Fostering Optimism in Young Children

1 CCCF/FALL 2000 INTERACTION 19o you know Children likeJoey? Their gloominess,passivity and lack ofperseverance cause us to feel concernabout how they will fare as theygo through life. They are difficultchildren to work with and tomotivate, and even harder for usto we typically explain our positiveand negative experiences ourexplanatory style has been shownto be a powerful predictor of ourability to successfully handlechallenge and adversity. We knowthat Optimism (as opposed to its lesssunny cousin, pessimism) isassociated with resiliency in bothchildren and adults. An optimisticexplanatory style is a major protectoragainst depression (Gladstone &Kaslow, 1995; Hillsman & Garber,1995; Seligman, 1991; Shatt , 1998)and pessimism appears to be relatedto poorer health and decreasedlongevity (Maruta, Colligan,Malinchoc, & Offord, 2000).

2 Joey is 5. He is a sweet, bright little boy who is timid and shy. He givesup easily when faced with the smallest challenge. Even when things seemto be going well, his gloomy small voice can be heard saying, I can t doit. I m stupid. His mother, a quiet nervous woman, expresses sincereworry about Joey. I don t know what to do, she says, with exasperationin her voice. He s just like his dad; I think it s in his genes. Because our explanatory styles beginto form at an early age, child careprofessionals who interact withchildren daily are in a unique positionto influence their development andthereby promote the importance of explanatorystyles as predictors of positiveoutcomes in Children , little attentionhas been paid to the role ofexplanatory models in most preventionand health promotion initiatives aimedat increasing resiliency in Children (Garmezy, 1991; Luthar & Ziegler,1991; Werner, 1993).

3 Instead, ourefforts have focused on developingacademic readiness ( , Head Start),building self-esteem, promotingproblem-solving, or improving theparent-child relationship ( , homevisitation programs).While all of these areas are importantand have shown some successes, theydo not automatically lead to emotionalwell-being. Many resilient survivorsof adverse childhood experiences, Fostering Optimismin Young Childrenby Darlene Kordich Halldespite all outward signs of success,report feeling as if it might all collapsesomeday. This sense of foreboding isa sure sign of a firmly imbeddedpessimistic world view. Withoutchanging habitual negative beliefsabout successes and obstacles, theindividual is more likely to becomeeasily stressed, anxious, unhappy andultimately depressed (Seligman, 1991).

4 Thus, child care professionals need tofind ways to help Children (and theadults around them) deal with theirinner response to life experiences, inparticular the explanations they haveabout negative events in their of us believe that bad events themselves cause us to act in certainways. In actual fact, there is a step inbetween the event and our actions our beliefs. Albert Ellis (1962)developed the ABC model to describewhat happens to us when we facedifficulties. He theorized that when anadversity (A) occurs, our beliefs (B)about that experience act as anintermediary between the event andour feelings and actions, ,consequences (C).Here is an example of how the ABCmodel works:Mary and Susan are co-workers whowere laid off from their jobs at thesame company (A).

5 Mary found herselfwondering whether she was singledout in some way because she was asole support parent. She startedblaming herself and feeling inadequate(B). I probably did something stupidbecause I m always so tired maybe Ijust can t do this job after all. I can tseem to do anything right these days. Mary began to withdraw from friends,started eating more and became veryD20 INTERACTIONCCCF/FALL 2000 down in the dumps (C). Sheworried that she and her little girlwould end up on the streets becausethe layoff would become even began to question herparenting (B). When she was calledback to work three months later, shereturned reluctantly. She feared thatshe might not be able to cope withsuch a stressful job and that shewas now overweight and couldn t fitinto any of her work clothes (C).

6 Susan, on the other hand, reactedwith some initial shock and anger. Why me? I m sure I have moreseniority than some of the people theyretained (B). She began to wonderwhether her work performance wasat issue, but decided she had done areasonable job with all of herassignments (B). So she called thecompany and found out about theirselection criteria as well as thecompany s cash flow problems (thereal reason for the lay-offs). Shebecame angry at the company andrealized that she was not to blame forthe situation (B). Although she wasworried about her finances, she toldherself that cash flow problemsusually clear up in a short time (B).She called her child s school andoffered to volunteer. Eventually theschool offered her a few hours workdoing lunchtime supervision andoffice help.

7 When the company calledher back to work, she acceptedreadily, feeling that she had grownprofessionally and personally (C).From these examples, you can seethat the consequences (feelings andactions) of a given event in thiscase the lay-off (A) can beradically different depending on theperson s beliefs about the cause andramifications of that situation. Mary spessimistic explanations (B) causedher to ruminate and becomemiserable, and the long-term effectson her emotional and physical healthwere devastating (C). Susan adoptedrealistically optimistic thinking (B)and felt she actually gained something(C) from the Susan and Mary likelydeveloped these characteristic beliefpatterns early in their lives. Byapproximately eight years of age,a child has already developed apreferred mode of explanation.

8 Evenby the age of 2 to 3 years, Children areable to mimic the explanatory stylesof their primary caregivers (Seligman,Reivich, Jaycox, & Gillham, 1995).Seligman suggested that childrendevelop their explanatory styles fromthree sources: their primary caregivers ( ,watching their mothers explainwhy bad things happen); the manner in which childrenare criticized by adults forwrongdoings, failures, or negativeevents ( , the child being told he,rather than his behaviour, is bad;being inappropriately blamed foradult problems, etc.); the nature of the negative events orcrises themselves ( , if negativeevents occur and things do notimprove, then a sense ofhopelessness prevails (Seligman,1991).If our explanatory styles are formed atsuch an early age and affect so manyareas of our functioning, are wedestined to fail if we are pessimists?)

9 Fortunately, there is good news aboutexplanatory styles. Mountingevidence suggests that they can bealtered. Studies have shown thatschool-age Children benefit fromcognitive behavioural programs thatteach Children about their explanatorystyles (Shatt , Reivich, Gillham &Seligman, 1998), and those at greatestrisk for pessimism and depressionbenefit the most. Such childrenbecome less pessimistic, begin topersevere, and feel less anxious inschool and social situations. Similarwork and results were found inprograms working with adolescents,college students, parents, teachers andadults in employment settings (Shatt ,1998; Stark et al., 1998).While the explanatory styles andcognitions of school age Children andadults can be directly affected bytraining, we know that youngerchildren are not developmentallycapable of thinking about theirthinking.

10 However, they do learn fromwhat they see and hear others doing andsaying around them. So, what can childcare professionals do to assist youngerchildren develop a more optimisticperspective at the point that they aredeveloping their own world view andexplanatory style?Martin Seligman, in The OptimisticChild, makes several suggestions forhelping Young Children in this believes that caregivers should assistchildren by providing them withopportunities to:1) experience true mastery;2) gain a perspective of positivity ;and3) have positive explanatory stylesmodelled by the adults around for MasterySeligman points out that mastery is thebedrock on which an explanatory styleis built. Children need to learn that theycan exert control on their world throughtheir actions.