck fingers during class. One day, I assigned the whole class to write about their parents because it was soon to be Parents’ Day in Korea.Surprisingly, B did not do her home. To be exact, she actually refused to do it because she said there was nothing to talk about and as she was saying this, she was almost in tears. Then she explained her family background and she was ashamed of it. She mentioned that her mother and stepfather hardly gave her any affection and treated her as a burden, hence in order to avoid them, B spent most of her time in her room when she was home. For B, the school was some kind of a safe zone and because of her positive attitude in class, I never thought that she was unhappy at home.In my opinion, B was putting all her energy into school life to forget about troubles at home. It was obvious that B had the most difficulty in adapting to step-parenting and remarriage and what made it worse was that she hardly knew her mother either. So confronting her mother and step father was a great distress for B. Unlike J, B’s behaviour was not very noticeable in school. It seems that in B’s case, her difficult situation acted as a driving force to concentrate in her school life.This is because she had hardly any affection from her mother that she probably had with her teachers and friends, whom she can trust and rely on as it is mentioned in Goldman, Rosenzweig & Lutter (1980) that girls from divorced families tend to see school as a supporting place. Both J and B suffered from painful memories and feelings of helplessness but how they reacted to the situation differed extremely although they both showed what Liner (1976) called sign of withdrawing behaviour: shaking leg and sucking fingers.There could be many factors which caused these differences. For example, J and B’s age difference, their gender and economic stature of their parents. Since J’s mother had an illness, they probably suffered severely from economic loss in comparison with B’s situation. And the fact that B’s parents were divorced years before J’s parents, could be another reason which caused adjustment difference in school. Last but not the least, attitude of custodial parent could be another reason.Although J’s behaviour problem seemed more serious than B’s, J probably had more attention from his mother where as in B’s case, she was not suffering from the fact that her parents were divorced but suffered from trying to adapt herself to step-parenting and remarriage. From J’s and B’s cases, it is evident that their behaviours were strongly influenced by family variables. Although J received much affection from his mother, he probably felt rejected from his father and B felt rejected from his mother. Although they were both influenced by family variables, J’s reaction was much more noticeable than B.Boys create more behavioural problems than girls, hence the influence of gender differences is also apparent in this study which is known as a demographic difference. It is clear that both J and B need support from educators. Although B is able to cope with this new challenge of living with a mother who she does not know well and adapting to step-parenting by herself, without professional help, it may trigger problems in her adolescence. It is the same for J’s case. If he does not receive appropriate help form educators, h e is likely to continue with delinquent behaviour or associate with antisocial friends in the future.Therefore it is vital that they are supported with affection so that they grow into a reasonably competent person. Conclusions This paper studies the behaviour of children from divorced families by studying the prospective relationship demonstrated and certain family experiences and school adjustment of two children I taught in Korea. Although past studies show that children from divorced families are in danger for developing negative behaviour and experience academic decline, due to increasing rate of divorce, the differences in the behaviour of children of divorced and children from intact families are getting smaller.It may be that children from divorced families are having difficulties, these are not as important as the factors that cause these differences. What I learn from these two children is that being a party to their parents’ divorce is a very difficult transition f or their age. There are many factors which may cause children’s school adjustment disorder and student J and B responded differently, owing to gender differences and new family situations. Therefore, children from divorced families, including J & B, should receive appropriate support both from parents and educators until they adjust to their new living arrangements.This will help them develop intellectually and socially in the same way as their peers from intact families do. Not only the support of parents is needed but teachers need to become more aware of children’s feelings in class. I, for one, am being considerate to children from divorced families in assigning homework such as writing letter to parents. Discussing different family situations, including single parenting and remarriage, will help children of intact families develop more awareness and respect towards children of divorced.Teachers can also spend more time with children from divorced families to under stand their feelings and perhaps suggest advice if necessary. This personal attention can help children to reduce any negative behaviour which children may exhibit as a result of parent divorce. In summary, on the basis of the findings of this study, it is suggested that educators should consider any factor that may influence children’s behaviour and conduct appropriate program in order to help them.