Growth and Development (Nursing)

00:01 Welcome to Nursing Across the Life Span.

00:04 In this series, we're going to discuss key characteristics for you to assess as a nurse with the individual.

00:12 So let's talk about growth and development.

00:14 So before we get started, we need to actually define growth.

00:19 And this just means this is the physical changes across a lifespan.

00:23 And we can usually do this through a quantitative process, which all that means for us, is this is a measurable way of deciding which stage the person is in.

00:34 So just taking a look at this image, how it stair steps up.

00:38 You see that we start with infancy, which is defined at about 1 month to about 1 year, all the way up to maturity, which is about 65 and up.

00:48 So now let's talk about how we define development.

00:51 Now, development is just the gradual transformation and maturation of the whole being.

00:57 Now, this is more of a qualitative measure.

01:00 And let's take a look at how we define development.

01:04 Now, one way in which we can determine the development is Erikson psychosocial stages.

01:10 Now, these outline eight stages of development that can occur throughout a lifetime.

01:16 Now, this is really important for us in nursing and other health care providers, because this allows us to assess, is the individual at this particular age range meeting a healthy developmental stage? Now, if we assess that they are not, then we can provide additional resources and support for that individual.

01:38 Now, let's take a dive into the Erikson stages themselves.

01:42 Now, if we start here, at the bottom of this stair step, we're going to start with infancy, which is defined as about 1 month to approximately 1 year.

01:51 Now, Erickson classifies this stage here as trust versus mistrust.

01:56 Now, at this stage, the infant should be able to trust that basic needs are being met such as food, nutrition, for example, toileting, this is going to help the infant bond to the parent or to the caregiver.

02:11 Now, there could be a mistrust stage where the basic needs are not met, and this can hinder the development of the infant.

02:19 Now, moving up the ladder here, we start with early childhood.

02:23 Now, this is about the 2 to 4 years of age about the toddler stage where they're going to experience autonomy versus shame and doubt.

02:32 Now, really, this stage is going to discuss that toddler stage learning to do for themselves in gaining some autonomy.

02:40 Now, sometimes, if this person or excuse me, the toddler is not at a healthy stage, they may indeed doubt their ability.

02:49 Now, moving up into latter years, we're going into the preschool age here at about 4 to 5 years of age.

02:56 Now, we call this stage initiative versus guilt.

03:00 Now, this is when that preschooler is able to initiate tasks more independently, or maybe even feel guilty about their independence.

03:08 Now, here we are reaching a very pivotal age of school age, which is defined about 5 to 12 years.

03:15 And Erikson defines this as industry versus inferiority.

03:20 Now, at this particular age, the school age child is able to apply themselves at the tasks that are given to them.

03:27 Or if they're not able to do this successfully, they may feel inferior.

03:32 Now, this is an important stage here called adolescence.

03:35 Many of you know this, well.

03:37 This is about 13 to 19 years of age, and we define this as identity versus role confusion.

03:45 And many people discuss that this is a very important developmental stage, which is the adolescent stage here.

03:52 Now, this is where the individual may does develop a healthy sense of self, maybe their own particular beliefs, or maybe feel like that they're fitting in a certain peer group, for example.

04:04 Now, if the adolescent is unsuccessful in these stages, they may have some feelings of role confusion.

04:12 Now, moving into early adulthood, about 20 to 39 years, this stage is really just focusing here on relationships.

04:21 And Erikson calls this stage intimacy versus isolation.

04:25 So hopefully, at this stage, the early adult is able to form productive and healthy relationships, or if that's not the case, and they're not successful in this area, it could lead to self-isolation.

04:39 Now, moving into the adulthood age, about 40 to 64 years of age.

04:44 We talk about generativity versus stagnation.

04:48 Now, this is an important stage for adulthood because this is the stage that they should in a healthy development contribute to others.

04:57 This could be their children, grandchildren, or maybe even their community.

05:02 Now, if they're unsuccessful in this developmental stage, it can lead to stagnation or maybe even a lack of purpose.

05:10 And finally, we've reached the top of this stair step in maturity age of 65 and up.

05:15 This is where the individual is feeling a satisfaction maybe with life, or maybe they feel like their accomplishments were not enough and feel a sense of failure.