Psychology

EMDR, Music Therapy, and Somatic Disorder

Upon waking up in the morning and being completely drawn into the proper performance of his or her daily activities, a modern human being today will surely notice that the environment of the 21st century has evolved from a silent and simple setting to an area that caters to competition and continuous improvement in order to survive the challenges  imposed by the current global status (Corey  Corey, 2006). Pressure from work, conditions inside the family, and personal relationships all contribute to the multitude of factors that characterize the stressful environment of this modern milieu. Unfortunately, stress cannot be eliminated, but one can resort to various stress management methods in order to monitor the psychological and physiological effects of stress, thereby reducing the negative effects that are attributed to these events (Corey  Corey, 2006). In connection to this, the goal of this assignment is to discuss the effectiveness of different stress management methods like music therapy and EMDR in alleviating the unwanted effects of stress and other somatic disorders. Hence, the discussions of this assignment are significant in the confirmation of ways to create a healthy lifestyle from a stressful atmosphere. This assignment will be divided into three parts and each part will be composed of approximately three pages. 

Summarize the mechanisms, underpinnings and beneficial effects of the following

Music Therapy
Entertainment and aesthetic values are the usual reasons that account for the importance of music in the lives of humans (Scott, 2009). However, recent studies and historical findings suggest that music can be used for medical and therapeutic purposes the earliest documented example of this process is the Kahum Papyrus (Dileo  Bradt, 2007). At present, a growing number of patients are claiming that music therapy was able to help them with their diseases which include cancer, ADD for children, and other hospital-related medical infirmities such as pain management, calming of patients, reduction post-surgical depression and anxiety, promotion ease of muscle movement as a consequence of tension, and many other benefits (Scott, 2009). To further investigate the nature and dimension of music therapy, it is important to discuss the theoretical underpinnings and mechanism of this stress management method. 

Music therapy is technically defined as the  systematic process of intervention wherein the therapist helps the client to promote health, using music experiences and the relationships that develop through them as dynamic forces of change  (Dileo  Bradt, 2007, p. 520). This means that the prerequisites of this intervention include an expert music therapist, a patient, the goal that must be reached, type of music therapy approach, materials or music, and the evaluation of the therapy after its complete implementation. Specific approaches of music therapy include the following process of passive listening of the client to low frequency music with or without verbal instructions from the therapist in order to reduce stress which is technically termed as listening experiences, the act of performing, practicing, andor learning musical voice or musical instruments, the process of inventing music using instruments andor voice spontaneously based on initial thoughts on the message of the music (improvisational experiences), the procedure of writing revised lyrics of popular songs or composing original lyrics (compositional experiences), and finally, the combined arts experiences which incorporate music in relation to other forms of art (Dileo  Bradt, 2007).

Direct effects of music therapy to stress management are manifested by positive alterations of overall heart rate, respiration rate, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, body temperature, anxiety reduction and mood enlightenment (Dileo  Bradt, 2007). However, it must be emphasized that these effects are not identical for all the people who were exposed to music therapy because music experience is said to be influenced by the personal and unique experiences of the person (Dileo  Bradt, 2007). Hence, the range of positive effects that can be achieved by patients after exposure to music therapy is dependent on the specific responses of their physiological and psychological systems.

Eye movement desentization and reprocessing (EMDR)
Eye movement desentization and reprocessing or EMDR was first introduced by Francine Shapiro in 1989. It was intended to serve patients who are victims of posttraumatic stress disorder (PSTD), anxiety disorders, and other traumatic experiences (Hyer  Kushner, 2007). From then on, the application of EMDR has expanded to cover specific areas of psychology including panic disorders, spider phobia, claustrophobia, somatoform disorders, blood and injection phobia, crime phobia, recovery of patients who were exposed to crime incidences and sexual assault, and also in the rehabilitation of patients who became addicted to gambling and drugs (Hyer  Kushner, 2007). In order to further assess the effectiveness of this stress management method, it would be necessary to examine first the theoretical foundations and process mechanisms of this specific method.

As mentioned earlier, Dr. Shapiro was the primary proponent of EMDR and he was also the man that formulated the underlying concepts of EMDR. He said that adaptive processing of the brain makes it possible for the processes of EMDR to occur because this is the method that permits the creation of novel concepts from traumatic experiences, allowing for free flow of information, recuperation, restoration, and improvement of the overall personality of the person. The conceptual framework of EMDR makes use of the following constructs placebo usage, rapid eye movement, relaxation response, counter-conditioning, adaptive processing, neurobiological homeostasis, and assimilation techniques (Hyer  Kushner, 2007). Hence, the underlying concepts of EMDR are grounded on the notion that EMDR  is a theoretical integration model that offers different perspectives at the level of theory and practice,  with emphasis on the idea that the current mindset of the patient is essential in reprogramming the old thoughts and formation of more beneficial present experiences (Hyer  Kushner, 2007, p. 548). Inherent in the process of EMDR treatment is the utilization of eight phases that include the investigation of the client history, preparation of the client, assessment, desensitization, installation, double check, closure, and re-evaluation (Hyer  Kushner, 2007). Bilateral focus or the simultaneous exposure to internal and external stimuli with therapist directed eye movements accounts for the therapeutic reduction of the negative effects that have resulted from the traumatic memories (Hyer  Kushner, 2007). Consequently, the effectiveness of EMDR is backed up by its international recognitions from the Department of Veterans Affairs Practice Guidelines, American Psychiatric Associations, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and psychiatric groups from Britain, North Ireland, Israel, and Sweden (Hyer  Kushner, 2007).       
Why might these forms of stress management be effective in managing stress Explain how they manage to decrease stress.

Based on the above discussions, both music therapy and EMDR help in the management of stress and traumatic disorders, respectively. Music therapy, in particular, helps in reducing the muscle tension felt by the patients which is also reflected in the significant positive alteration of the vital sign values such as temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate (Dileo  Bradt, 2007). EMDR, on the other hand, aids in the reduction of the negative effects of traumatic experiences, a process that is accomplished through bilateral focus and adaptive processing (Hyer,  Kushner, 2007). Stress reduction as a consequence of EMDR is manifested by affecting the sensations, formation of constructive perceptions after exposure to events or people that have triggered trauma and general promotion of relaxation for the patients (Hyer,  Kushner, 2007). 

Coping with stress the effectiveness of different types of music  Summary of the article and usefulness in clinical practice. (hypothesis, method, and outcome)

Music plays an important role in the lives of teenagers and young adults nowadays. It is believed that music significantly helps in dealing with stressful academic and personal daily lives (Labb, Schimdt, Babin,  Pharr, 2007). Aside from this, it is also said that music is a very effective way of expressing emotions, concepts, and a multitude of other feelings that members of these age groups find hard to express in communicated language (Labb et al., 2007). However, there is a lack of scientific studies that can strongly support the significance of music in the very dynamic lives of the today s young generation. Furthermore, there is also an absence of substantial studies that can reveal the profile of the types of music genre that can effectively perform stress reduction and mood alleviation for teenagers and young adults (Labb et al., 2007). In connection to this, the goal of this paper is to establish a formal investigation of the direct effects music on the reduction of negative emotions experienced by young adults and teenagers and to provide a profile of the music genres that can most effectively elicit the positive effects in relation to stress management (Labb et al., 2007). It is also important to emphasize that the effects of pre-determined attractive music in relation to the self-perceptions of the participants as opposed to the theoretically proven favorable genre of songs will also be investigated (Labb et al., 2007). The hypothesis of this study works under the notion that the positive effects of music to its listeners is also a function of the nature of the music type and its degree of attractiveness for the participants (Labb et al., 2007). Consequently, the findings that will be generated in this study are important in the production of benchmark studies of the psychophysiological effects of music and its related counterparts in stress management, a factor that may be exploited in hospital and other medical settings.

This study made use of an experimental research design that is characterized by a random pretest, posttest experiment wherein participants were asked to answer same sets of questionnaires before and after exposure to anger-inducing variables. In particular, 56 college students who are currently enrolled in a southeastern university participated in the study. They were told that they will receive an additional 5 credit for their psychology courses if they will participate in this study (Labb et al., 2007). A total of 15 males and 41 females joined the study, and they were randomly selected for their inclusion into four different music groups which are composed of the following self-selected music, classical, heavy metal music, and silence (Labb et al., 2007). Prior to the experimental procedure, all of the participants were asked to answer the demographic questionnaires and trait scales, and they were also exposed to pre-test physiological testing in order to obtain a baseline profile of their body processes under normal conditions. The Relaxation Rating Scale (RRS), Music Rating Scale (MRS), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAIX-2), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y (STAI-Y) were the specific measuring scales that were utilized in the study in order to provide an empirical measurement of the mood alterations of the patients (Labb et al., 2007). The anger-inducing element that was used in the study was described in the administration of  mentally challenging test  to the students, an event that was expected to alter the mood of the students and create a depressing outlook in them (Labb et al., 2007, pg. 165). After this step, the participants were accordingly separated to their music groups as signified by their exposure to four types of music for about 20 minutes (Labb et al., 2007). The same set of measuring scales and physiological tests were employed to the participants after their exposure to heavy metal music, classical music, self-selected music, or silence (Labb et al., 2007).

Result showed that individuals who were exposed to self-selected and classical music after exposure to stressors manifested a more significant reduction in state anxiety levels and increase in state relaxation levels as compared to those who were exposed to heavy metal music or no music at all (Labb et al., 2007). This is supported by the significant differences in the values of several testing of the 4x2 mixed designs which compared the state anxiety, state anger, and overall relaxation achieved by the participants after the exposure to the four music groups. Aside from this, physiological measurements of heart rate, respiration rate and skin conductance have shown that those who were exposed to self-selected and classical music achieved more stable rates for these parameters as opposed to those who were exposed to heavy music and no music at all (Labb et al., 2007).

In general, it was shown in this study that  listening to different music genre can significantly elicit positive responses on the emotions and cognitive states of the listeners as supported by the relaxation responses values and steady state anxiety values (Labb et al., 2007). It was also confirmed by this study that the sympathetic nervous system arousal of the participants was reduced upon exposure to classical and self-selected music (Labb et al., 2007). Moreover, critical analysis of the data achieved from this study will show that the pre-conceived notion of the beneficial effects of a specific song or music-related element can affect the actual physiological and psychological consequences on the body of the listener (Labb et al., 2007). Hence, it is strongly recommended by the researchers that people should expose themselves more often to classical music or other music types of their choice whenever they are experiencing traumatic events or stressing experiences (Labb et al., 2007).

These findings are important to clinical practice because they can serve as a strong evidence to the use of music therapy in helping patients recover from the effects of surgical procedures or other stressful events. The knowledge gap on the availability of scientific literature that will attest to the therapeutic and medical effects of music is addressed by this study.

Applying Stress Management Interventions
Application of stress management interventions
Several applications of stress management techniques, such as the use of relaxing music, have already been considered and utilized for improving the conditions of those with somatic disorders. In relation to this, cases of asthma would be an excellent example of how stress management techniques are applied. During an asthma attack, an individual suffers from a considerable difficulty in breathing as brought forth by inflamed air passages (Giardino, McGrady,  Andrasik, 2007). Hence, in order to help the patient with asthma,  stress management-based approaches in intervention must be able to alleviate the abovementioned effects and conditions. However, individuals with this disorder are presented with different means of stress management and relaxation which may encompass techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, music-based relaxation, as well as breathing-based relaxation such as Yoga (Giardino et al., 2007). Expectedly, such techniques are taught to patients at a suitable pace so as to enable them to eventually apply such in a functional manner.

Aside from asthma, hypertension is also another significant health concern. Interestingly, such a disorder is commonly associated with stress and thus means of stress management and relaxation would expectedly provide beneficial effects to hypertensive individuals. For example, it has been established in previous studies that biofeedback techniques in conjunction with other approaches have resulted in appreciable improvements in maintaining blood pressure at an appropriate level (Giardino et al., 2007). However, biofeedback requires devices in order to become a feasible mode of treatment, and stress management approaches for hypertension does not necessarily require complex instruments so as to become effective. To further expound, educational means as well as training sessions focused upon learning to reorient ones emotions in a positive manner are also considered as effective especially in the context of the workplace (Giardino et al., 2007). Thus, it is appropriate to assume that the aforesaid means of stress management and relaxation may be applied with flexibility in terms of financial and technological requirements.

Arguably more worrisome than both asthma and hypertension, cancer is also regarded as a disorder which may be managed through the use of relaxation-based approaches. An example of stress management and relaxation-based approaches used for patients with cancer would be positive group therapy. In particular, this technique in therapy highlights the use of self-hypnosis for pain management (Giardino et al., 2007). Group therapies are without a doubt among the most generally considered approaches for stress management for those with cancer, especially for women. Hence, in addition to positive group therapy, supportive-expressive group therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction have also been noted as potential complementary treatments for such patients (Giardino et al., 2007). Given the concerns associated with cancer are quite extensive and numerous, encompassing both physiological and emotional aspects of an individual, which may not entirely be understood by individuals without such a condition, it is definitely understandable as to why group-based approaches have been widely considered as the most ideal mode of stress management and relaxation-based treatment.               

Role of Techniques in Treatment
Not only has a myriad of approaches in treatment been studied and tested but there is definite logic in the purpose of using such treatments for healing, recovery, and improving the patients quality of life. In the case of asthmatic patients, the effective learning and use of stress management techniques have been known to affect them in a beneficial manner, evidently decreasing the extent and frequency of occurrence of the disorders symptoms (Giardino et al., 2007). Furthermore, the need for medication has been lessened as well in some cases. To further expound, upon practicing Yoga, patients have required less medication in order to manage the effects of the disorder due to the fact that slow breathing techniques have resulted in a significant improvement in the flow throughout air passages (Giardino et al., 2007). Thus, it is easy to understand as to why the techniques noted beforehand may be regarded as vital tools in managing cases of asthma and lessening the burden imposed upon patients with such a somatic disorder. The role of stress management and relaxation-based treatment in hypertension serves a similar function. In particular, due to the improved control of emotions through such means which result in an appreciable decrease in blood pressure, hypertensive individuals are less likely to suffer the detrimental effects of the disorder (Giardino et al., 2007).

On the other hand, cancer cannot be as easily controlled and managed through relaxation-based therapies. As a matter of fact, throughout tests which involve group-based therapies, no beneficial changes to cancer-relevant immune cell counts have been established (Giardino et al., 2007). Nonetheless, it must be emphasized that while positive effects upon cancer proliferation may be accomplished through such means, managing its symptoms is still of vital concern for cancer patients. On this note, the effects of group-based stress management and relaxation-based therapies have been noted to result in a decrease of both physiological and emotional symptoms. For example, through the use of self-hypnosis, women with breast cancer have been noted to be less concerned with pain and had a more positive outlook furthermore, improvements in terms of survival have also been established through past studies (Giardano et al,, 2007). Therefore, while stress management and relaxation-based therapies are not necessarily a significant tool in attempting to completely cure cancer, it cannot be refuted that they provide superb potential in improving the quality of life for patients with the aforesaid terminal illness.

Every crime has a victim and an offender.  They come from all walks of life, nonetheless breaking the stereotyping of the society as based on personal and societal beliefs.  The media is also a big factor in the publics assumptions as to who is a possible suspect or not.

The media in our world today has played different roles and comes in various forms print, radio, and audio-visual.  They cater to an array of people in various age groups depending on the articles they published or the shows they air.  In the audio-visual media, to give an example, television series that feature both fiction and non-fiction stories are aired for the audiences delight. We now have sci-fi series like Flash Forward, comedy series like How I Met Your Mother, drama series like One Tree Hill, and of course, crime series like CSI.

Running for almost a decade now, the TV series Crime Scene Investigation (or CSI) Las Vegas features events that happen in a crime scene and in the crime lab.  Usually, they would open the start of an episode with a body of a dead person and the CSIs taking pictures or scouring the crime scene for any evidences.  Then they proceed to brainstorming, talking about their theories on what might have happened and how it happened, basing of course on the evidence that they find.  Most of the time, they get the lead immediately for the suspect sometimes, they seem to be in a forking path where another person is found to be also able to act out the crime.  The story may end in the episode, or may carry out further into the season.  Some even go beyond the next seasons of the show, so beware if you skip watching a full season and on to the next because you may be missing out on something.  CSI Las Vegas is a gripping story that puts ordinary people into the shoes of the characters, showing us how a crime is solved or how even with their profession they are faced with certain death especially in the hands of a revengeful relative of the suspect.

Before I watched CSI, I tried to remember that one particular episode that caught my attention.  I havent really been following the show I was just able to watch parts of a show while browsing channels.  I surfed the net for help, and there I remembered The Miniature Killer.  Turns out, the Miniature Killer is featured in several parts of the seventh season of CSI (TV IV).  It was like their running story.  So, instead of watching just one episode, I watched the whole season well, parts of it that involved my featured offender. 

To give an overview, the Miniature Killer was depicted as someone who has an intricate skill of making an exact half-inch scale model of the crime scene.  From the picture frames to the tiles on the floor, even to the arrangement of utensils inside the drawers, it was perfect.  If that wasnt freaky enough, the victim is also perfectly matched to the real crime scene the blood used in the model matches that of the victim.

That in itself gives us the impression that the killer was an obsessive artist.  It showed more evidence of it when in the second crime scene the killer moved the doll (the victim in the scale model) to match the real scene.  It was really freaky after that, because three more scale modelsand real deathscame after that.

The CSIs tried to find a pattern, a profile for the Miniature Killers, then dubbed, victims.  They found none.  There was also no specific pattern as to the mode of killing.  The first victim was a washed up rock star hit on the head by a rolling pin, COD was blunt head trauma second was an old lady living by herself, COD was liquid nicotine mixed in her cherry brandy a man working in a chicken farm, COD was electrocution in the chicken stun bath and a retired psychiatrist and a police woman who stood in for the former as an undercover, COD were asphyxiation and carbon monoxide poisoning.
For them it was a dead end because the killings continued after the man who confessed to the killings committed suicide.  But persistent as they were, the CSIs, they continued piecing the evidences that they have to form a concrete personification of the Miniature Killer.  Eventually, they found out that the killer was in fact someone from their janitorial department, a domestic helper by the name of Natalie.

Natalie has no motive for doing the criminal acts that she has done it was not for revenge or for anything, it was a manifestation of her psychotic tendencies as triggered byof all thingsbleach.  When she hears or reads the word bleach, or smells it, she loses her mind and begins to construct a miniature of her victim and then carry out the crime.  Ironically, she works around with bleach most of the time since she is a janitress.  She is also a savant, someone who has remarkable photographic memory which explains her detailed miniature creations (Hiles). 

She is around middle to late twenties, and grew up with his foster father Ernie Dell, the same person who confessed to the crimes and then committed suicide.  As a backgrounder, Natalie committed her first crime when she was a little girl.  She pushed her younger sister off their tree house, and the smell of the bleach while they were cleaning off the blood was imprinted in her memory.  She was put up for adoption but was passed on from one foster to another, as her psychotic tendencies led her to pushing her foster sisters off their beds.

She was actually one of the hardest cases ever cracked by the CSIs.  She was revengeful because of what happened to her father, so she carried out a plan to kill one of them.  She was unsuccessful, of course, but she brought a great challenge to the members of the crime lab.  It was a running trivia that she way she kills follows the pattern in the word BLEACH.  CSI Sidle is to be killed by crushing and Nataliealthough not verifiedwill kill herself by hanging (CSI Wikia)

On realization, criminals dont often follow a particular profile, and they dont really act out on their own accord.  Nonetheless, not all criminals are out of their minds.  And we do not have to have a motive to kill someone.

Psychology is defined as the  study of the human soul or mind  (Zimmer, 1999, para. 2).  On this note, psychology deals with the cognitive and emotional responses of the person because these are also the components of the mental processes of the human mind.  In psychology, people view the world in different perspectives, hence their responses are also different.  For example,  a painting has a beautiful appeal for someone whereas another person sees it as nothing but a chaotic array of lines and colors.  Cliff-diving may be viewed by someone as scary and rejects the activity whereas another person may view this as recreational and exciting.  When a childs parents die, he or she becomes totally depressed in comparison to a child who  easily accepts the loss because he or she thinks his or her parents are already peaceful in heaven.  In various instances, people can change their view of the world in accordance with how their mind perceives things.

Peoples thought processes impact their perceptions and reactions to the external stimuli in the environment.  This means that the stimulus itself does not determine a persons resulting reaction or perception.  Instead, a persons cognitive process influences how the stimulus is to be viewed by the person.  In a nutshell, the stimuli-response process occurs when a person perceives the external stimuli, then puts meaning to the stimuli received, after-which an emotional or behavioral response is evoked.  Knowing this process, it can be seen that the critical element is how the person thinks about the stimuli and puts meaning to it (Mulhauser, 2010, para. 1-3).

In line with this, psychologists claim that cognitive therapy is a better way of treating depression in clients rather than behavioral therapy.  This model stems from the view that depression is brought about by a persons pessimistic view in life.  This type of persons thinking is dominated by a negative evaluation of his own self and the people around him, hence his view of the future becomes negative, too (Stuart  Laraia, 2005, p. 338).  For example, a student was not accepted in the college he wanted to enrol in.  If a client has a pessimistic view of life, he would think that he is not intelligent that is why he was not accepted and therefore he would think that no college or univeristy would ever accept him.  In cases like this, cognitive therapy helps the person to realize the presence of extremely negative thoughts and perceptions which cause him to be depressed and hopeless.  An awareness of ones negative thoughts helps the individual, through the assistance of the therapist, to remove this negative thinking and imbibe a more positive view in life (Mulhauser, 2010, para. 4).  True enough, the psychology of the human mind changes how a person views the world.

For instance, a teenager has been in a relationship with a guy for more than a year.  However, the guy eventually dated other girls without telling her.  When the girl discovered this, she was devastated and hurt.  She confronts the guy and the guy tells her that she has become boring for him so he went out with other girls.  Because of this, the girl blamed herself and thought that if she were prettier and outgoing, her boyfriend would not have left her for other girls.  Since then, she blames herself when something turns badly in every relationship she forms.  She grew more unhappy and looks down on herself.  If you were the girl, how would you interpret the situation and react to this  People can change their view in life by simply changing the way how they think.  In this case, the girl can change the way she thinks about herself.  She should recognize that she did not put importance to her own feelings and instead, she simply accepted what the guy said about her.  The girl needs to think of herself in a positive regard and respect herself more.  In addition, she should keep in mind that her relationships are not based solely on how she is as a girlfriend, rather it should be an interplay of the attitudes and feelings from both parties.  With this in mind, the girl would be able to build her self-confidence and see that she cannot please everybody but she can at least make herself feel good by thinking positively about herself.

Another instance is when a straight-A student who always tops his class experienced being second for the first time.  If you were him, would you be mad and think that the teacher was wrong Or would you think of this situation as a learning opportunity for you  Situations like this should be viewed on a postive light.  Yes, it is disappointing for someone to come short of his expectations from his self.  But people should view every opportunity as part of the learning process from which one can gain more wisdom.  As the saying goes, people should learn from their mistakes and failures.  With this positive mindset, a person can accept this failure in his life and realize that he still has more to learn.  I think that one of the best lessons a person can learn in this experience is that a single failure should not keep someone from reaching his goal.

Psychology deals with how the human mind works.  Through this, people can change their view of the world, which can either be good or bad.  If a person chooses a correct mindset, I think everyone can achieve happiness and contentment in his or her own little ways.  With this concept in mind, people can see the brighter side of the picture and help themselves pursue happiness.

There was a participation in the community organization where by I had an interview with the Muslim American cultural group. The event was on 13th May 2010 at 3.00 oclock. That is the individuals were married but from the same culture, the man name was Sheikh Salim his wifes names were Fatima Ali,

The mode of dressing, was the cultural factor that helped me to shape the individuals identity that is the man was in a long white robe which he preferred it as a religious attire called Kanzu, the lady was dressed in a black long attire that she also preferred it as a buibui being a religious attire, and she covered the head with a black piece of clothe which she referred it as an hijarb.

During the interview they explained on there childhood experience and there parental values in which they said that their childhood experiences entailed living with the same group of the same age and the same sex, that is the boys were not allowed to interact with the girls, they used to respect the different sex by staying with the same sex group they had. There parental values entails to bring there own children in the same culture they were up brought up with. There parental values will define the upbringing of the child according to the culture they were up brought up since there own culture does not change.

Memories of when they interacted with non Muslim people and people who were not devoted to any Muslim culture, there were some differences among themselves and with other cultures, since they were not recognized well by other cultures. There cultural behavior differed from any other culture. But  through understanding of the way other people lived and the other cultures understanding what there culture meant to them  brought membership in a culturally- different group.

The American Muslim have a role in religion, they live everyday as a witness of their own religion and they take there religion as a way of respecting the supreme. They believe that there is the existence of God and that the religion plays a major role in there life to testify to every human being on the existence of God. The religion has also a role in shaping up there behavior and conduct in todays life. Since there culture has been understood differently by many countries world wide, immigration process is very difficulty due to misinterpretation of there culture worldwide and most of the countries do not consider taking in people of the Muslim culture in there religion, therefore there immigration experience was too complicated they had to undergo for further immigrations processes that are not undergone by other immigrates from other culture.

There school experience as members of cultural minority was also complicated and difficult because other students could not be able to interact with them due to the perception that they have grown up with it about the Muslim culture. Many students believe that people from this culture are a terrorist and unfriendly and that they interact with people from there own culture, which is not true. Experiences with the educational or psychological testing was both in a diverse perception from people as well as other students, the perception about this culture has developed a negative discernment worldwide that Muslim people are terrorist, and bombers therefore they could not interact with other people due to there psychological perception about how people view there culture therefore  People used to avoiding them. There experiences with issues regarding racism and discrimination was pessimistic, they said that racism has occurred differently since they are of different culture, they are not allowed to interact or involve themselves in some of the activities that the other cultures do, when they are found in mistakes they are more discriminated more than any other cultural group is discriminated for example in the cases of jail, they can take more imprison years than normal due to the way people grant them.

On career development or career choice experiences there are challenges that they faced during the carrier development, most of the organization could not employ them despite the fact that there culture is different, this used to depress them. In school they were strictly advised to choose a certain carrier and strictly not allowed to choose some carriers. They further explained the experience of being culturally-different and they said that the experience of being culturally different is negative that is there culture has been developed as a culture of enemity between other cultures majority of the culture in the country does not accept any relationship with them, they take  them as people who are there to destroy one another and unfriendly people, these has made them create a bad altitude to other cultures because of lack of understanding about there own culture. They grant other cultures unenthusiastically. The interviewees said that they have no desire to assimilate other cultural altitudes values and lifestyle since there own culture does not allow them to intervene or inherit other cultural values or beliefs. There own culture only allows them to stay in there own culture without the assimilation of other cultural values and beliefs since they have no feeling of oppression towards other cultures they respect other cultures and what peoples culture defines them. But they get oppressed when other people interfere with there cultural values. They said that every individual should know that there are other cultures and everyone should have esteem for other cultures.

Since every human being has a right to be annoyed they sometimes have the feeling of anger from other cultures especially when other cultures obstruct with there cultural significances, they say that people should have mutual respect towards other cultures and not to interfere with there own culture. In this way the stereotypical representation of the Muslim are often manifested in the society and it has always been off-putting, racism has challenged there mode of life, there are people who cannot interact with them, there are specific schools that cant admit any Muslim person. Muslim are not allowed to marry from other culture, this culture has been considered as people who are bombers and terrorist therefore defining what people consider them and why people dont interact with them, they have been considered as people who can cause death due to there religious teachings on fighting and dieing for there reason of there religion..

There are similarities between my cultural group and there own cultural group for terms of language we share the same language there native language in America is English that makes the communication easy. They also have a belief in there religion and the same applies to our own culture, there is a supreme being that exists in both the cultures.  the elements of the immersion that made me discover this type of culture was the mode of dressing, they explained the reason as to why a man has to be always in a religious attire and the reason as to why ladies have to put on such garments, they explained that for a man to put on the attire is something which is religious and for a woman it is a culture that directs them to be in such a position. Therefore culture in there life defines strictly there mode of living and it is there responsibility to follow up there cultural values. As an African and American person our own cultural values, beliefs have changed with time but there own culture has not yet changed they still remain in there own cultural ties and this makes the difference between me and the American Muslim. For example their cultural ways state that a man is not supposed to interact with a woman, men are supposed to be in there own company and never to be seen with any  relationship with woman, but this is different from our own n culture where by interaction is free. These brought about the difference between my culture and there own culture. Therefore it is true to say that members between my culture is more different because the way they live is very much different for example there culture allows them to marry more than one wife while in my own culture a man is only allowed to marry one wife. the mode of dressing, my cultural experience does not define any way a woman is supposed to be dressed but there culture defines a woman mode of dressing hence there cultural values behavior is more different from my own culture. 

My experience and views  about the Muslim American culture has been in a affirmative way, for example in issues regarding Muslim women freedom,  I thought that they have the freedom to choose there own way of dressing, but this has been much different from what I have known, that is the culture still strict them to the mode of dressing, many Muslim couples are always polygamous that is they have more than one family without divorcing there immediate wives, my research has come to a conclusion that there culture allows them to marry more than one wife. The participation affected me emotionally and also psychologically

That is I developed some emotional feelings toward this particular group that has never changed from their own cultural beliefs, they still inherit there own culture despite the fact that the world is changing. It affected me psychologically because I was left in thoughts of are there other group of cultures that have not yet changed from there own inheritable cultures.

There acculturation levels were so demanding meaning that they could not be changed despite the fact that racism has occurred and it is in high levels. They regarded racism as a way of interfering with there own culture, and there was no way racism could change there culture, this means that they are still bound by there own culture The Muslim American have a role of religion, there own religion determines there way of life, that is it defines the way that they should live, there conduct to other people and the supreme being whom should be respected

The prejudicial beliefs in this culture is that they are much into religion and they can even go to an extent of fighting and dieing simply because of there own religion. John F (1990).Through the knowledge that I have gained I have come to realize what is expected of me in this cultural group, if I was to do counseling with the same culture then I will be able to think on what the culture expects them and be able to act according to there cultural values. I have learned on the ways of there culture especially there beliefs values and there cultural influences.

If the child is supported emotionally from their single-parent, the academia and well being for the child often results positive.

A lot of misconceptions have been advanced in regard to single parent families especially on the part of the children raised from such family backgrounds. Children from these families are thought to be delinquent, often falling on the wrong side of the law they experience other social problems and are likely to drop out of school. There is nothing positive that has been said of these families. However, what should be noted is the fact that there are children from single parent families who lead a successful life and that the problems exhibited by others are not solely from the single parenting but from other factors as well that come with single parenting.

Introduction
There has been a lot of misconception being attributed to children who are raised by single parents in regard to their development and well being. Single parent phenomenon is no longer something unheard of in our society. Such families are commonplace in our societies today. According to the United States Census Bureau, close to a third of American families are headed by a single parent. The number of single parent families was estimated to be slightly above the 12 million mark in 2000 (Ketteringham, 2007). With an increasing trend in the single parent families across the US, researchers have conducted surveys to measure the impact of such households on the childs welfare.

There have been misconceptions that single parent families are doomed in that their children are usually associated with drug abuse, being delinquent and dropping out of school among other unconventional behavioral problems. This is however untrue because when such children gets the emotional support from the single parent, they are destined to show positive results just like any other kids from normal families.

This paper shall look into the evidence that denounces the misconceived myths that are associated with children from single parent households.

Single parent families
Single parent households are no longer considered as unconventional in the world today. A single parent can be defined as a parent with one or more children, who is not living with any of the childrens other parents (Ketteringham, 2007, para 3). In the United States, the number of children from normal family set up has been decreasing each year and an estimated 22 million kids live with single parents. Women headed families account for about 80 of the single parent households though men headed single households has been increasing in the recent past. Research reveals that mothers account for 85 of custodial parents whereas the fathers take the remaining 15. It was also found that more than half of the children under the custody of the mothers do not access to their fathers regularly after a couple of years into the break up. The 2000 census revealed that 38 of single families resulted from divorce, 35 were never married parents, separation accounted for 19, widowhood and separation due to other commitments each accounted for 4 of single parent families in the United States (Ketteringham, 2007).

Generally, female headed households are more in comparison to male headed households. There are many reasons that can explain why mothers account for a majority share of the single parent families but the main reason would be the fact that women are seen as nurturing compared to men and thus have to take the responsibilities of the young children (Lamb, 1998). Historically, the father was seen as the central figure that could provide for the children and prepare them for the future. In the years that followed after the First World War, there was a shift and mothers were seen as vital in nurturing of the young ones and hence custody of the children was handed over to them. Starting in the last third of the 20th century, the courts have been trying to adopt a middle ground at least in theory to enable men have an equal chance of having their kids in custody as the women. Reality however suggests that very few fathers have been granted custody of their children in comparison to the mothers. David Blankenhorn observes that the United States is becoming a fatherless society, a generation ago an American child could reasonably expect to grow up with his or her father. Today, the same child can reasonably expect not to, (Blankenhorn, 1995, p1). Initially, fatherhood was regarded as of great importance in the lives of children and death of the father was the worst tragedy to happen in a childs life. In the current times, a father leaving the home has become too common and the society seems accommodative of the habit (Blankenhorn, 1995).

Challenges of single parents
Child rearing is always full of challenges and the challenges are even intensified when one parent assumes the responsibilities that are associated with parenthood. Among the major challenges facing such families is usually financial as most of them cannot afford to stay in the homes babysitting unless they have a stable financial background. For such parents, combining working and caring for the children becomes a great challenge as they have to find a person who shall be handed the responsibility of taking care of the children as they go looking for a job. Though daycares provide these services for such parents, economical constrains forces these parents to look for financially viable options in the name of extended family members or child minders (Lamb, 1998).

A single parent is therefore overwhelmed by the pressure of taking care of the children and looking for financial relieve by landing a job elsewhere. They usually swing between their daily jobs and the un-paying jobs waiting at home. Handling the house chores after a tiring job during the day is a great challenge especially when the kids are still very young. With the parent tied between responsibilities at the workplace and the home, little or no time can be dedicated to spending with the children and this may lead to other challenges. Single parents hardly find time to get involved in their childrens school work and other activities. Being involved in the childs life is crucial as a parent (Ketteringham, 2007). Instilling discipline in children is also another challenge faced by single parents as they are sometimes too overwhelmed to notice it. It is crucial to observe good parenting skills, patience, and love among other aspects associated with parenthood when the kids are young so as to grow in an upright manner. It is also important to observe that the single parents have no time for themselves as they oscillate between the work place and household chores and this has proven to be a challenge in itself for it may worsen the other challenges being faced by these parents (Garis, 1998).

More often than not, single parent families are discouraged with the generalized statistics that are revealed by studies into the impacts of single-parenthood. What the researches fail to reveal is the fact that also dual parent families also comes up with challenges of their own. Though single parent family is a concept that no one will encourage, the reality of the matter requires us to think positive of such families. With the statistics revealing increasing numbers of children being raised with single parents, there is need to offer realist tools and opportunities by highlighting the positives that come from the single parent families as opposed to dwelling much on the negative statistics (Lamb,1998).

Generalized Myths about children from single Parent families
Studies conducted on the issue of single parent families have continued to associate all the negative behavioral aspects in children to the family set up. In the US, the concept of family structure has continued to reveal negative statistics that are associated with the children from single-parent families. Statistics indicate that low birthrates and high death rates are prevalent in the single parent households. There is a revelation that teenagers from these families have a higher school dropout rates and lacks good health compared to their counterparts from normal families. Incidences of teenage pregnancy have been reported to be higher in such children as opposed to those from dual parent families (Garis, 1998).

The negative portrayal of single parent families has continued with the depiction that such families children becomes depressed, emotionally stressed, and exhibits general difficulties in school.

Revelation has also associated delinquency with single parenthood as statistics reveal that over 70 of teenage murderers come from single parent households and 60 of rape crimes are committed by individuals from single parent families. Studies also reveal that individuals from single parent families have higher incidences of violent behavior compared to those from dual parent families. In a nutshell, single parent families have continued to be portrayed in negative light and no one can single out any positive elements from such a family set up (Ketteringham, 2007).

Nowadays, problems that are associated with single parent families are common and this may leave those affected to think that they have no control over the success of their families as it is destined to be doomed. This should not be the case as critical analysis indicates that not all the children that have been raised in single parent households are maladapted in the society. When focusing on the negative aspects of single parenthood does not help the single parents and their children in rising up to the occasion and fight the negative aspects. In fact, by portraying the negativity of the single parent households kills the self esteem of the individuals affected and only adds to worsen the situation (Garis, 1998).

Demystifying the Myths
The question that we need to pose to ourselves is about the children raised by single parent families and their supposed social mal-adaptations. Such children are said to find it difficult schooling, getting into conflict with the law, and developing other social problems. It should however be noted that the problems that are usually associated with children from single parent families are more from the financial inability of the parents as opposed to single parenthood as conventionally thought. There are incidences where single parents have brought up well behaved young individuals in the society (Ketteringham, 2007). Single parent families are faced with financial problems as the financial resources are cut leaving the family in dire need of finances. The single parent is left struggling to make ends meet and this leaves no or little room to attend to the children at the same time difficulties in meeting the financial requirements of the family. Studies have indicated that single parenthood and struggling for finances always coincides (Lamb, 1998).

Children from single parent families are often associated with low self esteem compared to their counterparts from dual parent families. Self esteem is very crucial especially to young children as it helps them to counter the negative peer pressure giving them confidence to face new challenges and become innovative. Showing these children some bits of love is very crucial as it helps them develop a feeling that they are appreciated by someone. It should be noted that children can only emotionally benefit from a healthy parental relationship if not so the children are going to suffer emotional neglect from the conflicting parents (Garis, 1998).

Parental involvement in the childs life is very crucial especially during the early developmental stages in life. The children require emotional support and understanding and sharing with the children is advocated for during this stage of development. Children who get the support that they need during this stage would definitely grow into normal citizens and thus rule out the connection between single parenthood and misbehavior of the children within the society. What should be an area of concern is how to ensure that single parents gets the financial support that is very central to the shaping of the childs future. When the single parent starts struggling to cater for the financial needs of the family, it becomes the source of all evils. This is because struggling for financial upkeep leaves the single parent with little time if any to spend with their children. However, the affluent single parents can comfortably bring up an upright family as they have enough time to spend with their children (Garis, 1998).

Single Parenthood can become a success story
There are misconceptions about single parent families branding them dysfunctional and associating children from such families with social maladaptive behavior. Though they are faced with unique challenges, single parents can successfully address these challenges and provide a good background to their children. It should be noted that the love, stability and safety requirements that are needed by the children is similar irrespective of the number of parents in the household. No one would wish for separation of any sort but though children of single parents are not showered with the much needed parental love, the love cannot be compensated for by the severe and prolonged stress in the relationship between parents (Lamb, 1998). It is often advisable for parents to separate for the good of the children other than exposing the children to the tension in the relationship. Single parent families do not have a common background as some results from divorce, others from separations, whereas others result when one parent passes away. Single parenthood can be a challenge to any other person irrespective of race andor ethnicity. Every individual is set to undergo similar grief upon losing a serious relationship. All single parents are faced with similar emotive challenges in regard to the changed status and thus needs great strength to cope up with the new status (Garis, 1998).

Children from single families become emotionally vulnerable and thus single parents have the responsibility to ensure that the emotional bit has been well catered for in the family. Their top most priority should be the family as they aspire to be the best single parents like no other. This means that the interests of the child should be placed first and that a lot of sacrifices are to be made in attending to the childs welfare. Such parents need to be supportive and observing patience to help the children in coping. They should be consistent but not highly punitive like any other parent to provide the child with options, utilize the natural and logical effects and at the same time providing structure for the kids. There is need for open communication between the child and the parent which encourages clear and open expressions to develop an honest and a trustworthy relationship (Garis, 1998).

Many single parents have to redefine their situation in order to fit in the new status. They have to learn how to live within the limits of a reduced income and restructure their relationships with the kids. Developing clearly defined roles within the household can come in handy in compensation to some of the challenges faced by the single parents. A clearly defined structure for the kids to regulate meals, chores, school work and entertainment among other activities is necessary. This helps in bringing a sense of security and reducing anxiety in the children. Communication, understanding and cooperation are very important to single parents but it should be noted that these parents should not leave adult responsibilities to the children (Lamb, 1998).

Conclusion
Though we cannot deny the fact that separation or rather loss of a loved one in a relationship comes with its emotional distress, it should not be misconceived to mean that the remaining family is condemned. What is important though is the fact that the single parents have to accept their new condition and manage the depression that may accompany the situation. This is very important as it prepares one to deal with challenges that come with single parenthood. Single parenthood shall remain part and parcel of our society for ever. Instead of focusing on the challenges of single parenthood, researchers need to shift and focus on how single parent families can be helped to overcome the challenges facing them. Belonging to a single parent family should not be viewed as a ticket to an unhappy family since it is evident that with appropriate intervention, success in such families is realizable. In general, parenthood can be challenging and it is even more challenging when the responsibilities are left to one parent.

Single parent families are growing very fast and constitute for about 31 of the families in the United States.  The single father family is on a growing trend in the United States, accounting to about one fifth of the single parent families, reaching to about three million (Hirschi 2009). Due to these changes in the family structure, it is good to understand the relationships between family structure, gender and parental well being. It is evident that raising children is negatively associated with parents psychological well being, and the relationship is exacerbated for single parents (Radin 2002).  In this case, the women mothers are the major victims and are more associated with family attendance duties more than the men do (Yarber 2010).

In the study, an analysis of the extent to which being a man or a woman and single is associated with the parent feelings and well being. This will include the use of qualitative data from the single parents and the extent of family related problems they experience in bringing up the children.
The focus will be on the level at which the increment of the single parenting duties and the role that women used to play for the single men and the various hardships that the single parents undergo. In addition it includes the social support that they get from the society and the depressive inner emotions in the parents.

Historical Background
The various definitions for a family are diverse across the various cultures and norms of the society. However, there may be some universal family traits. Anthropologist Murdock defines a family as involvement in residence, economic, and biological reproduction (Krause 2010). The United States census bureau takes a family as two or more persons related by birth, marriage, or adoption, who reside together (Krause 2010). Krause (2010) went ahead and stated that Websters point on households as the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children. This negates the single parented families as full households.

The role of a family and its characteristics with respect to the manner of upbringing children is of great importance in the control of the social aspects. According to United States census bureau, the November 2009 report indicates there are around 14 million single parented families where single females constitute of 83 and single fathers take 17.  In this case, approximately 25 of single parented families reside below federal poverty levels (Thadani 2010). Single parenting results from, divorce, death, separation, or deportation (Miller 2010).

In the United States, according to Miller (2010) approximately 40 or 50 percent of first time marriages end in divorce. The factors resulting into divorce are complex and in most cases, this occurs due to combination of a number of the factors. The main specific factors include premarital relationships, cohabitation, the family of origin, the length of marriage among others. These factors are determined by the specific relationship dynamics, personality attributes, and problem behaviors (Widiger 2007).

As the research suggests, the presence of both parents in the family and their involvement is very crucial to a childs development. For example, Parke (1995) specified the various ways that are related with the involvement of fathers including socioeconomics, marital satisfaction, family of origin, timing of parenthood, and marital attitudes. This also includes the participation of the fathers in the exchange of fathering skills within the various generations and participation in family upkeep (Widiger 2007). Hirshi (2009) went ahead to research on single parented families and their neighborhoods where he concluded on hardships in acquiring neighborhood support to sustain family needs for the lower social economic class single parented families.

Problem statement
The identification of specific factors that place a family at risk for behavioral and emotional problems has concerned social scientists for years. The past researches findings including Widiger (2007), adds to the knowledge but they neglect the importance of particular life events and circumstances that predispose the family and more so the young ones to adjustment problems.

For this case, the focus is on the potential effects of single parenting as a single life stressor to the family would be of great importance to the field. As Robinson (2009), it is evident that multiple, stressful life events pose a greater threat to the familys long-term psychological well-being than does a single life stressor but the extent of the stressor is different.

However, various ways through which the singled parental child relationships and the manner of parenting affects life of both the parent and the child are not clearly understood (Camonar 2002).
 
Also,  McKenry (2005) went ahead to state that the number of single fathers in the society for the purposes of research is not as large and this hinders on the expansion of research related to the single parenting for the case for single fathers especially for a quantitative research. The research that examines well being of parents also fails to consider that men and women may manifest their well being differently (Comanor 2002).

Objectives of study
The major objective of the study will be to determine the different hardships and the well being of single parents in upbringing of their family.

Theoretical conceptual framework
Family stress theory that was developed by theorist Hill in 1949 as McKenry (2005) explain requires the balancing of work and family duties where it incorporates crisis, a stressor event, family existing resources and the family perception to the stressor. Personal health is also a major concern and the mind-body-family should be connected to manage the stress. On the family perspective, the theory deals on the family attachments and the interactions. The theory also expands on the issue of spiritually and religious perspective in the management of stress and trauma. This also expands on the treatment of post traumatic disorder with the children and the family and the care giving. The theory expands on the post disaster of single parenting (McKenry 2005).

The family stress theory provides a model for assisting single parenting by illustrating the remarriage experiences and the possibilities of intervention in the family and the changes that can take place in the policies. As Callister (2006) explains, the model illustrates that a stressor event, interacts with the family crisis meeting resources, the meaning that the family gives to the stressor, and the creation of crisis. It then creates a dynamic model on the adaptation and family coping of single parenting with time and the option of remarriage. The theory illustrates on behavioral, emotional, cognitive, event perception, resources, external context, internal context, and the responses of single parenting Callister (2006).

Family system theory as derived by theorist Bowen in this case, argues the family is a system of interconnected individuals, with changes in one or more members or relationships having reverberating effects through out the entire family (Miller 2003). The family is affected by the environment and the contents in the vicinity. The theory makes use of risk resilience perspective where consideration of single parenting goes ahead to consider the parent child relationship and the environment outside the family. Family system theory is used in the understanding of the family behavior and the adjustment. It has mostly been used in the therapeutic paradigm for the assessment and treatment of families (Miller 2003).

This theory deals on interdependence rather than dependence where it makes use of recursion and feedback elements. For recursion, it deals with reciprocal causality. A systems perspective does not illustrate on simple causality for a case X causing Y. as a result, for the family, its derivation results from relationship between individuals and elements where one is a case of the other. In this case, the theory states that a change in any one member of the family is experienced in the entire family. For the feedback, it dwells on self corrective mechanisms and the communication system. For stability to be sustainable in a family system, the system must both remain stable and change when appropriate (Miller 2003).

Literature review
Scholars as Radin (2002) suggested, generally agree that much of childrens socialization takes place in the context of the family, for it is through the family that the developing child is afforded the opportunities and experiences necessary to acquire the fundamental skills, behaviors, values, and knowledge that enable him or her to engage successfully in social relationships. Hence, single parented family researchers often look at the family for potential sources of stress to youths development.

According to Comanor (2002), there exists a two-tiered system of childrearing in the United States. One tier of the families is where there are both parents sharing the upbringing roles of their children, and the other is for the single parented families where one parent plays the duties of both parents in upbringing the children. The single parent, usually a woman has all of the responsibility for maintaining a household and lack the psychological or social support inherent in a two-parent family (Comanor 2002). This, as a result, deters the amount of time that could be available in the upbringing of the children and the relation with the parent. As a result, she may not be able to devote the time necessary to monitor her childrens behavior.

Parke (1988) believe that both the social and the emotional well being of the children are dependent on the two-tiered system of child rearing in the United States. In this case, the scholar states that the single house hold children lack the parental teachings and are as a result short of the social norms (Callister 2006).

Using the concept that the family is an arena for the transmission of risk, one can draw from two theoretical strands of literature the first is stress-coping research, which provides a framework for understanding how youth cope when their immediate environment places high demands on them, Pierret (2001) suggested that the already existing formulations of the stress process, increased strains may result into new strain forms and multiply the existing ones. These strains may lead to the depletion of positive psychological resources or, alternately, an overreliance on previously established negative coping strategies. Risk factors enhance our understanding of the etiological roots of family members maladjustment, but this line of research suffers limitations with respect to issues of conceptualization and measurement (Pierret 2001).

There are multiple types of stress.  However, Heath and Orthner (1999) focuses on internal and external stressors associated with being a single parent.  Internal stresses is caused by the individual, this is a result of people worrying about things they personally have no control over (Callister 2006). External or environmental stressors is opposite of internal stressors.  External stressors are created by the surroundings of single parents.  Stress can manifest itself physically, mentally, emotionally and behaviorally. An example of an internal stressor would be the feeling of inadequacy or loneliness and an external stressor could be work (Heath  Orthner, 1999).

Does children behavior depend so much on family structure and the quality of parental relationship Comanor (2002) observed a strong correlation between the various undesirable behaviors and outcomes in life with the manner of upbringing and also the availability of parents. For the single parented families, which may be the result of deportation, divorce or even separation, children are unable to attain to various basic needs and have higher stress than for a full family.

Pierret (2001) further suggested that the correlation continues to occur when various important factors like the available resources, are altered or even remain the same. When such factors as income of the households, child support law enforcement and so are made better the negative outcomes experienced by children do not change in any way. While children in two-parent families have higher mean levels of educational attainment and psychological well-being than their counterparts in stepparent and single-parent families, the effects of parental conflict are also more significantly negative for them than for their counterparts (Pierret 2001). This negates the hostile family parental relationships environments in the single parented families.

Mothers in marriages and having husbands are reported to have improved physical health even for their children as opposed to those of single families. The correlation exists even when relating for household income, socioeconomic status, and mothers employment according to Wallace and Bachman (1991). In addition, (Mackay 2005, Wallace and Bachman 1991) researched on the need for both parents in the family and the results in relation to the drug usage in the adolescents. This was in reference to Hispanics and blacks where in the parents presence, their levels of use for a number of drugs would be even lower than reported.

In addition, (Bergstrom 1989, Callister 2006) study which examined family structure as a predictor of adolescents initial substance abuse and sexual intercourse found significantly higher levels for children of non-intact families, even after controlling for age, race, sex, and mothers education. They conclude that, children of disrupted families are at a higher risk of initiating the use of controlled substances and engaging in sexual intercourse, and that a firmer understanding of the mechanisms that underlie this association is needed. (Comanor and Phillips 2002)

Yarber (2005) conducted a meta-analysis of the impact of single-parent households, in which they assess the existing research on its relationship to delinquency. They found that any impact of family structure or juvenile delinquency remains stable, and the effect of intact versus single-parent families is a consistent and real pattern of association where the prevalence of delinquency in broken homes is about 10 to 15 higher than in intact homes. He also supported Bergstrom (1989) research that the impact of no intact families was consistent among males and females, and black and white youth.

Broken homes reduce the chances for the connection between the child and the parent and the child is unable to learn the conventional manner of living from the parents traits. In a research on the relative influence of family structure versus parental attachment, and in the incorporation, Becker (2004), was able to analyze on these questions.  Is parental attachment the overriding factoring in controlling delinquency, regardless of family structure Or does family structure provide some unalterable weakening of social control (Callister 2006).

Research indicates that most of the criminologists are interested on the peoples commitment to crime during the time of the action. In this case, the criminologists assumes the family factors and the manner of upbringing that could have resulted to the sought of action that was committed. (Bergstorm1989, Yarber 2005)  This leads to the negation of families and the family relationships in the criminology theories and literature.  The background life and the ways of upbringing the very victims who commits crime in effect are not considered. The researcher went ahead to illustrate that the family neglecting is metaphysical and hence criminologists suggestion that the involvement into crime results due to the absence of a better means of achieving the needs or the availability of the required commodity (Yarber 2005).

The economic theory has worked on the availability of resources fro the family where it explains on the effects of household income to the behaviors of children.  This is through considering the neighbor hoods of the residential areas and the availability of the basic life needs. Taking for instance, in his rotten kid theorem, Becker (2004) research was further supported by Robinson (2009) who did a lot on the family relationships, where he argued that the availability of enough resources for the family reduces chances of ill behaviors.

Most of the singled parents experience economic hardships especially in cases where the female parent was a housewife and is the singled. The family is forced to adopt inner city neighborhoods with problems in institutional and also social resources. Hirshi (2009), went on to emphasize on unavailability of basic assets and the young ones may adopt the hustling and getting over ways of learning and achievement of requirements.

Bergstrom in his work agrees with this as long as individual efficacy can be easily transferred from one member to the other. However this will depend much on the sharing of the house hold income from the head of the household. It may also depend on the structuring of the gifts and the family members comprehensively avoid defiant acts, (Bergstrom 1989). Pierret (2001) went ahead and argued that the presence of pure public good and the contribution of each and every child to the positive end of the family lead to the well behaved children. Among the various propositions related to single parenting, or either or both of the parents in the household are unsettling the harmony of the household, the parent can hardly participate in the implementation of the streamlined behaviors in the family. This erodes all the mutual cooperation in the family members and the future of the family becomes endangered. (Pierret 2001).

Comanor and  Phillips (2002) on the other hand present a replica in which the existence of both parents makes it possible in monitoring and addressing defiant acts by withdrawing certain privileges from the errant child. Presence of the male parent increases the streamlining of youth behaviors as opposed to the mothers. (Comanor  Phillips 2002).

The demands of balancing work and family can present internal and external stressors.  Single parents encounter issues such as financial stability, time management and social disconnect.  Another issue of concern is the lack of concern presented by employers in regards to the extra duties affiliated with being a single parent.   Often times the psychological well being and personality traits can influence how situations are perceived and experienced (Heath  Orthner, 1999).

However, the general focus in experimental economic literature has in many instances focused on the outcome of parental division on the lives of the young ones, with various fears about the bias that is brought about by existence of certain manner of upbringing that are associated with single parenting or separation which would eventually lead to undesirable outcomes for children.

Nancy (1999) says that single parenting leads to the breakdown or reawakening of previously established internal controls between the parent and the adolescent. The fundamental hypothesis of the social control theory is that human beings engage in unusual conduct because rule or law contravention is presumably attractive and stimulating. Robinson (2009) overstated on the parents priorities and how they help childrens to understand what is of importance to him or her at present. The priorities changes as the personal live changes. Personal priorities are in correspondence to the different aspects of an individual life as that tends to compete for the personal attention. This calls for the division of the personal time into the various duties and events that one undergoes through (Robinson 2009).

In most cases, the youth are naturally deemed to envy the other members of the society. As a result, they look for a fast means of achieving their needs and are involved in the crime related events.  The consequential shared incompetence, in particular social units such as family thus lead to the weakening of the external controls. The family works both as an internalized control and also as an external control. Not only is it important in defining norms for conventional behavior, but family relationships also provide an external source of social control (Becker 2004, Comanor  Phillips 2002).

Successful single parenting is often limited to those with resources for those without, it is a status fraught with negative consequences (Nancy 1999). The before mentioned issues single parents encounter such as financial stability, time management and social disconnect can also lead to depression. This too, is a major issue connected to single parents. There are many disadvantages that single parents have to encounter (Robinson, 2009). However in the article provided by Robinson (2009) she wonders whether single parent families are definitely a population in need or do perceptions of single parents need to be changed. It has been indicated in research provided by Robinson (2009) that social support is extremely important in instances of single parenting.

The strongest disincentive in the past was the moral and the social. Ironically, however, even harsh economic consequences have had little effect on the rate off single parenthood. The increase in single parenting is not, it seems economically linked. Thus, Nancy, 1999 went ahead and stated that the problems related to the house hold income in many cases may lead to the segregation of the single parents but this does not affect the single parenting family. However, in the future, the long term conditions of the children may be affected and result into problems.

Research Methodology
Research Design
The design methods to be used in this research will be guided by research objectives. Various research tools will also be used or employed. The main source of information will be through the use of qualitative research approach. The guiding research question is what are the different hardships, experiences and the well being of single parents in upbringing of their family. The use of one to one interviews will help in the collection of relevant data. 

Observation will be used to capture the information that case study could not be able to capture. However, inaccuracies in reporting the data from the interviewees especially when it relates to single parents may affect the quality of information and this would be taken into consideration when reporting findings.

Data collection methods
A one to one interview will be used to collect the data guided by the research objectives. A sample size of approximately 10-15 single parents will be interviewed. The sample size is sufficient for the study due to easiness in working and it is also representative of the study area. The sample interviewees will be random.

Data analysis
The response from the respondents will be coded from the interview responses and results deduced where a report will be finally written. This will call for the open coding for development of initial categories followed by selective coding relating on the core concept.

Expected results
Individualistic and structuralism perspectives have important implications for understanding how parenting may affect the life and psychological well being of the single parents. As the theories suggest, the single mothers will be expected to exhibit higher levels of psychological well being as opposed to the fathers (Pierret 2001).

The men are expected to become more competitive and job oriented, whereas in the case for women, they turn to be more nurturing and child centered (Becker 2004).

In the control for gender, minority group status, and the parental experiences, it is expected that the findings for the single parents will be at a significantly higher risk for status, property, and person delinquency than the two parents families.

Finally, the research is expected to show economic strain in some single families with drug abuse mostly with single fathers (Becker 2004).

The single parents, especially those in the lower economic class will be expected to experience economic stress through straining hardships and the solely handling of duties. In other cases, the parents will have segregated themselves from the society in handling life issues. In some, they will have someone to assist them in attending their duties more so for the high economic class group (Robinson 2009).

In addition, as Pierret (2001) evidenced single parenting, and the social learning theory, on either or both of the parents gender there will be unsettled harmony of the household, where the parent can hardly participate in the implementation of the streamlined behaviors in the family. On the other hand, the parental protection is expected to be very strong and the single parents experience a strong bonding with their children.

In the day to day behavior just as the family stress theory, some parents experience psychological distress with failure in worklife integration. In this case, as Becker (2004) says, heshe neglects one of the two, the integrated approach loses the equilibrium and this leads into a trade off and an eitheror situation. The parent will mainly be focusing and obsessed on the economic future and well being of the family.

For the proactive parents, he or she will be able to recognize his responsibility where their behavior will be a product of their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their conditions based on feelings (Becker 2004).

Conclusion and Recommendation
Family structure and the success for children is not only based on the types of  the family, but single parent families have often been the focus for delinquencies potential for children (Comanor  Phillips 2002). Also residential mobility, poverty, and ethicalracial heterogeneity undermines formal and informal community ties by decreasing communication and increasing anonymity among residents, thereby decreasing the chances someone will intervene to control the behavior of children(Robinson, 2009).

A high level of single parents families may lead to the decay of the social norms and controls which affects the un-monitored peer groups, which is one of the leading predictors of higher neighborhood delinquency rates. This is essentially due to presence of many households with absent adults there are fewer adults available for the day to day monitoring of their own children and other children in the area (Pierret 2001).

The existing emotional support system and community support programs ranging from informal groups should be encouraged. They help single parents in adjusting to the family circumstances, organizing family recreational activities and provision of forums fro the exchange of ideas, on the healthy living of a single parented family. This is also through the collaboration of the faith based and churches programs that even offer educational programs fro the single parented families (Yarber 2010).

The paper discusses the issue of drug screening in the workplace. Types of drug tests and their reliability are discussed. The paper weighs and evaluates legal and ethical ramifications of workplace drug screening.

The fight for skilled workers is not easy in their striving to develop a productive and cost-efficient labor force, employers are willing to use the most sophisticated selection methods. Drug screening in the workplace is becoming a widely used form of testing applicants and employees for drug abuse. Employers justify the use of workplace drug screening by their desire to enhance workplace safety and to reduce the probability of workplace injury risks. Unfortunately, the current state of drug screening is far from perfect. Not only is the reliability of drug screening techniques questionable, but drug screening itself is surrounded by a multitude of legal and ethical controversies. Drug screening has a potential to protect employers from the unnecessary safety and low productivity risks, but employers must have reasonable suspicion that employees and applicants use drugs, while regular drug screening must apply to a limited set of dangerous professions, including drivers and civil aviation professionals.

Types and Reliability of Drug Tests
As of 2002, 77 percent of substance abusers in the United States were employed (Anonymous, 2002). These workers are believed to be at higher risks for tardiness, extended absence, workplace injuries and workers compensation claims (Anonymous, 2002). Given the costs which businesses and individual employers have to carry because of employee drug abuse, drug screening in the workplace is becoming an acceptable practice. Drug testing is of particular importance for dangerous professions, including drivers, civil aviation professionals, medical and police personnel, etc. Urine testing used to be the basic form of drug screening, but today employers have a wider choice of drug screening alternatives. These include sweat, oral fluid, and hair (Anonymous, 2002). Regardless of the form, reliability of drug screening tests is still the issue of the primary concern.

Drug screening procedures are associated with the major interpretation difficulties. According to Forrest (1997), determining whether or not a positive analytical result indicates drug misuse is not as straightforward as might appear (p. 15). For example, morphine is detected in urine not only after taking heroin but also after using over-the-counter drugs that contain codeine (Forrest, 1997).

Simultaneously, six-acetyl-morphine (a specific marker for heroin use) is present in urine for no more than one day and its absence from the urine does not necessarily exclude heroin use in the past (Forrest, 1997). In a similar fashion, cannabinoids can be present in urine many days after the use of cannabis (Forrest, 1997). Moreover, one cannot distinguish active cannabis from the passive one a person present at the party where everyone else smokes cannabis can readily have traces of cannabinoids in his (her) urine, even if he (she) uses none (Forrest, 1997).

The situation with alternative forms of drug screening is even more difficult for example, scientists do not know how much drug is required to establish a detectable level in hair and how to account for the environmental exposure of hair to drugs (Burlington, 1998). Different hair will react differently to one and the same reagent marker, and scientists wonder how the hair of different ethnic groups will work through one and the same test (Burlington, 1998). For a drug screening test to be reliable, it must meet three essential criteria (a) the test must be recognized and legalized by FDA (b) sample collection systems must be reliable for use in nonprofessional settings and (c) sample collection systems must be safe enough to avoid mix-ups and to guarantee that all samples are adequately labeled (Burlington, 1998). But even if employers use drug screening systems that meet all three criteria, workplace screening will continue to be an issue of the legal and ethical concern.

Legal and Ethical Ramifications of Drug Screening in the Workplace
Employers have a wide choice of drug screening programs pre-employment programs test job applicants random basis programs keep workers unaware of when drug screening is to take place, until the day of such test periodic base programs test employees from time to time and voluntary programs submit employees to drug screening but do not use its results for job decisions (MacDonald, Wells  Fry, 1993). Random and periodic tests are appropriate in professions that are considered dangerous, that impact human lives and are associated with additional risks (e.g., drivers and medical professionals). Other employers can readily use the benefit of voluntary testing. Most employers avoid voluntary systems of drug testing and position drug screening in the workplace as a mandatory procedure. Drug screening tests have a potential to reduce the risks of workplace accidents and raise workplace productivity, but employers who use mandatory screening must be aware of the legal and ethical consequences of their actions.

Mandatory drug testing violates a number of constitutional rights, including the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures in the Fourth Amendment, to violations of constitutional privacy (Bible, 1986). Mandatory drug screening invades a privacy expectation that individuals and potential workers deem reasonable (Bible, 1986). If employers have reasonable suspicion that employees abuse drugs, such reasonable suspicion must be based on objective facts and reasonable inferences drawn from these facts (Bible, 1988). Drug screening in the workplace can intervene with the constitutional right for privacy (Bible, 1988).

Ethical ramifications of drug testing in the workplace are even more complicated. They range from privacy and autonomy to potential conflicts of interest and intrusiveness. The latter is particularly problematic when urine testing procedures require observing the process of urination (MacDonald, Wells  Fry, 1993). Because ethical and legal issues of drug screening in the workplace are difficult to resolve, employers must avoid testing employees for drug abuse at random. Drug screening must take place only in case of reasonable suspicion and must be regular for a limited set of dangerous professions that impact other peoples lives, including drivers and civil aviation professionals.

Conclusion
Drug screening is gradually becoming an acceptable practice. Employers justify the use of drug screening in the workplace by their desire to reduce the risks of workplace injury and to address the issues of low productivity and absenteeism. Today, employers have a wide choice of drug screening options, from conventional urine tests to hair and sweat screening. Research into the reliability of drug screening is scarce, and drug screening itself is surrounded by much ethical and legal controversy. For this reason, employers must avoid screening employees for drug use abuse at random. Regular drug screening must be used only for a limited set of dangerous professions, including drivers and civil aviation professionals.

Tests and measurements in psychology are used for research, diagnosis or assessment to find the solution of a problem. In most cases, psychological tests evaluate and assess the information that a client gives to a psychologist. This information is usually given in the form of answers on paper or answers to an interview. Ultimately, the accuracy of the test largely depends on how seriously and carefully a client responds and answers the questions.

DISCUSSION
How test and measurements are used in educational and clinical practice
In most cases, psychological tests fall into numerous categories like aptitude and achievement tests, intelligence tests, occupational tests, neuropsychological tests, personality tests and specific clinical tests (Wilson  Reschly, 1996). Aptitude and achievement tests are usually applied in educational establishments or employment settings. These tests usually attempt to determine how much knowledge a person has on different topics for example spelling or mathematics or how much ability a person has to master some materials in a given area.

Intelligence tests normally attempt to measure the intelligence of a person that is, the essential capability to understand the simple things in the world, absorb the way it functions, and apply the relevant knowledge to enhance the quality of a persons life (Norcross, Karpiak  Santoro, 2005). Neuropsychological tests try to measure certain deficits in the cognitive functioning that is their ability to speak, reason and think, which may result from a kind of brain damage. Occupational tests usually endeavor to match a persons interest with the interests of people in their careers. On the other hand, personality tests try to measure a persons basic personality style and are mostly used in forensic settings or in research to help with a diagnosis of a patient.

Differences between testing in clinical and educational settings
In educational settings, the tests that may be used on the students are achievement and aptitude tests and intelligence tests. The main objectives of these tests will be to determine how much a student has on different topics such as in arithmetic as well as measure the intelligence of a student. In a clinical setting, the tests that can be performed on a client are neuropsychological and personality tests. Personality tests are commonly used to aid in clinical diagnoses. The two most common types of personality tests used in the clinical setting are

The Rorschach test is composed of several cards of inkblots where a client is required to give a description of the images and the feelings that they feel, when looking at the inkblots (Wilson  Reschly, 1996).

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test is composed of various yes and no questions.

Implications of tests and measurements either in a clinical or educational setting
Psychological tests are very important as they were created for the following reasons First, the information that is derived from tests is more logically consistent that the information that is derived from a clinical interview. Secondly, it is actually easier to derive information from conducted tests than by conducting any clinical interviews, as people tend to be more open during the tests. Thirdly, it is very hard for a client or a student to give any false information on a test than in an interview because tests usually do not give any clues to what should be answered. Additionally, tests are usually more effective when used in educational settings because the students can never give any false information. At the clinical setting, the test will help the psychologist to quickly derive at a diagnosis and this will enable effective treatment of the diagnosis.

CONCLUSION
Tests and measurements in psychology are used for research, diagnosis or assessment to find the solution of a problem. In most cases, psychological tests fall into numerous categories like aptitude and achievement tests, intelligence tests, occupational tests, neuropsychological tests, personality tests and specific clinical tests. In educational settings, the tests that may be used on the students are achievement and aptitude tests and intelligence tests while in a clinical setting, the tests that can be performed on a client are neuropsychological and personality tests. Therefore, tests are usually more effective when used in educational settings because the students can never give any false information. At the clinical setting, the test will help the psychologist to derive at a diagnosis and this will enable effective treatment of the diagnosis.