EFFECTS OF SOCIAL CLASS

Effects of Social Class of the Maturity of Children

CHAPTER - I

Introduction

The word maturity originated from a Latin word “maturation” that means for ripening; thus, it is often described as the procedure of “mature” or “becoming ripe”. When social science experts explain developmental transformations as maturational, they explain the transformation as employing 03 features:

The end-goal of maturational change is an adaptive state

Maturational change is a systematic process

Maturational change is an essentially teleological or End-goal oriented process

Many factors such as social class, gender, society, education and religion affect a child's level of maturity. Social class has many propositions for child's level of maturity. Poor social class affects children maturity as they are more linked to modernization which emerged a distinctive and new model of childhood. Child labor is also a factor contributing toward child's level of maturity. Modern society demanded more skills from its work force than the family labor system was able to deliver. As a result, families had to forgo the income from some of their children so that they could learn the skills necessary to obtain employment. At the same time, reformers began to define child labor as a social problem and to expand the availability of schools. By the 1920s, child labor was on the decline in the Western world as schools, child labor laws, and technological innovation finally reduced the supply of child laborers and the demand for them. (Mullaney, 2005)

Research Question

Does the definition of maturity depend on the social class?

CHAPTER - II

Literature Review

A review of the literature related to effects of social class of the maturity of children, shows that the maturity experiences of children in the recent present and past cannot be reduced to simple generalizations; there are too many variables. But it is obvious that region, economic health, and aspects such as race, class, and gender all have a major impact on children and childhood. Having noted these difficulties, some observations are possible. Abortion is more common in the industrialized world, whereas infant mortality is much lower. Children are less likely to become orphans in industrialized countries, to experience the death of a sibling, or to die before reaching adulthood. Children in industrialized countries will probably know their grandparents, and their parents may well have been divorced; many of them live in single-parent households, a sharp contrast to the extended households of traditional cultures. (Barker, 2005)

Children in industrialized countries will spend more time in schools than children did in the medieval world, or than they do now where traditional cultures prevail. They will spend more time in groups with children of the same age. Their parents will have relied more heavily on experts, and they will probably have only a few siblings and perhaps a room of their own. They will have money of their own, and parts of the media will cater especially to them. They will also have a legal status that is clearly spelled out, although their status will vary from country to ...