Index IntroductionReligion and how it affects childrenReligion and child behaviorSelf-controlInterpersonal skillsReligion and child mental healthLife satisfactionDecreased rates of depressionConclusionPersonal reflectionReferencesIntroductionYoung children develop knowledge of beliefs and practices religious activities throughout their childhood (Bartkowski et al., 2008) For children to fully develop their full potential, they must be given the opportunity to participate in religious activities (Smith & Mcsherry, 2004). Research on religion and child development has been insufficient over the years, even as interest in religion in child development has increased (Bartkowski et al., 2008). Previous studies have suggested that religion can help parents develop support techniques and can help children develop (Petts, 2012). Furthermore, current research provides information indicating that parents' religious beliefs and behaviors are related to greater well-being in children (Petts, 2012). Religion has also been shown to have positive benefits on psychological health (Chiswick & Mirtcheva, 2013). Family diversity is missing from the research on this topic, as the research has not included diversity in any other type of relationship other than heterosexual parents. However, this is due to the fact that heterosexual couples are more directly linked to religious institutions (Petts, 2012). The goal of this article, in light of these findings, is to discuss how religion influences our lives, both in terms of mental health and behavior. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Religion and How It Affects Children When it comes to child development, the most recent studies suggest that religion has a significant impact on children's behavior, emotions, and behaviors. and cognitive development (Bartkowski et al., 2008) Children will experience these benefits from religion due to the presence of both parents and close religious community (Bartkowski et al., 2008). The benefits of religion continue to increase as a child becomes an adolescent and adult, as they continue to understand more about their own morals (Mahoney, 2010). This is due to previous findings, as mentioned before, that have linked religion to positive associations with children's health (Mahoney, 2010). Children are often born into their family's religion, thus having the ability to grow and learn their religion during their early development. Religion and Child Behavior Behavior is how individuals react regarding their actions and reactions to things happening around them. Children constantly develop their behavior, for better or worse, throughout their youth. In some cases, children with problem behaviors can lead to parental stress and children externalizing their problems (Petts, 2012). However, according to research, if parents and children are more active in a religious environment, this will reduce problem behaviors and decrease parental stress (Petts, 2012). Furthermore, religion is associated with self-control, self-monitoring, self-regulation, health, social behavior, and well-being (Guajardo et al., 2009). Self-ControlSelf-control, self-regulation and self-monitoring all revolve around the ability to deal with your personal behavior and emotions in a healthy and polite way. For children, learning to use self-control is essentialfor their development in social behavior and to positively internalize their problems as these learned outcomes will have a significant impact on their adult life (Tao et al., 2014). Recent research suggests that involvement in a religious environment as a child will increase his or her ability to self-control and encourage better behavior. This is mainly due to the fact that religion has a community that supports children together as a whole, rather than the child only having parents to support them, as well as religion having a known impact on the presence of parents in a child's life which will help also in child development (Petts, 2012). When religion is a factor in embodied self-control, it was found in a series of four experiments that it was a continuous factor that restored low self-control or added self-control (Rounding, Lee, Jacobson, & Ji, 2012). Bartkowski et al. (2008) goes on to demonstrate that both teachers and parents predict children's self-control due to the religious presence of both the child's mothers and fathers. In their longitudinal study, they used previously found data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class, in which they had 21,260 young children who were all in first grade or younger and their parents and teachers. Teachers and parents were asked to provide information on children's general behavior regarding behavior and other factors. Whereupon they found that the amount of religion in a family is the factor that contributes to healthy child development (Bartkowski et al., 2008). As such, self-control is directly related to the child's development in positive behavioral outcomes that are important even through adults. life.Interpersonal Skills Another way in which religion affects a child's behavior is through the development of interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills are about the many ways children can develop good and healthy ways of communicating well with other people. These skills can range from leadership to communication from children to those around them. Research suggests that when both parents regularly attend religious services, their children are more effective in interpersonal skills both at school and at home (Bartkowski et al., 2008). Bartkowski et al. (2008) once again found that parents who attend religious services semi-regularly have children who have stronger interpersonal skills. Developing strong interpersonal skills is beneficial to a child's development because it will better help them in their adolescence and adult life. People always need to talk and interact with other people, so when this skill is developed at a young age, it will be more important in their later life skills. Through parents attending religious services, children will be born into this environment and will likely continue with the same religious beliefs into adolescence. Studies conducted exclusively on single mothers attending religious services have also been shown to be beneficial to children's development, as previous research has only been conducted on couples (Petts, 2012). Religion has been shown to aid child development by the age of eight (Bartkowski et al., 2008). In another study, research also shows that children with lower interpersonal skills are earlier at a lower level in cognitive assessments than children with strong interpersonal skills (Guajardo et al., 2009). This is due to social competence associated with interpersonal skills and the ability to perform better on similar tasks. In allresearch conducted on the relationship between interpersonal skills and religion, there is a strong correlation between the presence of parents in children's lives and children's positive development due to participation in religion. Religion and child mental health In relation to child behavior, religion also has a strong impact on child mental health. Mental health can be defined as the emotional, psychological and general health of oneself. Recent studies have shown that religion has a direct impact on children's mental health during development by creating life satisfaction and decreasing rates of depression from childhood to adulthood. Life satisfaction Life satisfaction has been described by recent research to answer the following question: how satisfied are you with your life (Sinewe et al. ., 2014). Participants in this study answered the question and had to rate their lives on a scale from completely dissatisfied (0) to completely satisfied (10). In a sample of 27,242 participants, results found that religious people had a higher life satisfaction score than those who were not religious (Sinnewe et al., 2014). The reason they concluded this is due to the close community of those who belong to religious communities, compared to the more secluded life if people were not religious. Decreased Rates of Depression In comparison to life satisfaction with religion in children's development, it has also been studied that religion is associated with decreased rates of depression in child development. A study conducted by Svob (2016) shows that there were increased risks of depression and suicide if religion was not important in high-risk children between the ages of six and eighteen. In another sense, if religion were important in their lives, children would be less likely to be depressed or suicidal. Depression in young children is harmful to their development because it slows down the process and, if left untreated, will continue into adulthood. Children at risk for depression may be able to address these symptoms through religion, just as other children may not become depressed in the future due to their importance to religion (Svob et al., 2016). Probabilities from the study suggested that forty percent of at-risk children who identified religion as unimportant were more likely to continue or become depressed than the rest of the children who identified religion as important (Svob et al., 2016). There has been previous research on the impact of religion on all aspects of mental health and depression, from children with high economic statuses, to those with low economic statuses, to children suffering from disabilities. All these previous studies have the same results in the sense that religion decreases and are related to the beneficial effect in reducing the presence of depression. Most studies have also stated that children who have depressed parents are at a higher risk of suffering from depression (Stearns & Mckinney, 2018). Stearns & Mckinney's (2018) study also found that if mothers or parents were depressed, their children's ability to participate in religious activities decreased due to the nature of the parents' depression. Therefore, if parents are depressed, children may not be open to experiencing religion until they are away from their parents in adult life, meaning they may be more likely to become depressed due to the nature of their parents' depression and their ability to react. about their habits. However, if ichildren are exposed to religion at a young age, they will be less likely to become depressed in later life (Svob et al., 2016). Conclusion Research into the impact of religion on children suggests that the community associated with religious events, the presence of both parents in children's lives, and the positive benefits that come from active participation in religion are extremely important for behavior and health. child's mind. Specifically, religion will help reduce problem behaviors, reduce parental stress, increase life satisfaction, decrease the likelihood of depression, and increase strong interpersonal skills which are all crucial to the positive and healthy development of children. These outcomes are detrimental to children's progress through development to acquire essential skills to be able to succeed in their lives to their fullest ability while allowing them the independence to be able to self-regulate and decide what is best for them in life. Indeed, these benefits of religion on child development are important to the extent that children develop in a healthy environment and do not accumulate negative traits in their adult lives, such as depression. The high importance of religion in a child's development will help them overcome obstacles that they would otherwise be at high risk for, such as mental illnesses and behavioral problems. The main limitation of this article is that it is about religion as a whole and not specifically any type of religion, so it never addresses how different religions might impact child development differently, but only addresses the main impacts that religion most religions have on children. It is important to consider different religions as they may have a greater or lesser impact on children's behavior and mental health as some religions are more strict than others. That said, it would be helpful for future research to verify that they are studying the correct religion for their purpose of study. This paper was clear in identifying common impacts on child development across all religions, however, future research may want to be more specific in identifying only one religion and direct impacts more thoroughly on child development. Personal Reflection My theory on the impacts of religion on behavior and mental health in child development comes through psychological and behavioral perspectives. Learning theory and psychosocial theory are important because they allow children to become what they want to be and guide them in the correct paths. Throughout the course, I firmly believed that Erikson's developmental theory was closest to how I believed children developed. Erikson's theory is linked to the psychosocial aspects of child development, demonstrating that there are eight developmental stages throughout life, each with its own conflict and turning point. However, after delving deeper into the course, I realized that behaviorism is similar to psychosocial theory and also contributes to child development. Therefore, with my knowledge in the course, I learned that behaviorism helps people observe those around them and create their own behaviors is closely related to the developmental stages that individuals go through according to Erikson. Therefore, I combined both of these theories with my personal theory to describe the impacts of child development. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay Religion and child development are significant because they are missing. (2009).