Throwback Thursday's Psychology Trivia: T or F: Children Raised By Single Moms Are Emotionally Damaged for Life

Thought for the Day: I have extended the survey on Children and Violence for another week till midnight, EST, 11/12/14. Please take a few minutes and complete this confidential survey. Your answers will help find creative solutions and better understanding of the issues.

It's time for Thursday's Psychology Trivia. I chose to update a post from about a year ago and hope you find it interesting.

True or False: Children Raised By Single Moms Tend To Be Emotionally Handicapped For Life 

    What do you think? Are children raised by two parents healthier emotionally than children raised by single moms. Are children handicapped for life by growing up with just one parent? Do they tend to have drug and alcohol problems, lower grades and more behavioral and mental health issues than children raised in two parent homes. 

Thursday's Psychology Trivia: True or False: Children Raised By Single Moms Tend To Be Emotionally Handicapped For Life

Thought for the Day: I know it's Friday and not Thursday, but yesterday I was very busy and unable to post this Thursday's Psychology Trivia Question. So to try and stay on track, I'm posting this now & will post #FF Friday's Fabulous Finds a bit later in the day. Here's yesterday's Question and answer:

True or False: Children Raised By Single Moms Tend To Be Emotionally Handicapped For Life 

    What do you think? Are children raised by two parents healthier emotionally than children raised by single moms. Are children handicapped for life by growing up with just one parent? Do they tend to have drug and alcohol problems, lower grades and more behavioral and mental health issues than children raised in two parent homes. 

      The answer is false. How well a child will do in the future depends on a number of variables in addition to the number of parenting figures. Unfortunately, psychological research has been guilty of painting a dire picture for how children of single moms fare which may be skewed by false prejudices and lack of adequate control of all the variables such as low income, fighting in the family and extended family involvement. Somehow, even when the statistics are not terribly strong, we tend to hold on to the myth that two parent families are better. Many studies report a rise in drug and alcohol abuse, behavioral and academic problems among children from single parent homes. In a book called Singled Out: How Singles Are Stereotyped, Stigmatized, and Ignored, and Still Live Happily Ever After, Psychologist Bella DePaulo, Ph.D makes a strong case that the above statement is blatantly false. 

     When Dr. DePaulo reviewed the findings of a study of 22,000 adolescents which found that there were more teens struggling with drug and alcohol problems. She was struck by both the small number of teens in homes of single moms with drug and alcohol problems, 5.7% and by the fact that 4.5% of teens raised in two parent households were suffering from drug and alcohol abuse. If having two parents is so much better for children, Dr. DePaolo asks why is there only a 1.2% difference between the two groups?

     She also found that a comprehensive study of academic achievement of children  found no significant difference between groups raised in various types of households. Instead she reports that achievement in school was related to, 

"Whether there was a lot of conflict within families, high levels of disagreements between parents, or endless arguments between parents and kids."

     In addition, some studies showed that children in single parent homes at times have the advantage over their peers raised in two family homes. Single parents tend to be friendlier with their kids and often they have more interactions with extended family members. Single moms also tend to build a network of friends which become a support system for them and their children. Being raised in a happy single parent home with adequate support systems may be better for children from a two parent home that is filled with discord between the parents.

Thursday's Psychology Trivia: To Regret Or Not To Regret, That Is The Question

*Photos from FlickrCC.com

This has been a very busy week, since I was away from Sunday till Tuesday afternoon, so here's a slightly updated Trivia question and answer. It has also been an emotional roller coaster in reaction to Robin Williams death and news of his bout with depression. I will be on the radio tonight on the LA Bachelor show at 7 PM (EDT) if you want to tune in and ask questions, it's airing live. We will be talking about depression and how it relates to athletes and celebrities.
Thought for the Day: This week we have been looking at emotions (Motivational Monday & Wednesday's Words of Wisdom). Our Trivia question on Tuesday was about the feeling of regret. Here's the question we asked:

       Regret is:
           a) just a backward looking emotion & therefore it doesn't impact much on people's lives;
           b) not an emotion at all; or
           c) can be a powerful emotion
What do you think?

Tuesdays Psychology Trivia: To Regret or Not To Regret, That Is the Question

Photos from FlickrCC.com*

Thought for the Day: Since I started the week with a motivational post which asked Who Needs Emotions, I chose a psychological trivia question about an emotion, namely regret. Shakespeare did not say, "To regret or not to regret, that is the question." Although I just used it as a title for this post, I doubt it even got onto Shakespeare's short list of possible lines. In the scheme of things is regret a significant emotion? Has regret impacted on you or is it an emotion or something else? Here's this week's trivia question:

       Regret is:
           a) just a backward looking emotion & therefore it doesn't impact much on people's lives;
           b) not an emotion at all; or
           c) can be a powerful emotion

What do you think the answer is?  Come back on Thursday for my take on regret.
Tomorrow, I have a great quote in store for you. In case you missed it, here's last week's Wednesday's Words of Wisdom.

*All Photos from www.FlickrCC.com
Top Left:  'Week #35' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/33033965@N00/6089902717
Middle Left:  'After drunken night at Chris' II_MMVI' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/24258698@N04/2300402805
Bottom Left: 'no regrets' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/18090920@N07/5084714990

Top Right: 'I regret this life choice, valentine' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/58735397@N04/8485217048
Bottom Right: 'I Dont Know Why' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/10522622@N00/2923796798

Tuesday's Psychological Trivia: Recovery from Trauma

 

Photos from FlickrCC.com *

Thought for the Day: The news from Oklahoma is heartbreaking. Mother nature has again sent a devastating blow to families & children. Between natural & man made disasters the last year has been difficult. If you are looking for was to help in the relief efforts, here's a link to an article with multiple options (American Red Cross. Salvation Army, United Way of Central Oklahoma, Feeding America). It felt awkward to switch from disaster to psychological trivia, but it's Tuesday & I simply changed the question for today to have it be connected to the news.

True or False: The belief in one’s capability to exercise some measure of control over traumatic adversity is central to recovery from trauma.

Come back on Thursday for the answer.
 
Photos from FlickrCC.com

*' CSM Volunteers Loading Dock' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/38389073@N04/5701248536 
 ** 'Joplin 2011 115' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/72309532@N08/6851950838 
 *** 'Joplin 2011 071' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/72309532@N08/6851952826
 **** 'CSM Volunteers Loading Dock' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/38389073@N04/5700678461 

Tuesday's Psychotherapy Trivia Question: Can Psychotherapy Improve the Outcome Of Surgery?

 

Photos from www.FlickrCC.com*

Thought for the Day: Yesterday, I was very busy & did not have time to write a post, but I did get an idea for today's trivia question. I met with a new client who needs to undergo a serious heart operation in a couple of weeks. The odds for a bad outcome (death, paralysis, brain damage) are 1 in 20. Understandably, they are frightened. Since the client's mother died young, they fear that the worst will happen to them. They feel sure history will repeat itself & are afraid they will leave their children without a parent. Here's my trivia question:

                True or False: Psychotherapy can improve the outcome of 

            high risk surgery.

What are your thoughts? Come back on Thursday for the answer.


Photos:
*1 'Medtronic EnRhythm Pacing System' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/23508701@N00/2015221291
*2 'Love is in the Air' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/75199686@N00/2566674431

Tuesday's Psychological Trivia: Can Friendship Make Cancer Less Deadly?

Thought for the Day: Yesterday, I began a series of posts on the impact of friendship on mental health. Over the next two or three weeks, I will be sharing posts on how friendships impact on our psychological well being & how to enhance friendships. Today's psychological trivia question relates to the impact of friendship on physical health. How do friendships impact on our prognosis when we are dealing with life threatening illnesses?  What do you think?
        True or False:
               Friendships can make cancer become less deadly.
 Come back tomorrow for Wednesday's Words of Wisdom & on Thursday for the answer to today's question. 

Tuesday's Psychological Trivia: Can Your Self Confidence Change in a Few Minutes?

Thought for the Day: Yesterday's Motivational Mondays post was related to parenting a difficult child. Parents spend a lot of time trying to bolster their children's self confidence. Today's trivia question is related to building or breaking down self confidence. I've written about building self-confidence before (Every Expert Was Once a Beginner), but this trivia question addresses another angle. What do you think? Can a change in posture for a few minutes change someone's self confidence? Come back for Thursday's Trivia Answer for the answer. Did you get the answer to last week's trivia question on how psychologists define love? Here's this week's question:

          True or false: 
                Slouching for a few minutes cannot change your self-confidence.