Introduction
Children have varying and unique emotional needs that need to be satisfied. Their emotional wellbeing depends on the care and support given by caregivers. The perceptions of caregivers regarding the emotional needs of children have varying influences on children’s wellbeing. In order to explore this topic, I chose an article authored by Bettmann, Mortensen, and Akuoko (2015) titled “Orphanage Caregiver’s Perceptions of Children’s Emotional Needs.” I found this article to be of interest because it is peer-reviewed, incorporates a research study that addresses children’s emotional development challenges, contains an in-depth exploration of the topic, and offers recommendations to mitigate the problem.
The article is relevant to the field of Child and Youth Care because it explores in detail the issue and discusses the challenges that children who live in orphanage care encounter. On the other hand, it explores a topic that is relevant in the field of Youth and Child Care. The emotional wellbeing of children is important because it determines how well they develop and the quality of their transition to adulthood. Therefore, the article is highly relevant to the field. This paper will discuss the research study covered in the aforementioned article, its findings, and the conclusions drawn from it by the authors. In addition, it will provide personal reactions to the findings, lessons learned, and potential directions for future research.
The objective of the research study
In sub-Saharan Africa, 80% of children orphaned by AIDS live in orphan care and as a result encounter numerous problems that affect their emotional wellbeing (Bettmann, Mortensen, & Akuoko, 2015). These children only get care from orphanage caregivers. Therefore, they face high risks of psychological, emotional, and developmental problems. The main aim of the authors was to explore the perceptions of caregivers in Ghanaian institutions regarding the emotional needs of children in order to determine their level of competence with regard to providing quality and effective care to the orphans. The authors wanted to establish a relationship between the perception of caregivers and the quality of care they provide to orphans.
Research method and data gathering procedures
The authors adopted a qualitative study method and received approval for the study from a university-affiliated Institutional Review Board. Data collection involved a semi-structured interview approach and lasted for eight days. Interviews were either recorded or transcribed verbatim and recorded interviews lasted between 10 and 35 minutes (Bettmann et al., 2015). The researchers used the assistance of translators to improve communication with native participants who were not well versed in English. The authors kept journals that were used to record observations and notes regarding the decisions made during the process of collecting and analyzing data. In order to ensure the privacy of participants, interviews were conducted in a closed room or a secluded area (Bettmann et al., 2015).
Results
The authors fund out that caregivers demonstrated a great understanding of the emotional needs of children. However, they lacked the training and support needed in order for them to fully attend to the children’s needs (Bettmann et al., 2015). All participants described their understanding of children’s emotional needs even though many of them did not offer detailed explanations. Approximately 33% of participants acknowledged the complexity of children’s emotional needs with regard to the caregiver’s attunement, receptivity, and outreach (Bettmann et al., 2015). The participants explained the need for caregivers to attune to nonverbal clues, reach out to children, and the need to show empathy, unconditional love, consideration, and great care.
Participants had different explanations regarding the influence of separation on children. 53 participants argued that separation from parents is problematic while 18 participants argued that separation does not affect children (Bettmann et al., 2015). 6participants argued that separation problems were largely determined by the child’s age. 15 participants demonstrated their understanding regarding the effects of separation (Bettmann et al., 2015). 8 participants associated the problems of separation to lack of breast milk during a child’s development. Finally, 5 participants argued that separation has positive effects on children.
Conclusions made by the authors
The authors conclude that even though caregivers understand the emotional needs of children, many of them lack the training and support required in order for them to respond to the needs affectively (Bettmann et al., 2015). The authors also note than many caregivers possess a basic understanding of the emotional and relational needs of children. Inadequate understanding is detrimental to the proper emotional and relational development of children in orphanage care. There is a need for training and interventions to strengthen orphanage caregivers’ potential to provide quality and effective care to children (Bettmann et al., 2015). Caregivers need training that covers children’s basic attachment needs. On the other hand, specific interventions that target orphaned children need to be created and implemented. Training is critical because orphanage caregivers hold positions that influence the emotional and relational development of orphans significantly (Bettmann et al., 2015).
Suggestions for further research
The authors suggest that future research should focus on the longitudinal relationships that orphans and vulnerable children have with their caregivers for a better assessment of the effects of loss and separation (Bettmann et al., 2015). Evaluating the relationships for a long period of time will give better results and more reliable conclusions. In addition, they suggest that researchers should evaluate the severity of separation and its effects on child development especially in areas where HIV/AIDS victims are highly stigmatized. Finally, they suggest the use of observations as a data collection method in later studies to help researchers create connections between caregivers’ perceptions and their behaviors in providing care to children (Bettmann et al., 2015). The study conducted by the authors did not include observation as a data collection method. Therefore, they were unable to establish a relationship between the caregivers’ perceptions and their behaviors toward the orphans.
Personal observations
The findings of the author are informative and provide new insights regarding the field of Child and Youth Care. The authors provide a literature review before presenting the findings of the study. This information gives the reader insights that make the comprehension of the study’s results easy. The authors could have improved the results of the study by using a larger study sample and incorporating other data collection methods such as observation. Even though the study method was inadequate, results are relevant to the study topic. The study is strengthened by a detailed literature review that the authors provide at the beginning of the article.
If I were to continue this line of research, I would adopt a broader perspective and study-specific interventions that have been applied to the improvement of institutionalized care. In addition, I would narrow down research studies into the effects of training and caregivers’ perceptions on the development of specific cognitive and physical development components. For instance, I would study the effect of social interaction on the learning ability of children in orphan care. The research topic is broad and it would be important to narrow it down to specific components in order to achieve better and more reliable results. Studies would also apply different research methods in order to improve the authenticity and reliability of results. Children respond differently to caregivers’ behaviors and attitudes. It would also be important to study the effect of attitudes and behaviors on emotional development.
Conclusion
Children have many emotional and relational needs that need to be met by their caregivers for optimal development. Institutionalization subjects children to many challenges that affect their development. For example, the perception of caregivers affects the quality of care provided and the subsequent emotional development of children in orphanage care. Studies have shown that many caregivers only possess a basic knowledge about the emotional needs of children. The quality of care they provide is insufficient to meet the needs of children because of a lack of the necessary training and support.
This topic is interesting because emotional development is critical child development and it is influenced by the perceptions of caregivers regarding the needs of children under their care. The article has taught me that children need quality care in order to experience optimal psychological, emotional, and physical; development. It is important for caregivers to receive the necessary training and support that will enable them to meet all the needs of children under their care. Moreover, they need to possess sufficient knowledge regarding children’s emotional and interpersonal needs. I have also gained knowledge about the effects of institutionalization on emotional development among children and how separation affects their wellbeing.
Reference
Bettmann, J. E., Mortensen, J. M., & Akuoko, K. O. (2015). Orphanage Caregivers’ Perceptions of Children’s Emotional Needs. Children and Youth Services Review 49, 71-79.