The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work Practice Social Work Essay Essay Example

The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work Practice Social Work Essay Essay The field of developmental psychological science is the scientific survey of age-related alterations in behavior, thought, emotion, and personality. ( Bee and Boyd, 2002, p3 ) . This assignment will concentrate on the early old ages country of the lifetime, which ranges from pre-birth to 3 old ages of age. During the early old ages, kids start to develop physically as they begin to creep, appreciation and walk. Children besides start to hold self-government as they begin to do picks themselves and they start to develop their vocabulary and have simple conversations with others. Additionally, kids develop socially as they form fond regards with their attention giver and other of import faces they recognise. In societal work pattern, it is of import to understand that theories associating to lifespan development should non be used as a solid usher when sing behaviour, as they do non take into history all facets of an person s life, such as environmental and societal factors, and non e verybody lives a text-book life. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . Theories are an effort to explicate something to give us an apprehension and do sense of jobs. ( Thompson, 2000 ; page 20 ) . We will write a custom essay sample on The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work Practice Social Work Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work Practice Social Work Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work Practice Social Work Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer When working with immature kids, it is of import to understand the assorted phases of development so that we, as societal workers can place accomplishments being made ; such as when a kid takes their first measure, or when they say their first word. Theories sing lifetime development are based around normal development and can assist societal workers find how much advancement a kid is doing in footings of development. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . Social workers must do certain that when working with immature kids they take into account their race and civilization, and what impact these might hold on their development. They must besides take a holistic attack when seeking to derive an apprehension of a kid, so that non merely can state larn what has happened during the kid s life, they can besides state why it happened and see the kid as an person. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . It is of import to maintain in head that even a bantam babe is a individual. Holistic development sees the kid in the unit of ammunition, as a whole individual physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially, morally, culturally and spiritualty. ( Meggitt, 2006 ; page 1 ) . Following the decease of Victoria Climbie , Lord Laming was required to update the agreements for kid safe guarding to forestall future calamities happening. The Children Act 2004, was a major reform and it brought along different policies to safeguard kids, such as Every Child Matters: Change for Children. ( DfES, 2004 ) . Every Child Matters was besides reformed in 2009, following the decease of Peter Connelly. Besides, model for Birth to Three Matters ( DfES, 2002 ) , has been published to back up professionals who work with immature kids and households and recognises the nature of human development. Within psychological science, there are 5 different attacks that can be taken when looking at lifetime development. These 5 attacks are biological, humanistic, cognitive, behaviorist and psychodynamic. These psychological positions are backed up by assorted theories, but it is really of import to retrieve that theories are non ever true as they do non take into consideration environmental and societal factors that could impact an person s development. This does non intend that theories can non be used to analyze behavior and development within persons, but it should be remembered that all theories do hold unfavorable judgments when they are applied and used in societal work pattern. The first theory which is traveling to be looked at sing early old ages development is Erikson s psychosocial phases of development. ( Beckett and Taylor, 2010 ) . The first phase of development is Trust versus Mistrust ; this phase forms the foundation of trust a kid has with their health professional. The more consistent the attention is that they receive the better trust that the kid will hold and they will go confident and will experience secure in their environment. However, if this phase is non completed successfully, so the kid will non experience secure or confident, and may non hold a batch of trust in their health professional, which can ensue in a figure of jobs, such as anxiousness and insecurities about others. ( Erikson, 1995 ) . The 2nd phase of development is Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt ; this phase shows a kid get downing to asseverate themselves and go independent, for illustration, picking what they want to watch, what toys they want to play with, or what they want to eat etc. Children need to be supported in this phase so that they know what they are making is right and go more confident in doing their ain determinations, otherwise if they are criticised excessively much, they might get down to experience dependent upon others, and may doubt their ability to do their ain picks. ( Erikson, 1995 ) . In societal work pattern, this theory could be used to look into any underlying issues between a kid and their parent. Erikson states that if a phase is non completed successfully, it is harder to finish following phases of development and achieve the positive results. ( Beckett and Taylor, 2010 ) . This theory gives societal workers an overview of how a kid should be come oning and what their capablenesss should be. However, this theory does non take into consideration kids who have disablements or who come from different cultural backgrounds. A kid with a certain disablement may non be able to do their ain picks from such a immature age, no affair how merely they are, or kids from different civilizations will hold different upbringings compared to kids from other civilizations. John Bowlby was a chief psychologist who studied kids. In peculiar he looked at fond regard between a kid and health professional. He believed that relationships at a immature age are critical because any weaknesss in relationships in childhood would determine the development of a kid s personality. He besides believed that fond regard is an unconditioned act, and kids want to organize an fond regard with their female parents and female parents want to be near to their kids so that they can protect them. Prolonged separation from the female parent is known as maternal want, and this is a major cause of delinquent behavior and mental wellness concerns. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . Social workers can utilize theory when in pattern to see how a kid responds to their female parent or male parent. For illustration, if a kid is in a attention and has contact with his/her female parent twice a hebdomad, the societal worker should look to see who interacts with who foremost, who runs to who, what is the propinquity like and organic structure linguistic communication etc. All of these actions will let the societal worker to find whether something is incorrect. If the female parent runs to her kid, why is the kid non running to her female parent? Does the kid non experience attached? Has something happened which needs to be looked into? However, Bowlby s theory does non take into history male parents being the attachment figure as they may be a individual parent. Besides, societal workers need to work in a non-discriminatory mode and retrieve that in some households, such as Asiatic households, within a family it is non merely the immediate household who live at that p lace, it is besides the wider household. A member of the wider household could be the chief health professional, so this needs to be taken into consideration when get downing to work with a kid from this type of household. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . Mary Ainsworth adapted Bowlby s fond regard theory by transporting out her ain experiment on kids and their health professional so that different fond regard manners between a kid and the health professional could be observed. The Strange Situation recognised four different fond regard types ; secure, anxious-avoidant, anxious-ambivalent and disorganized fond regard. ( Ainsworth et all. , 1978 ) . The experiment took topographic point in a little room with a one manner mirror so that the kid could easy be observed. Throughout the experiment, the kid would be left with their health professional for some clip before a alien entered and the health professional leaves, and so the kid would be left wholly entirely for a short period of clip before the alien and health professional return and so forth. The attachment type that the kid would hold would be dependent on their reactions to the events that happened in the experiment disturbance, shouting, dying, scared, happy, hard-pressed etc . ) . For illustration, a kid who has an ambivalent-attachment would hold shown no marks of hurt when their health professional left the room, but they would hold avoided the alien when they entered the room. When the health professional returns after go forthing the kid entirely with the alien, the kid would near them, but may besides force them off to demo that they are upset. ( Simply Psychology, 2008 ) . In societal work, this theory could be used to see the fond regard between a kid and their health professional. Positive fond regard could ensue in intercession non being needed by societal workers. However, negative fond regard could turn out that earlier intercession is needed as there is an underlying ground as to why the kid is non organizing an fond regard with their health professional. This theory should be used really carefully in pattern as some kids are more independent than others, and it does non take into account cultural differences and disablements. For illustration, kids who have Autism Spectrum Disorder ( ASD ) , particularly on the higher terminal of the autistic spectrum, find it really hard to expose feelings and demo fondness. This does non intend that they have non formed an fond regard with their health professional, they are more than able to, but it is how they display their fond regard type which can do them look unattached. During the mid-1980s, research wo rkers started to detect kids with ASD in the Strange Situation. Results show that 50 % of the kids formed a unafraid fond regard with their health professional. Despite this figure being low compared to kids who do non hold ASD, it is really impressive and proves that kids with ASD can organize fond regards. However, when it came to the portion where the health professional returned to their kid, the kids acted otherwise compared to other kids. For illustration, they did non originate contact or look to be happy. ( Oppenheim et al. , 2008 ) . The cognition of development and attachment theories is of import in societal work, as these theories will assist a societal worker carry out appraisals on a household with immature kids. When transporting out an appraisal, it has to be done under the Common Assessment Framework, which aims to place the followers ; how good the parents or carers can back up their kid s developmental demands, and how they respond and meet their demands ; and what impact does the environment and the wider household have on a kid s development. ( DfES, 2006 ) . John Bowlby s attachment theory gives an overview of the different fond regard types and it allows societal workers to measure and judge the quality of a relationship, and this can assist as the societal worker will cognize when to step in, and if necessary, take a kid from a household unit. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . Under subdivision 17 of the Children Act 1989, local governments have a duty to safeguard and advance the safety and public assistance of kids who are in demand. ( Legislation.Gov, 2012 ) . When working with kids in demand, a societal worker will necessitate to transport out an appraisal under the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need. ( Department of Health, 2000 ) . Tied within this appraisal, is another appraisal sing the developmental demands of a kid. It covers several countries of development ; wellness, instruction, individuality, household and societal dealingss, emotional and behavioral development and self-care accomplishments. Harmonizing to Parker and Bradley, kids need to make these developmental demands to accomplish a healthy maturity. ( Parker and Bradley, 2007 ) . By utilizing anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive pattern in societal work, it allows societal workers to dispute their ain beliefs and values while sing others. The Every Child Matters: Change for Children policy has 5 results which are considered to be the most of import to kids and immature people ; be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, do a positive part, and accomplish economic wellbeing. The policy wants kids and immature people to be safe from strong-arming and favoritism . ( Crawford, 2006 ; page 16 ) . With respects to lifespan development theories ; anti-discriminatory pattern and anti-oppressive pattern are used in societal work because these theories can be applied to all cultural and category backgrounds. The bulk of the theories were based around white middle-classed kids and parents when experiments were carried out, but by no agency does this mean that they can non be applied to different civilizations. In decision, if cognition of lifetime development and assorted theories are used right and suitably in societal work pattern, so this could give societal workers a clear indicant of when a kid is non developing at the usual rate, and intercession can take topographic point at the earliest possible minute, to guarantee that the safety and public assistance of the kid is met. The advantages and disadvantages of sing behavior through lifespan positions seem to weigh each other out in relation to societal pattern, nevertheless, it should be remembered that the surveies are theories, and are non based on solid facts, so they should merely be used in pattern as counsel. Word Count: 2,175