table of Contents
Chapter 8, optimistic kids get good grades
There is a primary school boys, called Alan. In the age of 9, he is a typical underachiever. He was very shy, with hand-eye is not good, the team members at the time of the election, no one would consider him.
But he is very clever, very artistic talent, his painting is art teacher taught the children paint the best. In Alan 10 years old, his parents divorced, Allen fell into depression. His grades plummeted, no longer speak, and no longer to paint.
His art teacher willing to give him to find a way to let Alan talk. Allen believes he found himself stupid, are a failure, not manly, and that parents are divorced his fault.
Allen's teacher know his parents, understand the reasons for their divorce. He was very patient and let Alan know him these conclusions are wrong, guide him to make the right assessment of their own. Later, Allen to see that he does not stupid, he is actually very successful in many ways.
By reading, he knew the boys mature later than girls on hand-eye coordination, but also because of his athletic ability is not very good, so now he can have this performance has been very good. By the teacher's explanation, see Alan parents divorce has nothing to do with him. In fact, the teacher helped Allen to change his style of interpretation. A few months later, Allen is not only a lot of progress in their studies, he won an award, but also progress in sports, his zeal to make up for the lack of skills.
He is no longer the underachiever, has grown to become excellent, optimistic teenager.
A cold April 1970, the windy day, I went to Atlantic City to participate in the Eastern Psychological Association's annual meeting, when I first came to the University of Pennsylvania to teach soon. I am very luxurious but it is now a decline in a former hotel lobby waiting in line to check-in. When the lady in front of me turned around, I was surprised to find she was actually my childhood friend.
"Joan Stern (Joan Stern)," I exclaimed, "Is that you?"
"Martin! What are you doing here?"
"I am a psychologist!" I said.
"Me, too."
We both laughed at the same time. Joan is now a professor. I asked her what research.
"Child," she said, "what they see, thinking, and how these change as they grow." She told me her research, I told her my findings.
During the meeting, we spend a lot of time together, try to think of ways to link the past and present. When will finish departure, we find perhaps one day our research interests can be combined together.
Joan went on to become president of Princeton University, and I will continue to do my research explanatory style. It took another 10 years before our research interests together. The central theme of our research is classroom optimism.
Good results, bad results
How to explain the child's academic performance and style affect his performance in school?
Let us trace the basic theory. When we fail, we will for a while feel helpless or depressed. We will not take the initiative to do something like that before, even if we manage to do, may not last long. As you read earlier, explanatory style is the core of learned helplessness. Optimistic people can quickly recover from this transient state of helplessness. For them, the only failure is a challenge, are some of the obstacles on the road to victory. They setbacks as temporary, specific.
Pessimistic people wallow in failure, because they fail as a permanent and universal. They become very depressed and stay in helplessness. A little setback in their view is a big failure, but a failure to think it will lose the whole game, their first vertical white flag to surrender. They may take weeks or even months later to recover, and then a little setback, they will enter the abyss of helplessness.
This theory is plainly predicted that, in the classroom, on the playing field, not necessarily smart successful. Success belongs to enough smart and optimistic person.
This prediction correct? When your children misbehave in school, teachers or parents can easily make a wrong judgment that the children are not smart enough, or even stupid. Your child may become depressed, and he was not trying to make this state, not to insist that he did not dare venture reached the limit of his potential. Even worse, if you think stupid or bad he is not smart enough performance reasons, your child will go to your ideas into his own views in his explanation would getting worse, and he bad results slowly becomes a habit.
Your child depression do
How to know whether the child is depressed?
Unless took him to see a psychiatrist, otherwise you can not know. But if you just want to get an overview, just give your child the following quiz on it. This test is revised on the basis of Chapter 4 of the test, called the CES-DC (Center for Epidemiological Studies -Depression Child). Modified by the National Institute of Mental Health Epidemiology Research Center Weisman (Myrna Weissman), Iowa Snow (Helen Orvaschell) and Pa Dien (N.Padian).
Here is the simple guidance language, you read to your child.
"I recently read a book about how children feel, I would like to know what you think in the mind recently, children sometimes difficult to find the right words to describe his feelings, so I want to give you some sense of the expression method. Here each sentence there are four choices, you have to carefully read these sentences, and then select the option that best represent your mood last week from four answers. the choice is not right or wrong. "
In the past one week
1, previously not worry about things now I am worried.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
2, I do not want to eat, I do not feel hungry.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
3, even though his family and friends to help, I have no way to make yourself happier.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
4, I think I'm inferior to other students.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
5, I felt I could not concentrate on doing what I am doing.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
6, I feel depressed.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
7, I think I'm too tired, do not want to do anything.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
8, I think there is a bad thing is about to happen.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
9, I think before doing without success.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
10, I'm afraid.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
11, I do not sleep as peacefully as the previous night recently.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
12, I am not happy.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
13, I was silent than before.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
14, I feel lonely, as if I have no friends.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
15, I think my friend is no longer friendly, they do not want to play with me.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
16, I did not enjoy.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
17, I felt like crying.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
18, I feel sad.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
19, I think people do not like me.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
20, began to do something very difficult for me.
Occasionally or not at all __ __ rarely sometimes very often __ __
Scoring is very simple,
"not at all" is 0,
"occasionally or rarely" is 1 point,
"sometimes" is 2 points,
"often" is the three points.
Put all the scores together, if your child chose two, take it a high score.
The following is a fraction of meaning:
If a child scores 0 to 9, and that he was not depressed;
if he scores 10 to 15, he has a slight depression;
if he scores 15 points or more, he has a considerable degree of depression;
16 to 24 minutes on behalf of moderate depression; and 24 points or more is a serious depression.
However, this test is not equivalent to the diagnosis of a psychiatrist, because paper and pencil tests most likely to commit two errors, you should be careful. The first is that many children will hide their true feelings, especially in front of their parents declined. Second, high scores and some children's problems may not come from depression.
If your child's score of 10 points or more, and he's very good grades in school, then he is not good homework reason is probably because of a bad mood, not because of poor mood caused by poor schoolwork. We studied four older pupils found that higher depression scores of children, they are doing word puzzles and performance on intelligence tests worse, worse academic performance.
So, if your kids for two weeks scores are 15 points or more, you should take him to the doctor. If your child's score 9 points or more, and he said he wanted to commit suicide, you should take him to see a doctor, "cognitive - behavioral" school therapist should be very helpful to him.
Why poor academic performance
Children pessimistic explanatory style will not be as an adult, become the main reason for depression and low achievement? In 1981, the question in my study, I thought of Joan. Over the past 10 years we have been in touch, I know her research focuses on children's perception of growth, I also know that she is very concerned about the students' low achievement, I think she would be an ideal research partner.
When we met, I said to her: "I do not think students because of poor academic performance is not smart enough, our latest experimental data shows that when students feel depressed, his academic performance will be adversely affected."
I told Joan about Germany Wick's latest discovery that pessimistic explanatory style is an important cause of poor academic performance. "According to Devic explanatory style will be divided into primary and secondary students 'group helpless' and 'control group', and then the two groups of students to a series of setbacks, such as a difficult problem, to let them experience success, such as the simple subject."
"before the setbacks, there is no difference between two groups of students, but soon suffered a setback, striking differences between the two groups also emerged. helpless group of students problem-solving skills regressed to the point of first grade, they began to hate this work, do not want to do, talk about their baseball techniques well, or their drama played very well. but the student control group of setbacks, they still maintain the ability to fourth grade level, they must think that they had made a mistake somewhere, why they do not come out, but they will do so. there was a girl in control group also roll up their sleeves and say, 'I like challenges', they are confident of their own. "
" Also, "I continued," before the end of the experiment, two groups of students have done a relatively easy subject, helpless group of children on their success this discount. they can only estimate the future 50% of the same title, they are still no confidence in ourselves, but in control group of children was estimated that they can solve 90% of the title. " "
For me, "I conclude Road," many children of poor academic performance , depressed mood, the fundamental problem is pessimistic. when the kids thought he could do nothing, he will no longer attempt, his performance will regress. I want you to come with me to study this issue. "
Joan did not immediately agreed to my invitation, she asked more questions, thought a moment, then he said:. "I agree with you, with excellent academic optimistic, not to be defeated is closely related frustration I am also thinking about how to change my research. explore children's depression, academic and explanatory style seems in line with my ideal. "
then Nolen Hawk Klinsmann just entered the University of Pennsylvania graduate school, she became the virtual head of the project.
She was only 21 years old, graduated from Yale University, her demure demeanor, but very talented, motivated. I put my conversation with Joan relayed to Nolen Hawk Mann, immediately hear her say, "This is my whole life to do."
The next two years is pleading near Princeton school district superintendent, school principals, teachers, parents, students, asking them to let us do this large-scale research project to predict who will become depressed, who is not doing well. We want to identify the root causes of depression, depression has ruined the lives of many children, affecting their studies. The fall of 1985, the long-term follow-up study has finally begun. We conducted interviews with 400 third grade pupils, teachers and parents, this study is expected to last five years, we have been tracking these children to junior high school.
We hypothesized that children with depression and low sense of accomplishment for two main reasons.
- Pessimistic explanatory style.
- Misfortune.
When I wrote this book, already we have the information on hand before 4 years. As anticipated, the factors most likely to cause later suffering from depression is early pessimistic. Ever had a depression in children most likely to recur. Children without depression in third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade usually do not have to. We do not need to spend $ 500,000 to find this result, but the main thing is that we identified explanatory style and misfortune are important factors induce depression.
Explanatory style
Pessimistic explanatory style is very detrimental to children. If your child is in third grade, children attribution style questionnaire scores to show that he was pessimistic that he will get the chance of depression is enormous. Our children will be divided into two groups with the depression time becomes lighter and heavier, and the two sets of explanatory style turn children into four tendencies.
- If you have a pessimistic explanatory style when your third grade, even if you were not depressed, you will over time become depressed.
- If you have a pessimistic explanatory style when you three-year, while depressed, then you will always be depressed down.
- If there is an optimistic explanatory style when your third grade, but you are depressed, your depression will gradually reduce.
- If you are optimistic about the third grade, you do not depressed, then you would not have been depressed.
Which comes first? It is pessimistic or depressed? It is likely to make you pessimistic depression, but depression may also make you feel very pessimistic. Neither right, in the third grade depression makes you more pessimistic in the fourth grade, and in the third grade pessimism makes you more depressed in the fourth grade - these two factors created a vicious cycle.
Cindy was involved in this vicious cycle. In the winter Cindy third grade, her parents separated, and her father moved out. Prior to this, she's explanatory style than the average of a little more pessimistic, she now became listless all day in tears. Plummeted her homework, she began as a child back, like depression, are no longer friends and contacts. Then she began to think that he is unloved, stupid, this idea makes her become more pessimistic explanatory style.
It is important that parents are able to realize your child is caught in this vicious cycle, and teach children to break the cycle. Chapter 13 will teach you how to crack it.
Misfortune
The more kids come to the unfortunate, the more depressed he was. Children optimistic than pessimistic children better to resist misfortune, playboy child's ability to withstand bad relationships than children, but this does not guarantee that the impact of these children from these misfortunes, and became depressed .
Here are some unfortunate incidents we have to watch out for in advance, if these events occur, you have to give them some possible help and support. Of course, you can also Chapter 13 teaches you ways to practice.
- Brother or sister taking a trip to go to college or employment.
- Pet death. You may think this is trivial, but it was a very big blow to the child.
- Very close with the children's grandparents died.
- Parents fighting.
- Divorced or separated parents. The most deadly.
Give your child a harmonious home
Because divorce and parental loss and depression are the most likely to cause an event for children, and it is the most common event, so Princeton - long-term study of the University of Pennsylvania study has focused specifically on the experience of the child.
When we began this study, there are about 60 children (about 15%) told us that their parents are divorced or separated. In the past three years we have carefully observed these children, they will be compared with other children. Our findings show Han Yi behind this social phenomenon, but also let you know in case you are divorced, you how to comfort your child.
The first, and most important, your child will be injured. We test the children twice a year, I found that these children than the happy family in the child more depressed. We had expected this gap will be shortened over time, it was not to be. Three years later, these children of divorce or depression is much more than other children. These children of divorce comparison sad, less discipline in the classroom, they had less enthusiasm, self-evaluation is very low, the body often trouble some minor problems, they are more worried.
It is important that not all children of divorced families will become depressed, depression and some children quickly recovered. Therefore, in general, divorce does not make the child a lifetime of depression, divorce just makes children more likely to become depressed.
Second, many misfortune continue to occur in children of divorce him. The continued occurrence of misfortune may be the reason the children of divorce suffer from depression. These events can be divided into three categories, the first category is caused by divorce, or that because of depression caused by divorce brings. The following things occur mostly in children of divorce him.
- Their mother began to go out to work.
- Their students become unfriendly.
- Parents remarry.
- Parents join the new church.
- Parents hospitalized.
- Children failed the exam.
Children of divorce may also experience more parents divorce triggered events.
- Parents often quarrel.
- Parents often travel.
- Father or mother unemployed.
Up to this point, not much of a discovery, but makes us very surprised that last category unfortunate event of divorce children encountered. We do not know the reason, but I think you should know the following facts.
- The proportion of children of divorced families siblings of hospitalized children is 3.5 times that of the average family.
- Chance of children of divorce in their own hospital is 3.5 times the other children.
- These children's friends mortality rate is twice the other children of friends.
- The child mortality rate is also the grandparents of the child's other two times.
Some of these top reasons for divorce, some consequences of divorce. Divorce family seems to have more family than anything else unfortunate events, very often, these events has nothing to do with the divorce, but it happens to take place in their home. We really can not imagine a good friend of the child's death or the death of grandparents would be the consequences of divorce or because they lead to the child's parents divorce, but the statistics out there, this is undeniable.
These together will constitute a very dark picture. It has been said, two unhappy divorce of their parents than children with two parents hate each other to live together better, but our research shows that is not the case. These children of divorced families in the world is dark and bleak. They have not get rid of depression, learning halfway proportion is much higher than others, and many unfortunate events seem unrelated will fall on their heads. If you're trying to divorce, I must remind you that these cold data, it is my duty to tell you these facts.
The root of the problem may not be in the divorce, but rather their parents quarrel. In our study, there are 75 parents did not divorce, but quarrel quarrel is very powerful. These families with children look as bad as the children of divorce, they are very depressed, and their depression continued to fight long after their parents stopped, but also bear more than other children of the unfortunate incident.
Parents fighting child may cause long-term nature of the damage in two ways. A parent is dissatisfied with each other for a long time, quarrel, then separated. These quarrels and separations directly harassed the child, causing long-term depression. The second possibility is to quarrel with daughters of a very happy couple, quarrel and separation, while not directly affect the child, but the child can feel their parents very happy, and this feeling has seriously affected the children, and cause him long-term depression. Our data can not be displayed which theory is correct.
This has significance for what you do?
A lot of people are not happy marriage, they are no longer in love get married after a few years, but they worry about the child's well-being, barely a marriage. If the parents quarrel and separation is the cause of child depression, and you put the child's interests rather than your own satisfaction in the first place, then I will give you a very different proposals: Are you willing to give up separation? Or a more difficult challenge - are you willing to restrain myself, not to fight?
I'm still not so naive as to advise you never to quarrel. Quarrel sometimes useful, but many marriages do not have any quarrel with harvest. I can not tell you how rewarding noisy planes, I know how to fight is to solve the problem. If children see adults after a fight reached an agreement, with a clear result, children will not be so shocking upset. This means that when you fight, you should try to resolve the cause of the quarrel, let him see the child in front of the fight to get a clear result.
Also, before you fight, you have to understand quarrel could hurt your children, I think this is important. You might think a fight is your right, a lot of people believe something to say it is the healthy way. I do not know who hold this view of "playing does not fight back," will be how to interpret? Of course, not to vent anger cause a temporary increase in blood pressure, over time, can cause psychological and physiological problems. But temper often causes deterioration of the relationship between husband and wife, in the end, the husband and wife against each other every day, utter confusion.
Quarrel will not only affect you and your spouse, your child is more harm than good, so if you put the child in the first place, then, before the fight, be sure to think twice before deciding not to noisy quarrel.
Our research shows that: fight or separated parents can significantly increase a child's depression, it is also causing an increase in school children's issues, and his explanatory style will become more pessimistic. School issues plus the emerging pessimism made him addicted to depression, a vicious cycle begins.
Increase the number of parents fighting or decided to separate when it is a child in need of special care and assistance of the time. At this point, they need parents and teachers of special care, you can balance out these caring parents fighting injuries. You might also consider looking for expert to do counseling, marriage counseling can help couples quarrel a little less, or a little less hurt each other. Counseling for children may prevent him from lifelong depression.
Boys VS Girls
The long-term harmful effects of divorce is not the only surprise us information. We have been interested in gender differences, we always thought sex would be more of a depression, more pessimistic. But when we see the data, we find that the opposite is true.
Have you ever read about the proportion of women have depression is much higher than men in Chapters 4 and 5. We thought it must begin in childhood, so we expect that girls are more likely to be depressed than boys, tend to be more pessimistic explanatory style.
But the result is not the case, every point in our study, depressive boys than girls. In general, boys than girls have more symptoms of depression. In the third grade and fourth grade primary school students, 35 percent of boys had won a depression, while the girl is only 21%. This difference is mainly reflected in the two symptoms: boys have more behavioral problems, more and more "anhedonia" (anhedonia). On the sadness, low self-esteem and physical symptoms, boys and girls are the same.
We were surprised to find that explain in terms of style, girls are more optimistic than boys. Girls than boys optimistic about the good events for bad events are a little less pessimistic than boys. So our long-term research was an unexpected result: pessimistic boys than girls, and more likely to be depressed. This means that for whatever reason the proportion of women suffer from depression are twice as many men, it's certainly not the root cause of childhood.
Before and after puberty, there must be something special happened, so that women become more likely to be depressed. We can only speculate on the reasons, when these subjects reached puberty, this study is done, we may be able to know what happened during puberty, so that the burden of depression from the male to the female body.
Who is qualified students
One day in the spring of 1983, I heard the University of Pennsylvania admissions director Stetson (Willis Stetson) talked about the difficulties he encountered, in fact, it is their mistakes. Stetson complained that "it was just a statistical guess, we have to accept a certain number of errors."
I asked him how newborn screening University of Pennsylvania.
"We consider three academic factors," he said, "high school grades, SAT (SAT) scores and achievement test scores, we have a regression formula, we put this formula into three sets of scores, a score draw, 3.1 For example, this is what we expect average score his freshman year. we call this prediction index (predictive index), if the score is high, you can enter the University of Pennsylvania student. "
I know how easy this regression formula to make mistakes. It calculated the proportion of the weighted factors of the past, and then to predict your academic performance. As if to predict the baby's weight by the weight of the parents, you can find a 1000 babies born in the hospital some time weight, and then find out their parents' weight, you might find her mother's body weight divided by 21.7 Dad's weight divided by 43.4, then the average of these two numbers together, it is possible to obtain weight at birth. Between 21.7 and 43.4 this does not have any relationship, it does not conform to any law of nature, it's just an "accident" statistically.
This is the admissions office where people are doing things. They put several new school freshman SAT scores and high school grades and bring them to determine the correlation freshman grade point average. They see that in most cases, higher SAT scores, grade point average higher after the university entrance; the better high school grades, college results are better.
Based on this formula, the predicted value of the students performances just a statistical guess, in most cases it is true, but there are also the wrong time. These errors lead to disappointment and complained about the burden, professor of parents and students are not suited.
"There are two errors in this approach," Stetson said, "The first is the performance of minority students in the freshman worse than forecast. The second is that most students performed better than estimated good. Even so, I still want to reduce errors. tell me what your test is done. "
I explained the theory of attribution style quizzes and behind it. I talked about how helpful attribution style quiz with him, I told him of our cooperation with MetLife, and the University of Pennsylvania If this approach is what kind of effect will be achieved. "So the way missed some good student," I said: "received some of the later not keep students, this is a tragedy for students, and the school is a loss."
Finally, the dean of admissions, said: " let's try again! from that term student enrollment of 1987 began. "
so, when the new students in 1987, 300 people made attribution style quiz, then we are looking forward to see their final examination. We want to see what people sank, and what will emerge.
At the end of the first semester, third of the students SAT, high school grades and achievement test predicted better or worse than they are; and 300 freshmen through attribution style quiz, 20% of people than predicted poor, while 80% were better than forecast.
We saw exactly what we want to see, just like we saw in the insurance company salesman and fourth-grade students, admission test scores appear as optimistic students who surpass the achievements of estimated; and display came is pessimistic students, the performance is worse than the expected standards.
West Point Beast camp
Midterm exam or did not choose such a setback cheerleader for the whole life is too trivial. However, there is a school, it creates frustration par with the actual setbacks in life, and that is West Point beast camp.
When the 18-year-old freshman at West Point in early July to the report, he received a high school seniors. Their task is to get freshmen to learn during the summer what is iron discipline - stand at attention for a long time in the sun in the morning more than 10 km forced march, polished brass buttons, remember that line after line of meaningless rules, and obey, obey, then obey. Their aim is to shape America's future military officers necessary for personality. West Point think it well over the past 150 years are doing, and it worked.
These freshmen are screened out of high school in the nation's elite, they must have talent and potential academic leaders to enter West Point. West Point is one of the most distinguished American university, freshman SAT score requirements are high, their physical ability is top notch, their grades in high school, especially in science achievement must be outstanding. Most importantly, they must be the best in the community of the Boy Scouts. West Point training fee is about $ 250,000 per person, if someone left off, taxpayers will lose $ 250,000, but there are still many students drop out of school.
In February 1987, the personnel director at West Point Butler (RichardButler) call, his voice was brief and forceful, accustomed to command: "Dr. Seligman, I think Uncle Sam needs your help, we are about to drop out of a question to ask you, the way you see there is no solution. we enrolled 1,200 students each year, who July 1 report to camp beast, the first day after the report there are six people dropped out, until the end of August, we lose 100 students, the school then not opening it! can you help us predict who will drop out? "
I am very happy with this proposal, this sounds like the best place to test my optimistic theory. In theory, the pessimist who should be back down. July 2, I drove north, to do the test to freshmen. All freshmen high school students into the Eisenhower Auditorium, 1200 the nation's elite stood at attention, so I was allowed to sit down and test. This spectacular scene I was very impressed.
Butler's statistics are right. Sure enough, the first day with six freshmen drop out, when do I have a quiz stood up, spit all over the ground, then ran out of the auditorium, and she has more than 100 students dropped out during the end of August.
We traced two years of that term student enrollment in 1991, and what people will back down? Still pessimistic people. Those who bad things interpreted as "all my fault, will always be so bad, all my efforts were in vain," the newborn is most likely to drop out of people.
I still can not call a school with a long tradition (like West Point) to change its admissions policy and training, but I think people are more likely to choose optimistic cultivate outstanding military leader for our country. Another strong interest aroused me is that I might be able to use the techniques outlined later in this book to become optimists to pessimists. So I not only can save some people had wanted to drop out, I can also give them a chance, so that they can give full play to their potential to become a good officer.
Only smart is not enough
Over the past 100 years, the ability and talent has always been considered the key to academic success. I think that the traditional talent too seriously, and these so-called talent is not an accurate measurement method, it is not good to predict the future success indicators, this traditional view is simply wrong. The traditional view completely ignores an important factor, that explanatory style. It can be said, to explain style, loser explanatory style.
Which one earlier? Optimistic or excellent results? Common sense tells us that a man of talent because he was so talented optimistic. But our research clearly reflect causality reversed. In our study, we make SAT scores, IQ, life insurance salesman qualification tests and other so-called "talent" remains unchanged, then look at the difference between these groups to high optimists and pessimists. We have repeatedly found that optimists had exceeded its performance potential, while the pessimist's performance is below its potential.
I think the so-called potential, if not optimistic definition, it is meaningless.
Proverbs optimism
Pessimistic explanatory style and misfortune is an important factor in inducing the child depression.
Or divorced parents often quarrel is the event most likely to lead to depression in children, and many of misfortune will occur in continuous family divorce child's body.
Loss of optimism, traditional wisdom does not make sense to success.