COUC 501 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY Developmental Analysis Assignment_2024.pdf

DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 1

Developmental Analysis Assignment

Marsha H. Wyland

School of Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Liberty University

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Abstract

There are many stages of development, some I have conquered, others have yet to be discovered.

currently going through late adolescents. Each stage prepared me for the next, without me

realizing it they led me to who I am today. Through the use of empirical studies, I was able to

learn more about each stage and how they affect others and the data to go with it.

Keywords: Development, cognitive, emotional, physical, infancy, toddlerhood, early school age,

middle childhood, adolescents

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Developmental Analysis Assignment

As a twenty-two year old woman I have only made it to the late adolescent stage, but

through every stage my cognitive, physical, and emotional being experienced growth and

maturation. I experienced the same milestones as a normal child, I walked at age one and began

to babble. As a toddler I became more adventurous and began to climb and understand how to

work smaller toys. At age six I began to learn how to read and write my letters correctly, while

also beginning to learn new social skills. During middle childhood development I began to learn

new problem-solving skills and extended my vocabulary while finding my spiritual way. Early

adolescents brought challenges of hormones, stress, and anxiety and eventually coping

whether it is breast-feeding or formula fed. This allows them to get the nutrients they need until

they begin to develop teeth where they can consume solid foods. They are growing steadily and

can distinguish faces as well as the difference between a man and woman. As they grow, they

begin to be able to hold objects such as their bottle or pacifier. They begin to make facial

expressions such as smiling. Between eight and twelve months they can sit up straight by using

their own weight. At two years of age, they are walking and able to say some intelligible words.

The child is learning how to respond to the parent when spoken to and can also point to objects

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they actually want. This is important to their developmental process because they are learning

how to communicate in speech as well as with their hands.

During Infancy they develop their own temperament which according to the Counseling

Individuals Through the Lifespan textbook is, “Temperament includes nine dimensions: activity

level, biological rhythms, approach/withdrawal, mood, intensity of reaction, sensitivity,

adaptability, distractibility, and persistence. These nine dimensions are then divided into three

temperament types, including easy, difficult, and slow to warm.” (Wong et al., 2020). When

asked my mother described my temperament as easy, I was not a fussy infant, but cheerful and

active. According to the article, Infant temperament predicts personality more than 20 years

complications.

Toddlerhood

The Toddlerhood stage is between one to three years of age, during this time greater

physical, cognitive, and emotional growth is taking place. As an infant I was very “healthy”

meaning I had plenty of baby fat, but as I turned into the toddlerhood stage of development, I

began to slim out due to active mobility such as, crawling and walking. I also made very distinct

facial expressions according to the mood of my parents. From an infant to toddlerhood, I carried

the social trait, I enjoyed people and did not cling to my mother as strongly as other children may

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have. This is believed to be due to my father’s social nature, and how he would have many

family friends that would pay visits and I would mimic his behaviors. Also during this stage, a

child likes to begin attempting independent tasks, but still needs validation from the parents

when doing so. For instance, I wanted to carry my own food and drink to the table for dinner.

Development of emotional regularity is a key factor when speaking of the toddlerhood

years because it is at this point that a child becomes more aware of negative and positive

emotions as well as the facial expressions that come with them. As for myself I did not have

developmental problems with emotional regularity because my parents kept the adult problems

to themselves and only spoke positively around me and my sister. It can vary from every

my balance was questionable, I asked questions about everything and overall developed at a

normal pace.

Early School Age is between three and six years of age and is the age where a child

begins gaining more control over their fine motor skills. At this stage a child is beginning to

attempt to dress themselves, learning how to hold a pencil, cut with scissors, etc.. (Wong et al.,

2020). It is also the time when a parent can notice if their child is behind other children their age

and whether it is just slower development, or a deeper problem involved. At this age I had many

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imaginary friends and loved to play with others, I would be dissatisfied being alone. A child in

this stage is still learning right from wrong, as well as real from imaginary. A key event I

remember is when I was four years old my sister left me alone in her room and I took the scissors

I watched her hide and cut my hair off. At this moment I ran to my parents crying telling them a

“monster” did it and watched as my older sister got in trouble for leaving me with scissors. In

that moment I believed what my imagination had made up, but I also found out a glimpse of

right and wrong. When I saw my sister get in trouble, I was expressing guilt which is part of

Erikson’s developmental stage initiative vs. guilt, though I had cut my own hair after seeing my

sister get in trouble I felt guilty, even if I did not understand what that was at the time.

Frogner and her colleagues they found that, “Research on social skills and school performance

among children points to the importance of early positive development and stability in social

skills.” (Frogner et al., 2021). Without proper social skills a child can begin to struggle

academically, I believe this is a factor as to why I have always been good academically.

Middle Childhood

Middle childhood takes place between the ages of six to twelve. During this time

emotional development should be seventy-five percent developed and the communication

between others should become the focus of the relationships (Wong et al., 2020). Cognitive

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development is beginning to allow for the child to understand the concept of right and wrong and

this allows for problem-solving skills to become more advanced. In this long process of middle

childhood, they are going through changes in relationships and beginning to understand

academics better for example, writing letters and extended vocabulary. Between the ages of ten

and twelve they are getting prepared for puberty and the hormones that are involved in it.

When I was between the ages of six and twelve, I experienced obesity. This was not from

a lack of being inactive, but due to my picky palate. I refused to eat my vegetables and the

majority of fruits, and this led to weight gain and eventually I was diagnosed with irritable bowel

syndrome at approximately ten. This affected my mental health as well due to bullying at school

aggression may be as high as 17%.” (Wong et al., 2020), this statement proved to be true in my

case as well as other individuals I had classes with.

Erikson’s psychosocial stage for this age is industry vs. inferiority, during this time I was

on the inferiority side of the spectrum. I did not feel confident in myself or my abilities due to

hormonal and weight changes which affected my academics. According to a study by NIH,

“These negative social problems contribute to low self-esteem, low self-confidence, and a

negative body image in children and can also affect academic performance…A research study

concluded that overweight and obese children were four times more likely to report having

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problems at school than their normal weight peers.” (Sahoo et al., 2015). Though I did meet

milestones in my English class such as, making the highest benchmarks, I struggled in the class I

got bullied the most and it made me feel inferior to my peers.

At this age I began to truly experience spirituality and how it affected me. Religion began

to interest me more and I was able to develop an understanding of who God was and my place in

the church. My father was the associate pastor so I grew up in the church, but it was not until

middle childhood that I began to question the Bible and the contents within. This allowed me to

grow spiritually and realize that I had a purpose in life that was not only to serve myself, but God

as well. At this stage I began to have a desire to work with those younger than me in children's

begin to outgrow the girls and girls begin to add weight and boys lose it. As stated early I

bloomed early, but I also began to slim out at about fifteen. Around thirteen girls began to

experience their first menstrual cycle which is normally seven days out of the month. As for

myself I did not have a regular menstrual cycle which seemed to run in the family. This caused

issues such as heavier bleeding which would cause me to become sick and worsening in cramps

than a normal cycle.

Peer pressure begins to happen during adolescence, this includes drug use, alcohol use, as

well as sex. During this time teenagers are just beginning to understand their hormones, but do

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not yet know how to control them. In this stage relationships become of greater importance

whether it is romantic relationships or friendships. This is why choosing the right groups to be in

was important to me at this age, as a child raised in church I did not want to become involved in

peer pressure. The adolescents become less dependent on their parents due to their cognitive

development changing and beginning to gain their own beliefs and outlooks. They are starting to

become more abstract in the way that they think and finding new ways to problem-solve.

I attended an early college program during my adolescence, this was a major milestone

for me because I was the first to graduate with a college degree. Though during this time as

many teenagers due I experienced anxiety which caused my social skills to suffer. It did not

and delayed post-stress recovery in pubescent adolescents.” (NIH, 2019), this means that as a

pubescent adolescent it is harder to recover from stress. Adolescents are having to deal with

hormonal changes while also finding their way and their identities, while having delayed post-

stress recovery, this can be a factor as to why many of this stage are experiencing depression and

anxiety.

Late adolescence is between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five and during this stage

many different challenges and transitions are taking place. I am currently going through this