But mom said I could: Parental inconsistency and selective mutism in a child

College

College of Liberal Arts

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Source Title

48th Annual Convention [of the] Psychological Association of the Philippines

Publication Date

8-2011

Abstract

We present the case of an 11-:year old boy from Northern Luzon who was referred for psychotherapy because of Selective Mutism (SM) symptomatology. In this case, the unique situation of the child growing up in a multi-cultural home presents new dimensions when looking at SM. Classical definitions the disorder show the child being willing but unable to express himself verbally. Together with the usually expressed reasons such as shyness or fear of negative evaluation, it seems that a dimension of inconsistent parenting is contributing to the anxiety felt by the child. This inconsistency contributes to the possible failure of a child to interact with the environment as he doesn't know what kind of reinforcement he will receive from it and, consequently, feels anxious about this uncertainty.

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Disciplines

Psychology

Keywords

Selective mutism; Parent and child

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