Lifespan Psychology

The same study referenced above, sites factors such as; language spoken at home, location of birth, citizenship status, and societal inclinations as predominant factors leading to suicide ideation and attempt. The authors M. De Luca, Wyman, and Warren, analyze the relationships between mother and daughter, father and daughter, and peer relationships to try to uncover root causes that are prevailing in the lives of suicidal Latina adolescents. As expressed in the text, “Latinos often use family members for emotional support, therefore identifying approaches that engage Latinas in school interventions while at the same time respecting cultural values emphasizing family support is imperative.” (De Lica, Wyman, and Warren, 2012) The article highlights the relationship between these individuals and establishes the importance of providing monetary support to local, state, and federal government to create preventative measures to reduce suicide rates. Latinas have a high suicide ideation and attempt rate compared to other minority counterparts. Therefore, it is important that providers of suicide prevention services recognize this specific need and not apply a one size fits all

(372) In adolescent’s fatal illness are so uncommon that suicide is the third leading cause of death. About half of teenage suicides have been tied to clinical depression, low self-esteem, and feelings of hopelessness. Teenagers who have tried to kill themselves seem to also struggle with anger and impulsiveness and have deficiencies with their ability to sort out and solve problems; they may also have alcohol or drug problems (Comer, 2013, pp. 303). With this in mind some of the factors that make adolescent predominantly at risk for suicide are: societal factors, weakening family ties, easy access and pressure to use drugs and alcohol, and not to mention the detailed descriptions of suicide that the media has shown(Comer, 2013, pp. 304). Adolescent is a time of growth and self discovery so, it’s no wonder teenagers who attempt or consider suicide are under a great deal of stress. Teenagers seem to react more sensitively, angrily, dramatically, or impulsively which may be why suicidal acts in times of stress seem to be increasing. I’m not saying all teenagers have tried to commit suicide, but the ones that have either accomplished the deed or attempt to. The ones that attempt to seem to have higher

One of the key goals of psychology is understanding how and why people function the way that they do. Lifespan development allows us to look at the whole picture of human development and see how life experiences influence decision making. Many people consider lifespan development to be an interdisciplinary field of study, encompassing both the examination of internal factors, such as mental cognition over time and genetics, and external factors, such as one’s environment. Key areas of development that highlight the influence of both nature and nurture include health, both mental and physical, and learning. It is through research and experimentation that psychologists are able to conclude that both nature and nurture yield developmental variations in individuals in every stage of life.

Although most of the media attention focuses on adolescent homicide, suicide deaths should have us more alarmed, and we should understand that adolescent suicide is a preventable public health issue. In adolescent Suicide deaths are more prevalent than homicide deaths (CDC, 2012). According to the National Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescents age 13 to 17 (CDC, 2016). That number surpasses the number of deaths due to chronic diseases such as cancer, HIV, and diabetes. While this is a significant number, not all suicide attempts are reported (Joiner, 2005). Furthermore, suicide accounted for 10 % of

The average life expectancy in the United States is seventy-eight years old. You might be thinking “wow, that is a long time.” One could only imagine the development that occurs during those years. Santrock (2014) defined development as, “a pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and expands all through an entire lifespan,” (1-4). Development is life-long, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, contextual, as well as a process that involves growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss (Santrock, 2014, 1-5). All in all, these characteristics of the lifespan perspective explain how development happens at all stages of one’s life in different contexts while the brain expands as we learn new things and grow

The life span developmental theory is a framework that provides information and helps others to understand how humans age over their life course. Humans begin aging at the start of infancy. Therefore, every day the body grows older. It is essential for humans to maintain good health to prolong their years of life. The purpose of the theory is to view and explain different factors on why humans age (Encyclopedia, 2017).

The lifespan Approach is a scientific study of age related development throughout a person’s life relating to the changes within brain development, behaviours, emotions and personality. (bee boyd, p.3). The Lifespan approach believes that development occurs throughout a person’s life starting from conception and ending when a person dies. When looking at lifespan development there are five different approaches which are Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Behaviourist, Cognitive and Biological. My essay will explore the developmental theories relating to adolescence and the advantages and disadvantages of using these theories within Social Work.

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), suicide is the third leading cause of death for adolescents aged 15-24 years old. This calculates to 33,000 adolescents killing themselves each year (CDC, 2010). The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), reported that suicide amongst all individuals nation wide has declined over all, but despite the decline, adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 have shown suicide rates that has increased by 6 percent (NCSL, 2005). The most staggering number, however, comes from the population of children between the ages of 10 and 14. For these individuals, suicide rates have increased by more than 100 percent (NCSL, 2005). In this paper, I seek to address the

In developmental psychology, researchers describe the physical, emotional, and psychological stages of development while relating the specific issues involved in the stages, which can hinder proper development. Developmental psychology, also described as human development, is the scientific investigation of methodical psychological modifications that take place in humans in excess of the path of the average life span. Originally concerned with infants and young children, the field has extended to include adolescence, adult development, the aging, and the entire life span. This field of study scrutinizes adjustments across an

A variety of physical, biological, psychology, and sociocultural factors influence the probability for suicide in individuals and populations. Strong evidence demonstrates that suicide rates vary across regions, and that this variation is reliably stable over time, holding true both between and within particular countries.

Lifespan development examines how we transmute and grow from conception to death. This field of psychology is studied by developmental psychologists. They view development as a perennial process that can be studied scientifically across three developmental domains: physical, cognitive development, and psychosocial. There are several theories of development that fixate on the following issues: whether development is perpetual or discontinuous, whether development follows one course or many, and the relative influence of nature versus nurture on

For every one suicide that is completed, there are twenty-five attempts (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2015). Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death, overall in americans, of all ages (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2015). Statistics show just how big this problem is, especially with the stigmas that are associated with suicide, and mental health issues in society today. When a person commits suicide, the community surrounding that person will all struggle with coping, and how to further prevent the situation from happening to other people. The cost alone for suicide deaths and attempts is very large number, and so are the mortality rates, and prevalence. There is a plethora of statistical evidence proving that the issue of suicide is overwhelming for all ages, across racial boundaries and affect many Americans daily. White, middle-aged men are the most prevalent to commit suicide and be successful, but young adolescents are more likely to attempt suicide (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2015).

Suicide is a very difficult topic to discuss, especially for those that have either attempted to end their life or for the families of those that ended their life. However, it is a topic that continues to cause headlines and tragedy as suicide attempts have been more and more common but studies have shown a decline in teen suicide (Kolves, & De Leon, 2015). According to Quinan Davidson et al (2013) an average of 220, 000 people between the ages of 10 and 24 commit suicide. Suicide is considered to be a death by a self-injurious behavior in which the intent is to die (CDC.gov, 2015).

In the United States alone, there were a total of 41,149 deaths due to suicide, which makes suicide the 10th leading cause of death (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, 2015). Suicide affects individuals of all ages, to include our school aged youth. The number of suicides among our youth has been on a steady rise for the past few years, but what factors are playing a part in the rise of suicides? The loss of these young lives is preventable; all we must do is incorporate mandatory suicide awareness and prevention training in our middle and high schools.

Suicide has become one of the leading cause of death in adolescents. More youth die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, combined. I ask myself, what has changed in the past years that has caused these rates to continuously increase. When you do research on adolescent suicide you’ll find hundreds of studies based on background, race, poverty, bullying etc., but very few include analysis of trends among sexual minority youth from cohorts of the same geographic population (Peter et al., 2016)