Question

Crystal is a happy 8‐year‐old who is just finishing Grade three. Like most parents, Crystal’s parents were worried about how she would react to school and how others would respond to her. They did not have to be worried as Crystal adjust well and she made many friends. She is also succeeding academically, not only fulfilling the curriculum objectives but also surpassing them. For example, Crystal began reading in pre‐primary, an activity that usually begins in Grade one. Part of the reason that Crystal does so well in school is because her parents are quick to praise her scholastic efforts and help her with schoolwork if she has difficulty. Crystal has always been a relatively easy child to take care of. When she was a baby, her mother nursed her on demand and found that she did not demand to be fed often. Even after waking up in the morning, Crystal did not cry hysterically for food and her mom met her needs efficiently. Potty training was not terribly stressful either. Neither Crystal’s mother nor her father felt that they should rush the child into potty training. They believed that the child would eventually learn control and it was the parent’s role to introduce the idea of using the potty to the child and to encourage her, but not force her into using it if she was not ready. Crystal’s parents tried not to embarrass her when she had accidents, instead they reminded her to try and remember to use the potty the next time. This approach worked well for Crystal and she learnt to use the potty when she was about two‐and‐a‐half years old without much hassle. Crystal’s parents took this approach for helping her reach her other milestones. They encouraged her to do things like walk, hold a spoon and feed herself. They tried to make the activities easier for her by practicing the activities with her and showing her how to do something and sometimes buying things that would make it easier for her to learn new skills, such as a curved spoon that allowed her to feed herself without making too much of a mess. Crystal’s parents did not rush her into learning new skills, although sometimes it was difficult not to. When an activity was too difficult for her, they would put it aside and allow her to try again at a later stage. As Crystal got older, her parents tried not to dictate her play activities. Instead they gave her a couple of choices and let her choose what she preferred. Many times her parents did not even need to do this, because often, Crystal would go off on her own and amuse herself. Sometimes she would go and look at pictures in her books, or play with her dolls or her Legos. The only time Crystal’s parents had some trouble with her was when her younger sister was born. Crystal’s younger sister was a demanding baby born via Cesearean section so her mother had been limited psychically in what she could do with Crystal and in the time she could spend with her. Crystal tried to express affection towards the baby but sometimes would hug her too hard. Crystal’s mother was not sure if this was done on purpose or not but she would tell Crystal that she was being too rough and show her how to hold the baby. She thought Crystal was jealous of the baby as she would say things like “ Mommy, you are always holding the baby.” Crystal also started to stutter. Crystal’s mother would reassure her by saying “I know you feel like the baby has all of Mommy’s attention but I held you this much when you were a baby too.” Her mother tried to be understanding of Crystal’s jealousy and did not try to make her feel bad about it. When her mother was feeling better, she was able to spend more time with Crystal and the stuttering eventually went away. Crystal also became gentler with the baby. Using Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development analyse Crystal’s life by answering the following questions with reference to each of the four stages: Q.5.1 Providing examples from the case study, identify and explain what is the crisis experienced by Crystal in Q.5.1.1 Erikson’s first stage of psychosocial development? (4) Q.5.1.2 Erikson’s second stage of psychosocial development? (4) Q.5.1.3 Erikson’s third stage of psychosocial development? (4) Q.5.1.4 Erikson’s fourth stage of psychosocial development? (4) Q.5.2 Based on the case study provided, identify and define the parenting styles and attachment styles employed by Crystal’s parents and detail whether these had favourable or unfavourable outcomes on Crystal’s behaviour. Use examples from the case study.

Answer 1

Q.5.1:

Q5.1.1: It has been found that Crystal was very easy to deal with in the first stage. She never demanded too much and the mother always took care of her need at right time. According to Erickson, the first stage of psychosocial development deals with the crisis of Trust vs Mistrust which mostly deoendsyon whether the infant perceives the caregiver to be attentive to his or her needs and whether the infant feels that the caregiver cares about him and his needs. This determines his trust or mistrust on the caregiver. It can be seen from the given report that Crystal did perceived her mother to be caring and it can be said that Crystal had developed Hope in this stage.

Q5.1.2: It has been found that Crystal's parents didn't rushed or didn't made her feel forced to learn potty training and guided her to learn it on her own. According to Erickson, the second stage of psychosocial development deals with the crisis of Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt which mainly deals with how the parents react to the child's autonomous exhibition of behaviours. When the child is appreciated for being autonomous and his unhealthy behaviours are not dealt with scolding, the child's autonomy get's boosted. As the parents of Crystal has led her explore autonomously and have guided her to potty training at a gradual way, it can be said that Crystal has gained Will in this stage.

Q5.1.3: It has been found that Crystal's parents have gradually helped Crystal in learning certain skills by imitations and by guided actions. Crystal wqs encouraged to initiate an action and was supported in completing it and learning it in the process. Even when Crystal got jealous of her sibling, her mother made her understand in a caring way and didn't made her feel guilty by scolding or beating her up. According to Erickson, the third stage of psychosocial development deals with the crisis of Initiative vs guilt which depends on how the caregivers react to the child's initiative behaviours. Here, it can be seen that the child was encouraged and guided to initiate behaviiin proper way and in case of wrong behaviours, she wasn't made to feel guilty but was made understood the right behaviour. Thus, Crystal gained Purpose in this stage.

Q5.1.4: Finally, it has been found that Crystal has adjusted pretty well with hee school life and has been performing very well. Her parents have also been reported to be very motivating and they praise her little to little achievements and make her feel confident and able. According to Erickson, the fourth stage of psychosocial development deals with the crisis of Industry vs Inferiority which depends on how the child feels about his performance in school and how he is made to feel about his performance by the teachers and caregivers. When the child is supported and reinforced, he feels confident enough to do the tasks but when he is constantly scolded and criticized, he starts feeling inferior. Here, it can be seen that Crystal has been reinforced well throughout her life span so far and it can be said that she will slowly develop competence in this stage.

Q5.2:

From the reports provided, it can be said that the parenting style used by Crystal's parents is Authoritative in nature. They were never strict in nature and have never forcefully made Crystal follow their commands. They were responsive of Crystal's needs and have also helped with the required resources as well as necessary boundaries to ensure proper development of Crystal. It can also be seen that Crystal has developed a secure attachment with her caregivers as though she got jealous with her sibling, she did understood her feelings and the reasons behind her mother's care and her insecurity got reduced easily. She has also been able to adjust well with the school life and have not reported any feelings of anxiety and avoidance.