Evaluating Human Development Theories for Social and Community Work

This report delves into the theories of human development, examining their significance in social and community work. It evaluates various theories focusing on mental development and factors affecting children and adolescents. The report explores the impact of biological and environmental factors, including prenatal influences, on development across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. It also addresses the role of social workers in supporting individuals through life events, including the provision of services. The study emphasizes the effects of these factors on mental health and societal well-being, highlighting the importance of understanding and addressing the challenges faced by individuals like Kenny. The report uses case studies to illustrate the practical application of these theories, focusing on physical and neurological changes during adolescence, and the impact of environmental factors such as drug abuse. The report aims to provide insights into how social workers can support individuals through various life stages, considering both the individual and their environment.

Applying Understanding of
Human Development in
Social and Community Work
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Table of Contents
ACTIVITY 1...................................................................................................................................................3
LO1..............................................................................................................................................................3
P1) Evaluate the theories of the human development............................................................................3
P2) Importance of human development and biological and environmental factors ..............................4
LO2..............................................................................................................................................................7
P3) Impact of the pre-natal factors on development of the childhood and adolescence........................7
P4) Life events which would affect the development of the childhood..................................................8
Activity 2......................................................................................................................................................9
LO 3.............................................................................................................................................................9
P5 Impacts of different life events on development through adulthood................................................9
LO 4...........................................................................................................................................................12
P7 Role of social worker in supporting individuals through life events.................................................12
P8) Range of the services which would support the individual’s indifferent events .............................14
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................15
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INTRODUCTION
Human development can be defined as a procedure of enlarging people’s freedom and
improving their well-being as well. This study is going to show some importance of theories of
human development that shows each stage of human development (Boyd and Bee, 2015). It will
also show some importance of biological and psychological factors that have positive and
negative impacts on human development. Rather than, psychological factors, it will also show
some pre natal factors like maternity illness, toxic exposures and other that also have several
positive and negative impacts on human development. Further, this study will discuss some
impacts of different life events on development through adulthood, adolescence and childhood as
well. Social workers also plays an important role as they support people who are in need in their
development in life events. The report is concentrating on the factors for the which are affecting the
theories of the human development. Children and the adolescents are affected by these factors whichare
affecting the mental health and the conditions of the children and the adolescents as well. the improper
conditions of the children are also affecting the environment of the society and the family as well. So, the
social workers are working for solving the problems of the patients as well.
ACTIVITY 1
LO1
D1) Theories of the human development
These theories are focusing on the mental development and the issues which are faced by the children.
The Kenny need to ficus on the studies and also focus on the family members and develop self.
Kenny must be motivated from time to time which will develop the mind of the Kenny and also
Kenny would be feel good if she was living with the family members.
P1) Evaluate the theories of the human development
Kenny needs to be treated with the theories of the human development. These theories are made
according to the mental conditions of the children and the adolescents as well. It includes the factors
which are affecting the development of the child and also the external factors which are affecting the
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development of the children. Children growth is depended on the development of the mind and the events
which are occurred in the life of the child. the theories which are formed for child development is
followed below:
Jean Piaget theory
In the theory of the cognitive development theory it is concentrating on the development of the
child and the mental development of the child as well. The theory is divided into the four parts.
Sensorimotor stage include the birth stage, at that time Kenny was living happy and the birth the Kenny
was not able to understand anything and also she was not able to do anything. Pre operational stage
include the age form 2 to 7 years, at these stage also Kenny was living happily and not focusing on the
any other things as well. Concrete operational stage include age of the children form the 7 to 11 years as
well. At this time Kenny was able to understand every thing and Kenny started taking the drugs and in
result that spoiled the development of the Kenny. Formal operational stage include the Kenny was able
understand every thing and Kenny was also consuming the drugs at that point of time Kenny needed the
support form the family members and also the family members need to support Kenny for leaving the
drugs as well.
Freud psychological developmental theory
The theory is of the psychodyanamic approach which include the Freud psychological
theories . This theory is focusing on the issues of the children which they are facing in the life. The
events and the issues need to be solved by the theory which would be develop the child mental
psychology as well. The theory includes the psychological stages from oral to genital stage. In oral stage
the infant’s development and issues are discussed and tried to solve. Anal stage the children from 1 to 3
years includes about the oral stimulation and pressure which cannot be handled by the children’s as well.
Phallic stage includes the children from 3 to 6 years which have issues regarding the concentration and
the focus as well. Kenny was fine till the Kenny was in the hands of the mother and after that the kenny
understood every thing and the Kenny started taking the drugs. Latent stage consists of the children social
development and the values which are been taught to the children and also relationships are must for the
children as well. Genital stage includes the stages in which the children or the adolescents are attracted
towards the opposite ex and if the values are given to the child in right condition then the child would be
developed as the well-developed person (Horne, 2018). Kenny had developed the problems at the early
stage which include the during the latent stage in which the children social development is taken place
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children, what they are seeing in the culture. So the Kenny was seeing father taking the drugs and the
Kenny also started taking the drugs which has affected the life of the Kenny.
M1) importance of the understanding the human behavior
The Kenny family must understand theirs and also implement these theories which would also
change the behavior of the Kenny towards the family and the society as well. Kenny would be easily able
to learn things and build the career.
P2) Importance of human development and biological and environmental factors
A child is majorly affected by the environment he is brought up in. the physical, social as well as
the mental factors affect the upbringing of a child in a number of ways. Also, exposure to toxic
substances be it from the earthy environment or from the toxins present in air can also affect the mental
and physical capability of a child (Khazanov, Ruscio and Swendsen, 2019).
BIOLOGICAL FACTORS
Biological factors which can affect the influences on a child can be vast in number. The gross
development of the child, be it the hormone levels of the child, the nutrition level or even the gender are
some biological factors which can create an impact on the child which could be negative in nature. The
early development of the child is particularly influenced by a number of primary factors like genetics,
nutrition, or even the prenatal period lays an influence. A research conducted in Rutgers University say
that the prenatal period of the child affects the linguistic frequency and fluency of the child. also, some
postnatal factors are responsible for the cognitive development of the child. Out of these, some specific
biological factors which affect the children’s development, Kenny for that matter is the nutrition and the
gender of the child, Kenny here (Noe, and et.al., 2017). Proper intake of the needed nutrition as well as
the diet of the parents affect the development of Kenny. The diet of Kenny’s mother would affect her
birth and also the health of the concerned child, in case of any sort of irresponsibility, it can prove to be a
risk on the life of Kenny. Boys develop and learn differently as that to girls. Hence the biological factor
of gender can be determinant of various society and cultures of the parents as well ( Green and Piel,
2015).
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
The physical growth of a human being is grossly affected by the environmental factors he is born
and brought up in. there are a number of social as well as economic influences which being a part of the
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environmental factors can affect the well being of Kenny for the matter here. The influences from the
environment can be bidirectional. The development of the human behaviour where a child can exert
influence based on the genetics and the temperament he carries. The status of health and the shape of
child are also responsible in exerting an influence on the child. this it would not be an exaggeration to say
that the environmental factors which can affect the health of Kenny are also related to the biological
factors of the same for that matter. Thus, the human development being a vast phenomenon, Kenny is
deeply affected by the environment she was brought up in. drug abuse is a huge menace to be faced as
Kenny right from childhood has being deeply affected by what she saw in her parent right from being a
child and in herself now. Thus, environmental factors could affect the health of Kenny after or before her
birth as well (Peltola, and et.al., 2017).
Physical and neurological changes have impact on the adolescence
The evolution of a human as a while is the capacity of our complex brain about how it develops itself.
The development of brain can be due to the hormonal changes which take in the body along with the age
of the human as the same time. Adolescence is a normative step which takes place in young people and
Kenny also went through the same. Understanding the brain activities during the period of adolescence
and collaborating with the same in order t make wise decisions is an important process and thus part and
parcel of Kenny’s life.
Physical Changes
The growth and development of a child is always different when taken in terms biologically. The
growth of the child refers to various physical characteristics which can be height, weights or the
shape and size of body which changes accordingly (Horne, 2018). The physical changes are
mostly the result of the hormonal changes is the body of the child, Kenny as per the case here.
The qualitative change in the growth of the humans are in an orderly manner with a meaningful
fashion the ultimate result of which is the maturity of the same. Maturity overcomes the growth
and development which relatively contribute equally to each other. Growth and development are
inseparable and also the occurrence of the both takes place simultaneously. The heredity,
environment, age, sex, exercise and heath, hormones, nutrition, familial influence, geographical
influences, socio-economic status, learning and reinforcement are major determinants of the
physical changes in a child. when the talk of physical changes comes into picture, the physical
activities are a major concern which are responsible for the changes in adolescence of the child.
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Also, the familial influence as well as the nutrition consumed by the child are causing physical
changes in the adolescence period of a human (Liu, and et.al., 2016).
Neurological Changes
The development of human brain starts right from the kindergarten age till when approximately
93% of the brain is formed. Some of the findings show that the cortex, the region of brain is majorly
involved in decision making activities and the critical thinking abilities of the brain. Although this part of
the brain is still not complete until the adulthood age of a human. The adolescent maturation of brain Is
said to be the myenation process which helps in establishing the neural connections and also serves the
information to the whole body. However, the neurological changes also affect the thinking process of the
adolescents. Keeping a healthy teenage brain is quite a task as there are varied opinions which might
emerge also in the case of Kenny. The neurological changes might cause the gray matter in the brain to be
pruned away. The remodelling of brain happens extensively right from the birth till the mid 20’s of a
child, causing changes in the neurological changes of a child. A healthy combination of a child’s brain in
the adolescent stage along with the environmental influences on it impacts the way how the human puts,
moves, thinks or feels about anything and everything (Carey, M., 2017).
The neurological changes and the physical changes are affecting the mind of the child which
would affect the mind and the development of the child. The children would also need support form the
family members which includes the motivation from the family members while children are facing the
treatments and fighting with the diseases.
D2) Physical and neurological changes influence the behavior
These theories are focusing on the theories which are formed for the children and the
adolescents which are improving the mental condition of the children. Kenny need to develop
herself and also try to come out of the events which are affecting the mental condition of the
children (Berendonk, and et.al., 2015).
LO2
P3) Impact of the pre-natal factors on development of the childhood and adolescence
The prenatal factors are affecting the development of the child and the adolescents as
well. These factors would also improve the conditions of the child, these prenatal factors are
affecting the child development on the and the mental condition of the child on the large scale as
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well. In some cases, the child is affected by the non-communicable diseases which are affecting
the health of the child. some times if the children are afraid of some things or events children are
unable to talk or communicate these types of the events to anyone. So, parents must try to
communicate with the children effectively which would also affect the health conditions of the
children’sand theadolescents as well. Children’s body size and growth is affected by the stress
and the development is affected. In these cases, the Kenny is affected by the drugs and the
Kenny would not be able to communicate effectively with any one Kenny was only attached to
the grandmother so Kenny must be kept with the grandmother which would also improve the
conditions of the children (Di Marco, and Santini 2015).
At the time of the birth the weight of the child is due to the natural growth and the child
health is affected by the health of the mother and the stress which is given to the mothers which
are not good for the health of the mothers and also not for the health of the child as well. The
child health is natural till the time of the growth of the children and also the growth is not natural
after the post-natal or during the time of the early childhood (Skøt,, Jeppesen, Mellentin. and
Elklit 2017). Conditions of the child is affected by the conditions of the mother during the time
of the pregnancy of the mothers as well. In the case of the Kenny the mother conditions was
stable but during the time of the Kenny was performing the actions and also the conditions get
worsen when the Kenny was sing the drugs which was affecting the health of the Kenny and also
mental conditions of the Kenny was affected due to that.
These prenatal factors which are affecting the child growth is including the child mental
state. These factors would also include the factors and the conditions of the parents while the
prenatal time and these conditions are affecting the child growth (Karvinen-Niinikoski 2016).
Way of living and the standard of living is affecting the growth of the child and the adolescents
as well.
P4) Life events which would affect the development of the childhood
Theory of the attachment
The theory of attachment is a concept built in the psychological development which shows how
the attachment is important when personal development of a human comes into picture. The
theory of attachment claims that forming an emotional attachment with another person helps in
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moulding the personality of the human as a whole. The attachment theory has expressions and
impressions of the same in turn. This theory was created by John Bowlby who found the same to
understand a similar case as that of Kenny to find out how a child under stress performs and also
when he or she is separated from his parents.
John Bowlby Theory
Psychologist John Bowlby discovered the term first. This study focuses on the child
development at a primary stage. The Bowlby’s theory says child hood development is must for
the future of the child and the child are attached to the parents so the parents must focus on the
child development and try not to give the stress to the children (Sweeney Clement Filson and
Kennedy 2016). Through these theory parents know about their children and the children mental
conditions.
Mary Ainsworth Theory
This theory was set in extension to the John Bowlby theory of attachment and its impact
on human development and relationships as a whole. Mary Ainsworth theory says that the
“Attachment Behaviour” of insecure children occurs uniformly which also gives them a sense of
argument especially in the case of adolescence as that of Kenny. This study is also applicable on
cross section children as well as varying attachments with parents of their weak or tenuous
bonds. Also, when exposed to particular stressful situation as that of Kenny, this proved to be
attention seeking for the same humans (Santangeli, Sattar and Huda 2015).
Hazan and Shaver Theory
Among the various limitations of the attachment theory, the Hazan and Shaver was
studied in the context of young children. This theory proved to be useful in the field of
psychology of an entire human being. This theory has a study base on the adulthood of the
human as well. This theory of attachment was able to attach itself to the adult relationships. In
the case of Kenny as well, this theory shows how attachment laid an impact on the thinking
pattern of Kenny. This theory also examined the number of attachments of various relationships
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and how they had impact on the stressors and the stimuli. This says, when attachment of a
relationship is too strong, there is a sense of dependence on each other.
M2 Contribution of the attachment theory
Thus, the theory of attachment proves to be useful in order to find out how the emotional part of
the human works and the impact which their feelings lay on the decisions the take collectively
(Black, and et.al., 2017).
Activity 2
LO 3
P5 Impacts of different life events on development through adulthood
Life events means experiences, activities of different ages of the life of a human that
impacts on its usual activities like marriage, illness, injury etc. There are several factors like
demographic age, education that can have impacts on the development through adulthood. Adult
development means all changes that occur in psychological and biological domain.
Some event related to this age includes:
Having a job: In this age, people get job and became busy. It is a turning point of their life
which have several positive and negative impacts on their life. They became busier and try to
accomplish their life goals for which they have done their education and other things. So, it can
be said that this factor of life event may have several positive and negative impacts on their life
(Goldston and et.al., 2015).
Emotional distress: Some boys and girls in this stage become more emotional distress.
Everyone has some type of dreams and each person is different from others in nature as some are
introvert and they do not prefer and like to share their feelings with anyone. On the other hand,
some people are extrovert and they like to share and tell everything to anyone. Introvert type of
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people are more sensitive and emotional. If they do not get something in their life which they
wanted to achieve then they become more emotional distress. It has serious negative impact on
their adult stage. In college life also, they are bullied by their seniors and other students which
also make them distress.
Ego development: This is the main and common factor that occurs and develop with the
growing age and in adulthood. Ego development among 1st year students is clearly different
from other students . College career life is also called a changing life. Some students make their
future and accomplish their goals whereas, some students only go for enjoyment and for that
they attempt bad things. They smoke, abuse, use alcohol which can destroy their future and life
as well. This stage and college life is very critical and tough life which decide their future
(Burns, 2016).
There are several theories related to this stage and shows all stages and life events of adulthood
such as:
Daniel Levinson’s theory: This theory is a set of psychosocial season through which each adult
have to pass as they move through early adulthood and middle life. Each of the season of this
stage is created b y several challenges of maintenance a life structure. Early stage in which 16-24
age of group people come. Forming a life stricture in which people think about their career and
24-28 age groups of people come here. Settling down stage in which people set their career and
have decided as what they have done, 29-34 age groups of adults and people come in this stage
(McPhee and et.al., 2016).
So, it can be said that from the above that each stage of human life is critic and a changing point
which decides his/her next stage. Her/his actions decide whether he/she will be success in his/her
next stage or not. It all depends on his/her activities and the type of nature. With the help of
theories like Daniel Levinson, A biopsychosocial metatheory of adult development that can
define and describe all stages and natures of adult by which they have to go through.
P6 Physical, psychological and social changes associated with ageing process
Physical and biological changes can be categorized by progressive age changes like metabolism,
regeneration, properties of changes. Biological and physical changes occur naturally impacts on
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an individual mood, social activity, attitude and physical condition; With the ageing process they
feel less adaptable and inactive. They take time in every activity as compare to young and adults
(Amarya, Singh and Sabharwal, 2015). On the other hand, psychological changes and ageing can
be defined as human awareness and their adaptability to ageing process. With ageing process an
progressed age, people have to face several problems and have to make adjustments to the new
situations. Here are some physical changes that occur with the age:
Hearing loss: With ageing process and people with the age of 60 and above face
problems of hearing loss which is known as presbycusis. This type of people feel sound muffled
at starting and high pitched voices become harder for them to understand. Men are more likely to
have more hearing loss than women.
Decrease in strength: With age, people lose muscle tissue and their muscle become
more rigid and less toned. Weight training can help them out in improving their strength and
flexibility. But with ageing process they cannot complete and get effective training.
High blood pressure and diseases: Ageing is not a disease but natural changes in body makes
an individual more vulnerable to some medical conditions. There may be several factors that can
become the reason of this disease such as hyper tension, obesity, ageing etc. Blood vessels tend to
become less elastic with age, and this stiffness can become the reason of blood pressure and other
diseases (McPhee and et.al., 2016).
Some psychological changes and conditions factors with ageing process is also defined
as below:
Depression: It is characterized by abnormally lowered mood which can be developed over
weeks or may be months. With ageing process and people in this age feel loss of interest and
have recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal ideas . They also face difficulties in concentration
and also take too much time in making accurate decisions as they get confused over everything.
They also complain for several physical symptoms like insomnia, hypersonic etc.
Lack of support: Lack of support is also a type of social change that occur with ageing process
and growing age in adults. This type of people feel ignored by the society and they feel lonely.
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