Erin E. Martin
PhD Psychology
"Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge" - Prov. 23:12
Parenting styles
Erin Martin, PhD
Psychology
Parenting style and its influence on child and adolescent achievement and development was what I focused on for my thesis topic. In general, I found within my research that authoritative parenting styles enhance child development and achievement. Authoritative parenting allows more reciprocal respect and understanding between parent and child, developing a healthy relationship.
Social-Emotional Development: Attachment and Emotion
Erin Martin, PhD
Psychology
Genetic and Environmental Factors
Santrock (2009) discussed how there is a link in some studies concerning the adult attachment style reflecting the attachment patterns during childhood; while other studies do not show this close correlation, events during development may alter the attachment style in adulthood. If attachment style and patterns can change, then there is some credence to environmental influences on attachment. Once again there may be a natural tendency for a person to have a certain type of attachment, yet environmental influences may shift those tendencies slightly. I believe that nature and nurture work together to create a person’s attachment style. The reason why one of the studies that Santrock discussed found attachment style remains throughout development may be due to attachment style being based on a person’s temperament. If the person’s natural temperament is that of negative affectivity, then they are easily distressed and may have more attachment related anxiety.
