I am looking for some literature or research of the significance of a persons name and how it is integral to or contributory to a persons development of identity.
I am working with a family who have moved countless times ( not travelling community) from Local Authority to Local Authority. The children, all over 10 have been subject to several name changes, forename and surname. The issue of deliberate diception is already apparent. However, the impact on the children of having thier name changed so often is interesting.
Obviously I am of the firm belief that this is not much of a good thing but would like to be directed to some evidence to firm up a potential court arguement as to why.
Anybody worked with anything similar?
No, but clearly people don't always like their birth name anyway and want to change it.
(Percentage change between 1881 and 2008)
Data: Experian
auto-censure works! number 1 was the word for a male hen, also the main water turn-off tap known as the stop-****
I am going to change my name by deedpoll to
Jelly Bottom Death Shufflebottom III
Jus' sayin'
i didn't find out what my real name is until i was 18 when my mother gave me my birth certificaate and i recall feeling very weird and kept repeating the name over and over again, i grew up being called a differrent name all through school. i must say i prefer my real name and adopted it straingtaway as i feel it suits me better. my parents continued to use my old name though as they never wanted me to be called by my real name it seems that my grandmother registered me and named me after my maternal aunt, she told my parents that she forgot what they wanted to call me but i think she knew what she was doing as my real name suits me much better. i can't help feeling sorry for those children the parents are obviously confused about who they are and are doing the same to their children. i did once have a case of a woman who had changed her names about four times and the psychologist in the subsequent care proceedings said that she was confused about her identity and couldn't decide who she was.
I was at school with someone whose surname rhymes with reed, and means "to pass urine" . I'm surprised that didn't feature on the list of name changes.
im pretty sure there is some evidence that teachers have different expections of children depending on their name - ie roxy v elizabeth but im not sure where youd find it. Also im sure there are things like people with irish names being heavily discriminated against by hotels etc in older times
id be interested in what you find - could you send me a pm if you do?
romeo2001: im pretty sure there is some evidence that teachers have different expections of children depending on their name - ie roxy v elizabeth but im not sure where youd find it. Also im sure there are things like people with irish names being heavily discriminated against by hotels etc in older times id be interested in what you find - could you send me a pm if you do?
Well with a name like romeo I expect you know what expectations can subtly attach......
In some places people are ascribed nicknames derived from where the live.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1783773
Silver Sage: romeo2001: im pretty sure there is some evidence that teachers have different expections of children depending on their name - ie roxy v elizabeth but im not sure where youd find it. Also im sure there are things like people with irish names being heavily discriminated against by hotels etc in older times id be interested in what you find - could you send me a pm if you do? Well with a name like romeo I expect you know what expectations can subtly attach...... In some places people are ascribed nicknames derived from where the live. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1783773
haha !
you may have done this already but google scholar falk and identity and look at the stuff thats cited his book - some interetsting titles in there but nothing specific i think - i cant access them fro my pc so no idea of their use sadly
Romeo posted
"you may have done this already but google scholar falk and identity and look at the stuff thats cited his book"
Thats fascinating....by projection it suggests that we put on different identities for different activities and arenas or settings.
I confess I am very aware of this in myself, and have often wondered if I am slightly towards the multiple personality disorder. However perhaps we all adopt the persona we think is most beneficial for the gains we hope to achieve in the varying environments in which we operate.
We dress and speak in a specific way for an interview. We dress and speak in a completely different way in various different settings. If letting my hair down with freinds who have never been near my workplace nor have an interest in what I do, I am very different from when I am at work.
Perhaps our adaptability to assume a required and rewarded persona in various situations is worth looking at.
If I am working with disadvataged youth in an area of deprivation, identity is crucial to their survival and self -worth in that environment. But believing that identity is genetically "who they are" rather than the environment necessitated modus operandum of the moment, is potentially an issue that might limit their chances to fulfil their potential.
Perhaps that is why drama groups have been so popular and successful in young offender institutions and in working with young adult prisoners, at which age identity ( according to Eriksen) can be still experimental and adaptable, rather than fixed.
Did I tell you about the time when I was a Missippi river boat gambler?
Nice activity to do with anyone really (could be a child, parent, could be a colleague you'd like to get to know better, can be a group ice -breaker) - they write their name down in big writing, then all the other names they are known as around it (depending on the purpose - promts/discussion could include... what does your mum call you? What do your children call you? What does your partner call you when he is angry? What affectionate names have you been called etc etc).
Ask (or tell) person what their name means. Talk about whether it fits with their personality?
Lots of room then for talking about meaning of different names, how different names make you feel, why they are used, how they fit with identity (what does it mean, how does it feel to be called mummy, my baby, the sperm-donor, wife etc - why does this person call you this?)
What is their favourite name? What would they like to be called? Would they like to change their name? How do they like to be greeted?
That's not literature or research, but I am wondering if the children could tell you themselves about the impact on them of having their name changed.
If you are delving into the arena of identity you may find that you will end up going beyond names to the core of a youth's sense of self. As I would see it, the frequent change of names may be yet a "symptom" or indicator of a larger issue of identity formation for the children. In terms of research you may want to look at the work of Erik Erikson (Eight stages of man) who pioneered work in the field of identity formation. If you use his work as a means of framing the issue, you will also find that this is actually a fortunate time, for the children/youth, to be taking on this issue as they should be broaching the identity formation stage.
A starting point for further identity formation information can be sourced from the following:
http://www.identitysrif.org/
I would also suggest the book Identity, Agency and Culture by Cote and Levine - Two of the world leaders on identity formation. I helped with this book, when they were working on it during my studies. The book provides a comprehensive examination of theories of identity and developments in the respective fields. Very useful as a starting point for further and more specific information.
You may want to look at the work of Hubert Hermans and the area of narrative psychology. Here's a link to his work. http://huberthermans.com/
More specific to the situation you are presenting, you may find it useful to look at "The Twenty Statements Test". This is a self reporting test to use with people to assist in identifying one's sense of identity and locus of control (internal/external). Could give some insight into where the kids are at, so to speak.
If trying to make the case for court I would wonder if it would not be more useful to focus upon the issue of emotional abuse and emotional neglect, framed within the larger issue of purposeful transiency.
However, here is an old article that speaks directly to the psychological impact of name change - "Psychological impact of women's name change at marriage: Literature review and implications for further study". If looking through through the impacts upon this population, then the question could be raised, of the negative impacts that are raised for married women, does the same exist for children and, more importantly, do the children have the capacity to positively manage, cope with, such frequent changes. - Likely not, hence; what emotional stressors are being placed upon the children? In order for multiple name changes to successfully occur over a period of time, the children would have to be coached on assuming the new "identity". Why is this expectation being placed upon the children, whose needs are being met and whose are being neglected?
Some articles/research of note:
1) "The Self- Who am I? : Children’s Identity and Development through Early Childhood Education"
http://repository.upi.edu/operator/upload/pro_2011_iecs_pamela_childrens_identity_and_development_through_early_childhood_education.pdf
Conclusion
In this paper I have been concerned with exploring the links between who young children wants to be when they grow up and the reasons for their choices. While the search for identities continue in early childhood stage, this paper highlighted the importance of friendship, peers and play in the formation of identities among young learners. The pupils expressed their 8 feeling of who they really are, who they want to be through different tasks in drawing, and scaffolding tasks in addition to the interview questions asked.
From her study, Warin (2010) found that much of children’s identity depended on the opportunities they had both in school and out of school for reflecting on their social relationships, making social comparisons and building up a narrative self. According to Warin (2010), the children’s stories told in her book confirm Erikson’s (1980) linkage of identity and wellbeing. She concludes that ‘a sense of self is a resource for coping and managing our social experiences. This makes it essential that policy addresses the issue of how we can help identity along, and that we are more specific about ways we conceptualize identity.
2) "Childhood Residential Mobility and Multiple Health Risks During Adolescence and Adulthood"
3) "Frequent childhood geographic relocation: Its impact on drug use initiation and the development of alcohol and other drug-related problems among adolescents and young adults"
4) "The Long-term Effect of Childhood Residential Mobility on Educational Attainment."
I guess the point being made is that there is not much "evidence", however, if you could link transiency/name change with depravation of childhood emotional/social/[psychological needs, then you may make a strong case to put before the court. End of the day the best source of "evidence" will come from the children. Get someone to do some narrative work with them and capture their sense of self.
I hope this may be helpful, but fear my answer may muddy the waters.
I think that the issue of the moves and severed social relationships are likely to have a greater impact on the children than the name changes-but I am completely biased.
As someone who has had several name changes, due to growing up in a step-family, then marriage etc...I never felt a loss of identity in changing surname-but the decision around the name changes has always been mine-even as a child.
Only my first name is important to me...but maybe that's to do with my fragmented identity due to surname changes??
Ohsoso i think you deserved a more serious response than a discussion about "funny names" my belief is children can accomodate a number of name changes if the reasons are explained to them but ultimately frequent name changes especially forename!! are harmful. Gender and name are absolutely central to what we tell and express to others at first meetings These children have the added burden of remembering "who we are this month" Come on- contributng to evidence of neglect I think .
redana: As someone who has had several name changes, due to growing up in a step-family, then marriage etc...I never felt a loss of identity in changing surname-but the decision around the name changes has always been mine-even as a child.
My feeling is also that if it is the child/ young person's choice then it's less likely to have an impact.
I'm working with a family at the moment, for example, where the mum was in a social group after she left home at 16 where people were often involved in criminal activity so aliases were used for that reason, and also they had a cultural dislike of using their official 'government' names and preferred street names. So she has a string of different names (first names and surnames) that she has used in the past and doesn't know the surnames of some of her older friends, but she is also very confident in her identity and in the identity she will pass to her children. Just social services (well, government agencies in general) tend to react poorly if someone says they've been known by other names in the past.
We are not provided with the information as to these children's ages change of name is well accepted within CS I am struggling with change of first names UNLESS this is something requested by the child- I still think there needs to be a full discussion with the chld/ren about the legal ramifications- i.e we will happily change your name but at some stage we will make sure this is your name forever... etc
I tend to agree that the change of first names would harm identity more-it's for that reason that adopted children, who are, of course, accustomed to one name, should be able to hold on to that part of their identity where at all possible.....until the time they are old enough to change it if they choose. Whereas surname is routinely changed to adopter's surname(s).
Interesting topic. Reminds me of my mother, and how she didn't have a birth certificate or know her real surname until she was in her 40s....It bothered her and was a great source of insecurity to know there was some family secret which she never did fully discover. I came across this Open University article on the topic . It's maybe not hard for children to accept name changes if that is the family norm, but what are they learning about attachment, what about education and will they have the option to fit into mainstream life if they want to...And what do they understand as the reasons for all this chopping and changing? If it's fear of being removed by Children's Services, then ooh boy! Bottom line is the significant harm overall.
I have had to change my username against my wishes.....it's not comfortable.......cue vulnerability to an identity crisis.
I just read one of "mynickname"'s references; from four posts above;
Very interesting, and it is consistant with cases I have been involved with.
But then if we take the line that this can be child abuse/neglect where does it leave us with a standard principle in the case of the children of Travellers? Is that indirect discrimination?
But you've kept the butterfly so you are recognisable!
Hi RubyTrue, Redana lives on after all, so Redanna1 might have to lose the avatar. One of me is enough
Thank you all for your responses. Some definately helpful and interesting. Unfortunately the family 'went west' again before I had the opportunity to progress anything.
I had considered whether there was an element of indirect discrimination in assuming there could be a negative impact in relation to numerous house moves. However, my understanding is that travellers have a tendency to move within and between travelling communities rather than seemingly random moves from area to area of which they had no previous connection. ( am I wrong?)
The family I tried to work with had no such connection with the Travelling community. Parents gave no reason as to name changes (about 15 in 10 years) other than it was no ones business other than their own.
I will read, absorb and save the research links for later use.
Mynickname gets my award for best response so far. Treat youself to a doughnut.
dont know if its still useful but "the wright stuff" on channel 5 today had the impact of your name on various aspects of your life as a discussion point - they quoted a few studies - some were about first name and some were about surname - I know it might not be the most reliable of resources (think one study implied a connection between surname and choice of career which seems fairly suspect to me!) but worth a look i think.
Silver Sage: I just read one of "mynickname"'s references; from four posts above; 3) "Frequent childhood geographic relocation: Its impact on drug use initiation and the development of alcohol and other drug-related problems among adolescents and young adults" Very interesting, and it is consistant with cases I have been involved with. But then if we take the line that this can be child abuse/neglect where does it leave us with a standard principle in the case of the children of Travellers? Is that indirect discrimination?
By definition, the cases you have been involved with are likely to be where people struggled to cope with the situation. The children who move/ are moved a lot geographically and are more resilient won't be in your purview.
I say this from a perspective which involves having lived in multiple different cities as a child. It certainly impacts your social network and means you have to get used to making friends quickly and then leaving them again, but it isn't inevitable that alcohol and drug based problems will ensue. Also this particular facet might not be such a great issue for travellers as the family and cultural network will be adapted to it.