Aboriginal perspective

• Main Authors: Connors Ea, Edward A. Connors, Rama First Nations
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2004
• Subjects: First Nations
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.548.1072; http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/ConnorsANGps.pdf

These reviews of the research pertaining to aggression in young children encourage me to believe that as a society, we will gradually re-discover the knowledge necessary to create a more peaceful and less violent society for all of our citizens.1-11 The recognition that aggressive behaviour is learned and that it is acquired through exposure to aggressive role models during our early childhood years should come as no surprise. Similarly, family factors that have been determined to promote the development of aggressive behaviours, such as low income, low education, high family stress, single parenthood, marital discord, maternal depression and parental drug use, are but a few of the experiences that are common to disadvantaged members of our society. In the case of First Nations families, the rates of unemployment are higher than the general population. Employed Aboriginal people are over-represented in low-paying jobs and the average level of formal education attained is lowest. Almost one-third of all Aboriginal children under age 15 live with a single parent, with the proportion rising to almost one-half of the families in urban settings. More than 10 % of Aboriginal children do not live with either parent and more than one-third of Aboriginal people surveyed in several studies report family violence