Introduction
The negative or positive experiences of early childhood play a very significant role in the development of the social and emotional behavior of an individual. According to Fagundes, Bennett, Derry, and Kiecolt-Glaser (2011), the ability to understand the social and emotional behavior of an adult is complex because it requires one to have a comprehensive understanding of their entire lifespan (p. 40). This is because the social and emotional development of an individual are influenced by several factors that they encounter during their major stages of growth in their lifespan (McClelland, Ponitz, Messersmith, & Tominey, 2010, p. 35). Some of them include cultural factors and social relationships, which have major impacts on an individual’s physical, mental and cognitive health from childhood to adulthood (McClelland & Cameron, 2011, p. 31). As regards the aspects, this paper examines the social and emotional behavior across the lifespan of Ms. Eileen by examining the events of her life as revealed in the narrative that was recorded during my face-to-face interview with her. In addition, it identifies the factors that may have influenced the changes, for example, the emergence of any disorders during the major developmental stages of her life. Lastly, it discusses how such issues may have been shaped by the various biological, historical, social, and cultural forces.
The Social and Emotional Behavior of Ms. Eileen
Middle Childhood 6-12 Years
Early childhood plays a significant role in shaping the social and emotional behavior of an individual in adulthood (Fuligni et al., 2009, p. 330). The type of environment that a child is exposed to during infancy determines whether they will develop positive or negative social and emotional behaviors. An in-depth analysis of the lifespan narrative that was recorded during the interview revealed that Ms. Eileen had a childhood that was full of negative factors that are not fit for the appropriate growth and development of a child; as a result, she has had a troubled life in her adulthood. At the beginning of the interview, the client stated that most of the memories that she had of her childhood were mainly related to bad events. One of the incidences occurred when she was at the age of 12-years. She lay on the floor in the living room when her mother asked her to go outside the house to play with her siblings and other children from their neighborhood. The young girl was not happy with the request, and as a result, she was reluctant to act upon her mother’s suggestion.
The scenario above illustrates that Ms. Eileen had an unhappy childhood full of depression, and this could have contributed to the lack of effective social skills in her later adulthood (Lerner e al., 2011, p. 5). Ms. Eileen did not receive appropriate support from her parents in her childhood because they were many siblings (8 in total) in her family and so the parents could not give individual attention to them, and therefore, she did not acquire the desired social skills (Lamb & Freund, 2010, p. 57). For example, her parents never encouraged her to put as much effort as possible in her studies like they did to her male siblings. The family is undoubtedly the basic unit of life in the society; therefore, it is within it that children learn various social skills (Lerner, 2011, p. 37). As a result, despite her mother’s request, she lacked the impetus to play with other kids from her neighborhood.
Low level of parental support in childhood is a major contributing factor of depressive lifestyle as well as several chronic health conditions among children (Bornstein & Lamb, 2010, p. 470). Ms. Eileen did not receive the appropriate support from her parents in her childhood, which caused her to develop depressive symptoms (Bornstein & Lamb, 2010, p. 470). As a result, she has been suffering from depression right from her childhood until now. She highlighted feeling extremely depressed when the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center happened as she and her peers lived near the infamous location (Wolffet al., 2005, p. 740). Adults who experience secure attachment with their parents or guardians in their childhood can develop effective social and emotional behavior in their lifespan (Diamond & Fagundes, 2010, p. 220). This is because the relationships that are developed in the early stages of life are known to last longer (Bornstein & Lamb, 2010, p. 469). On the other hand, adults who experience insecure attachments with their parents develop poor social and emotional behavior (Fagundes, 2012, p. 40). Ms. Eileen grew up in a family where she experienced emotional neglect in her childhood. For that reason, she developed poor social and emotional behavior in her early adulthood leading to her instability in her late adulthood (Geldhof, Little, & Colombo, 2010, p. 135).
The Adult Phase 20-39 Years
Eileen’s partner, Noah brought all the negative aspects of her life to the relationship adding to the miseries that she was already going through. The ability of Ms. Eileen to develop effective social and emotional behavior was negatively affected by the relationship that she had with Noah, which had various significant effects on her social behavior. Firstly, she developed negative social and emotional behavior as a result of the negative abuse that she experienced in the hands of Noah, making her seek solace at her parent’s home (Masten, 2009, p. 29). The association that an individual has with their partner has a significant impact on their behavior. In the case of Ms. Eileen, she experienced an abusive relationship with her husband, Noah. When she got her second pregnancy at the age of 23 years, Noah became violent toward her, and he did not provide the necessary support for the family. Consequently, Ms. Eileen developed a negative attitude toward him, which then saw her extend the same to other people around her. The behavior significantly contributed to the development of the depressing social and emotional behavior in her lifespan (Fuller & Brennenstuhl, 2009, p. 3343).
The social and emotional behavior of Ms. Eileen was evident in her parenting skills after the birth of her second child, Shannon. Prevailing social and cultural forces influence the development of social and emotional behavior of an individual, and Ms. Eileen is not an exception (Brown, Benedett, & Armistead, 2010, p. 338). On top of the experiences of depression that Ms. Eileen went through during her early childhood, the social environment that she lived in during her second pregnancy led to the worsening of her physical and mental health conditions. The poor health conditions that she was in during her second pregnancy were life threatening to her because she almost had a miscarriage. The effects of the health conditions manifested after the delivery of Shannon, who was born underweight and with a chronic ear infection.
The on and off relationship between Ms. Eileen and Noah is another major contributing factor to the poor social and emotional behaviors of the former. Family break-ups have a negative impact on the development process of one’s social and emotional behavior during the lifespan (Huitt & Dawson, 2011, p. 7). According to the interview, Shannon grew up in a harsh environment and was under the custody of Eileen because Noah was absent; therefore, the family was incomplete. Children who are brought up in incomplete families are negatively affected in all domains of development (Miller, Rohleder, & Cole, 2009, p. 58). Family break-ups are known to cause major negative impacts on the social, emotional, and educational development of teenagers (Graham et al., 2009, p. 625). On the other hand, young infants experience minimal negative impacts during family break-ups as compared to teenagers. Teenagers whose parents have separated experience an emotional deficit in the family, and therefore, Shannon experienced the same in her early stages of life due to the absence of the father; hence, she developed negative social and emotional behavior.
Similarly, Eileen suffered emotional deficit because she did not experience the love she desired in her marriage with Noah. Single parenthood is another significant factor that determines the social and emotional development of an individual. For a parent to maintain positive social and emotional behavior, they ought to have a work-life balance (Benson, Scales, & Syvertsen, 2011, p. 7). However, the struggle to work hard to earn enough money to take care of the two children also contributed to the negative social and emotional behaviors in her life (Gilbert et al., 2009, p. 80). Ms. Eileen was forced to work to provide for her kids under very harsh conditions; for example, she was forced to spend long and cold nights in the car to save money to buy a house. Ms. Eileen experienced this as a difficult period as Noah did not want to be a part of their lives and the kids were mostly at home by themselves while she was at work. Noah was earning good money; however, he but did not want to support her financially.
This interview reveals how biological and historical factors play a major role in the development of social and emotional behaviors of an individual (Gouinet al., 2009, p. 899). Eileen suffered from depression, and in addition, Noah has a history of alcohol and drug abuse. The biological and historical factors manifested in the life of Shannon immediately after her birth. At an early age of 10 years, Shannon had already been diagnosed with PTST and depression, and hence, was subjected to anti-depressants; however, despite her condition, the little girl refused to take her medication. Shannon’s condition at this early age can be attributed to the hereditary biological traits that she inherited from her parents. Her parents’ conditions resulted in a clinical imbalance of neurotransmitters and hormones in her brain, which caused the depression.
The historical impacts of social and emotional development in the lifespan of an individual are also clearly evident in the life of Shannon. At the age of 15 years, Shannon engaged in the chronic use of cannabis Sativa and alcohol, a habit that she acquired from her father, Noah, who had a history of alcohol and drug abuse (Bodrova, Leong, & Akhutina, 2011, p. 15). This is a clear indicator of how significant the environmental factors that an individual is exposed to during his early stages of life shape their later life (Brown & Sax, 2013, p. 340). Shannon’s engagement in drug abuse led to her to fall pregnant out of wedlock, and even after giving birth, she gave up the baby for adoption; she did so as a result of the poor development of social and emotional behavior (Maniar & Zaff, 2011, p. 77). These social problems emerged due to the poor social and emotional behavior of Eileen and Noah.
Adulthood 40 -64 Years
The interview reveals that Ms. Eileen, Noah, and Shannon have now changed their perspective of life. Noah and Shannon have quit alcohol and drug abuse and have decided to focus on positive activities in life. Brandon is also now studying in Australia, while Eileen, despite being at the age of 60 years, has decided to study social work. These positive changes can be explained by two theories of psychology, including Strength and Vulnerability Integration (SAVI) and the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST) (Charles & Carstensen, 2010, p. 395). According to SST, the factors that motivate people to change do so as they age, and according to SAVI, people change their perspectives based on the time they have left to live (Gerry, Unrau, & Trainor, 2012, p. 405). This explains how the family of Eileen has changed its perspective on life by prioritizing goals that are beneficial to the appropriate development of their social and emotional behaviors.
Conclusion
In summary, the social and emotional functioning of an individual changes little from childhood to adulthood. Regardless of age, people always want to remain embedded in social groups. The strong emotions that one develops in childhood remain even in adulthood. Research studies have recorded some changes across people’s lifespan; however, the personality traits that dictate an individual’s social and emotional behavior persist into old age. The social and emotional behavior of Eileen was hugely influenced by social, historical, and cultural forces. Eileen and her family members had poorly developed social and emotional behaviors due to several factors. For example, she lacked the appropriate support that she required in her childhood and even in her marriage. Her children also developed negative social and emotional behaviors due to the disjointed family unit to which they were exposed. Despite this, the individuals changed their perspective of life in adulthood, which will play a major role in the development of positive social and emotional behaviors in their late adulthood.
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