Background of the Problem
In spite
of the soaring violence rates against the women as well as the recent
consideration to both the physical and emotional effects of this abuse, till
recently has fairly little attention been given to the unnoticed victims-
children. According to the United States Department of Justice (1998),
nearly half of the women who are domestic violence victims reside in households
with children who are under 12 (Children’s Exposure to Domestic Violence, 2006,
p.8). It is, therefore, significant to assess the effects of the exposure of
these actions to children in terms of depression and violence. After many years
of research, there has been accruing considerable proof proposing that
individuals with mental disorders are considerably have more tendency to engage
in violent behaviors in comparison to those who are without mental disorders.
Statement of the Problem
There is
a general agreement that severe mental disorder increases the risk of violence
among people (Dorn, Volavka & Johnson, 2011). Scientists are not as much
interested in the happening of inaccessible violent acts amongst those who are
a mental ill, as well as more concerned on whether children who are mentally
ill do violent acts with superior frequency or seriousness as compared to the
non-mentally ill children. Consequently, the subject of whether the children of
being violent are fundamental to the scientific discussion.
Purpose of the Study
The
objective will be to observe whether there is a causal relationship between
mental disorders or depression and violence among the children who portrayed
violent behaviors.
Theoretical Framework
This
study will assess the relationship of mental disorder as well as violence by
addressing the following questions: Are mentally ill children violent? Are
children with mental disorders at augmented threat of violence? Is the public
at any risk? Mental disorders are not essential or adequate bases of violence.
The main determinants of violent behavior persist to be socio-demographic as
well as economic aspects.
The abuse
of the substance is the most important determinant of violence plus this is
accurate whether synchronized mental disorder or not. As a result, timely
identification and handling of substance abuse troubles and better
concentration to the analysis and supervision of simultaneous substance abuse
disorders amongst acutely mentally sick may be probable violence avoidance
strategies. Many people overstate both the strong point of the connection
between mental disorders and violence in addition to their individual risk.
Lastly, there is too little that is known in relation to the social appropriate
determinants of violent behavior, but research maintains the examination the
mentally sick are more frequently victims than doers of violence.
Research Hypotheses
1. Children exposed to an
abundance of negativity will seek approval or positivity through other means
and violent mental disorder.
2. Children who are put
down more than those who are not will act on that negativity and are more
likely to develop a violent mental disorder.
3. Children who commit acts
of disobedience to fulfill their needs with no reprimand will continuously do
it to fulfill their needs and are at a greater risk of developing a violent
mental disorder.
Chapter 2: Literature
Review
Researchers
have for a long time comprehended that many individuals who have mental
disorders do not have violent behaviors. According to Davis, M. (2007),
children appear to be the single group of people who are exposed to violence,
which is tolerable in the form of physical punishment. The harmful assault on
children by their parents or guardians makes them to be violent. The injustice
that children are exposed to as a result of the lack of consensus regarding the
acceptable punishment towards ought to be addressed. Adults who support the
smacking of children ought to be reminded children are beings with rights and
not merely objects. They are small as well as young people whose bodies proper
with respect to care, and whose minds are positively motivated by high regard
along with sensitive attention. Typically reliant and susceptible, their small
bodies as well as young minds are highly vulnerable to abuse by their elders.
The society places the responsibility of taking care and protecting of children
on their parents and guardians, and not to cause physical harm to them (Slade
& Tapping, 2008).
Conventionally
a form of chastising children, physical punishment is a measure that parents
have adopted exclusive of a critical questioning of its effectiveness from generations
to generations. There are instances that smacking of children turns out to be
injurious, which is a fundamental violation of their rights. In many cases,
smacking of children, usually, starts when they are young and may escalate in
terms of severity particularly to children who are involved to manage
(Ambikapathy, 2002). The physical punishing of children is endorsed in the
Australian common law as well as statute (Willow & Hyder, 2009). In
general, the physical smacking of a child is considered as being the right of
parents, who are given the discretion of hitting their children as they like.
Children are helpless and susceptible. Parents who are caring will hardly ever
cause harm to their children. Nevertheless, smacking put children at a high risk
of severe injury. The rights of children that are recognized in Articles 19(1)
as well as 37 of the UN Rights of Children are seldom applied. Smacking of
children, in its acute forms, is the same as criminal assault (Dixon,
2008).
Gaps in Current Research
i. There
are rather few studies on the adverse effects of smacking on children. More
studies ought to be done about the subject of smacking of children and its
ineffectiveness in instilling discipline to children.
Ii. The
current research on ban snacking of children does not adequately tackle the
effects of physical punishment on a child.
Chapter 3: Method
Research Design
The
Research will entail the application of quantitative research design in
determining whether the children who are mentally ill tend to have violent
behaviors. This is because this approach recognizes less the subjectivity of
the researcher in the study and places emphasis on dissimilar variables as well
as it can create a cause and effect in circumstances that are very controlled.
In addition, a quantitative research design is more reliable, objective and
makes the assumption that the sample represents the entire population. The
statistical approach of a quantitative research design can be used to make a
generalization of the findings.
While
conducting this research, it will be determined that the quantitative research
design to be adopted will circumvent approaching the school children
straightforwardly as it is hard to ask them questions. In this study, the
violent behaviors of the children who have mental illnesses will be determined
and recorded. The observer will then propose a different method of assessment
that is supposed to be used throughout the evaluation of mentally ill children.
This method of observation method is considered as a significant element when
children have to be evaluated in, for example, in the school setting; but it is
as well significant for data to be collected from other sources, e.g. from
tutors and parents. The availability of an observer may influence the chance
for observing the “natural†behavior in the school children as some of them
might react to the attendance of an outsider. Nonetheless, as the findings from
a study by Oliver et al. (2001) reveals, the observers have a higher capacity
to realize more issues with the behavior of the children as compared to the
teachers. In reviewing of the literature, electronic databases as well as
bibliographies were assessed regarding violence in children who have mental
disorders.
Participants
This research
design selected 40 children from a local school, who were reported to having a
high level of violence by administration. Seventy percent of these children
were boys, and thirty percent were girls. The ages of these children were
between eight and ten years with the average being nine years of age.
The study
chose to focus on children since they are in a developing stage where they face
many things both at the school and family level. The circumstances that
children are exposed to may make them to be become violent (Oliver et al.,
2001). Therefore, the involvement of children in the research can improve the
scope as well as findings of the study.
The
children were compensated for taking part in the research by being bought some
snack, as well as stationery such as paintings. However, the children were not
supposed to know that they are under observation as this would somehow
interfere with their behaviors.
The
recruitment of the group to be used in the study was carried out by the help of
a teacher who was the children’s instructor. This is because the teacher was
well acquainted with the violent behaviors that were occurring among the
pupils.
The
violent behaviors by these children will be recorded on a daily basis in their
school environment depending on acts of indiscipline they did during the first week,
whereas throughout the second week, children without mental disorders will be
observed for cases of violence. This data will then recorded down for the
purpose of analysis.
Instrumentation
During
the research, the observer will be given an observation form where he will
document the number of children who have mental disorders and have violent
behaviors. The type of data used will be purely by observation. There will be
two kinds of observation forms; one white in color whereas the other red. The white
one will be filled with data that is from children who are mentally ill and
have violent behaviors, whereas the red one will be filled with data from
children who do not have mental disorders placed in the same situations and
observing how differently or not different the children act. The observation
form will be in a quantitative context as the form was arranged in rows and
columns that recorded on different sides the violent behaviors of children who
have mental disorders. A different form will also provide every day, and the
data was combined at the end of week two.
Research Procedure
During the first week, the selected class which was told they were excused from
class, was provided with fluorescent lighting and a trained observer was at the
classroom, daily for one hour, and made an observation of the occurrences of
hyperkinetic activities by the students with ADHD and learning disabilities.
The observer then recorded the number hyperactivity that he noticed among the
class every day in a red observation form on a regular basis, for five days.
During the following week, all the fluorescent lighting that were in the
classroom were switched off and removed, and were then substituted with
incandescent lamps. A selection for the new full spectrum lighting was done and
then placed relatively as close as possible, with a similar candlepower as well
as contrast of illumination in the classrooms where fluorescent lights provided
lighting. The observer then repeated the observation process again and also
noted down the number of hyperactivity among children from the same class in a
blue observation form. There were no instructions given to the children and
were allowed to go about themselves doing small activities. Formal consent to
carry out the study was as well received from the school administration.
Data Analysis
After
observing the school children for a number of ten days on the group that has
mental disorders and that which has not, the data will be filled in the
following was observed.
Results and Findings (Email us and we will
provide)
Gender of the respondents |
|||||
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
|
Valid |
Male |
28 |
70.0 |
70.0 |
70.0 |
Female |
12 |
30.0 |
30.0 |
100.0 |
|
Total |
40 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
|
Extent to which mentally ill children are violent |
||
N |
Valid |
40 |
Missing |
0 |
|
Mean |
2.9250 |
|
Mode |
2.00 |
Extent to which mentally ill children are violent |
|||||
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
|
Valid |
Not likely |
6 |
15.0 |
15.0 |
15.0 |
Less likely |
11 |
27.5 |
27.5 |
42.5 |
|
Not sure |
8 |
20.0 |
20.0 |
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