Explain one way you might apply the theory to your social work practice.

Theories of Life-Span Development Responses

Read a selection of your colleagues’ posts.

Respond to at least two colleagues who addressed theories that are different from the theory you addressed. State whether you might apply the theories your colleagues evaluated to your social work practice. Provide support for your position.

Be sure to support your responses with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.

Colleague 1: Paul

COLLAPSE

Post a discussion in which I analyze the theory of life-span development that I selected. Summarize the theory; then, identify the strengths and weaknesses of this theory, especially as it relates to social work practice.

I selected the Segmund Freud theory of life span development. The first part of Freud’s theory involves “Self” which is divided into three main categories. Namely, ID, Ego and Superego. The ID stage is only concern with immediate gratification and it is inborn. The ego stage is the stage when we learn what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. This is considered the healthiest part of self. The superego is the stage of self where we learn the rules, standards, and values of society. The ego and superego develop during the course of our early interaction with others. The superego stage is characterized with guilt that others might think less of one because one has violated the rules and standards of the society.

The second part of Freud’s theory is called psychosexual stages. This theory is divided into five stages. The first stage is called oral stage. This is when a child meets his or her needs primarily through oral gratification taking anything into his or her mouth. The Anal stage: This is when a child is taught that some urges must be contained and some actions postponed e.g. potty-training . The child is learning a sense of self control. The ego is being developed. The phallic stage occurs during the preschool age (ages 3-5). The boys experience “oedipal comple”. They become attracted to his opposite sex parents. The girls experience “Electra complex” in in which they developed attraction for their fathers. Latent stage: This occurs during middle childhood (6-11) the child enters latent stage focusing his or her attention outside the family and toward friendships. Genital stage: This is final stage from Adolescence throughout adulthood, a person is preoccupied with sex and reproduction. During this stage, the adolescent experiences rising hormone level and the sex drive and hunger drive become very strong.

Freud’s theory has helped to bring to the forefront the impacts of childhood experiences on adulthood. The theory has also helped to form the foundation upon which other subsequent theories were formed. Freud’s theory has been criticized for being difficult to test scientifically. For instance, how can parenting in infancy be traced to personality in adulthood? The theory is also considered to be sexist in suggesting that women who do not accept an inferior position in the society are somehow psychologically flawed.

Explain one way you might apply the theory to your social work practice.

I will apply it to my social work practice is by using the theory to understand why some adults get stuck in particular behaviors that are inconsistent with their age. For instance, excessive drinking, smoking and nail biting in adulthood may be results of a child whose oral needs were not met at the right time. According to the resource reading, getting students from understanding theory to apply theory can often be challenging. This article offers a conceptual framework to aid students in the application of social constructionism and the theory of mimesis in aforementioned 3 approaches.

References:

Dybicz, P. (2012) The hero(ine) on a a journey: A postmodern conceptual framework for social work practice. Journal of Social Work Education 48(2), 267-283

Villadsen, K. (2008) ‘Polyphonic’ welfare: Luhmann’system theory applied to modern social work, International Journal of Social Welfare, 17(1), 65-73

ER Services, (2018) Lifespan Development: Retrieved from courses.lumen learning.com/sung-lifespandevelopment2/chapter/freud-psychodynamic-theory/

Colleague 2: Emily

Post:

The theory of life- span development that I chose is Erik Erickson’s Psychological Theory. This theory consists of eight stages of development from infancy through death. Each stage of Erickson’s approach presents a different crisis within that stage of development (Zastrow et al., 2019). How an individual overcomes challenges in one stage affects the way they learn to cope in later stages. Stage one is called the basic trust versus mistrust stage. This stage starts at birth and ends around 18 months. During this stage, children develop trusting relationships with their caregivers. Later in life, people may apply this concept of trust to intimate partners or friends (Zastrow et al., 2019). Stage two is called autonomy versus shame and doubt. This is the stage where children 18 months through age three learn independence. This stage describes how successful attempts at independence leave children feeling a sense of self-worth and self-confidence. The third stage is the initiative versus guilt. This age includes children ages 3 to 6 years of age. During this stage, learning and exploring are vital in developing future relationships, career goals, and developing interests (Zastrow et al., 2019). The fourth stage is the industry versus inferiority. This age starts at age six and goes until age twelve. Children in this age group need to master learning and succeed in their activities. Children who experience failure in school, or with peer relationships, may feel a sense of inferiority. Stage five is identity versus role confusion. This stage is when adolescents start transiting into adulthood. During this stage, young people begin to explore and establish their identity (Zastrow et al., 2019). The sixth stage is intimacy versus isolation. This stage consists of young adults who seek intimacy. During this stage, people who do not attain intimacy are likely to become isolated and often unable to resolve some of their earlier psychological development (Zastrow et al., 2019). The seventh stage is generativity versus stagnation. During this time of life, individuals become concerned with helping others. Adults who lack generativity become self-involved (Zastrow et al., 2019). The eighth and final stage is ego integrity versus despair. This is where people tend to reflect on their lives and are content with their achievements.

Erickson’s theory suggests that people advance through the stages of development based on how they adjust to crisis throughout their lives. The strengths of Erickson’s theory are that it provides a guide for how social workers need to react and intervene with clients who have specific issues, goals, or backgrounds. This theory offers social work professionals with cues that help determine how successful clients handle crisis and progress along developmentally (Cherry, 2020). The weakness of this theory is that it fails to detail exactly what type of experience is necessary at each stage to successfully resolve the conflict and move to the next stage (Cherry, 2020). It also does not explain how a person moves from one stage to the next.

I might apply Erickson’s theory to my social work practice by using it as a reference point for where a client is in their maturation life cycle. Using Erickson’s theory would help social workers identify individual challenges and determine what support and services would best address the challenges (Gilbert, 2019). This theory is an excellent guide for social workers to follow to address appropriate concerns and issues that some of our clients may be experiencing.

References

Cherry, K., (2020) Eric Erickson’s Stage of Psychological Development. Retrieved from https://verywellmind.com

Gilbert, N., (2019). The 6 Social Work Theories That Inform Social Work Practice. Retrieved fromhttps://noodle.com/article/the-6-social-work-theories-that-inform-social-work-practice

Zastrow, C.H., & Kirst- Ashman, K.K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.

 

 

Subject:  Masters Social Science

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