My
Personal Research Journey
By Lisa
Martin
I cannot begin to tell you how apprehensive I
was about researching a topic for my current course. I chose a topic that was
of interest to me, the effects of maternal absence on the social emotional
development of young children age five to eight. My sisters and I fell into
this age range when our mother died, and though we turned out fine, I have
often wonder what the odds are of children having happy, normal lives without a
mother present. I was even able to break my topic down into three subtopics.
The first subtopic investigates whether or not children whose mothers are not
present in the home are more likely to demonstrate behavioral problems in
school, specifically a lack of self-control and acting out. The second subtopic
raises the
question of whether or not children raised in foster care environments have
difficulty forming friendships and relationships in general. The third subtopic looks at whether maternal absence
increases resilience.
Unfortunately, I am having difficulty finding
current research on maternal death and the effects of young children. There are
studies about children in Africa losing parents to HIV/AIDS, but I wanted to
focus on motherless children right here in the United States for my research.
Furthermore, most of the articles are several years old. I am going to continue
to search for articles, and now books that deal with the subject of maternal
death in childhood, and I am going to focus my research on the idea of
behavioral problems resulting from maternal absence.
The process thus far has been an incredible
learning experience, as I know very little about research and struggle with the
scientific jargon. By keeping a research chart and learning to put the research
phrases in my own words I am developing a better understanding of research in
general. Also, in searching for article on my subject I did come across
articles that may be of help to my colleagues in their research. I would
suggest to everyone that the go to the Walden library and search for relevant
articles under the multidisciplinary databases and the SocIndex. If you should
come across any links offering information on maternal absence and its effects,
please let me know. I am really excited about going on this adventure with all
of you, and look forward to following your findings.
Hello Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI must say that I have faced challenges as well. as I was reading about your topic, have you tried to find information from the foster care industry. The must have a ton of information on that as maternal death is one of the reasons children end up in foster care. Just a thought. If I see of any information that will be helpful to you, I will let you know.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can check the American Psychological Association website. There is a selected article on Social connectedness and mothering: Effects of Maternal Employment and Maternal absence by Tolman, Audrey E.,Diekman, Kristina A.[Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol 56[6], June 1989,942- 949.
The draw back i see is the date of publication,maybe as you search further, might see what roundly fit.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful topic!!! I too was raised without my mother. I was raised by my paternal grandmother. I turned out fine. However, my brother and sister who were raised by our maternal grandmother did not. Neither graduated school and have been in out and of trouble. So this research topic is very important to me. I am anxious to see your outcomes. Great topic!
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteYou chose a very interesting topic. As I was reading your post, I could not help but think about my sisters and I. We to experienced the death of our mother while we were very young children and lived in poverty but by the Grace of God we all turned out ok. It is very hard for children when they do not have a mother and some become bitter. I wish you the best in your research and thanks for sharing.