Psychology of Child Develoment and Ageing Flashcards
What is development?
Describe Child development?
Development is multifaceted and includes the development of the following skills:
Motor
Perceptual
Language
Cognitive
Social
Defining development is complex: No objective measures Child development is sequential, irreversible, and goal directed.
What are biological factors that influence development?
- Genetics
- Prenatal
health status of mother and health related behaviours - Neonatal
- Birth complications
- Childhood illness
What are social/environmental factors that influence development?
- Pollution
- Access to environments that prompt development
What is the development difference in twins?
What does this indicate?
Monozygotic twins: 100% genetic
Dizygotic twins: ~ 50% genetic overlap
If a particular illness or condition is influenced by genetics then it should co-occur more frequently in MZ twins compared with DZ twins.
Most powerful evidence from MZ twins separated and raised apart
What are critical stages in development?
Defined periods where appropriate stimulation is required to ensure development.
Have two main features:
* Limited time window
* Learning hard to reverse
E.g. - Development of language skills
E.g. - Development of emotional attachments
How critical? Evidence of plasticity.
What are the stages of child development?
Infancy (0-2) - attachment, maturation of sensory, perceptual & motor functions & understand objects through senses
Early childhood (2-6) - locomotion, fantasy play, language development, sex role identification & group play
Middle childhood (6-12) - friendship, skill learning, self-evaluation, team play, understand cause & effect & conservation
Adolescence (12-18) - physical maturation, emotional development, peer group & sexual relationships, understand abstract thinking.
What occurs in development in a new-born?
- Nerve cells present but in an undeveloped state
- Growth and development occurs in an experience dependent way
Perceptual/Motor development - initially limited repertoire but rapid and orderly development - pre -programmed inborn bias
What is the development of perceptual in babies?
perceptual - relating to the ability to interpret or become aware of something through the senses.
Babies are able to fixate their gaze - focus on areas of contrast
Evidence of active not passive – information seeking
Babies demonstrate a preference for faces ~ 4- 5 months
Move on to scanning the environment
Develop appropriate selective attention ~ 6 years – learn which environmental cues warrant perceptual attention
What are the 5 stages of language development?
- Preverbal communication
- Phonological development (language)
- Semantic development (language or logic)
- Syntax and grammar development
- Pragmatics development
e.g. turn taking, use of non-verbal communication skills e.g. eye contact.
What is the development of new words in babies?
Age 9-13 months: First words
Age 12-18 months: children are learning about three new words a month
Age 18 month: infants know about 22 words
“Naming explosion”: 10-20 words per week
Age 6: Vocabulary 10 000 words, five new words a day
4 Main stages of discoveries of sequential discoveries?
Sensorimotor (0 – 2 years)
Preoperational (2-6/7 years)
Concrete operations (6/7 – 11/12 years)
Formal operations (11/12 years +)
What are the 4 key concepts of developing cognitive skills?
Scheme/Schema - internal cognitive structure which provides procedure to use in specific circumstances
Assimilation - process of using schema to make sense of event or experience
Accommodation - changing schema as result of new information
Equilibration- process of balancing assimilation & accommodation to create schemes that fit environment
What is the first stage?
Stage 1: Sensorimotor (0 – 2 years)
- Initial reflexes via sensory motor schema.
- Child interacts with environment and manipulates objects.
- Understanding of object permanence (e.g. objects remain when out of sight)
What is the second stage?
Preoperational (2-6/7 years)
- Internal representation of concrete objects and situations.
- Child uses symbolic schemes like language
- Ego centric
- Reasoning dominated by perception
What is the third stage?
Concrete operations (6/7 – 11/12 years)
- Reasoning involves more than one salient feature (conservation)
- Logical reasoning can only be applied to objects that are real or can be seen (e.g. concrete).
- No longer egocentric – can see other perspectives
- Understand principles of conservation
What is stage 4
Formal operations (11/12 years +)
* Can think logically about potential events or abstract ideas
* Can test hypotheses about hypothetical events
What are children’s understanding of illness?
Children’s understanding of illness:
* Age (stage of cognitive development)
* Experience of illness (e.g. children with cancer have > understanding)
* Communication with children - Modelling the process
What is development of children socially?
- Early social responsiveness e.g. smiling non-specific
- Specificity towards main carers
- About 8 months develop separation anxiety and fear of stranger
- 10 months – social referencing
- Attachment: 6 months – 2 years Critical period
What is attachment?
Describe the attachment aspect of social development?
Attachment = process of proximity seeking to identified attachment figure in situations of distress or alarm for purpose of survival
Brain begins by developing areas needed for survival
Attachment to carer - basic necessity for survival, along with food and water
How does secure attachment take place in a childs development?
- Emotional availability and contingent responsiveness from primary caregiver
- Carer – available, sensitive and responsive
- Provides safe and secure base from which infant can explore world
- Secure attachment paves way for healthy development and good relationships
What are the different types of attachment?
Benefits of social attachment?
Secure attachment allows a child to learn:
* they are worthy of love
* others are available in times of need
Secure attachment associated with:
* Better peer relations
* Improved self-reliance
* Improved cognitive function
* Improved physical health outcomes
What is Primary ageing?
Primary ageing – changes that can all expect – largely biologically determined and intrinsic to ageing process e.g., speed of information processing, wrinkles, grey hair, impairment in vision, decreased mobility,
What are secondary ageing?
Secondary ageing– changes influenced by behaviour (e.g. injury & other health/lifestyle factors)
* Illness associated with behaviour and age (e.g., CHD, cancer)
* Great individual variability rather than universal decline.
* Impact of ageing on physical health is highly variable.
How does age affect cognitive function?
- Speed of processing is primary cognitive change related to ageing.
- Reduction of brain weight & loss of grey matter
- Loss of dendritic density & slower synaptic speed - slower reaction time
Slowing reaction time is due to increased decision-making time
Shortest route lost - so plasticity decreases and decision time increases - Attention - reductions in selectivity & integration
- Memory – short-term memory loss common in encoding and retrieval
How can we protect cognitive function with age?
- Intellectual abilities do not show significant decline until late 70s.
Higher levels of education - significantly less atrophy of the cerebral cortex.
**Education & new learning ** - protective
What habits can promote longetivity with age?
Healthy habits that predict longevity don’t change with age
Most crucial variable = physical exercise
- Even over the age of 80, exercise leads to motor skill improvement & muscular strength
- Exercise helps maintain higher levels of cognitive performance
Improved lifestyle and exercise could prevent many of the declines that occur in ageing
What are the limitations of activity?
What is ADL?
What is IADL?
Disability – limitation in individual’s ability to perform certain tasks
ADL – activities of daily living
Bathing, dressing, using the toilet
IADL – instrumental activities of daily living
Intellectually demanding tasks e.g., managing money
Disabilities rise with age
1/2 over 85s have some disabilities with ADL
Healthiest elders tend to survive past 85
How is happiness related to age?
Majority of older adults – don’t have illnesses which seriously impair ADL or IADL
Maintain optimistic view of themselves & their lives
Physical declines don’t decrease satisfaction with their lives – happiest age = 74!
Majority of older adults regard their health as good
What affects the physical and mental health of older people?
Poor health = single most important factor in physical & mental status after 65
But can face series of psychological stressors but majority have relatively high levels of psychological well-being.
Loss of status related to retirement
Bereavement
Financial loss
Chronic illness
Social isolation
What are the components of healthy ageing?
Disengagement not normal, necessary, or desirable for majority of older adults
3 components to successful ageing:
1. good physical health
2. retention of cognitive abilities
3. continuing engagement in activities
- SOCIAL SUPPORT: giving and receiving social support
- PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY: has value to self and society
- Views old age in terms of variability rather than universal decline
- Continuum and dynamic
Ultimate objective of successful ageing paradigm is to improve quality of life among older adults & improve services for them
What is the affect of a fall on a elderly person?
Loss of self confidence and fear of falling following a fall
Slow walking speed, poor balance, low activity levels, muscle weakness and lean body mass and frailty
=
Increased fall risk
Increased risk hospitalisation
Increased risk of care home admission
How are falls prevented?
Fear of falling exceeds actual risk
Treatment options: Cognitive behavioural therapy
Person – exercise training, strength & confidence building; medication review; improving vision etc
Environment – removing hazards in home; non-slip bathmats; grab bars/handrails etc.
What is the link between depression and elderly?
Depression 65 +,is associated with disability, increased mortality, and poorer outcomes from physical illness.
Depressed women outnumber men 2 to 1
* Women respond to accumulation of everyday stressors
* Men respond to traumatic events – suicide
What are the stages of dementia?
Mild: retains judgement but effects on memory, work & social activities.
signs = repetitive conversation & tests e.g. clock face
Moderate: independent living becomes difficult - some supervision with IADL & ADL’s required – Mini Mental State Examination & word lists
Severe: severe impairment in all ADL’s & needs constant supervision
What are the risk factors of depression?
Other stressors:
* Inadequate social support
* Inadequate income
* Emotional loss of significant others
* Nagging health concerns
* Carer burden
* Financial worries - Living in poverty puts elderly at high risk
What are the practical responsibilites of a career?
What are some of the carer stresses?
Practical help – financial, respite, continence equipment, laundry service etc
Carer stress: (e.g., Kiecolt-Glaser et al, 1996)
* Fatigue/sleep deprivation
* Financial burden
* Fear of future
* Reduced immunity
* poorer physical health
Greater proneness to physical & mental health problems
Main reason for older adult entering care home
What is it important to aware of when working with older adults?
- Be aware of own prejudices about old people & ageing – negative stereotypes more often applied to women than men
- Be aware of significant variance related to ageing and avoid assumptions based on age.
- Ageism in health care = negative expectations e.g., adherence & less access to treatment
- Show interest & respect for person’s past
- Recognise & acknowledge current progress & achievements
- Set achievable goals in consultation with older person
What are the risk factors to abuse in older adults?
Risk factors:
* mental illness or alcoholism in abuser
* financial dependency on victim
* social isolation & external stresses
What are the red flags in detecting abuse?
- Watch for ‘red flags’: missed appointments, doctor hopping, unexplained delays in seeking treatment, unexplained or repeated injuries
- Always talk to the client alone
- Assess the client for depression, anxiety, withdrawal or confusion
- Ask the client directly about mistreatment
- Assess the quality of carer-client interaction
- Ask the carer if they are experiencing any difficulties providing care
- Assess the social support system
