This paper will examine the affects of racism in relation to human growth and development, specifically, middle childhood (ages six to twelve). Racism of course operates intersectionally with other systems of privilege and oppression (i.e. gender, sexuality, socioeconomic class, citizenship status, immigration status, age, physical ability, cognitive ability, and level of education, to name a few). With this in mind, these examinations are beyond the scope of this paper and therapists should continue to review these sociocultural lenses while working with any client.
Developmental Milestones
Developmentally, ages 6 through 12 are arguably some of the most challenging years due to the heavily and rapidly changing nature of this particular growth phase. As noted by Broderick and Blewitt (2015) most children in a Western society, specifically the United States, will begin spending more time away from home, (i.e. spending full days at school, varying kinds of “extended care”, playdates and extracurriculars). During this stage in development, children begin to learn self-control in relationship to general behavior and attention span, in addition to navigating through new friendships, conflicts, and self-concept (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). While the brain is 95% of its full size by the age of six, it is still growing measurably throughout middle childhood (Lenroot et al., 2007; Sowell, Thompson, & Toga, 2004; see Blakemore, 2012).
In terms of developmental milestones, these particular ages are heavily associated with improved motor skills, both gross and fine, in addition to increasing understanding and recognition of cooperative negotiation in relationship to friends and peers (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Developmental theorists globally have attempted to identify and compartmentalize stages
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of development that can be utilized universally. With this in mind, a few of the most distinguished and widely understood models have been developed by Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson and Lawrence Kohlberg (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).
Developmental Theorists and Impact of Racism on Middle Childhood
According to Broderick and Blewitt (2015), Piaget introduced a structural model that separated stages of development into four phases; 1) the sensorimotor stage, 2) preoperational stage, 3) concrete operational stage, and 4) the formal operational stage. This particular theory addresses that middle childhood falls under the concrete operational stage. During this time the child is developing the capacity to perform basic math skills as well as having an understanding of conservation (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). The child is beginning to understand how to sort items/things/people into categories, are able to reserve the direction of their thinking and are developing the capacity to think about two concepts simultaneously (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).
Furthermore, Piaget’s concrete operational stage is heavily tied to the ability to understand a situation from another person’s perspective, a task that would be near impossible for an individual in the preoperational stage of development (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015) . With these developing skills in mind, race, ethnicity, and self concept will be heavily at play in terms of how these particular skill sets can even show up. As an example, the ability to understand a situation from another person’s point of view might present as more challenging if the child has been taught to view race from a “colorblind” approach. Unfortunately, these methods of talking about race and ethnicity are wholly embedded in most of American schooling systems.
In terms of the United States education system, colorblindness will reduce any visible racism to the actions of a few ignorant individuals (Hardie & Tyson, 2013). This would allow
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systemic mechanisms of racism (e.g. tracking, curriculum, student surveillance) to be ignored as explanations for racial inequality and replaced by individual-based rationales (i.e. students of Color are lazy, behaviorally challenged, and/or intellectually deficient; Donna Y. Ford, 2014; Rozansky-Lloyd, 2005; Tarca, 2005). In terms of sorting as a developing skill, it would also arguably impossible to categorize people without naming where ethnicity and race come into play.
To return to the colorblind example, if a child is taught to see no difference, how might they decide to categorize people instead? If a child is taught to ignore what is plainly in front of them, what do they instead report seeing, and more importantly, distinguishing? Furthermore, I wonder how categorizing can show up non-verbally and through physical and somatic cues. Truthfully, these are not questions I have answers to and that is because I am not speaking to a particular individual and/or client. With that said, the questions present are universal in that across culture a child will be taught directly and indirectly about difference by way of racial and ethnic understandings, assumptions and a higher level of accountability needs to be placed on the institutions.
In comparison, Erik Erikson’s model of development acknowledges development as progressional throughout the entire lifespan including adulthood and actually specifically places most of the development during this time frame as occurring at school (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Erikson’s theory proposes that there are eight stages of development and a specific conflict directive within each of them (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Beginning with infancy (trust vs. mistrust), early childhood (autonomy vs. shame and doubt), preschool (initiative vs. guilt), school age (industry vs. inferiority) and adolescence (identity vs. role confusion), Erikson’s
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model is unique in that most research prior to his own did not acknowledge development as and embedded, human construct (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Following adolescence, Erikson’s model addresses three additional phases: young adulthood (intimacy vs. isolation), middle adulthood (generativity vs. stagnation), and maturity (ego integrity vs. despair).
According to this framework, during school age the child is developing the capacity to cope with new social and academic demands (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). The child is learning that success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). With this in mind, they becomes a “difficult pill to swallow” for lack of a better phrase, as it relates to evaded racism, more specifically, how today, individualized analysis of underachievement are tools that maintain the status quo. Researchers Malagon and Alvarez (2010) note that the dominant rhetoric in education systems today blame students of Color and their families for a lack of academic success. There is a promotion of a shift in their behavior as the solution, rather than suggesting shifts to structures or policies that systemically fail students of Color (i.e. limited resources, racial profiling; Malagon & Alvarez, 2010). If a child is just learning what it means to succeed and/or fail at this age, specifically as it relates to a school setting, how much is the education system setting up students and families of Color for failure due to the invisibilized nature of institutional responsibility? Once again, there are not necessarily answers to these questions, but there are a number of clear ethical concerns. In terms of the counseling perspective, it would seem that if the therapist is incapable of acknowledging the systems at play as the problem then they themselves (the therapist) are merely recapitulating the problem in question.
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In contrast, while Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of development expands on much of Piaget’s work, his work emphasizes moral development as a lifespan phenomenon in lieu of a childhood construct (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Kohlberg’s model separated developmental stages into three levels with six separate stages in total. In the pre-conventional level, stage one centers around punishment and obedience orientation and stage two addresses concrete, individualistic orientation (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).
This model includes a conventional level and a post-conventional level with four other stages, however, stage two would be the phase is attributed with middle childhood (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). For the most part this stage is heavily associated with the child’s self serving nature and many decisions during this stage are congruent with a “You scratch my back, I scratch yours” rhetoric. In terms of race, ethnicity and self-concept during this stage of development, it is of interest to me how children categorize who and how they believe another person would even be willing to scratch their back and more specifically, how have institutions developed a system for determining how, when and by whom a child can receive help or even ask for it.
Impact, Needs of the Child and Clinical Perspectives
With these theorists and models in mind, the impacts of racism on the middle childhood stage of development can be detrimental to the self-esteem, self-concept and self-perception. In fact, researchers Kohli and Solorzano (2012) specifically note the damaging impact of racial micro aggressions on students of Color in K-12 schools. The authors demonstrate the way that teachers engage in racial micro aggressions through their treatment of the names of students of Color (Kohli & Solorzano, 2012). Their research argues that embedded within multiple policies and procedures, the cumulative impact of these subtle examples of racism have lasting and
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damaging impact on the self-perceptions of students (Kohli & Solorzano, 2012). Furthermore, they detail the way in which micro aggressions define Black student experiences in predominantly White schools which in turn lead to feelings of invisibility, feelings of lessened value, in addition to interaction conflict with Latinx students (Kohli & Solorzano, 2012).
In relationship to middle childhood, it is important to consider the critical issues regarding the impact racism has on the lives of students of Color throughout every stage of development, particularly middle childhood. Perez Huber, Johnson, and Kohli (2006) determine a connection between the construct of internalized racism to historical and contemporary experiences with with racism in schools. More specifically, schooling as it relates to curriculum, resource disparities, and teacher competency, stating definitively that these factors have deep psychological impacts on students of Color, particularly in relationship to social and emotional considerations. Researchers Irizarry & Raible (2014), assess these impacts as they relate to internalized oppression, racial trauma and the need for holistic models of counseling.
Clinical Work with Families and Children
Clinically and from my own lens, a therapist should begin to work with the issue of racism in middle childhood by way of acknowledging these experiences as trauma. Unfortunately, the vast majority of research and clinical application models centering around racism as trauma do not take in to consideration these experiences outside of adulthood. There is an acknowledgment of racism as present throughout nearly every stage of development, excluding infancy and elements of toddlerhood. With this in mind, it is arguable that the lack of acknowledgment of racism as trauma in early to middle childhood could set up individuals to cope with problems throughout avoidant strategies (e.g. denial, repression, minimization).
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However, there has been research surrounding the subject of race-based trauma, specifically the application of Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) strategies in the provision of counseling services (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1995). In contrast to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), PTG acknowledges both resiliency and growth of the individual that can occur following a traumatic event through deriving meaning from said event that caused suffering to transcend the trauma (Joseph, Murphy & Regal, 2012). PTG strategies could be a useful tool to incorporate in the therapeuticic setting as it focuses on the individual experience while acknowledging environmental conditions that reinforced the traumatic event (Constantine, 2007; Sue et al., 2008).
As previously noted, most of the research and developmental models to date do not hold the potential for cultural differences nor do they take into account the many layered constructs of privilege and oppression. In recent years, models of treatment that validate experiences of racism as trauma have widened the scope in terms of counseling children in middle childhood. However, there is limited acknowledgement of intersectionalities between a wide array of potential lenses.
In terms of somatic clinical applications, a therapist might consider utilizing the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP) observation tool as it relates to exploration of sequencing rhythms. Due to the systemically embedded nature of racism in nearly every facet of societal institutions, the child does not actually have to enter from a point of high activation levels of trauma. Prior to even beginning work centering around KMP the therapist should be certain that this level of somatic work is culturally appropriate in addition to somatic work’s relationship to consent, particularly in terms of trauma work. Therapy is fluid in nature and while both client
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and therapist might have a plan to enter this exploration from the lens of a minimally intense experience, its important to continually acknowledge that sometimes things just “come up”.
These sort of drop-in’s require a significant amount of pre-established rapport with the client in addition to parents and/or guardians. Once these elements of the therapeutic relationship are included, KMP could potentially involve an exploration of establishing boundaries, desires for boundaries and self-defense, through the fighting rhythms (Kestenberg Amighi, Loman, Lewis, & Sossin, 1999) or through the Satisfaction Cycle (Aposhyan, 1999). I might be less inclined to explore the indulging rhythms due to their at times passive nature, which could potentially feel reminiscent of reliving trauma (e.g. feeling stuck in a moment, hearing a micro aggression or racist comment from a White adult in a position of power). However, I would be curious to engage in conversations surrounding these sensations and experiences as a means to explore the potentials for PTG.
Conclusion
Racism is a construct of humanity that is widely understood to be negatively impactful within every stage of development, regardless of whether or not it is recipient(s) or the perpetrator(s) in question. With that said, there is minimal research being done surrounding racism as trauma, specifically as it relates to early and middle childhood. Middle childhood is a phase in development where children are beginning to develop the capacity to see more than their own perspective in addition to distinguishing difference among groups and compartmentalizing/categorizing concepts. Without proper acknowledgment of experiences of racism as a system’s problem, in lieu of the problem of the individual client in the therapeutic relationship, there is a greater potential for re-traumatization and recapitulation of the issue.