BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

TOPICS

The Beginning of life

-Pregnancy

-Child Birth

Infancy

The Toddler years

The preschool years

THE BEGINNING OF LIFE

1- Pregnancy through preschool

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

a. Pregnancy:

- Know the common mood changes and other psychological factors associated with pregnancy

- Know the marital problems that may arise during pregnancy, and how to prevent them.

b. Childbirth:

-Know the rate of birth, infant mortality and cesarean birth in the U.S. as well as other associated characteristics.

-Know the characteristics of a premature birth and postpartum reactions as well as other associated characteristics. Infant mortality rates.

PREGNANCY

A major event in many peoples lives.

Womans view

Mans view

A. Emotions

Mood changes are common and are usually due to:

Biological factors

Psychological factors

Pseudocyesis (false pregnancy) May occur in women with a strong wish to

be pregnant or a strong fear of pregnancy

Bonding before childbirth: It begins by the second trimester of pregnancy

B. The marital relationship

Sexual intercourse is safe until the last 4 weeks prior to the expected date of

delivery.

Reduction in sexual activity may affect the relationship

Extramarital affairs are likely to occur during the last 3 months of pregnancy

CHILDBIRTH

About 4 million children are born each year in the USA.

Birth rate has been reducing since the 90s

Infant mortality

IMR in the United States is high compared to that of socialist countries and

other developed countries.

It is related to low socioeconomic status, which is also related to ethnicity.

Cesarean birth

Cesarean births account for about 21% of all births

The rate of cesarean births increased between the 1960s and 1990s partly due to the increase in law suits against physicians when infants died

or were injured during vaginal childbirth.

The rate has been declining in recent years also because of complaints that women undergo

unnecessary surgical procedures

Premature Infants

The average newborn weighs about 3400g (7.5 Lb)

Premature infants are defined as those with a gestation less than 34 weeks or a

birth weight under 2500g.

Predisposing factors:

Low income

Malnutrition

Young maternal age

Maternal illness

Maternal substance abuse

Occurrence

It occurs in 6% of births to White women and 13% of births to African-American women

Child Risk

Premature infants are at risk for:

Learning disabilities such as dyslexia

Emotional and behavioral problems

Mental Retardation

Child abuse

With each 100g increment of weight beginning at about 1000g, infants have a

progressively better chance of survival

A 36-week-old fetus has less chance of survival than a 3000g fetus born close to

term.

Post-mature Infants

Post-mature infants are defined as those infants born 2 weeks or more beyond the

expected date of birth.

Post-mature babies typically have:

Long nails

Scanty lanugo hair

More scalp hair than usual

Increased alertness

Postpartum reactions

Baby blues or postpartum blues: last up to 1 week after childbirth

Causes: psychological factors

Physiological factors

Major depression and brief psychotic disorder with postpartum onset

(postpartum psychosis)

Baby blues

Psychological factors include:

Fear of added responsibilities

Emotional stress of child birth

Physiological factors include:

Hormonal changes

Fatigue

INFANCY BIRTH TO 15 MONTHS

Learning Objectives

At the end of this chapter, students should;

Know the characteristics of the bonding process of parents to the infant

Know the characteristics of the process of attachment of the infant to the parents

Know the characteristics of the infant

Know the motor, social, verbal, and cognitive development of the infant

INFANCY: BIRTH TO 15 MONTHS

BONDING

Bonding is the term used to describe the intense emotional and psychological relationship that a mother develops for her baby

Bonding of the parent to the infant is enhanced by physical contact between mother and child

Bonding may be adversely affected if: Child is of low birth weight or ill, leading to

separation from the mother after delivery

There are problems in the mother-father relationship.

Women who take classes

preparing them for childbirth:

have shorter labors

fewer medical complications

less need for medication

have closer initial interactions with their

infants.

Attachment of the infant to the

parent

ATTACHMENT

Attachment is the relationship the baby

develops with its caregivers

The principal psychological task of infancy is the formation of an intimate attachment

to the primary caregiver

Infants in the first months after birth show a rapidly increasing responsiveness to the

ext. environment and an ability to form a

special relationship with significant primary

caregivers ( attachment)

Separation from the primary caregiver between 6 12 months of age leads to initial loud protests from the infant.

With continued absence of the mother;

Baby is at risk for anaclitic depression, where the baby becomes withdrawn and

unresponsive

Baby may also suffer from anaclitic depression if mother is physically and

emotionally distant and is insensitive to

babys needs.

Depressed infants may have problems with physical growth and may have poor

health

DEVELOPMENTAL

MILESTONES PHYSICAL/MOTOR

COGNITIVE

INTELLECTUAL/VERBAL

SOCIAL

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE

INFANT

Reflexes and survival systems at birth

Reflexes are present at birth: Rooting reflex

Startle reflex (Moro reflex)

Palmar grasp reflex

Babinskis reflex

Tracking reflex

Survival systems at birth include:

Breathing

Sucking

Swallowing

Circulatory and Temperature homeostasis

They are relatively functional at birth, but

sensory organs are incompletely

developed.

Further differentiation of neurophysiological functions depends on an active process of stimulatory reinforcement from the external environment, such as touching and stroking the infant.

The new born infant is awake for only a short period of each day. REM (Rapid eye movement) and NREM sleep are present at birth.

- Social smile is one of the first markers of

the infants responsiveness to another individual

- Stranger anxiety (is normal) begins at

about 7 months of age

- Infants exposed to many caregivers are

less likely to show stranger anxiety than

those exposed to few caregivers

Margaret Mahler

Stages of separation-individuation

Normal autism (birth 2 months)

Symbiosis (2-5 months)

Differentiation (5-10) months

Practicing (10 18) months

Rapproachment (18 24) months

Object constancy (2-5 years)

The toddler

years

15 months to 2 years

Learning Objectives

At the end of this chapter, students should;

Know the changes that occur to the attachment of the toddler to the parents

Know the motor, social, verbal, and cognitive development of the toddler

Know the theories of development

The toddler years: 15 months

to 2 years

1. Attachment

Separation from the mother or primary caregiver is the major theme of

the second year of life. This process is

completed at about age 3.

Motor, social, verbal and

cognitive characteristics

MOTOR DEVELOPMENT:

During the 2nd year of life, there is an accelerated motor and intelligence development.

The ability to walk gives toddlers some control over their own actions which helps them to determine when to approach and when to withdraw.

SPEECH:

They learn to say NO before they learn to say YES

Negativism is a sign of the development of independence. But if it persists, the

oppositional behavior becomes a problem.

Most child experts recommend a hearing test if child is not making a two-word

sentences like NO WANT, WANT IT by age 2.

Emotional and social

development Social referencing The child looks to

parents and others for emotional cues

about how to respond to different events.

They show exploratory excitement and pleasure in discovery and in developing

new behaviors (e.g. new games), including

teasing and surprising or fooling the parent

(e.g. hiding).

Toddlers also have the capacity to demonstrate love (e.g. running up and

hugging, smiling, and kissing the parent at

the same time), or protest (e.g. turning

away, crying, banging, biting, hitting,

yelling, and kicking).

Other spontaneous behaviors include crying, smiling, and penile erection in

males.

One-day-old infants can detect the smell of the mothers milk, and a Three-day-old infants distinguish the voice of their

mother.

THE THEORIES OF

DEVELOPMENT

Chess And Thomas

There are endogenous differences in the temperaments of infants, which remain

quite stable for the first 25 years of life.

E.g. response to stimuli, mood, distractibility, responsiveness to people,

etc.

Erik Erickson

Described development in terms of critical periods for the achievement of social

goals. E.g. basic trust versus mistrust

Sigmund Freud

Described development in terms of the parts of the body from which the most

pleasure is derived at each stage of

development. E.g. oral stage, anal stage

Jean Piaget

Described development in terms of learning capabilities of the child at each

age

Margaret Mahler

Described early development as a sequential process of separation of the

child from the mother or primary caregiver.

The preschool

child

2 to 6 years

Learning Objectives

At the end of this chapter, students should;

Know the motor, social, verbal, and cognitive development of the toddle

Know the cognitive changes that occur at age six

The preschool child: 2 to 6

years

The preschool period is characterized by marked physical and emotional growth.

Generally, between 2 and 3 yrs. of age, children reach half their adult height.

By the time this stage ends (at age 5 or 6), children are ready to enter school.

They have mastered the task of primary socialization- to control their bowels and

urine, to dress and to feed themselves,

and to control their tears and temper

outburst, at least most of the time.

Attachment:

By age 3 years The child should be able to spend a few hours away from the mother in the

care of others (e.g. in day care)

Characteristics:

- Vocabulary increases rapidly

- Sibling rivalry may occur may lead to regression

- Can distinguish fantasy from reality.

AT AGE SIX (End of preschool

yrs.)

Conscience and sense of morality begin to develop (They develop a moral sense of right or wrong).

At start of the preschool years, they can express complex emotions such as love, unhappiness, jealousy, and envy, both nonverbally and verbally. Their emotions are still easily influenced by somatic events like hunger, tiredness, wound, etc.

By the end of the preschool yrs, children have many relatively stable emotions.

Capacities for empathy and love are developed but fragile and easily lost if

competitive or jealous strivings intervene.

Children between the ages of 3 and 6 are aware of their bodies, their genitalia, and

of their sex differences. This is manifested

in plays such as DOCTOR-NURSE or

FATHER-MOTHER.

They also show preoccupation with illness or injury, so much so that the period has

been called the Band-Aid phase Every injury must be examined and taken care of

by a parent.

Jean Piaget stages of cognitive

development

SENSORIMOTOR UPTO 2 YEARS

PREOPERATIONAL 2 TO 7 YEARS

CONCRETE OPERATIONAL 7 TO 11 YEARS

FORMAL OPERATIONAL 11 TO 13 YEARS

SIGMUND FREUD

ORAL STAGE

ANAL STAGE

PHALLIC STAGE

LATENT STAGE

GENITAL STAGE

ERIK ERIKSON Infant (Birth to 18 months)

Trust vs Mistrust Needs maximum comfort with minimal uncertainty to trust himself/herself, others, and the environment

Toddler (2-3 years) Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt Works to master physical environment while maintaining self-esteem

Preschooler (3-5 years) Initiative vs Guilt Begins to initiate, not imitate, activities; develops conscience and sexual identity

School-Age Child (6-11 years) Industry vs Inferiority Tries to develop a sense of self-worth by refining skills

ERIK ERIKSON Adolescent (12-18 years)

Identity vs Role Confusion

Tries integrating many roles (child, sibling, student, athlete,

worker) into a self-image under role model and peer pressure

Young Adult (19-40 years) Intimacy vs Isolation

Learns to make personal commitment to another as

spouse, parent or partner

Middle-Age Adult (40-60 years)

Generativity vs Stagnation

Seeks satisfaction through productivity in career, family, and

civic interests

Older Adult (>60 years) Integrity vs Despair

Reviews life accomplishments, deals with loss and preparation

for death