Part 2: Project Summary
Comparison of Development at Two Different Life Stage
In health care, the growth and developmental stage of a patient or client are of the essence is it allows the health care professional to care for his/her needs at that stage. Such is the case due to the individualistic nature of one’s needs across the life span. An example befitting of the diversity of people’s needs is a personal study project, which involved Hamad, a 22-year-old male client and Abdullah, who is at the age of 9years old.
Hamad is single and lives with his family. Similarly, Abdullah stays with his family, and he is a school-going child. The study took a period of two weeks and utilized interviews and observations as the primary data collection methods. Thus, this assignment aims to compare the two individuals in all the thematic areas of growth and development. The key elements will include physical, psychosocial and cognitive developments of both the study subjects.
Physical Development
To begin with, Abdullah and Hamad demonstrate two completely different perspectives of physical growth. Abdullah is in the ninth year of life where the expectation is that physically, he ought to have a minimal increase in their weight and height (Craig & Dunn, 2010). In this case, the same is implied since Abdullah appears to be thin and is has a medium-sized height. Moreover, it is evident that he likes taking part in sports, which further suggests the development of the eye-hand-muscle coordination. However, this is different in the case of Hamad, who is in his early adulthood years. In physical terms, the expectation is that one has assumed an adult physical status with minimal growth and developmental changes (Craig & Dunn, 2010). He demonstrates a well-built, physical stature characterized by his muscles. Also, he has a well-developed beard that further confirms his physical maturity as a young adult. Clearly, from these instances, distinctness in physical growth across the life span is indispensable.
Psychosocial Development
Eric Erikson’s psychosocial developmental stages describe the task of Abdullah’s life stage as either becoming industrious or inferior, while Hamad’s developmental task is to obtain an intimacy status or risk becoming isolated being. Of the essence to these deductions are their personal characteristics. For instance, Abdullah cherishes going to school and working hard to achieve the rewards of success. Moreover, he has the desire of establishing the truths as to why things happen as they do. He also feels that the parents are providing a supportive environment for the achievement of this task. Nevertheless, he exhibits a desire to learn from his brothers as he admits to copying their ways of doing things and is inquisitive about life issues. Apparently, such instances depict that Abdullah is on course to establish himself as an industrious being as expected by Eric Erikson (London, 2011). On the other hand, psychosocially, Hamad is finding difficulty in establishing himself as an intimate being as he has reports that he has no friends of the opposite sex. He is thus socially connected to his family and with friends of the same gender only. Moreover, Hamad likes to stay alone and does little of the talking. According to Erikson, he is clearly unable to establish an intimate relationship and thus a candidate of solitude (Newman & Newman, 2014).
Cognitive Development
Both subjects have varied cognitive abilities, and this is evident from the observation and interview conducted. For instance, Abdullah’s years and cognitive abilities put him in the concrete-operational stage according to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (London, 2011). Such is the case since from observation he learns by manipulating concrete objects. Additionally, it is apparent that he can see things from other people’s point of view. Abdullah can classify things such as living and non-living things, but he is not able to think abstractly. However, this is different to Hamad who exhibits a post-formal operational thinking that was proposed by Piaget and other psychologists. Central to this deduction is the fact that he demonstrates utilization of logic to make his decisions. Moreover, he admits that sometimes emotions may influence his judgment about issues. Sigelman and Rider, (2014) are of the opinion that people in early adulthood years utilize deductive reasoning and think abstractly. Evidently, such instances illustrate the uniqueness of cognitive developments of individuals at different life stages.
Conclusion
In closure, from the two case studies, it is evident that people at different life stages exhibit different growth and developmental needs. Central to this assertion is the different level of maturity across the physical, psychosocial and cognitive properties. Noteworthy, from Abdullah and Hamad, is the notion that physical, psychological, social and cognitive needs are specific to one’s developmental stage. Thus, an individual must utilize the diverse range of developmental theories like Eric Erickson’s psychosocial development theory to individualize care of a patient. Failure to do so will only deprive one the person-centered care that is a priority in health care sector.
References
Craig, G. & Dunn, W. (2010). Understanding human development (1st ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Prentice Hall.
London, M. (2011). Maternal & child nursing care. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education.
Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2014). Development through life: A psychosocial approach.
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Sigelman, C. K., & Rider, E. A. (2014). Life-span human development.
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