Block 1

MCFTE-002
Child and Adolescent

Indira Gandhi Counselling and Family
National Open University
National Centre for Disability Studies
Therapy
Block
1
SOCIO-DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
UNIT 1
Family, School and Peer Group as Social Systems 7
UNIT 2
Impact of Mass Media 15
UNIT 3
Children in Vulnerable Situations 27
UNIT 4
Assessment of Child/Adolescent Psychopathology 46
EXPERT COMMITTEE
Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai (Chairperson)
Vice Chancellor
IGNOU, New Delhi
Prof. Girishwar Misra Prof. Mathew Verghese Prof. Reeta Sonawat
Department of Psychology Head, Family Psychiatry Centre Dean & Head, Department of
University of Delhi, New Delhi NIMHANS, Bangalore Human Development, SNDT
Women’s University, Mumbai
Prof. Shagufa Kapadia Prof. Manju Mehta Prof. Ahalya Raghuram

Head, Department of Human Department of Psychiatry Department of Mental Health
Development and Family Studies AIIMS, New Delhi and Social Psychology,
The M.S. University of Baroda NIMHANS, Bangalore
Vadodara
Dr. Rajesh Sagar Prof. Rajni Dhingra Prof. T.B. Singh

Associate Professor, Head, Department of Human Head, Department of Clinical
Deptt. of Psychiatry, AIIMS & Development Psychology, IHBAS, New Delhi
Secretary, Central Mental Health Jammu University, Jammu
Authority of India, Delhi
Prof. Anisha Shah Prof. Sudha Chikkara Prof. Aruna Broota

Department of Mental Health and Department of Human Department of Psychology
Social Psychology, NIMHANS, Development and Family Studies University of Delhi
Bangalore CCS HAU, Hisar New Delhi
Prof. Minhotti Phukan Mrs. Vandana Thapar Dr. Indu Kaura

Head, Deptt. of HDFS Deputy Director (Child Secretary, Indian Association for
Assam Agricultural University Development), NIPCCD Family Therapy, New Delhi
Assam New Delhi
Dr. Jayanti Dutta Ms. Reena Nath Dr. Rekha Sharma Sen
Associate Professor of HDCS, Practising Family Therapist Associate Professor
Lady Irwin College, New Delhi New Delhi (Child Development), SOCE
IGNOU, New Delhi
Prof. Vibha Joshi Prof. C.R.K. Murthy Mr. Sangmeshwar Rao
Director, School of Education STRIDE Producer, EMPC, IGNOU
IGNOU, New Delhi IGNOU, New Delhi New Delhi
Prof. Neerja Chadha Dr. Amiteshwar Ratra

(Programme Coordinator) (Convenor & Programme
Professor of Child Development Coordinator)
School of Continuing Education Research Officer, NCDS
IGNOU, New Delhi IGNOU, New Delhi
Acknowledgement:
We acknowledge our thanks to Prof. Omprakash Mishra, Former PVC, IGNOU; Prof. C.G. Naidu, Former Director (I/c)
P&DD and Head, Nodal Unit; Dr. Hemlata, Former Director (I/c) NCDS; and Dr. Arun Banik, Director, NCDS, for facilitating
the development of the programme of study.
PROGRAMME COORDINATORS
Dr. Amiteshwar Ratra Prof. Neerja Chadha
Research Officer Professor of Child Development
NCDS, IGNOU, New Delhi SOCE, IGNOU, New Delhi
COURSE COORDINATORS
Dr. Amiteshwar Ratra Prof. Neerja Chadha
Research Officer Professor of Child Development
NCDS, IGNOU, New Delhi SOCE, IGNOU, New Delhi
COURSE WRITERS
Unit 1 Dr. Amiteshwar Ratra, Research Officer, NCDS, IGNOU, New Delhi
Unit 2 Ms. Anubha Dhal, Psychologist, AIIMS, Delhi
Unit 3 Dr. Jitendra Nagpal, Institute of Child Development and Adolescent Health,
Moolchand Medcity, Delhi
&
Dr. Divya Prasad, Institute of Child Development & Adolescent Health, Moolchand
Medcity, Delhi
&
Ms. Pooa Yadav, Counsellor Institute of Child Development & Adolescent Health,
Moolchand Medcity, Delhi
Unit 4 Ms. Garima Srivastava, Psychologist, AIIMS, Delhi
BLOCK EDITORS
Prof. Manju Mehta Prof. Neerja Chadha*
Department of Psychiatry Professor of Child Development
AIIMS, New Delhi SOCE, IGNOU, New Delhi
Dr. Amiteshwar Ratra*

Research Officer
NCDS, IGNOU, New Delhi
*Course editing by the programme coordinators involved content editing, language

editing, unit formatting and transformation of the units.
Acknowledgement:
We express our thanks to the writers of Units for providing the artwork included in their
respective units.
We would like to acknowledge the various authors, books, journals and websites from
which matter related to this course was researched; though they have been duly
acknowledged in the relevant Units, but might have inadvertently been missed.
Concept for Cover Design : Prof. Neerja Chadha & Dr. Amiteshwar Ratra
Preparation of Cover Design : Mr. Haldar, Pink Chilli Communication, Dwarka
June, 2011
 Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2011
ISBN:
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph
or any other means, without permission in writing from the Indira Gandhi National Open
University, New Delhi.
Further information on Indira Gandhi National Open University courses may be obtained
from the University’s office at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi- 110 068 or the official website of
IGNOU at www.ignou.ac.in.
Printed and published on behalf of Indira Gandhi National Open University by Registrar,
MPDD.
Laser Composed by: Rajshree Computers, V-166A, Bhagwati Vihar, (Near Sector-2, Dwarka),
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MCFTE-002 CHILD AND ADOLESCENT
COUNSELLING AND FAMILY
THERAPY
‘‘Child and Adolescent Counselling and Family Therapy’’ is one of the
optional papers in the second year of the Masters’ Degree Programme in
Counselling and Family Therapy. It comprises both theory and supervised
practicum components. The theory course (MCFTE-002) is worth 2 credits
and the supervised practicum for the same (MCFTE-005) is worth 4 credits.
You have to complete and clear both these components separately for successful
completion of this optional paper on ‘‘Child and Adolescent Counselling Family
Therapy’’. For theory course MCFTE-002, you will have continuous evaluation
through an assignment, as well as term-end examination. For supervised
practicum (MCFTE-005), you will have to work under the supervision of the
academic counsellor alloted from the study centre you are attached with, and
submit your file in the end, as per the details given in the Supervised Practicum
Manual of the course (MCFTE-005).
This optional paper is designed to make learners aware of the need and potential
of counselling and family therapy with specific reference to children and
adolescent issues. The theory and supervised practicum components are designed
to provide the requsite knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills to the
learners, to enable them to make effective interventions with respect to parent
child relationships, children and adolescents problems, that are turning into a
major menace in the society, running countless young lives.
The theory course (MCFTE-002) consists of two theory blocks.
THE BLOCKS
Block 1 is on “Socio-Developmental Perspectives”. It focuses on the social and
developmental aspects which influences children and adolescents with particular
reference to the family, school, peer groups and mass media. Children in vulnerable
situations have been discussed. Assessment of children and adolescents’
psychopathology has been explained.
Block 2 focusses on “Therapeutic Interventions”. It provides an overview of the
different therapeutic interventions used in dealing with children and adolescents.
Use of life skills training and play therapy with children and adolescents has been
described. Training of parents of children and adolescents especially with disabilities
has been discussed. Counselling for abuse during childhood has been outlined.
Use of cognitive behavioural therapy for disorders during childhood and adolescence
has been explained.
Application of what you learn in these blocks at the field level, and practical
exposure is the thrust of the supervised practicum course (MCFTE-005). The
details are provided in the Manual for Supervised Practicum for the Course.
BLOCK 1 SOCIO-DEVELOPMENTAL
PERSPECTIVES
Block 1, namely “Socio-Developmental Perspectives” will acquaint you with the
overview and aspects from children/adolescent’s social milieu which influences
their development and learning. The Block consists of four Units.
Unit 1 entitled “Family, School and Peer Group as Social Systems”, as the title
suggests, gives you a holistic overview of the primary social systems which have
an influence on the child/adolescent’s development. It explains the relevant concepts
and concerns related to these social systems and their impact on children and
adolescents.
Unit 2 focusses on “Impact of Mass Media”. It begins by recapitulating different
differents types of media. The Unit highlights the impact of mass media usage and
influence on children and adolescents.
Unit 3 is on “Children in Vulnerable Situations”. It discusses the interface of
child/adolescent in varied vulnerable situations. The interventions to be used with
children in vulnerable situations has also been outlined.
Unit 4 focusses on “Assessment of Child/ Adolescent Psychopathology”. This
Unit provides a comprehensive and detailed description of various tools which
can be used to assess the child/adolescent. The need of assessment in
psychopathology has also been discussed.
Socio-Developmental
Perspectives
6
Family, School and Peer
UNIT 1 FAMILY, SCHOOL AND PEER Group as Social Systems
GROUP AS SOCIAL SYSTEMS

1.1 Introduction
1.2 Intertwining of Microsystems and Social Systems
1.3 Family as a Premier Social System
1.4 School as a Learning Social System
1.5 Peer Group as an Influencial Social System
1.6 Influences and Self
1.7 Let Us Sum Up
1.8 Glossary
1.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
1.10 Unit End Questions
1.11 Further Readings and References
1.1 INTRODUCTION
This is the first Unit of the specialisation in child and adolescent counselling
and family therapy. We have read in detail about the roles and responsibilities
of families across the life span along with characteristics of children and
adolescents in Course 1. The process of socialisation has already been covered
in MCFT-006. Here, we will try to develop a deeper understanding the influences
of family, school and peers on the overall development of children and
adolescents.
Objectives
After studying this Unit, you will be able to:
 Appreciate the linkages between microcosm and social systems;
 Understand the roles and influences of family, school and peer groups; and
 Apply the knowledge in understanding children and adolescents.
1.2 INTERTWINING OF MICROSYSTEMS

AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS
Ecological perspectives theory we have read about in substantial detail. In this
Unit, we will discuss the role of microsystems  family, teachers, peers, school
personnel and social systems as well as societal norms.
As such we are born in a family. Family becomes the first school which a
newborn attends. In the process of love and care the family transmits the cultural
norms to the child. Some of this learning is unknowingly imbibed and some
of it is as a conscious effort. Through the varied interactions the child has with 7
Socio-Developmental his microsystem  family, school and peers, the child learns the ways of life.
Perspectives The child being an active learner and passive onlooker imbibes all that is being
taught directly and indirectly. The conflicts and similarities in the viewpoints of
the three microsystems are observed by the child/adolescent. And as the children
grow out of adolescence through adulthood, the norms of the society are by
and large accepted and portrayed by them.
1.3 FAMILY AS A PRIEMIER SOCIAL SYSTEM

As the heading suggests and as we all are familiar with, the role and importance
of family  mother, father, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins  is
absolute. A child cannot and does not grow in a vacuum. All have a family.
Family could mean the biological family, adoptive family, foster family or it could
also mean some people we are close to and are influenced by them. Below
are some of the factors in the family which help to develop social norms among
children:
 Emotional tone of the family: The warmth, attachment, expressions of

affection and caring shown by the parents/family towards each other and
towards the growing child.
 Family interaction: The communication both verbal and non-verbal that

takes place in the family.
 Responsiveness: Appropriate and timely response to each other as well

as the child’s cues and demands.
 Expectations: From early childhood, parents make clear expectations from

the child with regard to what to do; how to do; how to express emotion
in front of others, elders, etc. These expectations change with time but
are present always.
 Disciplining and child rearing: All families use a certain type of discipline
methods and specific child rearing techniques with their children. Parents
in India are demanding and in India a joyful event is for all members of
the family and each member sets out to teach the child certain social norms.
 Family dynamics: It includes which part of the region, religion, culture

the family belongs and on these factors depends how children are given
importance according to the sex of the child, birth order, age, gender roles
specified in that society, behaviour and attitude of the parents to the existent
social norms; all play a major role in influencing the children and adolescents.
 Parental characteristics: How the parents relate to their own parents, the
kinds of attachments, feelings and obligations they feel towards their own
parents are passed on the next generation.
 Marital balance and parent-child relations: The marital bliss and

happiness is the desired epitome of marriage but in reality few find it! So,
emphasis is usually on  marital balance, which would encompass the power
and communication pattern between the spouses, the understanding they
share for their interpersonal relationship and personas to be shared with
other family members. If there is any imbalance in the marital relationship,
the parent-child dyad is influenced and the growth and development of
8
the appropriate social value system is impacted upon. The influencial parent Family, School and Peer
(spouse) would develop an alliance with the child against the other parent Group as Social Systems
(spouse) and this may at times hamper the child’s development.
 Differential treatment of siblings: Differential treatment of siblings because

of gender, birth order, intellectual abilities, etc. plays an important deterrent
role on interpersonal relations. The child who is more favoured would not
be liked by other children. They might try to harm the child as a sort
of punishment or the favoured child might try to bully others. Mother and
father also are seen to have preferences for different children which may
also affect the marital relationship. Love, care, and liking of a grandchild
over the others’ is not at times approved by the other family members,
including their own children (now parents of the child) and this can become
a cause of concern in the familial relationships.
 Parental death, divorce or separation: Though we have clubbed these

three important factors together, but the influences of each on the child
are varied and all of them are grave. The resiliency and coping which the
child has to do to brave these situations helps the child to imbibe the societal
rules, roles and responsibilities.
 Influences of parental work status and work place: The economic

earnings, and social position in the society of the parents; though it is said
that these should not influence the child, but in real life all are said to influence
the children from early ages onwards. Whether the father is employed or
not, whether mother is the earning member, is she sole-earner, how is the
family’s reception towards mother’s earning, father’s lower income compared
to his other sibling(s), etc. are a few of the aspects and issues which influence
the child, his/her learning attitudes and yearning for a social status in the
society.
 Skill learning: Though, now are not the times when children have to follow
the occupation of their family, but still, the families’ viewpoints on school,
knowledge education and occupation influences the later choice of career
by an individual.
 Family acceptance and respect: We all yearn for social acceptance and
respect whether we acknowledge it or not. For a child, acceptance of
his/her family becomes important from early years. As the child grows
acceptance of the peer group takes over the parents’ even though the
adolescent still wants to be accepted and loved by the family.
Check Your Progress Exercise 1

Note: a) Read the following question carefully and answer in the space
provided.
b) Check your answer with that provided at the end of this Unit.
1. Highlight five points which make family a premier social system.
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9
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Socio-Developmental
Perspectives 1.4 SCHOOL AS A LEARNING SOCIAL
SYSTEM
School is an important microsystem for many children in their growing years.
The school provides a medium for learning and gaining knowledge and
experience. Below we would outline school environment and other environment’s
impact on school achievement by children.
 Parents’ and families’ attitude towards school and education: The
attitude of parents and family members towards the school in which they
send their child and towards education, both together influence the child’s
learning interest and attitude in the school. If the parents look down upon
the school, the child would not be able to settle well in the school and
do well in educational attainments. Parents’ own schooling has some impact
on teaching the child but necessarily does not negatively influence the child’s
school attainments.
 Teacher’s expectations and attitude: Teacher is the second parent of the
child. During young years children develop a special bond with their teacher
which also helps to attain good marks, do well in the class and encourage
children for learning social rules. Any conflict or non-acceptance of teacher
towards parent and vice versa influences the child. Cordial parent-teacher
relationship; reinforcement of school learning at home; reinforcement of
parental social values at school develop attitudes and skills held important
in the society among the children.
 School size, classrooms and age groupings: Children are generally put
in school according to the chronological age group. Children of about the
same age groups would be seen in a class. Ideally classroom should be
airy, with good lighting and ventilation facility. The number of students in
a class should be less so that there is good student teacher interaction.
But in India around 40-50 students are put in the same class. We will
not discuss about the type of school the child should be sent to but, rather
our emphasis is on the influence of school as a social system. Though,
the philosophy of the school does impact learning of socially relevant skills
as well as societal norms.
 Disciplining: School and classroom discipline like parent-child system in
India is demanding. The child is expected to obey the school rules, be
disciplined in the school and classroom. Both punishment and reinforcement
is being used in administration of discipline and to teach children. Discipline
also motivates the child to learn and achieve.
 Teaching methods and techniques: Teaching methods and techniques used
for teaching children like peer tutoring (older children tutor young child);
cooperative learning (a small group of students study together to master
skills, like in group activities); textbooks, computer, laboratories, field visits,
etc. provide children and adolescents learning experience which are
educational in nature but at the same time teach social values to them.
 Achievement motivation: Achievement motivation or the motivation to excel
in studies and co-curricular activities needs to be present in the child to attain
and score higher ranks, grades or marks. Achievements in the school leads
10
to higher self esteem in the children, confidence and a feeling of accomplishment Family, School and Peer
and self worth. This zeal for achievement would later help the adolescent to Group as Social Systems
go for higher studies and/or professional careers.
 Cultural influences: Culture influences have been reported to motivate
children to study. Some cultures value education more than others.
 Parental involvement in studies: Other than parents’ attitude towards school
and teachers, their involvement with their child’s school home work makes
learning enjoyable and special for the child.
 Special children: Special children, children with disabilities, children having
learning difficulties, gifted children, children with vulnerabilities all constitute
children who need special educational facilities. The promotion of inclusive
education helps meet the child’s need to belong to ‘their group’ children of
the same age group.
 Drop outs: All children who attend school do not finish their education. Drop
outs are high in educational system which could be due to failure, disinterest
in studies, family pressure, need to earn etc. Drop outs may attain education
later through open educational systems or may not study further or later re-
join the school.
 Second-language education: In most of the private and public schools in
India, children are taught through English medium, which is a second language
to us. Being multi-lingual from the beginning or at least bi-lingual is the norm
in our society. Second language teaching exerts. Second language teaching
excel both psychological and social pressure to excel in English as it is the
medium accepted in the high-class society.
 Educational policy: Educational policy is made keeping the social culture as
well as child’s welfare at hand. Educational policy influences child’s learning
and achievement.
 Vocational education and career: Adolescents attain vocational education
or go for higher education depending upon their interest, aptitude, abilities,
socio-economic status of the parents, need to be an earning member, etc.
Career choice is influenced by discussions with school teachers, peer group
and parents.
provided.
1. What do you understand by cooperative learning?
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11
Socio-Developmental
Perspectives 1.5 PEER GROUP AS AN INFLUENCIAL
SOCIAL SYSTEM
Children who live in large families generally come across children about their ages.
Also day care centres place the child with other children of similar age groups.
This leads to peer interactions. Children come close to children with whom they
study, live nearby, and are like them. By middle childhood children are able to
form and choose peers with whom they would like to interact more. Same-sex
preferences are also seen during this age. During adolescence become more open
and mixing with opposite sex begins.
Peer influences are seen maximum during adolescence. Below we will outline the
peer influences.
 Friends and peers: With time, children are able to distinguish between
friends and peer group. This distinction helps them to later associate and
form trust outside home. Friendships in all age groups are special and based
on reciprocal trust and help.
 Peers as reinforcers of desired behaviour: During early childhood years,
eating habits are quite influenced by the peer group. Children are motivated
to show the desired behaviour to be accepted. Peers also act as role models
for each other.
 Peer acceptance : Peer acceptance becomes significantly important during
adolescence. Peers would do things, act out, explore new things together
and expect loyality and solidarity of behaviour among themselves.
 Parents as peer promoters: During early years of life, parents promote the
child to play with children of their age groups. They express pleasure and
satisfaction when young children are able to intermingle among themselves.
 Change of locality and school: Children are quite influenced by change of
residential locality and school. They like to maintain relationships with their
old friends. Acceptance in the new school also influences child’s achievement
and behaviour.
 Prejudice against outside groups: Children may develop a prejudice and
non-acceptance of other children whom they don’t consider their group
member. This to and fro rejection can influence the child’s esteem and
confidence.
 Aggression, bullying and prosocial behaviour: Children express verbal
and physical aggression, bullying young or weaker, and prosocial behaviour.
Some of these behaviours are influenced by their familial experiences, schooling
and peer group interactions.
 Parents vs. peers: There are certain social skills and behaviour which children
learn from peer group which they don’t learn from adults. Learning takes
place faster with the help of peers. Some social skills are taught by parents
especially cultural specific norms of their society and acceptable behaviour.
Conflict between peer pressures and parental pressures is quite common
during adolescence.
 Gender and sex typing: During early childhood years children are seen to
reinforce sex-stereotyped behaviours associated within their society. Their
ideas and expressions of acceptable gender roles are clearly stereotyped
12 which is seen in their pretend play and also while talking with each other.
Family, School and Peer
Check Your Progress Exercise 3 Group as Social Systems
provided.
1. Explain the role of peer relations in early childhood years in 2-3 lines.
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1.6 INFLUENCES AND SELF

All the above factors  parents, family, school, teacher, friends, peersinfluence
one’s roles and responsibilities that one takes up. The behaviour portrayed is
usually for acceptance of our in-group members. At times behaviour at school and
home may be quite different. The social acceptance acquired for oneself would
lead to building up of self confidence among children, development of self esteem
and self concept of the adolescent would be formulated. All these influences play
an integrated role in the individual’s life. None plays a segregated influence.
Achievement motivation necessary for a person to strive high in society is influenced
by parents, family’s outlook, teachers’ expectations and peers’ motivation. Though
career chosen by the peer group after school and higher education may be
different but the zeal to excel in their fields would motivate them all. Social values
and norms learnt from the family takes the individual a long way in the journey
of life. The social values once learnt with disdain are passed on to the next
generation with pride. These social values make the child strive for success and
happiness in life; a journey not simple, but becomes a crusade for some.
1.7 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, we learnt about the influences of family, school and peers as social
systems. This Unit was more a recapitulation of our life experiences. These social
systems play an important role in helping an individual to achieve success and lead
a happy life. These influences teach social norms to the child which when he/she
grows up, pass on to their next generation.
1.8 GLOSSARY
Achievement motivation : Motivation to excel in studies and co-curricular
activities needs to be present in the child to attain
and score higher ranks, grades or marks.
Cooperative learning : Children learn from each other through working
in groups of two or more children.
Marital balance : It encompasses the power and communication
pattern between the spouses, the understanding
they share for their interpersonal relationship and
personas to be shared with other family members. 13
Socio-Developmental Peer tutoring : Older and more experienced children teach the
Perspectives younger children.
1.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
1. Emotional tone of the family, family interaction, discipline, expectations and
family dynamics make family a premier social system.
1. Cooperative learning is a method by which children of the same age group
or class work together to finish assignments or learn or do any group activity.
1. During early childhood years parents promote peer interactions. Sex-
stereotyping is quite strict among this age group. Peers influence child’s
eating habits as well as other behaviours.
1.10 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1. Explain the role of parent-teacher interaction in the child’s holistic
development.
2. ‘Adolescents are in conflict with their parents and do things to be with
their peer group only’. Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons
to support your answer.
1.11 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES

Bee, H. & Boyd, D. (2004) The developing child. Tenth edition. Delhi: Pearson
Education.
Chadha, N. (2007). Prosocial development in children: Helping, sharing and
comforting. Delhi: Mittal.
Hetherington, E. M. & Parke, R. D. (1999). Child psychology: A contemporary
viewpoint. Fifth Edition Boston: Ac Graw-Hill College.
Lefrancois, G.R.(2001). Of children: an introduction to child and adolescent
development. Ninth Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson learning.
Mussen, P. H.; Conger, J.J.; Kagan, J.;& Huston, AC. (1990). Child
Development and personality. Seventh Edition. New York: Harper & Row.
Papalia, D. E.; Olds, S.W.; & Feldman, R.D. (2001). Human Development.
Ratra, A.;Kaur, P. & Chhikara, S. (2006). Marriage and family: In diverse
and changing scenario. Delhi: Deep & Deep
Ratra, A. (2006). Working and non-working women. Delhi: Mittal.
Ratra, A (2007). Locomotor disabled: Psychosocial pattern. Delhi: Mittal
0Eight Edition. Boston: Ac Graw Hill.
14
Impact of Mass Media
UNIT 2 IMPACT OF MASS MEDIA
Structure
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Sources of Media
2.2.1 Newspapers
2.2.2 Magazines
2.2.3 Radio
2.2.4 Television
2.2.5 Computers/Internet
2.2.6 Cell Phones
2.2.7 Video Games
2.3 Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents

2.3.1 Effects on Physical Health
2.3.2 Effects on Psychological Functioning
2.3.3 Effects on Social Functioning
2.4 Strategies to Regulate Effects of Media

2.5 Let Us Sum Up
2.6 Glossary
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Media plays a significant role in people’s lives, particularly those of children and
adolescents as they are highly impressionable. It has certain positive and negative
influences on children and adolescents. These can be regulated through caregivers,
peers and teachers using certain strategies so as to have the desirable effects on
the physical, socio-emotional health of the child and adolescent. The Unit focuses
on these aspects.
Objectives
 Delineate the different sources of media;
 Describe the effects of media on the physical, psychological and social
functioning of children and adolescents; and
 Explain the strategies which can be useful for parents, peers and educators
in regulating the effects of media on children and adolescents.
2.2 SOURCES OF MEDIA

Media consists of the information presented as visuals, words and sounds either
through the print, visual or auditory mediums. This information may pertain to
people, places or events, which may be either real or fictional in nature. The
different sources of media or the mediums through which information can be 15
conveyed are described as follows:
Socio-Developmental 2.2.1 Newspapers
Perspectives
Newspapers constitute the print media. They contain of information pertaining to
people, places and events surrounding the happening around us and in the world
at large. They include both main news stories as well as supplements pertaining
to various topics. Newspapers are one of the sources of media that influence
middle and high school children as well as adolescents. The stories reported in
newspapers often pertain to criminal activity such as robberies, physical and
sexual assault as well as political news, which is reported at times in a prejudiced
manner. The supplements these days carry explicit imagery as well as advertisements
which promote certain products and ways of life. Newspapers influence children
and adolescents as they shape our attitudes about various people, objects, events
and issues. They also increase awareness pertaining to world happenings and
diverse topics. They are usually introduced in middle schools, with the objective
of spreading awareness about issues and events but if not guided by a parent or
teacher, the content can be misinterpreted and have a negative effect on children
and adolescents.
2.2.2 Magazines
Magazines are another form of print media, where information regarding various
topics ranging from political news pieces to stories about places, issues and
famous people are conveyed through words and illustrative pictures. Children are
exposed to magazines from a very early age. Initially the glossy colourful pages
of the magazines are used to keep children occupied as well as to help them
identify and name colours, objects and people. Young children are introduced to
comics and books containing stories to educate them about moral conventions
and shape their attitudes. In late childhood and adolescence, exposure to gender
specific magazines and political or film magazines becomes evident. These
magazines, comics and books contain a variety of content like aggressive stories
and language, sexual content as well as some educational information. This material
can have positive or negative effects on the child or adolescent depending on
exposure and interpretation of nature of material.
2.2.3 Radio
The radio started out as a primary mode of conveying news pieces and is regarded
as basically an auditory medium Nowadays, the content on the radio is comprised
of songs of all genres and advertisements. Children get exposed to the radio from
a very early age as it is often the primary source of entertainment in transportation
and in some homes as well. It is initially employed to soothe or distract the child
and later, songs become a substitution for rhymes children learn. The content of
songs these days is at times explicit in nature and also contains some slang and
abuses, which are vicariously learnt by children. This if not regulated may have
a negative affect on their minds and vocabulary.
2.2.4 Television
The television is a visual and auditory medium which comprises of moving images
and sounds. It is the most popularly used medium across age, gender and socio-
economic status. The content on television ranges from news to serials, music
videos and informational channels. Children are exposed to the television from a
very early age as the moving pictures and variety of sounds catches their attention.
Since both parents are working for long hours, the television becomes a friend
16
and nanny for children in their leisure time. The content ranges from informational Impact of Mass Media
to aggression, sexual and that pertaining to reinforcing various stereotypes and
prejudices. Unregulated or poor monitoring of the content by parents or caregivers
may influence children in a negative way such as vision and hearing deficits,
obesity or increased body image concerns as well as irritability and aggression.
2.2.5 Computers/Internet
Computers are also visual and auditory medium for relaying different kinds of
information. Children spend a lot of time playing computer games or on the
internet in school and at home. Computer games may serve as a task to increase
attention and problem solving but at the same time certain games may have
aggressive and sexual content which may negatively influence the child or adolescent.
The internet is a vast resource of information, some of which if not regulated may
affect the minds of children and adolescents in negative ways such as physical
harm like poor vision and obesity as well as psychological problems like aggression.
However, access to the internet helps the child to communicate with various
people across the globe as well as be updated regarding information pertaining
to a variety of topics. Blogs and chatting on the internet is a popular past time
for children and adolescents. Blogs help young people to put fourth their views
in the cyber arena and share views of others on various topics. Chatting helps
children and adolescents to connect with family, friends and other people across
the globe. It helps to establish relationships with people across cultures and
exchange views with them. Children and adolescents tend to spend a lot of time
chatting online, which can at times take up vital time which can be devoted to
academic work, physical exercise or spending time with family. Other computer
software helps to enhance presentation skills as well as creativity of the child or
adolescent.
2.2.6 Cell Phones
Cell phones or mobile phones are a recent audio visual medium which has become
popular with people across ages. Children and adolescents are given mobile
phones by their parents at an early age, primarily to stay in touch with them while
they go for tuitions, friends’ houses or on trips. However, they provide a variety
of other uses such as games, song players, camera, access to internet and many
more. Mobile phones come in variety of shapes and sizes replete with a variety
of features. This may become a source of competition among children and
adolescents and may lead to aggression and bullying among them. It may also be
a source of censored content which may influence the child’s mind. Also, recent
research has suggested that excessive use of cell phones may lead to auditory
deficits as well as cognitive deficits and emotional disturbance.
2.2.7 Video Games
Video games are an audio-visual media which is popular across children of all
ages as well as adolescents; the most popular being play station. These consist
of games pertaining to racing cars and bikes, shooting objects and enemies as
well as puzzles and mazes of various kinds. They also have a range of difficulty
levels. The content of these games has a profound effect on the minds of children
and adolescents as it may increase attention and problem solving ability but may
at times increase irritability and endorse aggressive behaviour patterns, as many
video games are violence and aggression based. The choice of video games plays
a critical role.
17
Socio-Developmental
Perspectives Check Your Progress Exercise 1
Note: a) Read the following questions carefully and answer in the space
provided.
b) Check your answers with those provided at the end of this Unit.
Answer the following in 4-5 lines
1. What are the different sources of media?
..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
2. What types of print media influence children and adolescents?
..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
3. What types of audiovisual media affect children and adolescents?
..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
2.3 EFFECTS OF MEDIA ON CHILDREN AND

ADOLESCENTS
Since the minds of young children and adolescents are highly impressionable,
media can influence them in various ways. The ways in which media influence the
child or adolescent depends on the viewing capacity of the child or adolescent,
content as well as regulation by family and educators. The effects of media can
be elucidated as follows:
2.3.1 Effects on Physical Health

Excessive exposure to certain sources of media may have certain negative effects
on parts of our bodies. These are discussed as follows:-
 Visual Deficits
Watching television or viewing the computer screen for long hours may lead to
certain visual deficits like myopia or short sightedness. The glare of the screens
may cause excessive redness and watering of the eyes. This may be the reason
for increasing number of children wearing spectacles in the present day. Eye strain
from long hours of viewing the television or computer screens could also lead to
complaints of headaches in children and adolescents.
18
 Hearing Difficulties Impact of Mass Media
Listening to the radio or television on loud volume or excessive exposure to loud

noises from the computer may lead to hearing difficulties, damages to the ear
drum or even deafness in extreme cases.
 Postural Problems
Children and adolescents usually slouch while watching the television or lean
excessively close to the computers. This may cause neck and shoulder pains and
backaches. If very young children slouch too much while watching the television,
it may also lead to slight bent in spinal cord as the skeleton of the young child
is still developing till the age of 16 to 18 years. Further, stiffness in parts of the
body especially wrists and fingers may set in.
 Changes in Eating Patterns
While watching television or computers, children and adolescents may lead to

unhealthy eating patterns like munching excessive junk food and aerated drinks
publicised in media during viewing television and computers. Also the time spent
on sports and playing outdoors is reduced, so the child or adolescent may put on
weight and become obese. Further, shift in eating patterns has been influenced
by media. There has been an excessive focus on thinness. It is conveyed in
fashion magazines, movies as well as by television and internet at large. Females
are more influenced by this and resort to cutting down on food intake to achieve
a thin figure. Taken to extreme, this may result in development of certain eating
disorders like anorexia or bulimia.
 Focus on Physical Fitness
The media in recent times has put an excessive focus on keeping the body fit by
exercising, going to the gym and taking health foods. Adolescents are usually
influenced by this information and hence, from an early age start to adopt the
means to have well built bodies. For, example, boys start taking protein shakes
and doing weights in gymnasiums, while girls avoid fried food stuffs and high
calorie foods and enrol themselves into aerobics, dancing or the gym.
2.3.2 Effects on Psychological Functioning

The various sources of media have certain psychological effects on the child and
adolescent. It affects the emotional regulation, behaviours as well as thinking
patterns. These can be elucidated as follows:
 Aggression
It refers to any act resulting in physical or emotional harm to self or another. It

can take various forms such as verbal or physical. Verbal aggression is expressed
in form of abusive language or shouting. Physical aggression may manifest in the
form of hitting another person or injuring someone with a weapon. With the media
excessively focusing on criminal or aggressive acts as well as glorifying the stories
of notorious persons and serials showing sexual violence, children and adolescents
imitate these acts without being fully aware of the consequences thereof. This is
depicted in choosing guns as toys and having preference for bombs in firecrackers
as well as children bullying or getting into physical fights with others. Since aggression 19
Socio-Developmental goes hand in hand with low frustration tolerance and impulsivity, at times adolescents
Perspectives may resort to use of weapons like knives or bats to injure their opponents. At
times, young boys may also resort to sexual aggression in form of making sexual
gestures or raping females in order to exert their power or superiority over them.
 Body Image Concerns
It refers to how children and adolescents perceive their appearances. Due to

heavy emphasis on looking good and appealing to others, children and adolescents
fall prey to buying branded clothes, using make-up at an early age, going to
extremes to diet and exercise so as to imitate models with perfect bodies. This
leads to children and adolescents gaining inferiority complexes as well as the risk
of developing body image distortions and disorders. The disorders associated
with negative body image are body dismorphic disorder, anorexia nervosa and
bulimia nervosa. Apart from physical appearance, the media also draws attention
to sexuality of adolescents such as appearance of certain physical attributes which
make a person attractive.
 Faulty Coping Styles
The media at times fosters low frustration tolerance in children and adolescents.
This is expressed in the form to resorting to temper tantrums or anger
outbursts by characters portrayed in stories reported by the media as well as
glorifying smoking, drinking and drugs as a means to cope with external
demands. Children and adolescents vicariously copy such acts without being
fully aware of their consequences and thus at times land into trouble. At
times, many characters in movies, serials and stories are shown as resorting
to self harm as a means to deal with failures in life circumstances. This may
at times be the cause for increasing numbers of suicides committed by children
and adolescents especially after failure in board exams or as a response to break
ups in relationships.
 Awareness
The media despite having a host of negative influences is the main source of
staying connected with the external world, particularly with the happenings
in different parts of the globe. The newspapers as well as educational
programmes help children learn about a host of topics, different cultures, places
as well as enrich their minds and vocabularies. The internet is also a major
medium to spread awareness about various topics via chat groups, websites and
blogs. Television programmes such as on history and news help to increase their
general knowledge and awareness about people, places and events. A benefit of
spreading awareness through media is that it highlights information about certain
disease conditions, malpractices as well as about certain products whose excessive
use may be harmful. Certain awareness is also conveyed prematurely to children
or adolescents such as conveying sexual information which is explicit in nature
through pictorial, verbal and print media. With this information exchange,
adolescents also engage in cyber sex, that is expressing the sexual act in verbal
form. This can affect the children/adolescents’ minds in certain negative ways as
they may not be mature enough to handle the information or may at times engage
in high risk behaviour due to heightened sexual awareness communicated by the
media.
20
 Academic Learning and Creativity Impact of Mass Media
Both print and audio-visual media promote learning about various kinds of
educational topics, hence increasing the general fund of knowledge of the child
and adolescent. The puzzles, mazes and games both consisting of words as well
as active stimulation through graphics and sounds enhance the child’s visual,
spatial as well as intellectual skills. Certain software and educational material
conveyed through media encourages the child to tap his/her creative potential
through various channels. Example: creating musical symphony through computers
and using paint software to create a graphic. Additionally, present day computers
come equipped with software to help children learn new languages as well.
 Self Esteem
This refers to the positive or negative feelings one has towards oneself. The media
has an impact on the child or adolescent’s self esteem as it influences the way in
which children feel about themselves. The positive feelings towards oneself are
defined by the media with materialistic objects as well as with the kind of people
one should associate with. The body image is also in a large way determined by
the media, which is one of the core elements that define one’s sense of self.
2.3.3 Effects on Social Functioning

Apart from having an effect on the physical health and psychological functioning,
the media also affects the social functioning of the child or adolescent, which can
be summarized as follows:
 Attitudes
They refer to our likes or dislikes, or preferences towards people, objects, places
or events. The media contributes to the formation of attitudes of children and
adolescents. The views which are presented on the television or internet shape the
preferences children have towards toys, clothing, persons and objects at large. It
also shapes the attitude each sex has towards the other as well as regarding
attitudes towards groups of peers, such as adopting a positive attitude towards
popular children in class and a negative attitude towards bullies.
 Stereotypes
They reflect a prejudiced way to perceive certain groups of people in society.

Media influences the ethnic and gender stereotypes among children and adolescents.
Ethnic stereotypes may be reflected in the way in which different cultures and
sects of society think, feel and behave. It may further the child’s knowledge about
the various cultural practices but at the same time may influence their way of
viewing them in prejudiced manner. Example: religious stereotypes may create
differences in relating to people across groups. Gender stereotypes are centred
on the androgynous and feminine characteristics portrayed by the media at large.
The way males and females should dress, express emotion and behave is depicted
in the images and narratives in media. These stereotypes are vicariously imbibed
by children and adolescents.
21
Socio-Developmental  Consumerism
Perspectives
It refers to the effects of commercials in terms of increasing sales of various
products and the emphasis on excessive marketing. The products targeted at
children and adolescents range from food items, toys, clothes, cosmetics as well
as mobile phones. Children and adolescents often fall prey to these as most of
the ads promise a better self image and lifestyle. This may lead to excessive
demanding behaviour from parents and irresponsible spending of money. It may
also foster a sense of competition among peers and the fact that one’s popularity
and self esteem is being fuelled by the material resources possessed by the child
or adolescent.
 Prosocial Behaviour
This refers to any act signifying helping behaviour and cooperation among persons.
Some television programmes like cartoons and other team work based serials
foster the behaviour of helping each other and those in need as well as emphasize
on the benefits of working as a cohesive group. Children and adolescents taking
a lead from this at times engage in group activities as well as establish social clubs
for various co-curricular and prosocial causes. Prosocial behaviour can also be
exhibited on the internet through online chat groups devoted to special causes or
topics as well as posting blogs or websites which can call for contributions by
individuals in a cooperative arena.
 High Risk Behaviour
The acts which require risk taking and involve stunts are glorified in advertisements,
serials and movies in the media. The children try to vicariously imitate the
superheroes, while adolescents try to copy their favourite actors. They try to
engage in certain stunts which are performed on screen which often leads to
physical harm in form of injuries and at times may also risk the child or adolescent’s
life. High risk behaviour is also associated with experimenting with various substances
or engaging in unsafe sexual practices, which are sometimes portrayed by characters
on the television or internet. These practices may range from engaging in cyber
sex, using sexually explicit language and enacting certain sexual acts with certain
persons.The child and adolescent do not have adequate reasoning power to
differentiate between fiction and reality and hence try to emulate the actions
without regard for the physical, emotional or social consequences that may follow.
 Interpersonal Relationships
The media has an indirect influence on the communication and gestures used in
interpersonal relationships with parents, peers and others. For example, most
serials on television promote certain type of language exchanges as well as some
slang which children may pick up and use in interacting with significant others and
the like. The movies are also a source from which adolescents pick up certain
styles of interacting with parents and peers. These ways of interacting may at
times be positive or negative depending on the context in which they are used and
with whom they are used. Interpersonal conflicts among the family often result
from excessive use of computers or television or cell phones. Conflicts range from
the time devoted by children on audio-visual sources of media, which programmes
children or adolescents should watch or which sites on the internet they should
visit and how much time they should talk on the phone. Chatting on the internet
at times also perpetrates conflicts online among persons such as using objectionable
22 language or harassing individuals by sending obscene messages or e-mails.
Impact of Mass Media
provided.
Fill in the blanks:
1. _____________ is a visual deficit often resulting from excessive television
or computer screen viewing.
2. ______ disorders result from extreme measures to diet and exercise.
3. __________ and _________ skills are enhanced by computer games.
2.4 STRATEGIES TO REGULATE EFFECTS OF

MEDIA
Media has both positive and negative effects on the health and minds of children
and adolescents. In order to maximize the positive effects and curb the negative
ones, certain strategies can be employed by parents and educators, which can be
discussed as follows:
 Parents may carefully select the print material, such as remove suggestive
magazines and newspaper supplements from the reach of very young children.
 Child lock can be employed in television sets and passwords can be installed
in computers to keep certain content away from the child’s reach.
 Timings of television viewing and surfing the internet can be restricted by
parents.
 Parents and educators can assist children in selection of certain programmes
on television.
 Middle and high school children as well as adolescents can be involved in
activities like debates where topics of aggression and body image can be
discussed.
 Close observation by parents and caregivers can help in identifying negative
body image concerns as well as signs of eating disorders.
 Parents may carefully select the toys and games which have acceptable
content and encourage children to select out the educational material from
the material which is likely to have a negative effect on the child.
 Parents and educators may help to highlight the positive and negative effects
of media to help children sift out the content effectively.
Hence, to conclude, the media plays a significant role in the lives of children and
adolescents and has certain positive and negative effects on their physical,
psychological and social functioning. Through effective regulation, parents and
educators can help maximise the benefits and cut out the costs and above all help
children and adolescents choose and select the information that is helpful to them.
23
Socio-Developmental
Perspectives Check Your Progress Exercise 3
provided.
Match the following columns
I II
1. Restricting channel access a. Eating disorders
2. Negative body image concerns b. Child-lock
3. Positive influence of media c. Informational programmes
2.5 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, we have learnt about media, its sources and the effects it has on our
physical health as well as on our psychological and social functioning. The main
learning from the Unit can be summarized as below:
 Media plays a significant role in people’s lives, particularly those of children
and adolescents as they are highly impressionable.
 Its main sources comprise of print media like newspapers and magazines as
well as audio-visual media such as television, computers and video games.
 The media affects the physical, psychological and social functioning of children
and adolescents.
 The effects of media on physical health of children and adolescents include
visual and auditory deficits, postural problems, and changes in eating patters
as well as focus on physical fitness.
 The influence of media on psychological functioning of children and adolescents
comprise of concerns regarding body image, aggression, awareness, academic
learning and creativity, self esteem as well as faulty coping styles.
 The media has an impact on the social learning of children as well especially
in relation to formation of attitudes, stereotypes, prosocial behaviour, high
risk behaviours, interpersonal relationships and consumerism.
 Certain strategies can be adopted by parents and educators to regulate the
influence of media on children and adolescents. These include using restrictions
such as fixed timings, child lock as well as monitoring the content viewed and
having discussions on various subjects with children and adolescents regarding
the information conveyed by the media.
2.6 GLOSSARY
Aggression : It refers to any act resulting in physical or emotional
harm to self or another. It can take various forms
such as physical, verbal or sexual.
24
Anorexia Nervosa : An eating disorder in which individuals starve Impact of Mass Media
themselves because of a compulsive fear of getting
fat.
Attitudes : It refers to the preferences, that is likes or dislikes
a person has towards people, objects, places or
events. It can be positive, negative or neutral.
Audio-visual Media : The sources of media which comprise of moving
visual imagery and sounds such as television.
Body Image : It refers to the perception a person has regarding
the physical appearance of his or her body as well
as parts of the body.
Bulimia Nervosa : An eating disorder in which individuals engage in
strict dieting and excessive exercise accompanied
by binge eating often followed by deliberate vomiting
and purging with laxatives.
Coping : It refers to the covert and overt actions an individual
undertakes to overcome stress.
Creativity : The ability to produce work that is original and that
is appropriate.
Print Media : The source of media which comprises of words to
narrate information about people, places or objects.
Prosocial Behaviour : The behaviours or acts that are co-operative in
nature and benefit the social group a person belongs
to.
Self Esteem : The judgements about one’s worth and the feelings
associated with that.
Stereotypes : Widely held beliefs about characteristics deemed
appropriate for certain groups of people.

EXERCISES
1. The different sources of media comprise of both print and audio-visual sources
of media. Newspapers and magazines constitute the print sources of media,
while radio, television, computers and video games constitute the audio-
visual forms of media.
2. The key sources of print media that influence children and adolescents are
newspapers, magazines, comics and books.
3. The main audio-visual media forms which influence children and adolescents
are television, computers, particularly the internet as well as video games like
the playstation.
25
Socio-Developmental Check Your Progress Exercise 2
Perspectives
1. Myopia
2. Eating
3. Visual, Spatial
1.  b.
2.  a.
3.  c.

Berk, L (2003). Child Development(6th Ed.). New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India
Private Limited.
Santrock, J.W. (1997). Life-Span Development. London: Brown and Benchmark
Publications.
26
Children in Vulnerable
UNIT 3 CHILDREN IN VULNERABLE Situations
SITUATIONS
Structure
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Identifying Vulnerability of Children
3.3 Importance of Resilience
3.4 Dealing with Different Kinds of Vulnerabilities
3.5 The Downward Spiral of Child Vulnerability
3.6 Rehabilitation Vs. Prevention
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Within a Social Risk Management (SRM) Framework “Vulnerability” is defined
as”the likelihood of being harmed by unforeseen events or as susceptibility to
exogenous shocks. If we try to understand vulnerability of children then in the
perspective of SRM, vulnerable children are those who face a higher risk than
their local peers of experiencing:
 Infant, child and adolescent mortality,
 Low immunization, low access to health services, high malnutrition, high
burden of disease,
 Low school enrollment rates, high repetition rates, poor school performance
and/or high drop out rates,
 Intra-household neglect vis-à-vis other children in the household (reduced
access to attention, food, care),
 Family and community abuse and maltreatment (harassment and violence),
 Economic and sexual exploitation, due to lack of care and protection.
Objectives
 Understand the meaning of “vulnerability”;
 Develop understanding of different ways of assessing vulnerability;
 Gain insight about the role of resilience;
 Identify different kinds of vulnerability and ways of dealing with it; and
27
 Understand the importance of prevention rather than rehabilitation.
Socio-Developmental
Perspectives 3.2 IDENTIFYING VULNERABILITY OF
CHILDREN
To understand if the particular child falls into vulnerability criteria, certain information
has to be gathered to evaluate the child like understanding the place the child has
in the family, kind of parent-child interaction and family conditions or influences
that shape the child’s vulnerability.
For some children, vulnerability could be evident on the basis of mere observation
but for others, more information needs to be collected.
The definition for child vulnerability in simple terms says vulnerability is all about
self-protection. In the above paragraph, when we have mentioned abt abuse and
exploitation—this is what links to self protection. So, what does that mean? This
means can a child provide for their basic needs? Can a child defend him/herself
against a physical assault? Can a child get away from a dangerous situation? For
that matter, does a child even know when a dangerous situation is developing?
Is a child totally dependent on others? These are questions that provide some
boundaries to the idea of self-protection. The things that help one to judge child
vulnerability are:
Age - Children from birth to six years old are always vulnerable. Be hyper-
vigilant about infants.
Physical Disability - Regardless of age, children who are physically handicapped
and therefore unable to remove themselves from danger are vulnerable. Those
who, because of their physical limitations, are highly dependent on others to meet
their basic needs are vulnerable.
Mental Disability - Regardless of age, children who are cognitively limited are
vulnerable because of a number of possible limitations: recognizing danger, knowing
who can be trusted, meeting their basic needs and seeking protection.
Provocative - A child’s emotional, mental health, behavioural problems can be
such that they irritate and provoke others to act out toward them or to avoid them
totally.
Powerless - Regardless of age, intellect and physical capacity, children who are
highly dependent and susceptible to others are vulnerable. These children typically
are so influenced by emotional and psychological attachment that they are subject
to the whims of those who have power over them. Powerlessness could also be
observed in vulnerable children who are exposed to threatening circumstances,
which they are unable to manage.
Defenseless - Regardless of age, a child who is unable to defend him/herself
against aggression is vulnerable. This can include those children who are oblivious
to danger. Remember that self-protection involves accurate reality perception
particularly related to dangerous people and dangerous situations. Children who
are frail or lack mobility are more defenseless and therefore vulnerable.
Non-Assertive - Regardless of age, a child who is so passive or withdrawn not
to be able to make his or her basic needs known is vulnerable. A child who
cannot or will not seek help and protection from others is vulnerable.
28
Illness - Regardless of age, some children have continuing or acute medical Children in Vulnerable
Situations
problems and needs that make them vulnerable.
Invisible -. Children that no one sees (who are hidden) are vulnerable. A child
who is not visible to be noticed and observed should be considered vulnerable
regardless of age. For example: children who are isolated, aloof ,does not participate
much in social events etc.
3.3 IMPORTANCE OF RESILIENCE

Over recent years there has been increasing interest in understanding why some
children who should be at high risk of developing mental health difficulties do not
do so. There is a need for understanding what gives this resilience, so that
significant steps could be taken up to reduce future risk for all such children. It
has been suggested that the concept of resilience is greater than that of prevention,
for while prevention is seeking disease avoidance, resilience also includes the aim
of establishing wellness. It is increasingly acknowledged that resilience is a dynamic
process in which the individual and the social environment interact to produce a
pattern of functioning which offers resistance to detrimental experiences, from
which coping successfully with one situation strengthens an individual’s ability to
cope in the future. Such elements are rooted in developmental progression rather
than fixed personality and are probably part of a normative process. Thus not
only do these qualities have the potential for strengthening and enhancement, but
the resulting improvements in functioning seem to be enduring. It’s been researched
that the focus needs to be upon three broad domains the intrinsic functioning of
the child, the family atmosphere and functioning, and the support and influences
that come from the wider community.
3.4 DEALING WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF

VULNERABILITIES
 Street Children
For the millions of children worldwide who live in the street, education is the most
effective method of reintegration into society. Activities that could be foussed
upon for preventing children in diffculties ending up on streets are :
 Raising awareness of the general public about street children and the non-
enforcement of the right to education for all.
 Providing technical support for organizations and institutions in order to meet
the basic needs of these children.
 Organizing national campaigns and information dissemination to encourage
governments and civil society in the provision of educational opportunities for
all.
 Providing basic service provision (e.g. literacy courses, medical and psycho-
social support, food and clothing) to aid children in making informed and
positive decisions about their lives, about leaving the streets and becoming
integrated in residential centres or reintegrated with their families.
 Organization of street rounds to identify new street children, establishing a
dialogue based on respect to enable them to decide to leave the streets. 29
Socio-Developmental  Inclusion of street children in the mainstream school system from early on
Perspectives and rehabilitation programmes for drop-outs.
 After-school educational activities, personalized educational workshops and
functional literacy courses and vocational training to bridge formal and non-
formal education and to facilitate street children’s enrolment in the public
school system.
 Organization of advocacy campaigns and preventive education programmes
for street children on HIV and AIDS, drug abuse and development of life
skills training programmes about communication and interpersonal skills,
decision-making and critical thinking skills, coping and self-management skills.
 Creation of a classroom environment that retains former street children in
school.
 Improving pre-service and in-service training where teachers acquire
experience in inclusive methods and practices, meeting pupils with different
abilities, experiences, social and cultural backgrounds.
 Child Workers
Universal access to education, and particularly to free and compulsory education
of good quality secured until the minimum age for entry to employment, is a
critical factor in the struggle against the economic exploitation of children. The
enrolment of child workers in basic education reduces the vulnerability of them for
child labour. The activities that could be done for reducing this problem are:
 Mass public information campaigns and community mobilization to increase
awareness about the rights of working children at all levels of society and
legislation related to child labour.
 Access to free and compulsory education of good quality, secured until the
minimum age for entry to employment.
 Measures to bring girls to school and keep them in school including security
and the provision of adequate sanitation, girl-friendly methodologies and
vocational training in practical life skills leading to further formal vocational
training.
 Initiatives to attract higher numbers of women teachers to teach in rural and
slum areas and training for male teachers in girl-friendly pedagogical
approaches.
 Development of life skills training programmes for child labourers.
 Legislation to guarantee access to education and prevent child labour.
 Codes of conduct and procurement policies for employers regarding child
labour.
 Universal child registration at birth and protection of a child’s right to official
proof of age.
 Children with Disabilities
Children having disabilities often have little hope of going to school, getting a job,
having their own home, creating a family and raising their children or enjoying a
30
social life. For the vast majority shops, public facilities and transport are not Children in Vulnerable
Situations
accessible. The most important point to be considered under this is about early
intervention programme. Broadly speaking, early intervention services are special
services for eligible infants and toddlers and their families which are quite vulnerable
to develop the disability. This is an effective way to address the needs of infants
and toddlers who have developmental delays or disabilities. Early intervention
programmes are usually carried out in a variety of ways and in different places.
Sometimes it starts in the child’s home with the family receiving additional training.
Services may also be provided in other settings, such as a clinic, a neighborhood
daycare center, hospital, or the local health department. Early intervention plays
a vital role in promoting optimal development of children with disabilities.
Apart from the development of early intervention programme, the role of teachers
is also quite important. In relation to that, following pointers could be noted down:
 Recognition and response system needs to be based on the premise that
when parents and teachers recognize that a young child may not be learning
in an expected manner, they can take steps to enhance the child’s early
school success.
 An intervention hierarchy entails three tiers of instruction and intervention.
 In Tier 1, the teacher provides all children with a research-based
curriculum and effective teaching strategies. Also, all children receive
screening, assessment, and progress monitoring in key academic, health,
and development areas. This allows educators to determine whether
most children (approximately 80 percent) are making adequate progress
and to identify the children who need additional supports.
 In Tier 2, teachers provide interventions and curriculum modifications
that require minimum adjustment to classroom routines to the children
who do not make adequate progress in Tier 1. Again, decisions are
guided by assessment and best practices.
 In Tier 3, teachers implement more intensive and individualized instruction
for those children who do not make adequate progress in Tier 2. Educators
make instructional decisions through collaborative problem solving, which
is guided by assessment and best practices.
 Children who don’t make adequate progress in Tier 3 may need to be
referred for formal evaluation for learning disabilities or other special needs.
 Screening, assessment, and progress monitoring to guide the teacher’s decision
to move a child from one tier to the next.
 Research-based curriculum, instruction, and intervention.
 Collaborative problem solving for decision making: To decide when to move
a child from one tier to the next or to select assessment or intervention
strategies for a child, teachers should rely on the problem-solving process.
This process involves defining the problem, analyzing the problem, developing
a plan, and evaluating the plan to determine whether it effectively addressed
the child’s goals. A critical component of the problem-solving process is
using data to make decisions about instructional strategies and evaluate their
effectiveness.
31
Socio-Developmental  Children Born in Indigenous Families
Perspectives
Some areas of interventions that can be planned for indigenous people are:
 Developing guidelines for indigenous/tribal people relevant to their needs and
aspirations, accommodating their culture, language and learning styles.
 Supporting reflection and action to render curricula and teaching
methodologies sensitive to indigenous peoples’ rights, perspectives, experiences
and aspirations, notably by involving indigenous peoples in the work carried
out in this area.
 Developing educational and training programmes for indigenous people in
relation to indigenous people’s rights, techniques of negotiation, and leadership
skills.
 Creating empathetic and supportive environment for such children in
educational setting.
Here, it is importants to bear in mind that in India, children belonging to scheduled
castes, scheduled tribes, weaker sections of the society and minority sections may
also be ill-treated by the society and be in vulnerable situations and need similar
help.
 Children Living in Rural Settings
Rural/urban inequalities are a major obstacle to sustainable development. Percentage
of people living in rural areas is still 72% in India. Usually rural people lack access
to adequate basic social services. Even those who move to an urban setting, find
the going difficult.
Some areas of intervention that could be emphasized for people living in rural
areas:
 Educational assistance for the poor and needy (scholarships, free uniforms,
relief from school fees, etc).
 Distance-learning through the use of Community Multimedia Centers and
ICT.
 Addressing cultural values that limit educational opportunities for girls through
schemes such as take-home rations and community daycare.
 Streamlining curricula to focus on the main priorities and combine core and
local content and teach it using community/human/material resources to
promote active learning.
 Providing better pay/incentive for teachers, especially for rural areas and
establish national recognition awards for teachers in rural/remote areas.
 Developing innovative support systems at the school and classroom level to
help teachers use active learning techniques.
 Encouraging adequate data collection focussing on the issues affecting target
groups.
 Child Victims of Abuse
The effects of child abuse are wide ranging, and vary from survivor to survivor
32 depending on a number of different factors such as the age of the victim, the
duration of the abuse, the number of perpetrators, the nature of the relationship Children in Vulnerable
Situations
with the perpetrator, and the severity of the assault (in case of sexual abuse).
Effects of abuse:
 Emotional effects include : Emotional effects include feelings of confusion,
powerlessness, helplessness, pain, betrayal, sadness, grief, loss, feeling dirty,
shame, vulnerable, unsafe, scared, terrified, horrified, depressed, angry, numb
from feelings and body, suspicious, untrusting, tortured, sensitive, emotional
hurt, panic, anxiety, and feeling miserable.
 Beliefs about self : Beliefs about one’s self include: “I am bad, no one loves
me, no one could love me, I am unlovable, I am dirty, it’s my fault, I’m
stupid, I should have done something, I should have told someone, I hate
myself, I must be bad, I must have wanted it, I must have done something,
I’m being punished, I deserve to die, I don’t want to be me, why do these
things happen to me, I must have deserved it”.
 Minimizing beliefs : Victims are confronted with overwhelming pain. In
order to cope with extreme and intense emotions, the details of what happened,
and who hurt them, they may try to convince themselves  “it wasn’t so bad,
it didn’t really hurt them, others have been hurt much more” etc. This is a
form of self-protection. It did hurt, it still hurts but it may be too hard or
scary right now to face it all.
As a form of self-protection, minimizing may help slow the process down
which may be what the survivor needs from time to time. As a constant way
of coping however, minimization leads to self-blame and self-hatred which is
not helpful and hurts a great deal.
 Rationalization : Victims need to protect themselves from the truth of the
situation; after all someone they trusted, and perhaps loved, hurt them very
badly. Rationalization is when a victim explains the abusive behaviour away-
“he didn’t know what he was doing, he was abused himself as a child, he
thought he was showing me love, she was really messed up, she didn’t mean
to hurt me.” The victim is trying to protect her/himself from the horrible truth
of the situation.
 Denial : Denial is recognizable by a victim saying, “it didn’t happen; I must
be making it up; after all how can I be sure anything actually happened; and
what if I’m wrong; it probably didn’t happen; it couldn’t have happened.”
Denial can help slow the process down. Denial helps a child to survive. We
cannot expect someone to simply abandon their hard earned coping strategies
even if they are safe now. Safety is not only an external reality, it is an internal
one as well. Many victims do not feel safe and may need some denial to
cope with how they feel.
 Problems with boundaries : Because a victim’s boundaries were not
respected — they were utterly violated, s/he may have a lot of difficulty
knowing where herself/himself boundaries are, how to maintain them, and
how to protect her/him from those who do not respect or try to violate her/
his boundaries. This leaves many victims vulnerable to further abuse.
 Trusting others : It can be very difficult for a victim to trust anyone. It can
be even harder when that person is close to them, and cares for them. Often
the abuser was that — someone who had a close and trusting relationship 33
Socio-Developmental with them.Adult relationships, particularly sexual ones, can be quite challenging
Perspectives and triggering for survivors. At the same time, they can be a source of great
love, safety, and healing too.
 Relationship with one’s body : Since the abuse took place on and in the
body, the body can become the enemy. Many survivors carry a great deal
of pain and memories in their bodies. Desperately needing ways to cope with
this pain can lead to a variety of coping strategies including eating disorders,
self-injurious behaviours, numbing, and inability to enjoy sex, having lots of
sex, poor body image, a generalized separation from and disregard for one’s
body, dissociation, and gender-identity issues.
 Coping behaviours : There are a whole range of behaviours that survivors
may engage in that come from having been sexually abused. They include:
addictions, prostitution, isolation, frequent sexual activity, avoidance of sex,
over-working, inability to work, high-functioning, low-functioning,
argumentativeness, avoiding conflict, perfectionist, and wanting to please
others.
All of these behaviours were learned in response to abuse and served an
important purpose — staying sane and alive. It is important to not judge your
or anyone else’s ways of coping — you’re here because of them.
Other Effects
These may include nightmares, insomnia, panic attacks, flashbacks, anxiety attacks,
terror, inability to go outside, fear of being alone, fear of being with other people,
numerous trigger-responses, headaches, and physical problems (yeast infections,
bladder infections, anal bleeding etc.).
Interventions
 Physical injuries can be addressed by health care professionals providing:
- Medication;
- Surgeries; and/or
- Rehabilitation and any other required treatments.
 For psychological concerns, there are a number of approaches that can be
adopted by psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers or other counsellors
and family therapists at hospitals, community health centres or in private
practice. Such approaches are:
- Counselling;
- Play therapy;
- Psychotherapy; and
- Education, art, music, animal, spiritual and recreation therapies.
 Child protection services may provide follow-up intervention, which includes
support services to families.
 Parenting programmes not only help parents to develop their skills, but also
to provide sufficient nurturing to their children.
34
 Individual counselling and family counselling and therapy are considered to Children in Vulnerable
Situations
be effective to enhance family situation and family integration.
 Medication can be useful for the symptoms of depression, anxiety and other
symptoms, but may be more effective if used in combination with counselling
and family therapy.
 Later in their life, the victim may need to undergo couples or relationship
counselling when they heal to the point of finding a long-term relationship.
Thus, there is a variety of treatment options for each individual, and the length of
time to heal differs depending on the person, his/her life experiences, and the
combination of treatment. However, healing is possible. When the victims’ desire
to heal is met with information, skilled support, and a safe environment, they begin
to grow in ways they never dreamed possible.
 Children Living in Dysfunctional Family
The general question of differences between children in different types of families
is less important than what causes these differences. One way to think about this
is to consider the risks that may cause difficulties for children and the effects of
living in a dysfuncational family.
Effects:
 Parental loss : Divorce/separation/death often results in the loss of contact
with one parent and with this loss children also lose the knowledge, skills and
resources (emotional, financial, etc.) of that parent.
 Economic loss : Another loss for children living in single parent families is
that they are less likely to have as many economic resources as children
living in intact families.
 More life stress : The situation often results in many changes in children’s
living situations such as changing schools, child care, homes, etc. Children
often also have to make adjustments to changes in relationships with friends
and extended family members. These changes create a more stressful
environment for children.
 Poor parental adjustment : Generally how children fare in families is due
in part to the mental health of the parents; this is likely to be true for children
in divorced families as well.
 Lack of parental competence : Much of what happens to children in
general is related to the skill of parents in helping them develop. The
competence of parents following divorce is likely to have considerable
influence on how the children are doing.
 Exposure to conflict between parents : Conflict is frequently part of families
and may be especially common in families that have undergone divorce. The
degree to which children are exposed to conflict may have substantial effects
on children’s well-being.
 Developmental issues : A child’s age affects his or her short term reaction
to separation/death and divorce; at each stage, developmental issues are
worked through differently. Developmental issues include the following:
35
Socio-Developmental  Infants are somewhat protected from the immediate consequences of
Perspectives separation/death and divorce, but the importance of maintaining a stable
and secure attachment relationship with at least one parent complicates
housing arrangements.
 Preschool age children may attribute parental separation to something

that they have done.
 Early school age children (five to seven years of age) may understand
issues related to separation and divorce in concrete terms, and attempt
to maintain ties with both parents, while late school age children (nine
years of age and older) may be more inclined to be angry with one
parent and choose sides. Children in this age group may play one parent
against the other or idealize an absent parent.
 Adolescents are in the process of becoming independent, dealing with

their sexuality and establishing career goals. When a teenager’s family is
in conflict, routine adolescent tasks are more difficult, and reactions may
be repressed or deferred with maladaptive behaviours or an attempt to
mask feelings. Teenagers may tend to take on inappropriate responsibility
for their parents’ well-being.
Interventions
Regardless of the source of dysfunction, children living in such circumstances do

survive. The following things could be done by such children with the help of a
trusted adult:
 It is important to first stop and take stock – Remember that many of the
survival behaviours one develops are one’s best assets. For example, people
who grow up in dysfunctional families often have finely tuned empathy for
others.
 Get help – In most dysfunctional families, children tend to learn to doubt

their own intuition and emotional reactions. Often outside support provides
an objective perspective and much-needed affirmation which will help you
learn to trust your own reactions. Help or support can take many forms:
individual counselling, therapy groups .
 Learn to identify and express emotions – Growing up in a dysfunctional

family often results in an exaggerated attention to others’ feelings and a denial
of one’s own feelings and experiences. Be selective in sharing your feelings
with others.
 Allowing oneself to feel angry about what happened – Forgiveness is a

very reasonable last step in recovery, but it is a horrible first step. Children
need to believe in and trust their parents; therefore, when parents behave
badly, children tend to blame themselves and feel responsible for their parents’
mistakes. These faulty conclusions are carried into adulthood, often leaving
guilt, shame, and low selfesteem. So placing the responsibility for what
happened during the childhood where it belongs, i.e., with the responsible
adults, allows one to feel less guilt and shame and more nurturance and
acceptance toward oneself.
36
 Begin the work of learning to trust others – Learning who to trust and Children in Vulnerable
Situations
how much to trust is a lengthy process. Adult children from dysfunctional
families tend to approach relationships in an all-or-nothing manner. Either
they become very intimate and dependent in a relationship, or they insist on
nearly complete self-sufficiency, taking few interpersonal risks. Both of these
patterns tend to be self-defeating.
Frequently, children of dysfunctional families continue to seek approval and

acceptance from their parents and families. If these people could not meet
your needs when you were a child, they are unlikely to meet your needs
now.
 Practice taking good care of yourself – Frequently, survivors of

dysfunctional families have an exaggerated sense of responsibility. They tend
to overwork and forget to take care of themselves. Try identifying the things
you really enjoy doing, then give yourself permission to do at least one of
these per day. Work on balancing the things you should do with the things
you want to do. Balance is a key word for people who’ve grown up in
dysfunctional families.
 Begin to change your relationships with the family – Remember, one

cannot change others, but can change oneself. Work on avoiding entanglements
in the family’s problems. It is also important to be patient with one’s own
family. They may find it difficult to understand and accept the changes they
see in your behavior. While most families can be workable, undoubtedly
there are some rare families who are far too dangerous or abusive to risk
further contact.
 Adopted child – Children who are adopted are noted to be at elevated risk
for mental health disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity, oppositional
defiance, major depression and separation anxiety disorders, according to a
wide body of research. There’s also evidence to suggest that children adopted
internationally could have much higher rates of foetal alcohol syndrome,
autism and brain damage. The longer a child has been institutionalized increases
the potential for behavioral and other problems; thus a child adopted earlier
in his or her life, reduces some of the risks.
A multitude of issues may arise when children become aware that they have been
adopted. Children may feel grief over the loss of a relationship with their birthparents
and the loss of the cultural and family connections that would have existed with
those parents. This feeling of loss may be especially intense in closed or semi-
open adoptions where little or no information or contact is available with
birthparents. Such grief feelings may be triggered at many different times throughout
the child’s life including when they first learn of their adoption, during the turbulent
teen years, upon the death of other family members, or even on becoming a
spouse or parent. There can also be significant concerns about feeling abandoned
and “abandonable,” and “not good enough,” coupled with specific hurt feelings
over the birthmother’s choice to “reject” the child”, to “give me away” or “not
wanting me enough.” Such hurtful and vulnerable feelings may be compounded
should the child learn that the birthmother later had other children that she chose
to raise herself.
37
Socio-Developmental Adopted children may struggle with self-esteem and identity development issues
Perspectives more so than their non-adopted peers. Identity issues are of particular concern
for teenagers who are aware that they are adopted and even more so, for those
adopted in a closed or semi-open circumstance. Such children often wonder why
they were given up for adoption. They may also wonder about what their birth
family looks like, acts like, does for a living, etc.
Guilt feelings may accompany such identity issues and concerns. Adopted children
may feel as though they are betraying their adoptive family and/or that they will
hurt their adoptive family by expressing their desire to learn about their birth
family.
For helping children to deal with such hurt feelings, following could be done:
 Educators’ and counsellors’ sensitivity and ability to positively work with

adopted children who may be experiencing behavioural and emotionally related
issues can be an important variable in children’s family and social adjustment.
 Sensitive adopted children may also fall victim to teasing and bullying at
school and neighbourhood; where other children taunt them in an attempt to
make them feel ashamed for being adopted; thus help of system needs to be
taken up.
 Parents have to shun the questions that usually people ask regarding the
child’s adoption in the presence of the child.
 Children should learn of their adoption from the adoptive parents. This helps
give the message that adoption is good and that the child can trust the
parents. If the child first learns about the adoption intentionally or accidentally
from someone other than parents, the child may feel anger and mistrust
towards the parents, and may view the adoption as bad or shameful because
it was kept a secret.
 Children Surviving in War Situations
Terrorist attacks in our country and threats or realities of war are frightening
experiences for all. Children may be especially fearful that threatened or actual
military action overseas will result in more personal loss and violence here at
home. Because repeated scenes of destruction of lives and property are featured
in the news media, they understand that it can cause harm in their country.
The degree to which children are affected will vary depending on personal
circumstances. Children who have suffered a personal loss from, or had firsthand
exposure to, terrorist acts or military actions will be much more vulnerable. Also
at greater risk are children whose parents are in the military or in active duty in
the reserve forces, and those children whose parents are involved in emergency
response or public safety.
All children, however, are likely to be affected in some way by war or terrorism
involving our country. For many, the guidance of caring adults will make the
difference between being overwhelmed and developing life-long emotional and
psychological coping skills. Caretakers can help restore children’s sense of security
by modeling calm and in-control behaviour. It is crucial to provide opportunity for
children to discuss their concerns and to help them separate real from imagined
38 fears. It is also important to limit exposure to media coverage of violence.
Emotional Responses Children in Vulnerable
Situations
Emotional responses vary in nature and severity from child to child. Nonetheless,
there are some similarities in how children (and adults) feel when their lives are
impacted by war or the threat of war:
 Fear: Fear may be the predominant reaction—fear for the safety of those
in the military as well as fear for their own safety. Children’s fantasies of war
may include a mental picture of a bomb being dropped on their home. While
their worries are probably exaggerated, they are often based on real images
of terrorist attacks or war scenes. When children hear rumours at school and
pick up bits of information from television, their imaginations may run wild.
They may think the worst, however unrealistic it may be.
 Loss of control: Lack of control can be overwhelming and confusing.
These feelings are experienced by most people in the immediate aftermath
of the terrorist attacks. Children may grasp at any control that they have,
including refusing to cooperate, go to school, part with favorite toys, or leave
their parents.
 Anger: Anger is a common reaction. Unfortunately, anger is often expressed
at those to whom children are closest. Children may direct anger toward
classmates and neighbours because they can’t express their anger toward
terrorists or countries with whom we are at war. Some children may show
anger toward parents who are in the military, even to the extent that they do
not want to write letters. Knowing that those who are involved in the military
are volunteers only helps to justify anger. Patriotism and duty are abstract
concepts, especially for younger children who are experiencing the concrete
reality of separation from a loved one.
 Loss of stability: War or military deployment interrupts routines. It is
unsettling. Children can feel insecure when their usual schedules and activities
are disrupted, increasing their level of stress and need for reassurance.
 Isolation: Children who have a family member in the military, but who don’t
live near a military base, may feel isolated. Children of reserve members
called to active duty may not know others in the same situation. Such children
may feel jealous of friends’ undisturbed families and may strike out at signs
of normalcy around them. Another group of children who may feel isolated
are dependents of military families who have accompanied a remaining parent
back to a hometown or who are staying with relatives while both parents are
gone. Not only do these children experience separation from parents, but
they also experience the loss of familiar faces and surroundings.
 Confusion: This can occur at two levels. First, children may feel confused
about terrorist attacks and war, what further dangers might arise, and when
the violence will stop. Second, children may have trouble understanding the
difference between violence as entertainment and the real events taking place
on the news. Some of the modern media violence is unnervingly real.
Youngsters may have difficulty separating reality from fantasy, cartoon heroes
and villains from the government soldiers and real terrorists. Separating the
realities of war from media fantasy may require adult help.
39
Socio-Developmental Intervention for Children in Such Situations
Perspectives
Acknowledge children’s feelings:
 Try to recognize the feelings underlying children’s actions and put them into
words. Say something like, “I can see you are feeling really scared about
this,” or “It is hard to think that your dad had to go so far away to help our
country, ” or “I know it will feel great when your mom comes home.”
 Sometimes children may voice concern about what will happen to them if a
parent does not return. If this occurs, try saying, “You will be well taken care
of. You won’t be alone. Let me tell you our plan.”
 At times when your children or students are most upset, don’t deny the
seriousness of the situation. Saying to children, “Don’t cry, everything will be
okay,” does not reflect how the child feels and does not make them feel
better. Nevertheless, don’t forget to express hope and faith that things will
be okay.
 Always be honest with children. Share your fears and concerns while
reassuring them that responsible adults are in charge.
 Employment as Child Soldiers
The number of conflicts worldwide may be on a decline but new forms of
warfare, often involving warlords, mean that children and youth are frequently
used as soldiers. Among the various reasons of why children become
combatants are: security, protection, food, boredom, humiliation, frustration,
intimidation, promises of education and employment or to avenge the deaths
of family members.
For children recruited for combat, who have missed out on schooling,
education can serve as a vital component in their rehabilitation and reintegration
into society. Demobilized child combatants require education programmes
which take into account their specific experiences of war and prepare them
for peace and reconciliation. Some may wish to resume formal education,
while others may need vocational and skills training. Significant numbers of
girls are involved in armed conflicts but few are included in demobilization
programmes, perhaps because of the stigma of sexual abuse which is often
prevalent in conflict.
Some areas of interventions for child soldiers:
 Programmes and activities tailored to the specific needs of child soldiers.
 Education combined with psychosocial support and income generation
assistance such as apprenticeships and loans for micro-enterprise.
 Education programmes combined with initiatives to stop rejoining as child
soldiers.
 Training and support at all levels for lasting reintegration and follow-up studies
carried out on ex-soldiers. Visits or monetary/material incentives to ex-soldiers
and their families are often essential to keep them in the reintegration
programme.
 Education programmes including curricula and teaching methodologies adapted
or created to take into account the psychological state of children with war
40 experiences.
3.5 THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF CHILD Situations
VULNERABILITY
Even an ordinary child depends on the support and supervision of caring adults.
A child in a poor household or a household with poor social network is even
more vulnerable. The child may lose protection and/or may gradually be forced
to support him/her self. A shock to the household worsens the situation (parental
death, disease, addiction; drought, devaluation, conflict). Requisite interventions
need to be made to help children in vulnerable situations, and present the down
ward spiral as a vicious cycle.
3.6 REHABILITATION VS. PREVENTION

 Rehabilitating a former street child, child delinquent, child soldier or child
prostitute is difficult and costly.
 If the child is addicted to substance abuse, the cost multiplies.
 But leaving such children unassisted is a moral dilemma, and can also pose
serious crime and public health risks to community and society.
 Prevention is believed to be much more cost effective than rehabilitation but

it will need to target a larger group of children who are at risk of falling into
the worst outcome categories.
 Prevention entails the setting up of wholesome and developmental

programmes and services that will enable children to grow wholly and
develop fully. It includes programmes and services that enhance family life,
and promote effective and responsible parenthood.
The following programmes are followed in many countries for both preventing and
rehabilitating purpose:
 Early Childhood Development Services: Child and family focused

services designed to build on and improve existing health, nutrition, and
early education services for disadvantaged children 0-6 years old are
vital. In India, the country wide Integrated Child Development Services
(ICDS) programme performs this function.
 Day Care Service for Children: This is the provision of supplementary

parental care to 0 to 5 year old children of parents who find it difficult
to fully take care of their children during part of the day because of
work or some other reason. It is important for day care services to be
of high quality.
 Pre-Marriage and Marriage Counselling: Such counselling prepares about

to be married couples and spouses to understand their roles and
obligations as couples and parents, among others.
 Parent workshops: Such workshops are important for providing and

expanding the knowledge and skills of parents and caregivers on
parenting to be able to respond to parental duties and responsibilities
in the areas of early childhood development, behaviour management of
younger and older children, husband-wife relationships, prevention of 41
Socio-Developmental child abuse, healthcare and other challenges of parenting. It assists
Perspectives parents and parent substitutes to develop and strengthen their knowledge
and skills so that they can assume a major educational role in their
child’s growth and development.
 Early Detection and Intervention - Programmes and services under this

category consist of interventions meant to detect abuse/maltreatment
and protect the child and his/her parents, usually the mother, from harm
and further trauma. It tries to reduce the frequency, intensity and severity
of early signs of abuse or maltreatment through early case finding and
immediate responses.
 Child Protective Behaviour Programme - This is a safety programme

carried out in various settings especially schools, addressing issues
relating to safety including abuse of children, adolescents and adults. It
has the following objectives:
 Provide simple practical skills and strategies to keep children safe;
 Assist children in identifying and coping with situations where they

may be unsafe;
 Encourage children to recognize early warning signs, i.e. bodily

responses/signals;
 Encourage children to further develop communication, problem solving

and relationship skills;
 Assist children to increase the self protective skills against forms of

abuse and assault;
 Encourage children to recognize their early warning signs to network

with a trusted adult and to report their concern.
 Counselling - This intervention focusses on assisting the clients overcome

their problems and enables them to move on and pursue activities that
will restore their socio-economic functioning. Counselling is carried out
either individually or in groups.
 Family therapy - Family therapy is a special form of psychotherapy that

focuses on changes within a family, and recognizes that family
relationships have an impact on the feelings, behaviour and psychological
adjustment of every family member. Instead of meeting with one individual,
all or most family members are involved in the therapy process. The
family therapy sessions will focus on all family members having input
into identifying problems and resolving them. Children are given support
in voicing their issues to parents, and siblings are allowed to express
opinions. Frequently, the family therapy sessions result in problems being
identified in the other family members, rather than focussing only on the
behaviour of one child. This not only helps the family make needed
changes, it is essential in helping the identified problem-child rebuild
self-esteem.
42
Check Your Progress Exercise 1 Situations
provided.
1. Separation of parents has an effect on:
a) Children of all age groups
b) Infants only
c) Adolescents only
d) Pre-schoolers only
2. If a child is adopted it affects:
a) His physical health more
b) His mental health more
c) Both equally
d) Has no effect on either
3. If a child is adopted early:
a) It increases the risk of mental health disorders
b) It decreases the risk of mental health disorders
c) It has no effect on his mental health
d) It only affects his physical health
4. When dealing with children who have faced war or terrorism, one should:
a) Recognize their inner feelings
b) Try to deny the seriousness of the situation
c) Not let them voice their concern as it may make the situation worse
d) Try to ignore their fear in order to supress it
5. When children confuse between real violence and violence in movies, one
should:
a) Let them be confused so as to avoid the seriousness of real violence
b) Clear their confusion
c) Not interfere with their ideas
d) Distract them and avoid the topic
6. A sexually abused child is likely to:
a) Have more physical problems
b) Have more mental health problems
43
Socio-Developmental c) Have equal amount of physical and mental health problem
Perspectives
d) Not have either
7. It is most likely that sexually abused children would:
a) Have false beliefs about self
b) Not have false beliefs about self
c) Be able to ignore false beliefs
8. Victims of child sexual abuse would tend to:
a) Adopt an attitude of self-protection
b) Completely accept the harsh reality
c) Not talk about it at all
d) Not have an attitude of self-protection
3.7 LET US SUM UP

 A judgement about child vulnerability is based on the capacity for self-
protection.
 Self-protection refers to being able to demonstrate behaviour that 1) results
in defending oneself against threats of safety and 2) results in successfully
meeting one’s own basic (safety) needs.
 Child vulnerability is not based on age alone.
 There are many characteristics of older children that make them vulnerable
to threats to safety.
 As a safety assessment concern, a child’s vulnerability informs us about the
predisposition for suffering more serious injury.
 As a safety planning issue, a child’s vulnerability helps inform us about what
must be done to manage threats and assure protection.

EXERCISES
1. a)
2. b)
3. b)
4. a)
5. b)
6. b)
7. a)
8. a)
44
3.9 UNIT END QUESTIONS Situations
1. Define the term “vulnerability” and explain different factors that need to be
known to assess a child’s vulnerability.
2. How do you think the adopted child is vulnerable for developing psychological
problems? Explain.

http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/refugees.aspx#
http://helid.digicollection.org/en/d/Jh0223e/7.html
http://pdm.medicine.wisc.edu/Volume_19/issue_1/wooding.pdf
http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/the_adopted_child
http://www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdf/RS_No69/No69_13VE_Yangco.pdf
http://www.nonstatusindian.com/resources/caselaw/nsi.html
http://www.k-state.edu/counseling/topics/relationships/dysfunc.html
ACHENBACH, T.M., & EDELBROCK, C.S. (1983). Manual for the Child
Behavior Checklist and
Revised Child Behavior Profile. Burlington: University of Vermont Department
of Psychiatry.
BALDWIN, A.L., BALDWIN, C.P., & COLE, R. (1990). Stress-resistant families
and stress resistant
Children. In J. ROLF, A.S. MASTEN, D. CICCHETTI, K. NUECHTERLEIN,
& S. WEINTRAUB (Eds.),
45
Socio-Developmental
Perspectives UNIT 4 ASSESSMENT OF CHILD/
ADOLESCENT
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
Structure
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Psychological Assessment
4.3 Types of Psychological Assessment
4.3.1 Cognitive Functions
4.3.2 Tests of Intelligence
4.3.3 Attention and Concentration Tests
4.3.4 Memory Tests
4.3.5 Perceptual Motor Functions
4.3.6 Psychopathology Questionnaires and Screening Instruments
4.3.7 Projective Techniques
4.4 Selection of Test and Interpretation of the Findings

4.4.1 Ethics in Psychological Testing
4.4.2 Training in Psycho Diagnostics
4.5 Let Us Sum Up
4.1 INTRODUCTION
Psychological assessment implies the observation of a sample of an individual’s
behaviour or evaluation of his/her capacities in a wide variety of domains. It
is invariably an important and significant component of a comprehensive
psychiatric evaluation which is obtained through standardized techniques which
are analysed, scored and interpreted leading to quantitative and/or qualitative
description of some aspects of behaviour or mental function. In children and
adolescents the most important areas for assessment include intellectual ability,
visuomotor coordination, adaptive behaviour, screening assessment for
psychopathology. The Unit focuses on these aspects.
Objectives
 Define what is psychological assessment;
 Understand its need and scope in the Indian setting;
 Illustrate the different types of psychological assessments, their description
and procedures; and
 Learn the relationship between childhood psychopathology, its
manifestation and need for psychological assessment.
46
Assessment of Child
4.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT Psychopathology
4.2.1 Need and Scope of Psychological Assessment

Psychological assessment is invariably an important and significant component
of a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. It is administered when there are
problems with diagnoses, understanding the psychological correlates of a
psychiatric or behavioural problem as well as for better management. There
are several clinical questions that are addressed to the clinical psychologist
who is part of the multidisciplinary team treating children and adolescents for
a better understanding of their problems and for making appropriate treatment
decisions.
Psychological assessment is generally directed at the specific question that is

posed to the psychologistit could be wide ranging and include assessment
of child’s developmental level, intellectual ability; providing assistance in
diagnosis and differential diagnosis in cases with evidence of anxiety, depression
or psychosis and understanding psychological conflicts, particularly in situations
where a child is not articulate enough in the interview setting; decision on
the type and technique of psychotherapy suitable for the child; and to predict
the course and outcome of therapy. Psychological testing can be most helpful
when a clear and specific question is referred to the psychologist. Access to
the clinical history of a case is essential for the psychologist in order to
interpret the test findings. Many a times after going over the clinical history
of a case, the psychologist can help formulate the question for referral.
Psychometry, which is also method for measuring mental capacities and

processes is a more narrowly defined term that deals primarily with issues of
technical and methodological outputs of measurement, such as reliability,
validity and standardization whereas psychological testing or assessment is a
broader term that deals with clinical questions.
4.3 TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

Assessment tests can be variously classified according to the type of functions
involved and the purpose for which they are required, as also the age,
education, ability levels and other socio-demographic and clinical characteristics
of the sample and the population served. For convenience, the tests are
classified here according to types of functions involved.
4.3.1 Cognitive Functions

Cognitive functions broadly include several abilities such as intelligence,
attention and concentration, memory, abstraction, judgement and perceptual-
motor functions. There are separate methods of measuring each of these
functions. Children differ in their abilities to learn, form concepts and benefit
from past experiences, and in their capacity to adjust in novel situations.
These cognitive functions are markedly affected in certain psychiatric disorders
of children like learning diabilities, hyperactivity, brain damage, mental
retardation etc.
47
Socio-Developmental 4.3.2 Tests of Intelligence
Perspectives
Intelligence is a global term that denotes the relative capacity of the child to
think rationally, act purposefully and deal effectively with the environment
(Weschler, 1981). It grows with age up to a certain level (say 14-16 years)
after which it remains more or less constant and declines in old age. This
age related growth and decline of intelligence varies in its rate for different
abilities, as also in children  it is faster for the very bright and slow for dull
children. It also declines in brain damage due to certain disease conditions
or accidents and does not develop fully where there is deprivation.
Intelligence is assessed and described in terms of IQ, which is a ratio between
the mental (developmental age) and chronological age of the child. This ratio
(mental age over chronological age ) is multiplied by 100 to remove the
fraction.
The following are some of the commonly used intelligence tests in India. All
these tests are standardized, published and extensively used. Details about
administration, scoring and interpretation of these tests can be obtained from
the test manuals which are available with the respective publishers.
 Gessels Drawing Tests (Bakwin and Bakwin, 1960; Verma et al., 1942)
 Developmental Screening Test (Bharatraj, 1983)
 Vineland Social Maturity Scale (Doll, 1965; Indian adaptation by Malin,

1942)
 Bhatia’s Battery of Performance Tests of Intelligence (Bhatia, 1955;

Murthy, 1966)
 Coloured Progressive Matrices (Ravens, 1965)
 Senguin Form Board Test (Indian norms by Verma et al., 1980)
 Draw a Man scale (Indian adaptation by Pathak, 1984)
 Malin’s Intelligence Scale for Indian Children (Malin, 1969)
 Standford Binet Test (Indian Adaptation by Kulshreshtha, 1941)
 Wechsler’s Intelligence Scale for Children- Revised (Wechsler, 1944)
 Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K- ABC) (Kaufman and

Kaufman, 1983)
 Gessels Drawing Test (GDT)
Gessel’s studies on drawings of children by copying/imitation suggested that

these geometrical shapes and forms can be used as rough, simple, and
reasonably accurate measures of maturation and intelligence in children, e.g.,
an average child of 11 months could imitate vertical strokes, at the age of
2 could copy vertical and circular strokes, at the age of 3 could copy a circle,
at the age of 4 could copy a cross, etc. (Bakwin and Bakwin 1960; Verma
et al., 1942). It showed highly significant correlations with VSMS and Senguin
Form Board Tests.
48
 Developmental Screening Test (DST) Assessment of Child
Psychopathology
Based on the developmental milestones especially that of language and speech
development, it is an age scale, starting from birth to 15+ years; though it
seems more valid for children below 10 years of age. It provides Mental
(developmental) age and a single IQ (DQ>) score, which can be read directly
from a dice provided with the manual. Items vary from 3 to 4 for each age:
3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 months thereafter at 2 to 13 and 15+ years.
 Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS)
This scale consists of 89 items, arranged in age scales from birth to age 12
at yearly intervals and then from age 12 to 15. The items mostly cover social
milestones, hence the obtained age is called social age (SA) and the quotient
as social quotient (SQ) to differentiate it from MA and IQ. The scale was
adapted in Nagpur by Malin (1942) and gives a developmental profile in
different areas like self help, self direction, communication, locomotion and
socialization.
 Bhatia’s Battery of Performance Tests of Intelligence (BBPT)
This test is mainly meant for children between 11 and 16 years and the test
consists of 5 subtests: Block Design, Pass-Along, Pattern Drawing, Digit
Span (letter span for illiterates) and Picture Construction.
The first two are borrowed from Alexander’s Battery of Performance Test.
Special norms are available for literate and illiterate children. Age wise norms
(at 6 monthy intervals) are provided. For calculating IQs all 5 subtests have
to be used and norms are given for illiterates seperately from the raw score.
For calculating PQs only 4 subtests (minus Digit Span) are used and raw
scores are first converted into weighted scores, which when added can be
read from accompanying tables but this is only available for the literate
groups. A shorter version of the scale is available where only the first two
subtests (Block Design and Pass Along) are used.
 Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM)
This test measures the clarity of perception and thinking in children and
consists of the general factor (g) of intelligence and is culturally fair. The
CPM has 36 items which are arranged in 3 sets, of A, AB and B. Each set
progresses from the most easy to the most difficult tests: for task completion,
comparision and reasoning by anlogy. It is a non verbal, non performance
test of intelligence, and has no time limit. It can be self administered. Norms
are provided for children of 5 to 11 years of age. The scores can be converted
into comparable scores of the larger 5 set version standard progressive matrices
that has IQ equivalents (Burkes 1942).
 Senguin Form Board Test (SFB Test)
This performance test of practical ability consists of 10 blocks of geometrical
shapes, which have to be inserted into their respective slots in the board with
preferred hand. The test has a time limit. Norms start with the children who
are 3 and a half years of age and as the child grows older the time taken for
completing the test decreases. From the conversion table one can calculate
the mental age of the child, which can be converted into classical IQ. It is 49
Socio-Developmental an age reliable and valid test for children upto 11 years of age, although
Perspectives norms are also given for higher age groups.
 Draw a Man Test (DAM Test)
Goodenough’s Draw a Man technique has been well adapted in India by
Phatak (1984) in Baroda providing age-wise norms between 3 to 16 years;
through of age. It is an age scale with no time limit. The instructions are easy
to follow and scoring is based on different body parts, their correct , motor
coordination etc. (Verma, 1996).
 Malin’s Intelligence Scale for Indian Children (MISIC)
This test has 11 scales, 6 verbal and 5 performance scales (information,
comprehension, arithmetic, similarities, vocabulary and digit span for verbal
and picture completion, block design, object assembly, codes and mazes for
performance scales). Norms are provided for children of 6 to 15 years of
age. Each of the 11 subtests can be directly converted into what Malin
describes as Test Quotients, whereas the IQ is a mean of these.
 Stanford Binet Test
There are a number of revisions of the Binet-Simon test. Its third revision has
been translated in Hindi by Kulshreshtha (1941). The age scale starts from
2 year olds and goes upto adults with a mixture of items at each level. An
overall IQ is calculated that is based on the mental age.
 Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R)
This is a comprehensive test of intelligence applicable to children from 6-14
years of age, that gives separate scores for verbal and performance IQ tests,
as well as full scale IQ. There are 12 subtests each of which measures a
special skill or ability. This is a widely used and extensively researched test.
Intelligence defined as the broad ability to understand and cope with the
world forms the basis for this test.
 Kaufmans Assessment Battery for Children
This is a relatively new test that measures cognitive abilities in children aged
2 ½ and 12 ½ years. The two broad domains of achievement and mental
processing are measured through the Achievement Scale and Mental Processing
Scale. These have 10 subtests, which provide a profile of abilities. The Mental
Processing Scale is equivalent to the WISC-R’s full scale IQ and the
Achievement Scale tests acquired knowledge in a child. If a child scores high
in a mental processing scale, it would indicate a high intellectual capacity,
which if coupled with lower score in Achievement Scale will point towards
the possibility of a specific learning disability.
4.3.3 Attention and Concentration Tests

Tests to measure levels of attention and concentration in a child include a
variety of tasks:
 The Digit Span Test
This is a frequently used test for assessing attention and concentration in
children. It tests their ability to repeat maximum number of digits of a set of
50 numbers after its single presentation. As the age of the individual tested
advances, the total number of digits forward and backward, increases. Digits Assessment of Child
Psychopathology
may be substituted by alphabets for rural children.
 The Colour Cancellation Test
From a standard page of numerous dots varying colours, the child is asked
to cancel two specific colours. The score is calculated by the maximum
number of correctly cancelled colours minus the incorrect ones.
 Eysenck’s Digit Test of Concentration
It consists of repeating in the same order the last four digits of the eight
series of varying numbers of digits presented  one score is given for each
correct response in its proper place.
 The Symbol Substitution Test
In this test each digit is assigned a different symbol. There is practice session
with a limited set of numbers in a fixed period, say 60 seconds. The scoring
is done in the same manner as in the colour cancellation test.
 Pencil Tapping Test
The scoring of this test is based on the number of pencil taps by a child on
a standard sheet of paper, within a standard time of 30 seconds. The subject
is asked to tap as quickly as possible.
 Reaction Time
Simple reaction time should be noted while administering any test.
Alternatively, an apparatus is available to measure simple, discriminate reaction
time. Though gross retardation is visible to the naked eye, its milder form
and the degree of retardation can only be measured with the help of these
psychological tests.
4.3.4 Memory Tests
There is as yet no published test to specifically and comprehensively measure
memory functions in children. But currently at the postgraduate Institute of
Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh and the National Institute of
Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, work is in progress to develop
and standardize a battery of tests for memory functions in children, similar
to the test batteries for adults like PGI Memory Scale, Wechsler Memory
Scale, and the Boston Memory Scale. In children memory is tested as a part
of intelligence tests for Indian Children, and Bhatia’s Battery for Performance
Test. The norms for these subtests are sometimes used to assess memory
functions in children, e.g. memory for recent events, remote events, memory
for new associations, recognizing sentences and words etc. These are also
used with adolescents. However, there is a need for development of specific
tests for memory testing in children. Assessment of various processes involved
in memory functions such as attention, concentration, registration, retention,
recall of various types of information involving varied inputs like auditory,
visual, perceptual motor etc. will help considerably in understanding the
deficits occurring in information processing and specific learning disabilities.
Variations in ability to memorize different types of information will help in
neuro-psychological assessments.
51
Socio-Developmental 4.3.5 Perceptual Motor Functions Tests
Perspectives
 Bender Gestalt Test: Children with brain damage often show disturbances
of perceptuo-motor functions for which the Bender Gestalt Test is frequently
used. The test provides nine cards with geometrical designs. The child is first
asked to copy and later to reproduce these from memory. Norms are available
for children from several sources (Bender, 1938; Bhargava and Sandhu 1984;
Koppitz, 1964). These tests are also used to find out if a child is ready for
school and to assess learning disturbances (Koppitz 1964).
 Benton Visual Retention Test (Benton, 1944): The test consists of 10
cards with geometrical designs which are shown to children aged 8 years or
above for 10 seconds, after which they are asked to draw the design from
memory. Scoring is done on the basis of number of errors occurred.
4.3.6 Psychopathology Questionnaires & Screening

Instruments
Psychiatric diagnosis is almost entirely dependent on psychiatric interview,
but to avoid difficulties in interviewing and to avoid biases, methods of
interviewing have become more and more structured and standardized. In
order to elicit and document psychopathology in the most reliable manner,
it is necessary that the concern is clearly defined and the guidelines for
eliciting are clearly laid down. In practice, structured assessment of
psychopathology can be used for: (i) differentiating children with psychiatric
disorder from those who are normal; (ii) quantifying the severity of disorder;
(iii) determining the nature or type of disorder; or (iv) for diagnosing a
particular or several diagnostic categories that are intended. Characteristics
of the instruments would vary according to intended purposes. Structured
instruments are also available to measure other specific areas such as level
of functioning, degree of disability, life events and stress, temperament, coping,
parental handling etc.
 Rutter’s A and B Scales: Rutter’s A scale for completion by parents
(Rutter et al., 1940) and Rutter’s B scale for completion by teachers (Rutter,
1964), extensively used for over three decades, have been the earliest screening
tests devised for epidemiological studies on children. However, these tests
are best used as screening instrument for psychopathology and once indicator/
indicators are found, further tests to assess psychopathology may be required
to be used.
 Childhood Behaviour Checklist (CBCL)- The CBCL (Achenbach and
Edelbrock, 1983, 1991) is a screening cum diagnostic instrument applicable
to children of age 4-18 years which is widely used the world over. It provides
information through two scales: the behavioural problems scale, and the
social competence scale. Its administering time is about 20-25 minutes and
it is found to be highly reliable. There are separate versions for teachers and
for adolescents aged 11-18 years known as Youth-Self Report. Another version
exists for preschool children aged 2-3 years. The higher order factor analysis
by CBCL has yielded two broad syndromes, ‘externalizing’ and ‘internalizing’
disorders. Norms are available for separate age and sex groups.
 The Strengths and Difficulties Questionaire (SDQ)- The SDQ (Goodman,
1994) is a new behavioural screening questionnaire, designed to assess the
52
behaviour, emotions and relationships in children of age 4-16 years. It is a Assessment of Child
Psychopathology
brief questionnaire (25 items) that can be completed by parents or teachers
in five minutes. There is a self report version of the SDQ for children aged
11-16 years. It measures both strengths as well as difficulties in children and
yields scores on five scales, namely emotional symptoms, conduct problems,
inattention-hyperactivity, peer problem and prosocial behaviour; and total
difficulties score. It is standardized.
 Developmental Psychopathology Checklist (DPCL): The DPCL (Kapur
et al, 1995) is a checklist used to assess childhood psychopathology in Indian
clinical settings which consists of the following seven clusters that: includes
hyperkinesis, autism, conduct disorder, learning disorder, hysteria, emotion
disorder and psychoses. The checklist with 124 items, has satisfactory inter
rater reliability and validity.
 Childhood Psychopathology Measurement Schedule (CPMS): CPMS
(Malhotra et al, 1988) is an adaptation of CBCL especially meant for use on
Indian population. It has been systematically standardized, studied and reported
in India, and has been used in numerous studies. CPMS can be used both as
a screening instrument in epidemiological studies for measuring
psychopathology and for arriving at eight factorially derived diagnosis. The
peak is applicable to children aged 4-14 years.
4.3.6 Projective Tests

According to psychoanalytic concept of projection, individuals have a tendency
to project their own drives, defenses, desires, and conflicts onto external
situations and stimuli. A projective test involves providing children with a
relatively unstructured stimulus to respond to, and the examiner analyses the
responses and interprets the meaning. These tests can be used to uncover
more of the child’s unconscious and, thus, provide an indication of the covert
or latent traits. It is more difficult to “fake” responses in a projective test,
but there is significant subjectivity in interpretation, and extensive training is
needed to use these instruments. Projective techniques in competent hands
do provide useful information but they do not provide answers for everything
and cannot be blamed for all the alleged pitfalls or limitations of the
psychometric approach to human behaviour. Judiciously used, they can play
a useful role in the personality assessment of children particularly as they
tend to play out their problems. Make believe play often helps children to
express their innermost motives, desires, wishes, fears as well as goals and
attitudes.
 Rorschach Inkblot Test: Developed by a Swiss psychiatrist, Herman
Rorschach, this inkblot test has 10 standardized cards. 5 of the cards (1, 1V,
V, V1 & VII) are achromatic and 5 are chromatic (II & III have red as
additional colour whereas VIII, IX and X are multicoloured cards). The test
is administered in a standardized way in which the above set of ink blots is
presented to the subject, who is asked to describe what they perceive. The
responses are scored for location (whole, detailed or white space responses),
determinants (form alone, colour, movement, shading and depth) and content
categories (Human, Animal, Anatomy, Plant, Fire, Cloud etc.) as well as
popular or original responses. There are also a number of scoring methods
with Indian norms. Interpretation of these responses reveal indicators of
psychopathology and personality problems. 53
Socio-Developmental  Children Apperception Test (Indian Adaptation by Uma Chaudhary):
Perspectives This test consists of ten animal pictures involved in activities such as eating,
sleeping alone, toilet training and playing competitive games. The subject is
required to narrate stories based on the animal pictures, describing them,
what they were thinking and doing, and what led to the activities that they
were performing; and what would happen at the end. Children project their
own fears, conflicts, wishes and problems when making these stories.
 Draw a Person Test: In this test the child is first asked to draw a person,
and then to draw figure of the opposite sex. The child is also asked to
describe the drawing in detail; their name, age, wishes, fears, thoughts etc.
The descriptions as well as the appearances of these figures are interpreted
as reflecting a child’s personalityfears, anxieties, conflicts, needs etc. Various
graphical characteristics indicate towards various signs of psychopathology
as well; e.g. emphasis on symmetry, buttons and pockets in the figures indicate
dependency in a child; depressed subjects draw extremely small figures; and
schizophrenics tend to draw mutilated body or internal anatomy as well.
 Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study (Child Form): Pareek and his
co-workers have adopted 24 pictures from this study to Indian conditions,
depicting frustration situations like: (a) A lady telling a child who is looking
at the cupboard ‘The last thing that I had, I’ve given to your brother. Now
nothing is left’, (b) One child telling another: ‘You are a fool’. The child’s
responses to these frustrations are classified as follows: Whether the aggression
is shown towards self, other significant family members, or harmless things;
the presence of sibling rivalry, appreciation of other people’s difficulties and
the degree to which such feelings are present or absent in the subject.
 House Tree Person Test: The HTP was developed by John N Buck in
1942. Client draws three objects: a house, a tree, a person on plain paper.
Administrator then uses a Post-Drawing Inquiry Checklist (specific questions)
to enable client to describe, define, and interpret the drawings. The test is
designed to aid the clinician in obtaining information regarding child’s
sensitivity, flexibility, conflicts, degree of personality integration and interaction
with the environment.
 Play Observation: Through an analysis of the child’s behaviour, an attempt
is made to understand why he/she has behavioural problems. The way the
child plays with some of the play materials, toys, clays, colours, objects etc.,
reflects his attitude towards them. Sometimes aggression is manifested towards
certain toys, at times the child may repeatedly touch all his toys for brief
periods of time, sometimes the child may prefer one type of play situation
and/or talk while playing with certain toys  all these responses reflect the
child’s world view, and his reaction to the world, thus providing useful data
on the subject.
4.4 SELECTION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST &

COMMUNICATION OF RESULTS
Psycho-Diagnostic refers to the total process of psychological evaluation
(with the help of standardized tests) of a person as a whole with diagnostic,
prognostic and therapeutic implications (for qualitative and quantitative, and
positive and negative mental health purposes). The purpose of a referral in
54
clinical practice may be broad or narrow depending upon the reason for it. Assessment of Child
Psychopathology
Psycho-diagnostic tools have their uses, merits and limitations. While selecting
a test one has to look at its reliability and validity; and whether it has been
properly standardized on relevant local norms.
4.4.1 Ethics in Testing

Each person is unique in some ways and has a right to be treated as such.
A person’s right to refuse to undergo testing, confidentiality of test results,
right to know one’s own results etc. should be respected.
4.4.2 Training in Psycho-Diagnostics

Due to the complexity in the standardized administration of some tests and
dangers of misinterpretation of test scores, the need for intensive training in
psychological assessment has often been emphasized for valid reasons. Test
administration is an art that has to be learnt and cultivated. Even
communication of test results need to be learnt  what to tell, when to tell
or how to report it. Although the information on a child’s condition should
not be withheld, the language, the tone, the manner in which unpleseant facts
have to be communicated is a skill that has to be learned.
4.5 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, we have learnt the following:
 Need and scope of psychological assessment for children
 Various types of psychological assessment:
 Tests for assessing Intelligence
 Tests to assess the Cognitive Functioning
 Tests to assess Attention & Concentration
 Tests to assess Memory
 Tests to assess Perceptual Motor Functions
 Tests to assess Psychopathology & Screening Instruments
 Projective Techniques
 How to choose a test and convey its findings
 Ethics in Testing
 Need for Training in Psycho-Diagnostics
4.6 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1) What is psychological assessment?
2) Why do we need psychological assessment for children and how is it
different from that for adults?
3) What are various verbal and performance tests for children?
55
Socio-Developmental 4) Which tests can be used to assess memory functions in Indian children?
Perspectives
5) What is the rationale for using screening instruments during the assessment
of psychopathology in children?
6) Do you think it is important to adapt and standardize a foreign test to
Indian norms and setting? If yes, why?
7) What are the various projective tests available for children?
8) If a child is shy or resistant, which test will you begin with to break the
ice and also gather some information and why?
9) Why is formal training is important before administering psycho-
diagnostics?

Hirisave, U., Oomen, A., & Kapur, M. (2006) Psychological Assessment of
Children in Clinical Setting (2nd Ed.) Publication No.48, NIMHANS,
Bangalore.
Malhotra, S. (2002). Child Psychiatry in India: An approach to Assessment
and Management of Childhood Psychiatric Disorders (2nd Ed.) Macmillian
India Ltd.
56
MCFTE-002 CHILD AND ADOLESCENT
COUNSELLING AND FAMILY
THERAPY
OPTIONAL PAPER 2
Block 1 : Socio-Developmental Perspectives

Unit 1 : Family, School and Peer Group as Social Systems
Unit 2 : Impact of Mass Media
Unit 3 : Children in Vulnerable Situations
Unit 4 : Assessment of Child/Adolescent Psychopathology
Block 2 : Interventions
Unit 5 : Life Skills Training
Unit 6 : Play Therapy
Unit 7 : Training Parents of Children/Adolescents with Disabilities
Unit 8 : Counselling for Abuse and Trauma in Childhood
Unit 9 : Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Childhood/Adolescent Disorders
Manual for Supervised Practicum (MCFTE-005)

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MCFTE-002

Child and Adolescent

Prof. Shagufa Kapadia Prof. Manju Mehta Prof. Ahalya Raghuram

Dr. Rajesh Sagar Prof. Rajni Dhingra Prof. T.B. Singh

Prof. Anisha Shah Prof. Sudha Chikkara Prof. Aruna Broota

Prof. Minhotti Phukan Mrs. Vandana Thapar Dr. Indu Kaura

Prof. Neerja Chadha Dr. Amiteshwar Ratra

Dr. Amiteshwar Ratra*

*Course editing by the programme coordinators involved content editing, language

GROUP AS SOCIAL SYSTEMS

1.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

1.10 Unit End Questions

1.11 Further Readings and References

1.2 INTERTWINING OF MICROSYSTEMS

1.3 FAMILY AS A PRIEMIER SOCIAL SYSTEM

 Emotional tone of the family: The warmth, attachment, expressions of

 Family interaction: The communication both verbal and non-verbal that

 Responsiveness: Appropriate and timely response to each other as well

 Expectations: From early childhood, parents make clear expectations from

 Family dynamics: It includes which part of the region, religion, culture

 Marital balance and parent-child relations: The marital bliss and

 Differential treatment of siblings: Differential treatment of siblings because

 Parental death, divorce or separation: Though we have clubbed these

 Influences of parental work status and work place: The economic

Check Your Progress Exercise 1

1.6 INFLUENCES AND SELF

1.7 LET US SUM UP

1.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1.10 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1.11 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES

2.3 Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents

2.4 Strategies to Regulate Effects of Media

2.2 SOURCES OF MEDIA

2.3 EFFECTS OF MEDIA ON CHILDREN AND

2.3.1 Effects on Physical Health

Listening to the radio or television on loud volume or excessive exposure to loud

While watching television or computers, children and adolescents may lead to

 Focus on Physical Fitness

2.3.2 Effects on Psychological Functioning

It refers to any act resulting in physical or emotional harm to self or another. It

 Body Image Concerns

It refers to how children and adolescents perceive their appearances. Due to

 Faulty Coping Styles

2.3.3 Effects on Social Functioning

They reflect a prejudiced way to perceive certain groups of people in society.

2.4 STRATEGIES TO REGULATE EFFECTS OF

2.5 LET US SUM UP

2.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

2.8 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES

3.3 IMPORTANCE OF RESILIENCE

3.4 DEALING WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF

 Preschool age children may attribute parental separation to something

 Adolescents are in the process of becoming independent, dealing with

Regardless of the source of dysfunction, children living in such circumstances do

 Get help – In most dysfunctional families, children tend to learn to doubt

 Learn to identify and express emotions – Growing up in a dysfunctional

 Allowing oneself to feel angry about what happened – Forgiveness is a

Frequently, children of dysfunctional families continue to seek approval and

 Practice taking good care of yourself – Frequently, survivors of