The term “Blacks” include both African Americans and more modern African and Caribbean immigrants. 13.2% of the U.S. population, about 42 million people, recognize themselves as Black and another 1% self-identify as multiracial.
Frequently, due to issues of stigma and failure of admission Blacks are seen in crisis and, consequently, in the subtle concern settings. This may clarify why adult Blacks are 20% more likely to be describe as having serious emotional trouble than adult Whites. They are also more likely to have feelings of sadness, helplessness and worthlessness compare to adult Whites. And while Blacks are less likely than Whites to die from suicide as teenagers, Black teenagers are more likely to try suicide than are White teenagers.
Yet there’s an obvious reaction against the diagnosis of ADHD in children. Earlier this year, One likely explanation for the frequency of the diagnosis is that the data collection method is imperfect. The National Survey of Children’s Health is a phone survey and the figures on ADHD are collected on the basis of the answers to one question: “Has a doctor or other health care provider ever told you that had attention deficit disorder or attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, that is, ADD or ADHD?” The type of “other health care provider” isn’t established. ADHD experts say it is often a pediatrician who does not spend the kind of time it takes to make an accurate diagnosis. The gold standard of ADHD diagnosis is an analysis of questionnaires, like those Connors developed, filled out by parents, teachers and other people who interact with the child and observe classroom behavior. Each child can take hours to analyze.
How do we prevent misdiagnosis and overmedication? The successful treatment for children who are inattentive and/or disruptive (regardless of whether they have ADHD) is behavioral parent training. Many studies have demonstrated that such training is effective with children between 3 and 11 years. Less research has been conducted with children and adults, but cognitive-behavioral therapy strategies have been shown to be highly promising.
In Childhood development experiences during the first few years of life are extremely important.
Positive & negative experiences early in life have a significant impact on one’s life, potential, & self-esteem in later years. Attention from parents, teachers, siblings and authority figures has a lasting impact on self-concept.
Because childhood events are retained in your brain, poor performance in school, abusive or uncaring parents, or a serious childhood accident can be defining experiences in your life. Messages from siblings, teachers, and various authority figures can have a lasting impact on your self-concept. These childhood experiences can form the foundation for your level of self-esteem that emerges later in life. Adolescents ‘try out’ alternative identities as they explore self-worth, sexuality and independence Describe selves in terms of social relationships & personality traits. Ethnic identity: ethnicity, religion and culture also influence adolescent identity formation and SELF ESTEEM development. As adolescents become more self-conscious, they gradually develop a personal identity as unique individuals. That identity may be affected by their ethnic identity—the part of a person’s identity that is shaped by the racial, religious, or cultural group to which the person belongs. Adolescents who achieve a clear, positive ethnic identity exhibit higher self-esteem, greater optimism, and more social competence.
When you reach adulthood, you are greatly influenced by a time-reinforced self-concept that has been molded by people and events from all your past experiences. You have been bombarded over the years with positive and negative messages from your family, friends, teachers, supervisors, and the media. You may compare yourself to others, as was so common in adolescence, or you may focus on your own inner sense of self-worth. Emmett Miller, a noted authority on self-esteem, says that as adults we tend to define ourselves in terms of the following items.
Self-concept influenced by past events and people tend to define themselves in terms of:
- Things they possess: the result of this may be to accumulate more material possessions
- What they do for a living: professional identities might define or control us
- Internal value system and emotional makeup: The healthiest way to identify ourselves
Phillip McGraw, better known as ‘Dr. Phil, “has developed a one-sentence guide to understanding the importance of your self-concept: The past reaches into the present, and programs the future, by your recollections and your internal rhetoric about what you perceived to have happened in your life. Past experiences and events, which McGraw describes as “defining moments, “can influence your thinking for a lifetime and program your future.
