Patterson presented his theory of coercion to explain the environment’s contributions to disruptive behavior. Many of the psychological problems we may see in children and adolescents are related to their nearest environment.
School, co-workers, family and especially parents are agents that have a great influence on the child’s behavior, children learn by example, so they learn by reference to the way they act.
- Family models are relevant to behavioral disorders or disruptive disorders.
- It is very common to find antisocial behaviors in families of children who develop this type of behavior.
This fact may be influenced, in turn, by the socio-economic level, by the presence of conflicts between parents, by the bad example or even by carelessness.
“Everything that is given to children will be given to society. “K. Menninger?
One of the most important variables is how orders are given. When evaluating a family to spot a child with behavioral problems, we are likely to encounter very critical parents who give orders with a confused, humiliating, or anger-driven mind.
We’re talking about two types of orders: alpha and beta
Patterson developed the explanatory theory of how the family environment can influence children’s behavior. The method used by the author was the study of the child’s observational video at school and interaction with parents at home.
Patterson’s theory of coercion explains how antisocial patterns occur in family dynamics. Children would use aggressive behaviors, such as tantrums or uncontrolled yelling, to achieve their goals.
These behaviors are positively reinforced when the child gets what he wants. There is also negative reinforcement: the child feels that anxiety decreases when he or she receives what he or she asks for and avoids situations he or she does not want.
The process by which the child uses aversive behavior to his or her advantage is called coertion. In the coercive processes present in parent-child relationships, the explanatory role of negative reinforcement emerges.
Parents, in the face of the child’s behavior, do not act properly and yield to their desires. In the short term it is good for both parties, but in the long run it becomes a serious problem. When parents give in to all of their children’s requests, they fall into what is called a “negative reinforcement trap,” reinforcing this kind of negative and coercive behavior.
On the other hand, from this theory, it is observed that punishment is counterproductive. It does not suppress coercive behaviors, but increases them. Punishment provides a model for solving dysfunctional problems from which the child does not learn positively; rather the other way around.
According to the theory of coertion, Patterson developed parent training to help parents learn to handle environmental hazards well and not fall into the negative reinforcement trap.
The program has a great advantage: the child gets used to discomfort and develops strategies to tolerate frustration. Parents also learn to endure tantrums and crying without giving in in the short term.
Cognitively, does the child learn that tantrums are meant to strengthen?Watch TV longer, sweets, miss school?They have no functionality. In addition, it internalizes the idea that we don’t always get everything we want; you have to accept it.
Over time, proper parent training brings many benefits to the family environment. The child with clear boundaries becomes safer, as does the parents.
However, training Patterson’s parents is difficult for some families, increasing their dropout rate, so it is imperative that parents be aware that the results will come over time, after the precise implementation of the established measures.
On the other hand, we are talking about an intervention that works well when there is consistency in its application, it can lose all or much of its power when it is left aside and taken arbitrarily.