Early Childhood Developmental Theories
Anna Case: Early Childhood Developmental Theories
Instructions:
Case Study Analysis: Early Childhood
For this assignment, you will complete an analysis of a case study that deals with the early childhood stage of development.
**Select one of the following case studies from your Broderick and Blewitt textbook to complete an analysis of the developmental and contextual issues related to the selected case:
- Angela and Adam, page 165.
- Dawn, page 199.
**Each of the case studies includes a set of questions that can guide your analysis of the pertinent issues for the particular case.
Expectations
**Address the following in your case study analysis:
- Analyze lifespan development theories to determine the most appropriate theory or theories to apply to the case study.
- Apply the appropriate lifespan development theory to support an identified intervention process.
- Describe the potential impact of individual and cultural differences on development for the current age and context described in the case study.
- Write in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for graduate-level composition and expression.
Content
**The case study analysis should be a maximum of 5 pages in length, including the introduction and conclusion, each of which should be approximately one half-page in length. The body of the paper should not exceed 4 pages.
Provide the following content in your paper:
- An introduction that includes an overview of the paper contents, including a brief summary and background information regarding the case study.
- The body of the case study, including:
- The presenting challenge or challenges and primary issue or issues.
- The appropriate lifespan development theory and research-based alternatives that explain the presenting challenges.
- The potential impact of individual and cultural differences on development for the current age and context described in the case study.
- Evidence-based support from lifespan development theory and current scholarly research to support appropriate interventions.
- A conclusion that summarizes what was introduced in the body of the paper, with respect to the case study context, challenges, and interventions.
Requirements
Submit a professional document, in APA style, that includes the following required elements identified with headings and subheadings:
- Title page.
- Introduction (half page).
- Case study analysis (4 pages).
- Conclusion (half page).
- Reference page: Include a minimum of 5 scholarly resources from current peer-reviewed journals as references, in addition to referencing the textbook in which the case study is embedded.
- Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Solution
Anna Case: Early Childhood Developmental Theories
Early Childhood Developmental Theories
Introduction
The theories of life span development are interconnected with the age-related transitions that an individual undergoes from early childhood to late adulthood. Some theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Jean, Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, and Erik Erikson try out to explain through theory the dynamics of an individual life as per the experiences in the early stages of life span development. These scholars suggest that an individual’s progression of development is affected by a phase in life development. This essay transcends an analysis of the Anna case in Broderick and Blewitt’s The Life Span: Human Development for Helping Professional. Additionally, the paper will outline the potential impact of cultural and individual differences as well as alternatives based on research for the case.
Presenting Challenges
The case is about a 9-year old girl-child, Anna, who lives with a sick parent, Karen, diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Anna past has been problematic since as well as her mother marriage life. Anna, in this case, has some challenges as a child. First, she feels being lied to by her mother about her true biological father. Second, she has difficulties with her education as the case suggest that she is a whole grade behind despite studying in a high-profile institution that demands high-quality academic proficiency. Third, as a child, she experiences the effect of the financial as her mother struggles to keep them alive and educated with her other two siblings. Also, it is noted that Anna is anti-social as she behaves immaturely with peers and adults; she is overly affectionate and depicts shyness. Furthermore, she has fewer friends at school; hence she is a loner (Broderick & Blewitt, 2014).
Theoretical Analysis
Research suggests that various lifespan developmental theories offer three presumptions that people undergo within the phases of growth in a specified order. Each phase has the capability of structuring on the different capacities that are developed at an earlier stage of life. Second, these presumptions suggest that the different life development stages of an individual are directly related to the corresponding age, for this case, early childhood stage. Third, this presumption suggests that the human life span development is entirely discontinuous which differ qualitatively in the capacities that crop up at each and every stage of one’s life developmental phase (Cirillo & Wapner, 2014).
Nature versus Nurture Analogy
An experimental approach, known as ‘formative brain research’ suggests that teenagers and children change over time (Sigelman & Rider, 2014). The primary factor within this hypothesis is focussed amid improvement in adolescence, and this period is most critical changing part of an individual where most of the changes occur rapidly (Sigelman & Rider, 2014). As per the case, Anna will be affected by the childhood experiences during her adolescence stage. In this type of research design, the formative therapists focus on a broad variety of theoretical ranges, per se, biological, emotional, social and subjective procedures in a child or adult’s developmental phase. As such, the primary objective of the formative research is to describe, clarify and improve the state of an individual to mirror normality.
For improvement to be noticeable for a child, it is imperative to concentrate on the obvious examples of life progression and individuals’ nature progress such the idiographic improvement. When advancement in life stages is standardized regularly is viewed as a continuous and complete process. Nevertheless, it is ought to evident that individuals can change if the situations within their environment change. Such a limit is what Rutter (2013) refer to as “resilience.” As such, Rutter (2013) found out that some individuals who have passed through hardships and lived in understaffed sanctuaries tend to be bright and loving when put in a contextual social setting with decent homes. As such, Rutter suggests that it is important to realize the effects of nature and nurture in child development as per the resilience factor (Rutter, 2013). Therefore, nature encompasses to the biological development and legacy as nurture corresponds to the environmental effects through learning from experiences. The genetic make-up (DNA) and heredity tend to affect how a child will behave in future. For this case, it is not clear that Anna is affected by the genes inherited from her biological father or mother, but it is clear that she is affected by the environmental changes she experiences.
Psychosexual Stages
One of the theories that explain the presenting challenges that Anna encounters include an Austrian psychologist, Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud stipulated that personality development is viewed as a progression of phases. In his theory, Sigmund Freud suggested that the psychosexual stages of development affect that the behavioral outcome of an individual (Carducci, 2009). Consequently, parents play a significant role in the personality development of a child. Freud suggests that each stage represented a fixation of the sexual urges and believed that life development is built on the foundations of “tension and pleasure.” He suggests the first five years of a child’s development are linked to the behavioral outcome (personality) of an individual at a later stage. Regarding Anna’s she might have had issues with the in the development of the id and superego experiencing a conflict which results in fixation, overindulgence, or frustration at a specific stage.
This theory best fits the case to explain Anna’s personality development. This theory explains the interactions of the Id, Ego, and Super Ego. The Id is related to desires and impulses, ego relates to the rational and conscious part of a personality, and the superego refers to the consciousness in forming interactions from the society and people around oneself such as Anna (Carducci, 2009). The experiences that Anna face revolve around these three components which influence her personality development as well as it might impact on the development of psychopathology. Furthermore, being lonely and having fewer friends depicts a personality disorder. Realizing that she was living with a non-biological parent also shows that she might develop stress and depression.
Cognitive Development Theory
Piaget’s theory, Cognitive Theory, ruled out the fact the children are less competent thinkers than grown-ups. This theory can also explain the presenting challenges that Anna face. He suggests that the cognitive make-up of a child is complex and that cognitive development is a progressive re-systematization of the metal process that results from the forces of nature and nurture. Children comprehend the world around them, and they experience the discrepancies between what they are aware of and what they are discovered in the environment. He stipulates three components of cognitive development; schemas, adaptations and phases of cognitive development, which are; “sensorimotor stage, pre-operational stage, concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2014). Such cognitions about the “nurture” might have affected the Anna cognitive development and explain the reasons behind her poor performance in school.
Social Developmental Theory
Lastly, Lev Vygotsky’s theory, “social developmental theory” refutes Piaget’s hypothesis indicating that “social learning tends to precede development” (Nutbrown & Clough, 2014). As such he develops a sociocultural approach to understanding the cognitive development of an individual. He assumes that an individual’s cognitive development varies in regards to the cultural differences unlike Piaget’s universality of cultures as well as the environment acts a contributing factor in shaping one’s cognitive development. For Anna case, it is evident that most of her challenges originate from her environmental cognitions.
Intervention
As mentioned earlier, Anna tends to develop stress that might lead to depression. The best intervention that can be utilized in this case study is the use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) by a family therapist. CBT is an intervention that focusses on individual’s cognitions, emotions, and behavior. As such, Kendall (2011) stipulates that CBT is one of the effective therapy that children, as well as adolescents, can undergo to overcome psychopathological issues as they develop. For Anna’s case, CBT will focus on molding her assumptions about the situation of the family as well as eliminate the negative concepts about her parents. Additionally, CBT will focus on improving her academic skills and socialization at school.
Conclusion
This case provides
a classic example of how the environmental and cultural differences affect the
upbringing of a child. Anna can be seen to be influenced
by the by the domestic and marital issues that affect
her perceptions and personality development. Anna is seen to grow up in a
struggling family with a single mother who strives to cater for the family with
three children who need education and shelter just like the others.
Conclusively, the parental skills the parent exhibit to children significantly affects their development. As children grow up, it is imperative for parents to take good
care of them both mentally and health wise
to avoid any cases of developing psychopathological illness and personality
issues.
References
Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2014). The Life Span: Human Development for Helping Professionals. New York City, US: Perason Education.
Carducci, B. J. (2009). The psychology of personality: Viewpoints, research, and applications. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Cirillo, L., & Wapner, S. (2014). Value presuppositions in theories of human development. Psychology Press.
Kendall, P. C. (Ed.). (2011). Child and adolescent therapy: Cognitive-behavioral procedures (4th ed.). New York, NY, United States of America: Guilford Press.
Marsh, H. W., Nagengast, B., & Morin, A. J. (2013). Measurement invariance of big-five factors over the life span: ESEM tests of gender, age, plasticity, maturity, and la dolce vita effects. Developmental psychology, 49(6), 1194.
Nutbrown, C., & Clough, P. (2014). Early childhood education: History, philosophy and experience. Ne York City: Sage Publications.
Rutter, M. (2013). Annual research review: resilience–clinical implications. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(4), 474-487. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02615.x
Sigelman, C. K., & Rider, E. A. (2014). Life-span human development. New York City: Cengage Learning.