GSU Person Developmental History and Elements of Depression Discussion

Description First : Recall the key elements of depression and describe a typical depressed individual. How does a depressed child might differ in his/her external presentation as compared to adults? Research treatment for childhood depression. Discuss your feelings about medicating children under the age of 18 for mental health concerns. Reply : What a typical depressed individual would be encountering is changes in emotions mostly being sad and not wanting to engage in any extra activities. This includes even ones that use to bring joy to that person. They have changes in their sleep patterns as well as their appetite. A depressed individual also may have troubles concentrating all while having thoughts of possible suicide. As for the child’s external presentation compared to adults presentation, a child is still trying to find out who they are in their identity. They still dont have complete control and understanding of how or why things are happening where as adults have a better understanding of how to control different aspects of depression. Depending on the age the child may not even know what depression even is. Adults can, not always but more so than children, hide some of these symptoms that come along with being depressed where as children have a harder time. When it comes to treatments for childhood depression we have read about cognitive behavior therapy, psychotherapy, medication. I am not one for medications unless it is absolutely needed. I always believe you should start small and work your way up with anything. Medicating children under the age of 18 I dont feel is the best thing as I said previously it should be a last resort. Reply : Oltmanns and Emery (2019) mention that depression is a type of mood illness characterized by a continuous sense of loss of interest. It affects how you feel, think, and behave and can lead to a number of mental and physical difficulties. It’s also known as major depressive disorder or clinical depression. You may find it difficult to carry out day-to-day tasks, and you may feel as if life isn’t worth living. Our textbook Abnormal Psychology (2019) describes A typical individual with depression may feel like there is no pleasure or joy in life or things they may have once loved. They also may have a little trouble concentrating on tasks like reading or even watching TV. Most people with depression may feel hopeless and negative. People who are depressed may believe that they are worthless or that they have failed at everything. They may be fixated on unpleasant events and experiences and unable to appreciate their own excellent features. Many individuals make the mistake of thinking that being depressed is a choice or that they must maintain a positive outlook. Friends and family members are frequently disappointed or perplexed as to why a person can’t “snap out of it.” They may even claim that the individual has no reason to be depressed. Children with depression among children have served as a source of concern. However, because children’s symptoms vary much more from one child to the next, a change in mood and behavior is an important symptom to watch for. Physical symptoms, irritable mood, sleep disturbances, and anxiety may occur in certain young children. It can be moodiness among older teenagers. Have your kid assessed right away if you detect any changes in their mood or behavior, a loss in social and academic performance, or a general lack of interest (Luby, 201) In adult depression There is no one cause. Both genetics and environment have a role, and some people are more prone to depression than others. A physical disease, a stressful environment, or the death of a loved one can all produce depression. Adults may get sad at various times of their lives if they feel stuck or unfulfilled. Men and women might get “stuck” where they feel more than simply “blue,” but also apathetic and hopeless. Many adults become accustomed to being sad. They may lose sight of the possibility of a better life. When a person is depressed, it is difficult to remain positive about therapy, therefore spouses and family members frequently encourage the individual to get assistance (Luby, 2011). Once a depression diagnosis is made, there is very little scientific research to aid treatment. A depressed child may feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and hopeless. They might possibly be putting the blame for their feelings on themselves or their surroundings. Treatment, which includes numerous types of psychotherapy and medication that have all been demonstrated to be effective, may truly benefit children and adolescents who are suffering from depression. Many doctors advise that if a child is on antidepressants, she should also be in therapy. Personally I believe that medicating children with depression can be beneficial alongside therapy to watch for any concern. Second : Instructions for Developmental History Paper In order to help you apply the content of this course to real life, you will write a (~5 page) paper describing someone’s developmental history (past and future predictions). The paper is worth 15% of your grade. 1. The paper can be about yourself or someone you know well. The person must have reached adulthood (i.e. must be at least 18 years of age). However, please do not use the person’s real name or your real name; use a pseudonym. 2. You should discuss the person’s past, present, and future life in relation to the topics covered in the course. After discussing the individual’s prenatal period, infancy, childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, discuss middle adulthood and old age. These chronological periods are the subtitles for your paper. If the individual is a young adult, use the research studied in this course to predict the person’s middle age and old age (use the future tense for this section – s/he will…). 3. For each aspect of development you should describe the individual’s experiences and then, based on what you learned in the course and readings, discuss how those experiences may affect the person’s development. For example, if the infant was only breast fed for 3 weeks, mention that the infant was at greater risk for illness, allergies, and asthma, and whether the person experienced these conditions during infancy or childhood. Also discuss the recommendation for breast feeding and provide the appropriate citation. 4. Because you only have 5 pages (although you can go over 5 pages if necessary), please do not write a long introduction to your paper, one paragraph should be adequate. The introduction paragraph should describe who the person is now (age, occupation, marital status, anything else you deem important). 5. Use subtitles for the following sections and information contained therein: prenatal/infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle and old age. 6. In your paper you should cover at least the following topics: (For each topic that you fail to include you will lose 5%). Describe the person’s: A. Prenatal Development a. Do any dominant & recessive gene diseases run in the family? b. Mother’s smoking, drinking, nutrition, weight gain during pregnancy, stress, age, prenatal care/complications B. Birth Experiences a. Full term? Premature? Birth complications? b. Birth Weight – If low birth weight discuss the risk for diabetes or if female and a big newborn discuss the risk for breast cancer C. Infancy a. Breast feeding? How long? b. Illnesses c. Temperament (Easy, Slow to Warm Up, Difficult, Average?) d. Attachment to mother (was baby securely, avoidant, etc. attached? And what was Mom’s behavior? warm/responsive?) e. Cognitive stimulation (being read to, etc.) f. Was baby laid on his/her back to sleep or stomach? (talk about risks for SIDS) D. Childhood a. Peer experiences (popularity, neglect, rejection, etc.) b. Illnesses c. Traumatic experiences d. Academic experiences (success, failure, etc.) e. Parental discipline (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive) f. Type of praise used by parents (did they praise ability or effort? E. Adolescence a. Physical development (early or late maturity) b. Parental monitoring (Did they know where he/she was, who with, what doing?) c. Peer influences (deviant peer groups) d. Problems (eating disorders, delinquency, etc.) F. Young adulthood a. Personality (use NEO personality test uploaded on blackboard) Give the person the NEO and then score it. In your paper you must include how the person scored for each of the 5 factors of personality (neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) (whether the person was very high, high, average, low, or very low compared to other males or females in the United States). See the last page of the test. b. Genetic inheritance – depression, mental illness, etc. c. Which risk factors does he/she have for alcoholism? d. Career personality type (use the career quiz) e. Intimacy (use the adult attachment questionnaire) f. Type of marital style he/she will likely have. If marriage is not a relevant topic for this person, discuss why. You still need to discuss their development in relation to what the research tells us. g. If he/she is in a relationship, report whether he/she using criticism (the 1st step in the failure of a relationship). If not in a relationship, the individual may answer by predicting their behavior in a relationship. G. Middle Age and Old Age a. Midlife crisis (likely or unlikely?) b. Health risks for early death c. Smoking d. Diet – for each part of the food pyramid or plate, indicate what he/she is eating e. Exercise f. Genetic inheritance (Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer, etc.) 7. In addition to stating the bullet points, you are expected to include a sentence or more about recommendations or other information that illustrates how that point influences development (i.e. “Sally was breastfed for 6 months. Breastfeeding transfers important antibodies from the mother to the child. As such breastfed babies are at a lower risk for many childhood illnesses including…. The American Pediatric Association recommends breastfeeding for 12 months to protect against childhood illnesses and develop the child’s digestive system (citation goes here).” 8. Finish your paper with a summary paragraph, discussing the past, present, and future developmental trajectory (path) of the person. 9. Your paper will be graded using the following criteria: a. How well written your paper is: Your paper should have a clear organization or outline guiding the paragraph topics. Each paragraph should focus on only one topic and should have a topic sentence. Paragraphs should have transition sentences to lead the reader from paragraph to paragraph. Each sentence should be clear and concise. Explain each point fully and clearly. A major problem for many students is that their writing is not clear or they do not explain each point thoroughly. b. How well you relate the developmental life history of your subject to the content covered in this course. Put real thought and effort into integrating the content of this course into your discussion of the person’s developmental history. From the very first weeks of the course you should be taking notes during class and during your reading whenever you come across research or concept that has relevance to your person’s developmental history. Third: Pick a person from today or from history who embodies love and one who embodies hate. What personality traits did that person have that prompted you to choose him or her? What traits did he or she seem to lack? Reply: Barack Obama is someone who I consider embodies love. He is always showing affection towards his wife, family and for the United States. Obama embraced affection and romanticism with his wife embodying a role model to many couples who were inspired by Obama and Michelle’s relationship. Someone who embodies hate would be Adolf Hitler the leader of the Nazis. Once he achieved power he arranged World War 11 and the holocaust events. He persecuted the Jews and killed over thousands or more. Hitler was full of a lot of hatred and evil person. What personality traits did that person have that prompted you to choose him or her? Obama personality traits are positive influencer, humble, diplomatic and caring. Always managing ways to help others. Hitler’s personality traits were very aggressive, no sympathy, cold and impulsive. Is hard to believe a person can be full of hatred and be so evil. He had a greed for power and took advantage of that. What traits did he or she seem to lack? Obama lack being persistent, promised a lot but little was done. Hitler lacked being approachable, friendly and charismatic. Last : in which you react to the the chapter on prejudice. (i) Pick two phenomena you read about, (ii) summarize them, (iii) explain why you find them interesting, and (iv) give an example from the real world or film/television in which you observed each of the phenomena. Reply to : Prejudice is a social behavior that is most common and dangerous out of the social behaviors. This social behavior is a problem that’s all too common to humankind and it can lead to things a lot worse. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that isn’t based on actual reason or experience. I think as humans we prejudge everyone due to their instincts but it becomes a problem when we pre judge someone because there is a membership to a certain group. Common groups are religion based and LGBTQ because they sought out as diffrent depending on what the person believes in. It’s one thing to pre judge based on not feeling safe in the situation or environment but it’s not right to pre judge based on being a part of a certain group Reply Two phenomena’s that I read about that was interesting was sterotype and prejudice. According to the text, sterotype is defined as “the generalization about a group of people in which characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among the members.” I found this phenonmena interesting because this attitude is still present in the world today. There are so many different sterotypes in the world and some people don’t even realize that they sterotype people. For example, girls should like the color pink and boys should like the color blue. This is a simple sterotype. I don’t see why boys shouldn’t like pink and why it is strange for a girls favorite color to be blue instead of pink. This is a conversation that I had my gender class last semester. The second phenomena that was intersting was prejudice. According to the text, prejudice is defined as “a hostile or negative attitude toward people in a distingishable group, based solely on their membership in that group”. This was interesting to me because this phenomena is also still present in todays society. Prejudice atttitudes cause many problems in the world today. An example of this is being racist. A film that shows this first hand is “The Hate U Give”, where a police shot and killed an innocent boy because he was black.