Introduction
My patient is Erin Lee* who is 27 years old and single. She works as a teacher in a private school and is the eldest child in the family with a younger brother and sister. Erin* stays with her family in Taman Bunga Raya* in Selangor. Currently, she is in the early adulthood stage of the Erik Erikson’s model. The interview was done in a church in Mentari after the morning service. All personal information about the interviewee has been de-identified in this report.
Biological
Human life development is affected by biological forces such as genetics and health. Sometimes, the two may be interlinked. For example, Erin* has mild atopic dermatitis (AD) which is most prominent on the lips. This condition is caused by genetics and both her mother and younger brother have the same condition. Patients who have AD have a loss-of-function mutation in filaggrin (National Eczema Organisation, 2018). Nutrition also plays an important role in one’s development. Erin* loves to eat and take snacks often. Her diet isn’t healthy as she seldom takes vegetable or fruit and enjoys eating fast food and junk food. However, she does exercises and plays badminton, basketball and table tennis during the evening when she is free. Unfortunately, her work has been hectic the past few months and she does not have enough time, energy and motivation to exercise. The food that she takes which are high in calories but low in nutrients and her lack of exercise causes her to gain weight (Dacey & Travers, 2002). She does not smoke nor drinks alcohol. Another non-social factor that affects Erin’s* life is the environment that she grew up in. Erin learns how to play the guitar and piano as she attends music classes when she was a young girl. She learns fast as her mother would remind her practice on the upright piano at home and also because her mother has a talent in music.
Psychological
The key aspects of psychological forces that influence human behaviour are the cognitive aspect, emotional aspect and personality (Harms, 2005). Piaget’s theory of cognitive development does not fully illustrate Erin’s* life as her cognitive development does not stop with adolescent. Instead, adult intelligence is multidimensional in which they have several different types of intellectual abilities such as inductive reasoning and spatial orientation which will level off between young adulthood and middle age. Another two concepts that are vital in Erin’s* intellectual development during adulthood are multi-directionality and plasticity. Multi-directionality is demonstrated in Erin’s* life as she becomes more independent and decisive as she grew older due to gaining more experiences. On the other hand, she loses some of her friends in secondary school as they lose contact and grew distance with one another. Her eyesight is also getting worse. Erin* also portrays plasticity as she is slowly improving herself to be more secure and confident in who she is. Emotions and logic are both more readily integrated into the basis for Erin’s* decision making in areas such as work and relationship issues during adulthood compared to when she was a teenager which shows her development shift (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2013). When she was young, she used to be oblivious to the details around her and not sensitive to other’s feeling which gets her into troubles and misunderstandings. Now, she is able to analyse a situation with greater detail and can perceive other people’s feeling. Erin’s* personality on a day to day basis and throughout her lifespan is continuous as her behaviour is often the same. She is an extrovert and cheerful person. She also has a strong sense of duty which gains her superior’s trust in work. Even when she was young, she was a prefect throughout primary and secondary school which shows that she has the same temperament throughout her life.
Sociocultural
The environment and people we are surrounded with can all mould us into the person we are today. This is because the interpersonal, societal, cultural and ethnic factors determine the way we behave and are often interconnected. Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory states that the environment a person is planted in can be divided into four different levels, namely, the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem and the macrosystem which can influence and interact with one another (Arnett, 2012). In Erin’s* case, it is the microsystem and mesosystem that plays the most significant role in her present-day life. Her families and friends’ opinion and advises are always taken seriously and influence the decisions she makes. Furthermore, the teachings of her religion which are first taught to her by her parents are the principles she held in her life and the main way she thinks. This is because both of her parents are strong practising Christian believers. The macrosystem reflects how culture affects the person Erin* is today. Being the eldest in the family, she has to take care of her younger siblings and learn how to be independent.
Based on the competence-environmental press theory, a person can adjust most easily to the environment when their abilities are equally matched to the demands that are placed on them by their environment (Papalia & Feldman, 2003). Erin* had to change jobs from a lawyer to a teacher because she couldn’t cope with the stress of being a lawyer. She enjoys her job of being a teacher and she feels satisfied when her students are able to learn something.
Lifespan development
Human development is a lifelong process. It cannot be interpreted within a single framework. There are multiple factors and stages that affect a person’s life. The crisis of the stage Erin* is facing is intimacy vs isolation (Belsky, 2016). Erin has resolved the issue in this stage of life. Although she is not in a romantic relationship with anyone, she has a very close intimate relationship with her best friend, Sharon*. Both of them met in primary school and never lose contact with one another even when Sharon* moved abroad. Instead, their relationship grew stronger and they understand one another on a deeper psychological level. They are comfortable disclosing personal information to one another which enables them to develop a mutually intimate relationship. This acts as Erin’s buffer against mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression and other mood disorder as people are a good source of coping. Erin’s* relationship with her best friend is ideal as they are not too intimate with one another until she loses her own sense of self. She knows the limit and enjoys being alone sometimes. This helps her in learning more about herself and establishing a strong sense of identity which she can then share with those around her.
Another stage of development that is clearly influential in Erin’s* adulthood is infancy where an individual learns either to trust or mistrust people. This is important as, without a basic sense of trust, we don’t allow people to have a close connection with us. We find it difficult to share personal information and always doubt if they will use it in their advantage or if they will abandon us. During infancy, Erin’s* basic need such as a shelter from the environment, nutritious food and clothing were met. She was also loved by her parents. This establishes a sense of trust with the primary caregiver which will then expand to other people in society (Dacey & Travers, 2002). Nevertheless, there is a little element of the negative as not all of the basic need of the infant was satisfied due to difficulty in communicating as the infant still do not know how to talk. However, it is beneficial to the child as they learn to not to be too trusting and to be careful which avoids them from being kidnapped and taken advantaged of by others.
Word Count: 1251
References
Arnett, J.J (2012). Human development: a cultural approach. United States of America: Pearson Education, Inc.
Belsky, J. (2016). Experiencing the lifespan. United States of America: Worth Publisher.
Dacey, J.S. & Travers, J.F. (2002). Human development: across the lifespan. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies
Harms, L. (2005). Understanding human development: a multidimensional approach. Victoria: Oxford University Press.
Kail, R.V., & Cavanaugh, J.C. (2013). Human development: a life-span view. United States of America: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
National Eczema Organisation. (2018). Atopic dermatitis. Retrieved from https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/types-of-eczema/atopic-dermatitis/
Papalia, D.E., Olds, S.W., & Feldman, R.D. (2003). Human development. United States of America: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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