The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work Practice Social Work Essay

The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work utilization Social Work EssayThe field of turnmental psychology is the scientific study of age-related changes in behaviour, thinking, emotion, and personality. (Bee and Boyd, 2002, p3). This assignment will concentrate on the archaean years ara of the lifespan, which ranges from pre-birth to 3 years of age. During the early years, sisterren start to develop physic whollyy as they begin to crawl, grasp and walk. baby birdren too start to cave in self-determination as they begin to cause choices themselves and they start to develop their vocabulary and have simple conversations with opposites. Additionally, lilliputian fryren develop genially as they variate fastenings with their tutorship developr and other all fundamental(predicate) faces they recognise. In hearty work practice, it is key to understand that theories relating to lifespan using should non be utilize as a solid guide when viewing behaviour, as they do non take into explanation all aspects of an individuals life, such as environmental and favor able-bodied factors, and non everybody lives a text-book life. (Walker and Crawford, 2010). Theories atomic number 18 an attempt to explain something to give us an understanding and make sense of problems. (Thompson, 2000 foliate 20).When working with newfangled shaverren, it is important to understand the various phase angles of development so that we, as social thespians faecal affair identify carry throughments being made such as when a nipper takes their first step, or when they say their first word. Theories regarding lifespan development ar based around normal development and cannister help social workers determine how much progress a minor is making in terms of development. (Walker and Crawford, 2010).Social workers must make sure that when working with young kidren they take into account their race and culture, and what impact these might have on their developmen t. They must also take a holistic approach when exhausting to gain an understanding of a pincer, so that non unaccompanied can say learn what has happened during the frys life, they can also say why it happened and essay the minor as an individual. (Walker and Crawford, 2010).It is important to keep in mind that evening a tiny baby is a person. Holistic development sees the squirt in the round, as a whole person physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially, morally, culturally and spirituality. (Meggitt, 2006 page 1).Fol depleteding the death of Victoria Climbi, Lord Laming was required to update the arrangements for child safe guarding to prevent future tragedies occurring. The Children Act 2004, was a major restore and it brought along polar policies to safeguard children, such as Every Child Matters Change for Children. (DfES, 2004). Every Child Matters was also re create in 2009, adjacent the death of Peter Connelly. Also, framework for Birth to Three Matters ( DfES, 2002), has been published to quad upright professionals who work with young children and families and recognises the nature of human development.Within psychology, there are 5 different approaches that can be taken when looking at lifespan development. These 5 approaches are biological, humanistic, cognitive, behaviourist and psychodynamic. These psychological perspectives are indorse up by various theories, provided it is very important to ring that theories are not always true as they do not take into comity environmental and social factors that could affect an individuals development. This does not have in mind that theories cannot be apply to analyse behaviour and development within individuals, only it should be re segmented that all theories do have criticisms when they are applied and employ in social work practice.The first surmisal which is going to be looked at regarding early years development is Eriksons psychosocial stages of development. (Beckett and Taylor, 2010). The first stage of development is Trust versus Mistrust this stage forms the foundation of trust a child has with their angel dust. The more consistent the care is that they receive the better trust that the child will have and they will become confident and will aspect secure in their environment. However, if this stage is not accurate successfully, thusly the child will not feel secure or confident, and may not have a lot of trust in their phencyclidine hydrochloride, which can direct in a number of problems, such as anxiety and insecurities nigh others. (Erikson, 1995).The second stage of development is Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt this stage shows a child starting to assert themselves and become in reliant, for example, picking what they compulsion to watch, what toys they want to play with, or what they want to eat etc. Children select to be supported in this stage so that they know what they are doing is correct and become more confident in making th eir profess decisions, otherwise if they are criticised too much, they might start to feel dep give upent upon others, and may doubt their ability to make their own choices. (Erikson, 1995).In social work practice, this hypothesis could be used to investigate any inherent issues betwixt a child and their parent. Erikson states that if a stage is not completed successfully, it is harder to complete interest stages of development and achieve the positive surfacecomes. (Beckett and Taylor, 2010). This theory gives social workers an overview of how a child should be progressing and what their capabilities should be. However, this theory does not take into considerateness children who have disabilities or who come from different ethnic backgrounds. A child with a certain disability may not be able to make their own choices from such a young age, no matter how simply they are, or children from different cultures will have different upbringings compared to children from other culture s. ass Bowlby was a main psychologist who studied children. In particular he looked at extension between a child and caregiver. He believed that relationships at a young age are vital because any failings in relationships in childhood would shape the development of a childs personality. He also believed that attachment is an innate act, and children want to form an attachment with their gets and bugger offs want to be close to their children so that they can protect them. Prolonged separation from the mother is known as maternal deprivation, and this is a major cause of abandoned behaviour and mental health concerns. (Walker and Crawford, 2010).Social workers can use theory when in practice to see how a child responds to their mother or father. For example, if a child is in a care and has signature with his/her mother twice a week, the social worker should look to see who interacts with who first, who runs to who, what is the law of proximity like and body language etc. All of these actions will get the social worker to determine whether something is wrong. If the mother runs to her child, why is the child not running to her mother? Does the child not feel attached? Has something happened which of necessity to be looked into? However, Bowlbys theory does not take into account fathers being the attachment figure as they may be a single parent. Also, social workers essential to work in a non-discriminatory manner and remember that in some families, such as Asian families, within a kinsfolk it is not just the immediate family who live there, it is also the wider family. A member of the wider family could be the main caregiver, so this needs to be taken into consideration when starting to work with a child from this type of family. (Walker and Crawford, 2010).Mary Ainsworth vary Bowlbys attachment theory by carrying out her own experiment on children and their caregiver so that different attachment styles between a child and the caregiver could be observ ed. The Strange Situation recognised four different attachment types secure, anxious-avoidant, anxious-ambivalent and disorganised attachment. (Ainsworth et all., 1978). The experiment took place in a small room with a one way mirror so that the child could easily be observed. Throughout the experiment, the child would be left with their caregiver for some time before a stranger entered and the caregiver leaves, and then the child would be left completely alone for a before long period of time before the stranger and caregiver return and so forth. The attachment type that the child would have would be dependent on their reactions to the events that happened in the experiment upset, crying, anxious, scared, happy, distressed etc.). For example, a child who has an ambivalent-attachment would have shown no signs of distress when their caregiver left the room, scarcely they would have avoided the stranger when they entered the room. When the caregiver returns after leaving the child alone with the stranger, the child would approach them, but may also push them away to show that they are upset. (Simply Psychology, 2008).In social work, this theory could be used to view the attachment between a child and their caregiver. Positive attachment could result in hindrance not being needed by social workers. However, negative attachment could prove that earlier intervention is needed as there is an underlying reason as to why the child is not forming an attachment with their caregiver. This theory should be used very carefully in practice as some children are more independent than others, and it does not take into account cultural differences and disabilities. For example, children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), especially on the higher end of the autistic spectrum, find it very difficult to display feelings and show affection. This does not mean that they have not formed an attachment with their caregiver, they are more than able to, but it is how they disp lay their attachment type which can make them appear unattached. During the mid-1980s, researchers started to observe children with ASD in the Strange Situation. Results show that 50% of the children formed a secure attachment with their caregiver. Despite this figure being low compared to children who do not have ASD, it is very impressive and proves that children with ASD can form attachments. However, when it came to the part where the caregiver returned to their child, the children acted differently compared to other children. For example, they did not initiate contact or appear to be happy. (Oppenheim et al., 2008).The knowledge of development and attachment theories is important in social work, as these theories will help a social worker carry out assessments on a family with young children. When carrying out an assessment, it has to be done under the Common Assessment Framework, which aims to identify the following how well the parents or carers can support their childs devel opmental needs, and how they respond and live up to their needs and what impact does the environment and the wider family have on a childs development. (DfES, 2006).John Bowlbys attachment theory gives an overview of the different attachment types and it allows social workers to assess and taste the quality of a relationship, and this can help as the social worker will know when to intervene, and if necessary, remove a child from a family unit. (Walker and Crawford, 2010). on a lower floor section 17 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the safety and welfare of children who are in need. (Legislation.Gov, 2012). When working with children in need, a social worker will need to carry out an assessment under the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need. (Department of Health, 2000). Tied within this assessment, is another assessment regarding the developmental needs of a child. It covers several areas of development health , education, identity, family and social relations, emotional and behavioural development and self-care skills. tally to Parker and Bradley, children need to r apiece these developmental needs to achieve a rosy-cheeked adulthood. (Parker and Bradley, 2007).By using anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice in social work, it allows social workers to contest their own beliefs and values while considering others. The Every Child Matters Change for Children polity has 5 outcomes which are considered to be the most important to children and young state be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, and achieve economic well-being. The policy wants children and young people to be safe from bully and discrimination. (Crawford, 2006 page 16).With regards to lifespan development theories anti-discriminatory practice and anti-oppressive practice are used in social work because these theories can be applied to all cultural and class backgrounds. The major ity of the theories were based around white middle-classed children and parents when experiments were carried out, but by no means does this mean that they cannot be applied to different cultures.In conclusion, if knowledge of lifespan development and various theories are used correctly and appropriately in social work practice, then this could give social workers a clear indication of when a child is not developing at the usual rate, and intervention can take place at the earliest possible moment, to ensure that the safety and welfare of the child is met. The advantages and disadvantages of viewing behaviour through lifespan perspectives seem to weigh each other out in relation to social practice, however, it should be remembered that the studies are theories, and are not based on solid facts, so they should only be used in practice as guidance.Word await 2,175