Lifespan Interview Research Paper

Despite the laws and systems in place that perpetuated racism and discrimination, he led a very successful life. He dropped out of school in 8th grade, grew up without his father and lived in poverty, but was able to have a successful career, purchase a home for his family and lead his household. In this past I had thoughts of not wanting to grow old, but after reading about late adulthood and conducting the interview with my grandfather, I realize that it is not the depressive and uneventful period I originally imagined it to be. I also realize that late adulthood is the not the ending of life, but the continuation of new experiences. My grandfather takes great pride in his life experiences and instead of focusing on shortcomings and negatives, he chooses to highlight his success and happiness. He has lived a very long and full life and his stories encompass much of the developmental information discussed in the late adulthood period. This assessment has also awakened in me, an interest in exploring geriatric social work. There is much to learn from our elders, and additional knowledge of this group will allow me to learn how to best serve and support clients in this age

The purpose and focus of this week assignment is to select a program or an agency that conducts research on lifespan psychology to create applications that strengthen public policy and programs. The program selected for this assignment is the Children defense fund program. The Children Defense fund is a nationwide organization put in place to ensure that every child is treated fair and has an effective and promising start in life, regardless of their race, background or disability.

“Though the age boundaries are not set in stone, we will consider middle adulthood as the developmental period that begins at approximately 40 to 45 years of age and extends to about 60 to 65 years of age” (Santrock, 2013, p. 485). I interviewed two individuals for this paper. Each person was asked the same fifteen questions (Appendix). I interviewed a male and a female who fell in the midrange of middle adulthood.

The documentation of the interview reviews the lifespan development of an African American/Hispanic male, 10-years of age, and in fifth grade, birthday July 15, 2007. He presents with his mother, and she has signed the permission form for observation and interview. Lee lives in a home with his mother, stepfather, two step-brothers; 13 and 17, and one half-brother 23 months. The focus of the interviews prevails to observe the six stages of development as related and the quality of physical growth, motor skills, cognitive, emotional, language, and social events and development.

Butler (2009) summarized; the purpose of a life review is usually to encourage feelings of peace in an older adult’s life. The end result of a purposeful life review often concludes in a sense of connectedness with the healthcare provider. A life review paper is usually done during the palliative phase of an older adult’s life. The subject of a life review paper definitely does not have to be a palliative patient. In fact, many older adults can benefit in just about any developmental phase, described by Butler as varying phases of health and illness. (p. 21) The objective of this paper is to help the subject feel a greater sense of connectedness; as established by Butler (2009), and empower

Michael Jackson didn’t have much of a child hood at the age of 5 he was applauded for his voice at a recital performed

     Going back forty-five years is not an easy task to complete because I can’t remember some of the finer details of my childhood. I know I was born on a hot August afternoon in Birth Year at Place Of Birth in City ands State. My mother was just twenty-two at the time and was already the mother of two, I was her third child. My father was twenty-one and already a workaholic, I know because my mother would constantly remind me not to be like that. My mother and father were good parents and they tried to give us the best upbringing they could. My father was the kind of person that believed he should provide and protect his family, and he did a very good job of doing that.

If you were to write a life review of your own life, where would you begin?

My grandfather recently passed away 6 months ago. So I have personally witnessed my grandmother go through the grieving process as well as deal with her own sickness. Unfortunately my grandmother will have to enter a nursing home because my mother can no longer tend to her needs. This is a difficult time for my family because my grandmother doesn't want to go into a nursing home, but she requires 24/7 care. For my interview I chose the neighbors mother who’s situation, age and lifestyle are very similar to my grandmother’s. Her name is Lucy and she is 82 yrs. old living with her oldest daughter. I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome to the questions I asked her.

On February 17, 2016, our Life-Span Development class observed the physical, cognitive, and social development of Asher, a 5.5-month-old male. The observation was conducted at Dordt College in room CL2260 and the infant’s parent consented to participate in the live observation. Asher was quite sick and later saw a doctor, so the findings of this report may not entirely represent Asher’s development.

Piaget stated that from birth to age 2, an infant’s knowledge of the world is limited to their sensory perceptions and motor activities, thus the child learns about him/herself and his/her environment through motor and reflex actions. Thought derives from sensation and movement. The child learns that he/ she is separate from his/her environment and that aspects of his/ her environment, the parents or favourite toy, continue to exist even though they may be outside the

The request for approval for the interview was completed through telephone conversation. The subject was informed that the purpose of the interview was to obtain her recollections of her lifespan with specific emphasis on adolescent through middle age. The interview was taped with permission and then typed into word document. The subject was asked a sequences of general questions for the purpose of establishing the subject’s personal history. The subject was also asked to list the major highlights, accomplishments and expectations for the next five years of her life. Following this, the subject was asked 21 focus questions. The interview was then concluded with a words of

There are many debates regarding nature vs. nurture starting with Plato and John Locke. Some such as Plato believe behavior and personality traits stem from ones genetics which are inherited from parents. Others such as John Locke believe one is born with a “blank slate” which means ones behavior and personality develops based on ones environment. Through examining the life of Justin Beiber, many influences of nature vs. nurture can be found; in addition the behaviorism theory can be applied to his life.

Prior to the interview with Mac, I knew very little about who he was. I showed up at the interviews with a few questions prepared and found that many of my questions required further questioning to get more information out of Mac. He would start to talk about one topic then suddenly divert the conversation to another topic. Through his various stories I was able to assemble a life narrative and apply some of my own interpretation to his life. Mac grew up in Burns Lake, a small town North of Prince George with a population of about 500 people. At a young age he was adopted into a family, his father was the town post-master and his mother was stay at home. Mac describes he led a life filled with pain and horror, as he was subjected to both mental and sexual abuse from his adopted father. The sexual abuse went on until he was 13 years old

The life-span perspective is a modern scientific approach to the study of human development that accounts for all phases of life including childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and it breaks each phase into individual stages of development (Berger,2014). This perspective suggests that development is multidirectional, metacontextual, and all stages of development are important and play a crucial role in the individuals cognitive health (Berger,2014). The stages of development are categorized as infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, emerging adulthood, adulthood, and late adulthood. For the purpose of this paper I will be focusing on the infancy stage due to the importance of cognitive development before the age of two, middle childhood due to a child’s social structure becoming a defining factor in their lives, and emerging adulthood due to the stresses that an individual must endure while maturing into a young adult.