The Developing Child - Assignment Example

The paper "The Developing Chil" is a great example of an assignment on gender and sexual studies. Question One Stage One This is the infancy stage starting from birth up to about 18 months old. The psychosocial crisis of this stage is that of trust versus mistrust. In this stage, an infant develops trust towards reliable and affectionate caregivers while the lack of these virtues leads to mistrust. The mother provides a significant relationship in this stage, with feeding being a key event. Stage Two This is the early childhood stage ranging from two to three years of age characterized by the psychosocial crisis of autonomy versus shame and doubt.

A child develops control over physical abilities and a feeling of independence. If this stage is successful, the child gains a feeling of autonomy whereas it leads to shame and doubt in case of failure. The significant relationships in this stage are those with parents and the key activities include toilet training and self dressing. The will to learn new things is a virtue developed in this stage.Stage Three These are the preschool years of between three to five years involving initiative versus guilt conflicts.

A child begins to display power and control over the surroundings. If successful, this stage helps a child develop a sense of reason. Failure of this stage attracts disapprovals and guilt feelings. Family members play a role in encouraging a child to explore the use of tools or creative arts. The virtue of purpose develops in this stage.Stage Four This is the school-going age from six to 11 years. It is characterized by industry versus inferiority conflicts. Children in this stage are faced with the challenge to deal with new academic and social demands.

If successful, the stage promotes competence in children. Conversely, if it fails, it creates a sense of inferiority. The key relationships children have in this stage are with the neighbors and school community while engaging in sporting and academic activities.Stage Five This is the adolescence stage of between 12 to 18 years characterized by identity versus role confusion. Here, teenagers grapple with the requirement to build and develop a personal sense of identity. The successful ones remain true to themselves whereas those who are not successful end up in role confusion within society and have weak senses of self-recognition.

To develop their social relationship skills, the teenagers look up to role models and their own peers. Fidelity is a key virtue developed in this stage. Stage Six This stage comprises of young adults of between 19 to 40 years characterized by the intimacy versus isolation conflict. The young adults initiate and develop romantic relationships with others. The partners they end up with form key relationships in life. The successful ones form functional couples whereas those who do not make it could end up in isolation and loneliness.

Love is a virtue nurtured in this stage.Stage Seven This stage is formed by those in middle adulthood of between 40 and 65 years. They are characterized by the generativity versus stagnation psychosocial crisis. Their prominent activities include parenthood and their careers. They are faced with the need to generate things that will last longer than them. They achieve this by raising children and creating positive changes in benefiting society. The success of this stage gives a sense of accomplishment and usefulness.

Those who fail here are shallowly involved in the community and world. Workmates and family members form significant relations in this stage by assisting the adults to develop the virtue of care. Stage Eight This stage comprises of people from 65 years to the end of life. The psychosocial crisis here is that of ego integrity versus despair. The older adults look back and reflect on their lives. Those who have been successful in life gain feelings of fulfillment while developing the virtue of wisdom.

Failure here leads to bitterness, regret, and despair. Those in this stage identify with their own kind within society whether they are failures or successes. Question Two With rising incidents of dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease, there was a need to address the issue and reduce the cases. Limited abilities to manage medical conditions and medications raise concerns when people experience cognitive declines. Preventing declines may improve the lives of the elderly. Through the Healthy Brain Initiative, the Center for Disease Control aims to understand the load of cognitive impairment among the public.

This is conducted via surveillance to create and communicate an evidence base for policies and programs to improve cognitive health. The ultimate goal is to translate the evidence foundation into functional practices in public health. The initiative recognizes the significance of focusing public health on efforts that identify factors which help adults enhance their cognitive health as they advance in age. The organizers conducted a convention to equip aging services, mental health, and public health institutions with strategies to screen and treat depression among the elderly (Laditka et al, 2011).

Question Three The social theory that describes my grandparents is the disengagement theory. This is so because they have significantly reduced their interactions with both family members and society. The withdrawal from social life was voluntary and initiated by the aged couple, although they still partially interact with a few close relatives. They are also not involved in life activities as they used to while still younger (Hayflick, 1987).