Sullivan’s Developmental Theory

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The man behind the child developmental theory, Harry Stack Sullivan was born in an American family on 21 February 1892. He was an Irish-American catholic. He was the only child in his family. Sullivan’s own life incidents let him to write down a theory which will help in the psychiatric treatment with a growing child. His mother married his father beneath her status. Since his parents attained his life after lose of two infants, they were little more protective towards him especially his mother which resulted that he started losing his attachments from his father. But Sullivan’s father endured his attentions through church visits. Through church sermons about sexual Puritanism inspires him to pose the adolescent problem. Sullivan believed that a person goes through several stages in his emotional and physical development which includes sensory, muscular, locomotors, latency, and adolescent. In the face of sensory infant learns to develop trust relationships. An anxiety transferred to him at the time of his birth by his mother later on it convert into response to threat. He believed that dynamism reduces the feeling of anxiety. According to him dynamism is the way out of human fears or the needs which help in the decrement of tension. In the muscular phase or toddlerhood child learn his individuality. It is the phase which taught self determination to the kid. Most of the child’s time is spent in being loved, cared and pampered by adults, which is necessary for his development. One to three years is the era in which the process of separation from tenderness takes place gradually. Now he has to know how to deal with his fears independently. Three to six years is the stage of locomotors or preschool in which child’s ow... ... middle of paper ... ...restriction on freedom of living”. For the development of your child provide healthy environment to live in with a chance to explore them. The understanding of mental growth from infancy to childhood is necessary for remarkable interpersonal relationship; it helps in the emergence of their behavior. In the juvenile era they acquire the experiences of socialism and meet the authority figures. The epoch of adolescence introduces the feeling of their first love to them. They want to make challenges, go through intimacy and want satisfaction. In each of the above stages they go through different challenges to acquire a position of an important figure in the society. References: Joseph Palomba, Harold k. Bendicsen, Barry J. Koch (2009). Guide to Psychoanalytic developmental theories. Springer Fontane, Fletcher (2009). Mental Health Nursing (5th edition)

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