Life Course Perspective: Understanding Human Development

Paris is a place full of adventure, excitement, and fun. From childhood into adulthood, all those things help to shape us as individuals and aid in the development process. Developmental science, according to the text, Exploring Lifespan Development by Laura Berk is, “a field of study devoted to understanding constancy and change throughout the lifespan” (Berk, 3). Naturalistic observation is one of the most valid ways of studying this field. It enables one to explore and analyze the theories and subjects within the field in an in-depth manner. Berk describes this as, “going into the field or natural environment and recording the behavior of interest” (22). This method of naturalistic observation is most effective when focused on a particular

J.D. Salinger explores the difficulties associated with the passage from youth to adulthood in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye. The author especially highlights the importance people staying connected to others to successfully transition from childhood to adulthood. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in the novel, is desperately clinging to his youth. Holden is obsessed with the phony nature of adults and judges the people around him based upon their degree of insincerity, two-facedness, and pretension. Holden is equally preoccupied with preserving childhood innocence. He is unable to sacrifice his purity to gain adult privileges. In fact, Holden is so disillusioned about adulthood that he eventually cuts off all ties in his life that could

Human Development refers to the psychological and biological development of a person throughout their lifespan. This development consists of the transitions from infancy, to childhood, to adolescence and finally to adulthood. In this essay I shall discuss the development of adolescence to adulthood with focus on the theoretical approach to physiological, cognitive, soci-emotional, psycho-sexual, moral and identity development. Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory (1979, 1995) and the given case study, I shall highlight how the four different systems (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem)

Chapter five talks about life course theory, latent trait theory and trajectory theory. These theories are the development of crime and delinquency. Life Course theory suggest that delinquent behavior is influenced by individual characteristics. Another influence is social experiences, and they can provoke antisocial behaviors in the future. Family, jobs, and peers can affect their behavior in a positive or negative way. The second theory is called latent trait theory which states that delinquent behavior is controlled by a master trait. This theory assumes that “master trait” remains stable and unchanging throughout a person’s lifetime. Trajectory theory thinks that there’s different types and classes of offenders. Early social control and

The life course perspective is a theoretical model that has been emerging over the last four decades. Sociologists, anthropologists, social historians, psychologists and demographers all have contributed to give it shape (Hutchison: no date). A life course can be considered as the way and journey of a person from birth to death. It is formed and impacted by the activities, occasions, events and encounters in an individuals’ life (Crawford and Walker: 2007). Exploring the life and experiences that have influenced it is an important stage in learning the significance of life course development and its impact on social work practice. Human development from life course perspective is defined as “a view point that considers the whole of a life (from

As one begins to face life challenges, one’s maturity is put to the test. In the story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the speaker allows his ego to rise above him which ultimately causes the death of his brother. On the other hand, the speaker in “Shaving” by Leslie Norris acknowledges that his father is dying maturely steps up and takes his father’s role in the family. The speaker in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, “Annabel Lee,” has an immature response towards the death of his loved one and cannot cope with the reality of the situation. The speaker in each work has to rely on their maturity to lead them through the hardships life has to offer. All three authors make clear that maturity drives one’s ability to cope with life’s challenges.

Family process theory is the understanding of the family, not as a social group, pattern or social interaction but as a family with changes and processes (White, 2008). This theory is based on other theories including individual life span theory (White, 2008). When utilizing this theory as it relates to the family various issues arises that do not related to the family process theory, most notable is the lack of biological development of the individual. The family is not an individual with a single biological process. Another weakness is that there are no biological stages to break down as in the individual life span theory. The family controls these stages. However, one strength utilizing the individual life span theory, as it relates

The origins of generativity can be traced to Erik Erikson’s seminal work Childhood and Society (1963). Erikson theorized that as people age, they progress through a series of eight stages, each stage illustrating a particular challenge.

Life Course Theory (LCT) is an approach to public health which draws from a large variety of disciplines, such as biology, sociology, and psychology, in order to examine how health and disease develop over the course of a lifetime (1). This lens is used to examine health disparities, examine factors which contribute to the achievement of optimal health, and develop interventions. The goal of life course-based intervention goes beyond the prevention of disease and seeks to create conditions in which people are able to thrive, or achieve their full potential for health and wellness, throughout their entire lives (2, 3). According to LCT, health is dynamically produced across the lifespan in response to behavioral, social, and

People pass through different stages of development throughout their lives. In the process of this, many changes are experienced that affect the life course. There are various theories as well as theorist to choose from in order to gain a greater knowledge of an individual’s development. In this paper I will analyze the Life Course Perspective and Levinson’s Theory of Seasons of Adulthood. After analyzing these theories, I will apply the concepts of The Life Course Perspective and Levinson to my father’s life.

The concept of adulthood represents not only the sum of one's experiences, but also the determination of one's place within society. Adulthood is formed through the experiences of the individual. These experiences catalyze the acceptance of a social role, as opposed to title or paycheck. Finally, the acceptance of an individual's social role initiates a process of social unity. In this way, the sum of a person's experience and the changes that result from said experiences present the evolution of child into adult.

Theories of late adulthood development are quite diverse in later adulthood than at any other age. They include self-theory, identity theory and stratification theory. The self-theory tries to explain the core self and search to maintain one’s integrity and identity. The older adults tend to integrate and incorporate their various experiences with their vision and mission for their respective community (Berger, 2008). Also, the older people tend to feel that their attitude, personalities and beliefs have remained in a stable state over their lives even as they acknowledge that physical changes have taken place in their bodies. Objects, things and even places become precious as a way to hold on to identity that has been there for quite some

Imagine you are a rebellious teenager, your relationship with your parents is weakening and your father is lecturing you on the truths of life. Your response is apathetic, yet decades later, you consistently recall what he told you that day and finally begin to understand. These important memories, realizations and relationships are what builds naïve individuals into mature adults. It can be argued that such relationships are the building blocks in the growth of individuals. Relationships between two humans develop over time and depending on how this development occurs, can lead to many changes throughout one’s life, such as personal growth and understanding. This idea is portrayed throughout Joyce Carol Oates’s, “Black Girl/White Girl”. In

In life of an individual there are several developmental changes or events which occur as continuity of span of life. Some of life developmental stages include infantile, adolescence, maturity, and adulthood. These phases have biological, social, psychological and physiognomic reasons to which an individual completed the course of life. Psychological analysis upon the developmental stages include the focus on characterization, demarcation and the social interaction of individual’s life (Baltes & Schaie, 2013).

The life span of an individual goes through developmental stages in life, from conception to death. The majority of the stages we pass are biological, socio-economical and psychological birth rights.