Pat's Development: Attachment and Erikson's Stages
In reviewing the information on Pat, we see that she has several issues, which plague her development as a person. Not only does she have physical limitations that she had to overcome, but she also had emotional barriers as well. These issues have hindered her development. As I look at her history, Pat makes mention that she was never close with her family. This includes her mother, father, and siblings. Though her mother never had any pregnancy issues, she ended up having difficulties walking. I am sure being the odd person out had a psychological effect on Pat.
From the outset, Pat does not seem to have had a secure attachment with either one of her parents. We learned through research, that children who lack secure attachments tend to make poor health choices in adolescent years and as young adults, including smoking cigarettes and engaging in heavy drinking (Huntslinger & Luecken, 2004). Pat mentions that she has smoked a pack of cigarettes a day since the age of 13.
From the beginning of Pat’s life, according to Erickson’s stages of psychological development about the approximate ages, we can see that her ages and issues do not line up. Considering that Pat mentioned that she was never close to anyone in her family, I imagine that a bond of trust was never formed with them. Erikson attributes basic trust to early parenting (Myers, 2011). Generally, if you trust someone, you grow close to him or her. Most people, according to Erickson, do not reach the stage of young adulthood until the 20s to early 40s (Myers, 2011). In this stage, young adults are struggling to form close relationships. For Pat, this was an issue as a child. Pat’s toddlerhood stage was hindered by her inability to move around on her own. A social identity was formed around her distinctiveness. Whereas most children were probably walking, she had a developmental issue that prohibited her from being as mobile as the rest. She doubted her own abilities and would give up and sit in the middle of the room. By the time Pat had reached her teens, she was already picking up habits that were haphazard to her development.
Although I do not know how old Pat is, I know that she is greater than the age of 31. During those early years where a secure attachment is formed, I doubt that Pat formed a sense of basic trust; therefore she developed a sense of mistrust. From there, everything seemed to snowball. I believe at this stage she may already feel a lack of purpose that is something that Erickson says is around the age of 40 to 60 (Myers, 2011).
I do not feel that Pat developed the milestones within the typical ranges. From the beginning, due to her developmental problems and family situation, Pat was either ahead of the curve or behind it. Feelings of mistrust developed early on. Isolation happened long before young adulthood due to her parents and her siblings leaving as soon as they made it to age 16. Autonomy happened later than normal because of her legs. All of this shows through the decisions that she made in life and the things that subsequently happened to her later on. Despite her mother doing what she could, those earlier years played a huge part in the lack of Pat’s social development.