Isolation and Mental Retardation - Essay Example

Introduction Learning ability has been found to be intrinsically related to perceptions of isolation and loneliness. For some children, there is difficulty in learning by way of a structured and uni-dimensional curriculum. Such difficulty can adversely affect children's feelings of belongingness and subsequently inhibit their social interactions (Pavri, 2001). Current research shows that loneliness and social unhappiness is able to be reliably measured in children in grades 3 to 6 in North America (Cassidy & Asher, 1992). Further, rejection by peers (on self-report surveys) has indicated that some children are significantly lonelier than others (Cassidy & Asher, 1992). Essentially, the lack of a peer support network disqualifies a child from opportunities to experiment, practice, and make mistakes and to develop their language and learning abilities, as well as psycho-social skills that would enable optimum functioning in Western 21st century societies. Severe loneliness can be described as an uncomfortable and displeasing emotional state, which may go unnoticed during childhood (Pavri, 2001). The lonely child tends to be shy and so does not seek to be the centre of attention. Of concern is that the child may not acknowledge feelings of loneliness, or engage in peer relationships that share feelings of loneliness with each other, cultivating a child's sense of worth, belonging, and of being cared for. Hence, the psycho-social emotional needs of the child are not met, and the negative consequences for interpersonal relationships and learning often extend into adulthood, impacting on life choices, quality of life, well being, and personal happiness. Research into the relationship between learning difficulties and severe loneliness is critical for teachers, parents and other child health and learning support carers. A child's inability to form effective and nurturing peer relationships and friendships can impact on self-identity and result in heightened anxiety; a precursor to inattention in class or during social situations. These feelings of inadequacy can initiate suicidal ideations and even completion. The child is also more at risk of engaging in anti-social activities later in life. Research into this topic is better able to inform teachers and parents of indicators of loneliness, and strategies to support the lonely child, to enable and empower the child as a learner and as a social being. This paper aims to review the design of two research studies investigating severe loneliness in the children. For each article; the aim and results of the research will be briefly summarised; the method of data collection in regards to the research question will then be critiqued; next, an evaluation of the analyses for the research design will be provided; an evaluation of ethical issues pertinent to the study will be raised; and finally, the implications of each of the findings in relation to the wider field of research design for severe loneliness in children. Article One Summary Pavri (2001) article "Loneliness in children with disabilities: How teachers can help" begins with three brief scenarios of children who experience a learning disability and feelings of severe loneliness. His design was a mixed model of secondary data analysis (i.e., a review on the literature), and phenomenological description (i.e., his personal teaching experiences). His research described the concept of loneliness amongst children with disabilities and its incidences in North America. As well, Pavri recommends strategies to identify and to act as interventions for loneliness among children with disabilities. He developed the school-based learning interventions; however, he does note that they require further testing for validity and reliability in decreasing the loneliness of at risk children. Data Collection Critique The topic of severe loneliness among children with disabilities is not steeped in literature. Rather, the subject appears to have been somewhat ignored in industrial societies. So investigation to enable and empower disabled learners to function in society is critical. In this regard, Pavri's choice of a mixed model of research design, using exploratory methods, is highly suitable. However, an exploratory method can still embrace the scientific method of systematic inquiry, and this entails keeping detailed records of personal experiences and interpretations or those experiences, and comparisons with expectations, beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors of the investigator (i.e., an ethnographic journal). Pavri does not mention keeping a journal or diary or any other recorded form of his experiences as a teacher with disabled children who experienced loneliness, or of his development, use, assessment and refinement of his school-based learning strategies. Additionally, Pavri did not have a probabilistic or random sample rather, his was one of convenience. As such, the articles he reviewed, and the children he observed personally, ranged widely in terms of age, ethnicity, type of disability and degree of feelings of loneliness. He presents a study that lacks systematic investigation beyond a thorough literature review. Due to a lack of parameters as to the data he would draw on, Pavri's study cannot be easily reproduced to gain similar results, nor can his findings be generalised with great confidence, as the findings lack empirical assessment. The lack of clear sample selection criteria, random selection (and assignment to groups) introduces a lot of variability into Pavri's study. For example, perhaps it was not his teaching strategies that were affecting emotional changes in his students, that the children were aware and appreciated the attention during his observations (Hawthorn effect). It is not realistic to compare the literature and or Pavri's results considering his lack of operationalization of his primary variables. Analysis Assessment As Pavri used secondary data for his literature review he was unable to check several assumption tests (i.e., skew, kurtosis, or homogeneity). Unless he contacted the individual researchers themselves, in which case he did not mention it. Parvi's article is more of a critical review of the literature with regard to his personal experience, than a study. He did not systematically investigate a research question, formulating hypotheses, recording details of his method to aid replication, controlling for alternative explanations, and interpreting the results in relation to the expected outcomes and previous literature. Hence, Pavri's analysis of his data was highly subjective. He chose the literature to include, and to exclude, as well as reporting his perceptions of children's behavior in response to his school-based strategies. Pavri's research, as it is, provides categorical data for analysis, providing frequency, proportions and percentages. Categorical or nominal level of measurement data can be further analyzed with non-parametric cross-tabulations or Chi square significance tests. Such variables are also valued as control variables in parametric tests, such as correlations. These statistical tests enable the researcher to see the 'bigger picture' of an investigation, and can help point the way to other research designs that can extend knowledge and understanding. Pavri mentions findings of previous research however; he does not collect his own data in a way that would enable even basic descriptive analysis (e.g., numerical notes). Consequently, Pavri's analysis is weakened through researcher bias (i.e., personal opinion instead of measurement), which results in a tentative acceptance of his finding due to their lack of empirical rigor. To greatly improve his design, Pavri could have used a pre-post loneliness survey, with learning strategies as treatment groups, as well as including a control group. With a random, stratified sample (e.g. age, gender, type of disability), and a larger sample to increase power (finding an effect when there is one), Pavri's research could be extended to test his learning strategies. Using the means and variances of differences between the groups, he could determine if his strategies really do make a difference to student perceptions of loneliness. Evaluation of Ethics The practice of research requires scientific and technical knowledge, and also the ability to make value based judgments (Bryman, 2000). These judgments need to be critically analysed and evaluated in the same way that scientific information is assessed. The term ethics is a generic word used to represent a variety of methods for investigating and understanding moral life. As such, research ethics requires that an investigator go beyond the individual, and draw on presumed universal laws (Bryman, 2000). As Pavri did not actually carry out a research study, he did not need to gain the consent of the students to use information provided by them, as he merely reported on his own observations and opinions. However, the way in which he chose to research and write about his experiences with the students, and the relationship between these experiences and available literature, indicate that Pavri sought to present an unbiased evaluation. His article followed submission guidelines for the journal, cited other studies and provided a reference list, and Pavri included a literature review that provided background on the topic, indicated gaps in knowledge and supported the aim of his article (to support his learning strategies). Thus, Pavri provided an ethical presentation of his evaluation. Research Design Implications Pavri's study supports the use of exploratory research designs, using secondary data collection or ethnographic journal. However, as his study was not systematically carried out it indicates the need to encourage more of a researcher-practioner approach to teaching practices. Especially, Pavri's study required more use of experimental methods, such as the use of a survey or treatment and control groups. The advantages of experimental research methods are that the use of quantitative levels of measurement (i.e., numerical data), random selection and allocation procedures, and a controlled environment, allow for higher confidence in the results, as well as greater generalizability of the results (Mitchell & Jolley, 2004). The results are morel likely to be reliable, in that the study can be replicated and similar results found over time. It is also more likely to have high internal validity, so that the researcher can be confident that the results obtained are a true representation of what is actually occurring. However, the limitations of experimental methods are that there must be a large enough sample for the results to be representative and so generalised to a wider population. The methods are difficult to conduct in real-world contexts due to the need to isolate variables. And, there the methods are often intrusive, so that if using a lab-based approach one will be creating an artificial situation to obtain high internal validity. Article 2 Summary Cassidy and Asher (1992) used a mixed-method survey and interview design to investigate the reliable assessment of loneliness in children younger than those previously researched; to determine if peer rejected results in higher levels of loneliness and social dissatisfaction; to evaluate children's conceptualization of loneliness; and to identify common behavioral responses of lonely children. A sample of 440 kindergarten and grade one children filled in a survey about feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction at school. From the sample, 46 children were randomly chosen to be interviewed to assess their understanding of the concept of loneliness. The children were then asked to complete peer evaluations on socio-behavioral measures, and teachers also completed a behavioral measure for each child. From the results it appears that all of the children had a clear conceptualization of loneliness. It also appeared that loneliness was reliably measured across the sample of young children. The results showed that children rejected by their peers did report that they were more lonely that other children. Also, the children who scored the highest for loneliness could be differentiated from the other children across several behavioral dimensions. Data Collection Critique The sample for the study included almost equal gender representation, and a realistic inclusion of major ethnic groups in North America (i.e., Anglo-American (70%), African-American (25%), and Asian-American (5%). Noticeably there was no representation of American Indians. Due to the large sample, and the realistic representation of a larger population, it is assumed that the power for this study was large. By including a socio-economic variable (choosing four Mid-Western schools of working class and middle class students), Cassidy and Asher enhance control of alternative explanations for results. For example, higher income may buffer children's perceptions of loneliness through toys or outings). However, the sample was one of convenience, and so not entirely random, as only students whose parents signed a consent form were able to take part in the study. Also, the survey for perceptions of loneliness was on a 3-point scale, and so may have lacked sensitivity. For children, it may be of more use to use scales that include visual representations of responses, such as using 'smiley' faces. The level of data yielded by the survey is categorical, although the scales were able to be added across to provide a numerical total survey score for higher level analysis. It is not surprising that the reliability of the survey was reasonably high (Cronbach's alpha .79), considering that it lacked sensitivity. In regards to their use of interviews, s a one-to-one process the interview enables the investigator to measure employee perceptions of management's values and practices, as well as that of themselves and co-workers in general (Bryman, 2004). The investigator asks neutral questions and actively listens, without approving or disapproving of responses. Their purpose is to facilitate the participant to follow up on previous answers (Padgett, 2004). For Cassidy and Asher, the interview was a highly appropriate inclusion as it provided first hand knowledge about perceptions of loneliness as a child. There are numerous strengths and weaknesses of this research method. Strengths include the gaining of a personal perspective as opposed to a group interpretation of experiences (Shank, 1995). Use of the interview method allows the participants to share their feelings, opinions and experiences employment and safety practices. It is a strength for this study to gain the individual's interpretation of safety, and how they structure their perceive safety compliance within the workplace (Patton, 2002). The interview can be of benefit to participants in that it can be a cathartic experience, allowing them to express themselves in a way that would not normally be possible (Penslar, 1995). However, interviews are highly subjective and some of the information to be collected will be biased (Shank, 1995). Also, the gender, age, social status or ethnicity of the primary investigator (there were four in this study) may influence responses inadvertently through socio-cultural mechanisms (Mason, 1997). Reliability of the semi-structured interview will be low; there is unlikely to be consistency in the responses across the participants; and there is a large amount of subjectivity in the interpretation of the response categories by the primary investigator. Thus, the results of this study will not be able to be generalized to a wider population (Patton, 2002). Analysis assessment Due to there being four interviewers it is likely that the recording and interpretation of student information is biased. The article did not indicate if the interviewers had been trained for this study, or if their data was inter-rated for consistency in interpretation. Hence, the analysis section for this study was lacking in pertinent details. It was also not made known how the terms 'loneliness' and 'sadness' were operationalized to ensure standard measurement. For some of the students, alternative terms for the same concept may have been used but not acknowledged by the interviewer, or acknowledged by some and not others. Further influencing confidence in their findings, is that Cassidy and Asher assumed that it is possible to know when a young child can conceptualize the difference between 'aloneness' and 'loneliness', even though they note that some had only a basic understanding of what loneliness was. This potential inconsistency means that less confidence can be placed in the findings of Cassidy and Asher. It was helpful to have the percentages of how many answered highly or low on the survey scale for comparisons. For example "are you good at working with other kids" (86.1% said Yes). A factor analysis of the questionnaire showed all but two items above .30 loadings. So there were at least some positive relationships between the items. The use of this statistical test was appropriate for determining the characteristics of childhood loneliness, as well as testing the validity of the questionnaire to ensure it was actually measuring childhood experiences of loneliness (Mitchell & Jolley, 2004). It was also appropriate to use the numerical level data for Pearson's correlations, such as finding the significant relationship between total loneliness scores and gender (Mitchell & Jolley, 2004). Also, ANOVA tests were used as Cassidy and Asher were able to make several groups from the categorical data (i.e. status group x gender), and so could compare means and variances between and within groups to determine significant differences in perceptions of loneliness (Mitchell & Jolley, 2004). A MAOVA was also used as Cassidy and Asher looked at three dependant variables and two independent variables (acceptance x gender), so using a multivariate analysis (Mitchell & Jolley, 2004). This test helps to narrow findings to causes of outcomes. The use of parametric tests means that more confidence can be placed in the findings of Cassidy and Asher. To use these tests the assumptions of normal distribution, homogeneity of variance etc. need to be met (Mitchell & Jolley, 2004). These stringent controls weaken the viability of alternative hypotheses to explain research findings. However, it must be kept in mind that the lack of operationalization with regard to the interviews may have confounded the results. Evaluation of Ethics Cassidy and Asher went to great lengths to gain informed consent form the students, their parents and their teachers. Informed consent is a critical requirement of all research, including that in the business industry (Shank, 2002). Consent allows participants to make a reasonable choice in participation, so their expectations must align with the research process (Mason, 1997). The process of informed consent requires the primary investigator to be acutely aware that participation depends on their understanding of what they need to do in the study, and so ensure respect for the dignity of the participant (Mack et al., 2005). Coercion of participants appeared to have been avoided in this study. And informed consent was achieved with the health and safety of the participants as a priority. Cassidy and Asher informed each participant of their: right to confidentiality, anonymity, and voluntary withdrawal at any time without penalty. It is assumed that the student, parental and teacher consent forms will not be traceable to any other information that the participants provided, and that all information was de-identified with participant numbers. Research Design Implication This was a quasi-experimental research design that combined both qualitative and quantitative to extend understanding of loneliness in children. In experimental research there is the explicit assumption that the universe functions according to causal laws (Mitchell & Jolley, 2004). As such, these laws are considered to be linear in form (generally). The purpose of an experimental design is to establish the cause-effect relationship between sets of variables, by way of isolating assumed casual factors, and controlling suspected confounding or extraneous variables. A quasi-experimental research design does not use random allocation of participants to groups, instead they are self-selecting (e.g., they have a learning disability or they do not have a learning disability) (Mitchell & Jolley, 2005). As such, the groups are independent of each other in a critical way. The quasi-experimental design is used in studies that are unable to control the independent variable, or when it is considered unethical or unfeasible to attempt to control the IV (Mason, 1997). Due to the lack of random allocation the results of quasi-experiments cannot be generalized to a wider population with as much confidence as with an experimental design. Overall, it appears that the research design answered the research question, tested the hypotheses and provided viable explanations for severe loneliness as experienced in children. Conclusion Research methodology is an important topic for the human service worker, and the current climate of professionalism is focusing more on a practioner-researcher approach to services. As such, it is critical that practioners be aware of research design options, their suitability to types of research questions, the assumptions that need to be met to use them, and how to interpret the results, especially with regards to previous research. Methods of data collection and analysis are inter-dependant and dramatically impact on the practical implications of any research project. Also of critical importance is the area of research ethics, and the care, consideration, and respect for participants. Ultimately, it is evident that research requires use of the empirical scientific method due to its systematic and observable processes that inhibit the likelihood of alternative explanations for research findings. References Bryman, A. (2004). Social Research Methods (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cassidy, J., & Asher, S. R. (1992). Loneliness and peer relations in young students. Child Development, 63, 350-365. Mack, N, et al. (2005). Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector's Field Guide. North Carolina: Family Health International. Mason, J. (1997). Qualitative Researching: An introductory text. New York, Sage Publications. Mitchell, M. L., & Jolley, J. M. (2004) Research Design Explained (5th ed). Belmont, C. A.: Wadsworth. Padget, D. K. (2004) The Qualitative Research Experience. Southbank: Thompson Learning, Patton, M. Q. (2002) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Pavri, S. (2001). Loneliness in children with disabilities: How teachers can help. Teaching Exceptional Children, 33(6), 52-58. Penslar, R. L. (Ed.) (1995). Research Ethics: Cases and Materials. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Shank, G. D. (2002). Qualitative Research: A Personal Skills Approach. Columbus: Merrill/Prentice Hall. Read More