Applicability of Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development in Child Development

Running head: PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
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PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
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The primary purpose of the essay is to highlight the applicability of Erikson’s theory of
psychosocial development by discussing the case study. Psychosocial development of child is
related to the personality development that goes through series of stage. It also helps in gaining
strength of the child in the area of handling the task. The development of child begin from infant
stage to the older adult. Firstly, the essay discusses the importance of psychosocial development
in the child by reviewing the two examples in the case study. The essay also deals with the role
of the nurse and parents in promotion of the psychosocial development of the child. Lastly, it has
talked about the various factors that influence the psychosocial development.
Psychosocial development is the way by which the child or infant learns from the
surrounding environment by adapting new changes (Winter et al., 2015). This includes the
different way child interact with others, their eating habits and other factors that they adapt in the
course of development. It is the crucial aspect because it gives a broad framework to analyse the
social nature and healthy development of the child. The psychosocial development theory by
Erikson is the most studied concept which is based on Freud's theory of psychosexual. According
to the theory, there is a total of eight stages of development that occurs throughout the lifespan of
the people, which starts from the infancy to late adulthood (Knight, 2017). The theory suggests
that at each of the development stage, there is a need to take care of concern of the people aims
to resolve it. The eight-stages of development is trust v/s mistrust, autonomy v/s shame, initiate
v/s guilt, industry v/s inferior, identify v/s role confusion, intimacy v/s isolation, generativity v/s
stagnation, integrity v/s despair.
According to the case study, Andrew is the stage of autonomy v/s shame. It is evident
from the study of Eekelaar (2017) at the stage of autonomy v/s shame occur at the age of 1 to 3
years where the child learns to control their actions and act as per their environment. At this

PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
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stage, the child begins to show their like and dislike for food, toy or clothing and develop a sense
of independence. From the review case study, it is observed that Andrew is able to speak four to
five line and positively convey their feeling to her mother. Moreover, he enjoys to dance and
sing. It means that, he is gaining independence and confident. Thus, it can be said that he is at the
stage of autonomy v/s shame.
The two examples from the case study that highlights the psychosocial development are
toilet training and engaging Andrew in healthy eating habit. It is evident from the study of
Jacob, Grodzinski and Fertleman (2016) children at the age of 2 could be ready for toilet
training. However, Andrew is at the stage of autonomy v/s shame still not trained for day and
night toileting. According to the study of Dunkel and Harbke (2017) at Erikson second stage of
psychosocial development, children need to be encouraged and supported to make them
independent. If the child is not given the opportunity to assert themselves, they may feel
inadequate. There is the need to take appropriate step by the parent and caregiver to assist
Andrew in toileting.
Moreover, toilet training is related to psychosocial growth as it will help Andrew to
become more confident and independent. According to Erikson psychosocial development
theory, at this stage, the child tries to start to make to their own choice for food and toys and
assert their independence (Green, Kalvaitis & Worster, 2016). It is seen in the case study that
Andrew’s mother is a concern for his active playing and eating habit. It is an essential aspect for
1-2 years child for healthy development. Therefore the caregiver needs to give adequate
information regarding the way Andrew can be engaged in healthy eating habits and active
playing (Greene, 2017; Ball,2014). It helps the child to develop a sense of personal control over
the physical skill, thus promote its psychosocial growth.