The Impact Of Parental Neglect On Child Anger

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You feel a rush of blood through your whole body, a sudden rise in blood pressure, an increase in your heart rate, a build up of frustration inside, and in any minute, you are ready to explode. These physiological responses can be associated with emotions felt by all humans when experiencing anger (Huessman, 1988). It may be an advantageous innate survival mechanism warning aggressors to stop their threatening behaviour, but if uncontrolled, anger can have a negative effect on personal and social well-being. In children, anger may be expressed differently from child to child. Some vent or use facial expressions, crying and screaming to express anger, but do little to solve the problem or confront the provocateur. Some may defend their position through aggressive or passive-aggressive revenge by physical or verbal retaliation or others may seek an adult for comfort and a solution. Children learn behavioural and social interactions primarily through their parents which are later reinforced by the child’s peers, school experience, and television viewing (Funke et al., 2009). Some children have learned or developed negative approaches to express anger, and when confronted, will resort to using aggression (Huesmann, 1988). The ability to control anger is dependent on one’s understanding of his or her emotions. However children’s ability to reflect on their anger is limited, therefore they need the guidance of an adult, usually their parents to help them understand and manage their feelings of anger (Zeman and Shipman, 1996). Children who are guided will learn to cope with angry feelings to avoid the stress often accompanied with it (Eisenberg et al., 1991). The young characters in Matilda, The Secret Garden, and Harriet the Spy all express and deal with their anger differently, but their anger shares a common root. Parental neglect is a likely source for the continuous

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