DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 1
Developmental Analysis: A Comprehensive Review
Taylor Davis
School of Behavioral Science, Liberty University
Abstract
Developmental self-analysis is a complicated process. It requires assessing the personal lifespan
in a relatively objective way. My life has been filled with broken homes, legal complications, and
heartbreak. It has also encompassed joy, success, and rebuilding. All these events have
developed me into the individual that I am today. This is shown through Erik Erikson’s
psychosocial stages of development and the success or failure of each crisis. While the
behavioral theory of development does not apply to my life, the ecological systems theory does
have prevalence.
Keywords: family, trauma, life, divorce
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 2
Developmental Analysis: A Comprehensive Review
My personal growth and development can only be described as a whirlwind full of highs
and lows. There have been moments of great joy and moments of great sorrow. This journey
has encompassed numerous stages of development, from the prenatal period to early emerging
adulthood. In each stage, developmental hurdles were processed. Research supports the
developmental reactions to numerous circumstances. The crises faced along the way have made
me who I am today.
Prenatal Period
My mother, Bethany, found out that she was pregnant when she was 18 years old. She
has just graduated high school and gotten married to my dad, Phillip. They were raising my older
sister, Karlie, who my mom had given birth to at 17 years old. Even though my mom was young,
there were no health complications throughout the pregnancy. The doctors did believe that my
mother would experience issues, though, since my sister was born almost eight weeks early.
They also told my mom that she would likely not have a full-term pregnancy with me due to the
size of her torso. Doctors said that I would run out of room to grow and come early. The biggest
complaint my mom had is that I was a very active fetus. I was born on May 6, 1994, roughly two
weeks before my due date. My mom was in labor for roughly six hours after her water broke at
home. There were no labor and delivery complications. I was completely healthy at six pounds
three ounces.
Infancy
When asked about my infant years, my mom did not have much to tell me regarding my
behavior. I exceeded all the developmental milestones, such as crawling, walking, and talking.
My sleep patterns were normal for an infant. I was breastfed until I was nine months old.
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 3
My mom describes my infancy years as survival mode. Many moms feel this way, but my
mom has a different reason. When I was six months old, my parents separated. My dad moved
down to Georgia while my mom stayed in Virginia. During a visitation with him, my mom had
divorce papers delivered. This did not sit well with my dad, so he told my mom that she needed
to drive down to get my sister and I instead of him bringing us up. Growing up, my mom always
described this event as my dad kidnapping me. However, I would learn much later in life that he
was within his legal visitation rights. The separation of my parents was very difficult for me. I
was very securely attached to my father.
Erikson attaches the crisis of trust versus mistrust to this stage of life (Wong et al., 2021).
In my own development, I achieved the positive outcome of trust. I had hope and drive.
However, I did go through a period of mistrust. At the onset of the separation, it was difficult for
anyone besides my father to console me.
Toddlerhood
By the time I was a toddler, my mom had remarried and gotten pregnant with my
younger sister. The man she married is who I remember as my dad growing up. I have no
memories of ever doing things with him. All I remember is him sleeping, working, and loving on
my new sister. I loved having a little sister. There were no jealous tendencies or behaviors
towards her. However, with the arrival of my mom’s new husband came a stepbrother. He lived
with us part time.
I potty trained easily at two years old, and I loved to help my mom with chores around
the house. I never complained about cleaning up my toys. My sister and I played well together
with minimal fighting or hurt feelings. If disputes arose, I would just walk away and play by
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 4
myself. This shows that in Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development, I achieved autonomy
over shame (Wong et al., 2021). I was confident, independent, and had self-control.
Preschool Years
Preschool was a relatively mundane time in my life. I went to preschool with no issues of
separation anxiety. I loved school. My behavior at school was admirable; my mom never got
calls from the school regarding me. My cousins, who are very close in age, moved into the
farmhouse next door. Every chance we got we were playing in the creek, climbing trees, or
playing house in the barn. My mom’s best friend, Lisa, became like a second mom to me. She
was, and still is, a major influence in my life. I participated in a girl scout club called Brownies
and I loved my baton classes.
When I was six, I was racing my stepbrother down a hill on our bikes. We lived at the
bottom of a steep paved hill that came to a cul-de-sac. When I realized that I won, I pushed the
brake for the front tire instead of the back while I was riding over the manhole cover. This
caused me to flip over the handlebars. I slid face first along the pavement until I hit the curb. My
mom immediately took me to the hospital. I did not break any bones, but I did extensively
damage my face. I still have a scar under my nose from where the skin was taken off. I also have
one less tooth than a standard adult mouth. My lower center tooth was knocked out, among
other baby teeth. I had bundles of gravel that stayed in my gums for almost 15 years.
I struggled with confidence after that. It took me years to get back on a bike and I was
embarrassed of the scars on my face. Erikson’s crisis of initiative versus guilt is difficult to
conclude in this stage. While there was a clear lack of initiative regarding the willingness to get
back on a bike, I did eventually conquer that fear. However, I was clearly acting in a selfconscious
manner. I believe that this stage of my life resulted in guilt. I was more of a follower than a
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 5
leader. Additionally, I was hyper-focused on making everyone around me happy rather than
myself.
Middle Childhood
With the onset of middle childhood came many changes. I still loved school, but I started
to get in trouble for being too talkative. I was very social. When I was seven, my grandma took
me to Disney World. I also joined an elite travel soccer team. I did not love the sport, but I used
it as an escape from my home life.
I have very unpleasant and vivid memories of my mom’s second husband. Dinner was
over when the fighting began. I had difficulty sleeping due to the yelling. I was often called
downstairs in the middle of the night with demands to tell my parents who was right and who
was wrong. It became normal to wake up to the police in our driveway, indicating that the fight
had lasted all night. My sisters and I would walk past them to catch the bus. All we could do was
pray no classmates looked out their bus window and saw the blue lights.
The observational learning that happened in this stage does not align with the social
learning theory. Albert Bandura proposed that people model and engage in the behaviors that
were presented to them as a child (Wong et al., 2021). However, this has not proven to be true
in my life. I witnessed extensive fighting, but I have a habit of avoiding confrontation. The
ecological systems theory may explain this shift. Urie Bronfenbrenner believed that there are
five environmental systems that influence and shape human development (Wong et al., 2021).
While the microsystem that I lived in was unhealthy, the mesosystem interactions were not. This
could be due to church influence, peer influence, or positive school experiences (Wong et al.,
2021).
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 6
When I was eight, my mom got divorced. It was a messy separation. He only wanted
visitation with my little sister, leaving my older sister and I literally on the side of the road.
While we were at church, he broke into the house and took everything. My mother fell into a
deep depression, which left me to care for my sisters. I woke them up for school, packed
lunches, and made sure we caught the bus. I became their caregiver. Ardianto et al. (2024)
found that for children of divorce to psychologically recover, they must have appropriate
support from family, school, and the surrounding community. I distinctly remember a lunch lady
at my school consoling me through this divorce. Her, along with my mom’s best friend and my
church group, kept me moving in a positive direction.
Life soon started changing. My grandmother got married the following year in Maui,
Hawaii. She flew us all out for two weeks to be part of her private, cliffside, barefoot ceremony.
It was the first time I met my cousins and family from California. When I was ten, my mom
graduated from nursing school. I was so proud of her. When I was 11, my mom remarried again.
She is still married to him today.
Through all the ups and downs of this stage, I believe that I achieved what Erikson
described as industry over inferiority (Wong et al., 2021). My family support has a lot to do with
it. They constantly encouraged and sheltered me from the reality of my mom’s second marriage.
I had high self-esteem. I felt like I was starting to fit into the world, even if my view of the world
wasn’t entirely the truth.
Early Adolescence
My early adolescent years were some of the most impactful years of my life. I was
heavily involved in all areas of my life. I became a year-round athlete, competing in cross
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 7
country, indoor track, and outdoor track. I was consistently the best female athlete on the team
throughout my early adolescent career. My success in sports was a driving motivation in my life.
It gave me a sense of purpose and achievement, but also failure. My stepfather was very critical
of me. He would always tell me that I could be better and I wasn’t giving it my full effort. I loved
racing, but he attached a sense of unachievable success to it. Over time, this caused me to pull
away from my stepfather.
B.F. Skinner proposed that behavior is shaped because of consequences experienced
(Wong et al., 2021). The consequence of never being praised for my effort ultimately led me to
adopt the behavior of always seeking praise. This is also known as being a people pleaser. I still
struggle with my efforts in any aspect of my life not being acceptable to others. This is also why I
overcommit my time. I do not want to disappoint people by saying no.
My success was not only limited to sports. I was enrolled in numerous collegiate courses
while I was in high school, sang in the choir at school, formed and participated in an acapella
quartet, participated in theater productions, and led worship at church. I had friends from all
stereotypes. I was friends with the athletes, the smart kids, the choir kids, the popular kids, the
quiet kids; I was friends with virtually everybody in my school.
In February 2012, I had just gotten off work and seen that I had multiple missed calls
from my boyfriend, his parents, and my parents. I called my parents first. They instructed me to
come home as quickly as I could. When I walked in the house, they told me that my boyfriend’s
college roommate and one of my best friends, Troy, had committed suicide. He hung himself
from my boyfriend’s bed at William and Mary College. The days and weeks that followed are still
a blur. I was heartbroken. I was confused. More than anything, though, I was adamant on being
strong for my boyfriend. The trauma he endured by finding Troy was my biggest concern. I
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 8
encouraged him to talk to me in detail about what he encountered. These conversations gave
me a very vivid image of my closest friend that took me years to erase from my mind.
Troy’s suicide ultimately caused that friend group to go their separate ways. We could
not be together without there being a heaviness. Andriessen et al. (2020) found that
adolescents that experience a suicide withdrawal from social circles to give themselves time to
process and deal with the grief. It allows time to cope with the loss. Additionally, we could not
all be happy when we were together. The grief weighed too heavy. By not being together
anymore, we were able to escape from each other’s process of grieving (Andriessen et al.,
2020).
Through all the heartbreak, confusion, and trauma that I endured; never once did I get
mad at God. I was at church band practice on a Wednesday night, and we were singing a new
song. It talked about how you can rest in God. I collapsed in tears, which resulted in me having
to be honest and open about what I was going through. I believed I could just keep living my life
through the pain. I was so focused on supporting all my friends that were grieving that I hardly
gave myself that time. It wasn’t until God spoke to me through that song that I looked at myself.
My relationship with God became stronger than ever. I leaned on Him for comfort and peace.
All the life events in this stage should have led me to a confused state of being. However,
when it comes to Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, I achieved identity over role
confusion. I believe that everybody is good, even when their actions show otherwise. I knew
who I was and how I fit into the world around me. I knew my values, beliefs, and the importance
of my relationships (Wong et al., 2021)
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 9
Late Adolescence
Entering late adolescence was a turning point in my life. I left my parents’ home and
went to college four hours away at Christopher Newport University on an athletic scholarship. I
quickly learned the freedom that comes with being in college. I began to adopt a lifestyle of
partying and drinking. I hardly ever went to class. Allen et al. (2022) found that heavy drinking in
college students is associated with decreased academic effort. I experienced this as I would only
want to stay in bed the day after drinking. This ultimately led to me transferring schools to
Indiana Wesleyan University. My athletic career here was plagued with injury, which led to me
battling depression. I still lived a lifestyle of partying and drinking, but on a much smaller scale.
I was more motivated in my classes as a result.
After a few years, I realized that I could not afford to continue my education. I left
Indiana and moved to Jacksonville, Florida to live with my older sister and her daughter. She was
in the beginning stages of a separation, and I was in a very toxic relationship. One night, my
boyfriend and I went out drinking with some friends. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in the
hospital with my sister by my side. I had rolled my boyfriend’s Jeep, crashing into a bus stop and
landing against a tree. He was not injured. I had a collapsed lung, broken ribs, a hemorrhage
under my eye, whiplash, concussion, and many other more minor injuries. Doctors, nurses, and
physical therapists all told me I should not have survived the wreck.
Following the wreck came the long process of healing both physically and mentally. I did
not, and still don’t, remember anything that happened prior to waking up in the hospital.
Harvey and Bryant (2005) conducted a study regarding motor vehicle accident survivors who
sustained a mild traumatic brain injury. They found that all patients reported significant amnesia
at one month post trauma (Harvey & Bryant, 2005). While I believed that the memory would
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 10
come back, it never did. I now thank God for the lack of memory, as it would only add an
emotional element to the situation.
After a few months, I was driving home from work and I got pulled over. The officer
informed me that I had charges against me. I was wanted for two driving under the influence
(DUI) charges and a fugitive charge. While he could not explain why, since my license had my
current address on it, he had to detain me. I spent 30 days in the regional jail. Upon release, I
went back down to Jacksonville, Florida for my court hearing. Most of the charges were dropped
upon inspection of evidence, but I was still charged with a DUI.
That year changed the course of my whole life. For the first time in my adult life, I was
single. I threw myself back into church. I learned to love myself, love my God, and love my life. I
was confident that whatever God had in store for me, I was ready for. I was ready to follow Him
again. One week later, I met my now husband. He accepted me with all my unresolved trauma
and emotional instability. I knew right away that God had created him for me. Three months
into dating, he proposed. Ten months later, we got married.
Early Emerging Adulthood
Early emerging adulthood has been a time of significant growth both with my family and
career. My husband and I have had three beautiful children in the span of four years. Henry was
born first in the hospital after a 26-hour labor full of complications. Then we had Nora Mae. We
ended up being able to have a successful home birth with her after a four hour labor.
AlcarazVidal et al (2024) found that women who had a midwife present, gave birth outside of
the hospital, and had a labor of less than 12 hours were more likely to be satisfied with their
childbirth experience. This was true for me. If there are no major health risks, I will always
recommend a home birth.
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 11
Most recently, we had Pepper Ann. Her prenatal development was riddled with fear, as
she was diagnosed with fetal echogenic bowel. We were preparing to have a baby with major
health complications. After three emotional months, God heard our prayers and healed her
growing body. I began having contractions early one Sunday morning. We went to church,
stayed for the potluck, and went to the grocery store all while I was having contractions.
Ultimately, our midwife asked if she could just go ahead and come over just in case. 90 minutes
later, I had my third child via water birth. She was small, but she was healthy.
God has also brought my family and myself healing during this time. After 27 years, I met
my biological father for the first time. I was able to ask him some hard questions. We laughed
together, cried together, and started to learn who the other person is. The resemblance
between my biological father and I is uncanny. We look the same, have the same mannerisms
and sense of humor, and even have a lot of the same habits. My son also has a lot of the same
mannerisms as my biological dad. Liu (2023) found that children that grow up without both
biological parents in the house have a higher chance of engaging in non-suicidal self-injury. This
is something my biological father was very relieved to learn I did not do. It was one of his
biggest concerns.
The establishment and restoration of that relationship has already brought so much
healing to past traumas. However, it has conversely caused a strain on my mom’s relationship
with me. She was not happy that I met him. Much of the truth about my childhood came to light
when he presented divorce documents, marriage certificates, military accolades, and other
documents that proved timelines and truths. While I did not tell my mom about what I had
learned, I did stand firm on the belief that everybody deserves to know who they came from.
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 12
Our relationship has been restored, but my biological dad is the only thing I cannot talk to my
mom about.
My career has also been a focal point of my early emerging adulthood. I was able to go
back to school with my husband’s support. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science: Psychology
with a concentration in crisis counseling from Liberty University. I was 38 weeks pregnant with
Nora when I walked to receive my diploma. The shift into motherhood while also being in my
undergraduate degree was difficult. Roy et al. (2018) found that mothers who are also students
struggle when they do not have adequate emotional support or childcare. This remains true as I
pursue my master’s degree with three kids. While it is difficult to have a young family and
successfully navigate the master’s program, I am committed to my career development. Many
mothers are motivated to pursue an education to provide for their families (Roy et al., 2018).
Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development during the young adult stage of life is
intimacy versus isolation (Wong et al., 2021). I feel as though I teetered back and forth between
the two sides of the crisis. Ultimately, I feel as if I have landed on the side of intimacy. I have
healthy relationships with my spouse, my family, and my friends. While I did struggle with
feeling excluded in my early adult years, I no longer worry about that.
Conclusion
The experiences and challenges I have faced throughout my lifespan have proposed
significant developmental crises. Through the impact of my community, church, and family, I
was able to positively achieve most of Erik Erikson’s psychosocial developmental crises. As life
continues to progress, my family and my faith are driving forces. The most noteworthy lifestyle
behavior that will continue to influence my aging process is overstimulation and stress. I
struggle with headaches, lack of sleep, and malnutrition due to stress. This will begin to cause
DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 13
serious health concerns, such as a weakened immune system, cardiovascular disease, and
depression. To change this, I will engage in physical exercise while my kids are in school.
Overcommitting is a large part of my stress. I will be more intentional about my time and
commitments moving forward. Further studies could be conducted about the stress levels of
moms who are pursuing higher education. Additionally, research could be conducted on the
impact of biological families being reunited after extensive separation.
References
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catalonia (spain): A cross sectional study of women's experiences and influencing ‐
factors. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 80(6), 2363-
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DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS 14
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