Developmental Milestones ~ Jessica Bower
Chadron State College ~ Dr. Gaudet ~ May 2, 2021
When I think about developmental milestones, I am overwhelmed by the power behind the events and situations that randomly seem to shape us as we develop into the people we become. The only way to depict the complexity behind the various events that shape a person is to refer to a few cinematic works of genius- The Butterfly Effect and Men in Black 3. In both movies, several events have to happen in the correct succession, in order to create the circumstances that result in the occurrence of life-changing events. A common theme in stories dealing with alternate realities is the fact that you can alter the outcomes of an event, but there are almost always fixed elements that cannot be changed. I wonder if this is the case with the development of each human being. Are we randomly shaped by a series of flukes or is there a cosmic force designing the development of each human being?
Milestone 1 Description
One of the many influences on my development as a young child was my mother’s marriage to a black man when I was 4 years old. It all happened so quickly, that it seemed like I had a new step-father, step-brother, neighborhood and home, overnight. I would soon learn that I had also inherited somewhere close to 30 cousins,10 aunts and 11 uncles. They all accepted my mother and I into the fold happily and we enjoyed spending time with them.
At the time, I did not know that there would be conflict because my mom had married a black man or because we were the few white people living in a multicultural neighborhood. If you asked me about the change in our life, I probably would have said that we moved into a new house and I had a new family. I cannot imagine that I would have thought to mention the race of any of the parties involved. It just wasn’t how I thought. First of all, I was a young child who simply did not know about societal prejudices or classifications. Secondly, I wasn’t taught to consider race when relating to people. I think this is partly because my mom was a little ignorant regarding the tension that still existed in 1983, but also because no one in my family discussed it.
Regardless of the reasons for my ignorance, I am so grateful that I was first taught to see people, rather than ethnicity. Unfortunately, not everyone was taught to see people this way, and I bore the brunt of the prejudices and anger many other kids had been taught to adopt. Contrary to the norm, I was the minority and I was the one who had to follow a specific set of rules if I wanted to survive the jungle of school and my neighborhood. I was often picked on and singled out because I was white. I was seen as an easy target, as it was assumed that white girls were weak, afraid and had no rhythm. I had a close group of friends, who were a mixture of hispanic, white, black, and asian, so I was not on my own. However, this did not shield me completely from the onslaught of assaults and cruelty that I experienced from hispanic and black girls. It took me some time to understand what was happening. Even when I realized that the bullying I was subjected to was driven by racial differences, I still didn’t understand the gravity of it all. How could I? I was a child.
As I came to end of my early childhood, it became clear that the bullying would never stop, if I did not make a stand. When a conflict came up between myself and the toughest girl in the school, I saw it as my opportunity to fight back. I stood toe to toe with her, matching her threats with my own and trying desperately to mask my fear. Fortunately, the confrontation dissolved without any physical altercation and I had come out as an equal with this girl, who was revered by all that other students.
From that day on, I was not seen as such an easy mark anymore. In fact, I was treated with a greater respect than I would have imagined possible from one single incident. I don’t remember a single person bullying me at school again.
Importance of this Milestone
This milestone has been an important part of my development. Having a culturally diverse upbringing has taught me a great deal about myself and those that are different from me. First and foremost, all people share commonalities that I believe are more significant than our differences. Secondly, adaptation is a key element of survival and success, in any challenging situation. The ability to be flexible and adjust to new expectations made me more likely to thrive in new environments. Thirdly, there are some environments that will bring out the worst in people. They promote hatred and intolerance, and cause irrefutable damage to the victims and perpetrators. I never want to be part of an environment like this again, so I strive not to create one. Finally, people of different ethnicities cannot be grouped together in stereotypical analysis. As I said, there were many people in my direct family who were accepting of all people and celebrated cultural differences. At the same time, there were people in my school and neighborhood who had been taught to value one ethnicity more than another. These experiences led me to understand that each person must be evaluated as an individual first, who has unique characteristics and beliefs.
Three Developmental Theories that apply to this milestone
Bronfenbrenner’s (as cited in Guy- Evans, 2020) Ecological Systems Theory pro-ports that child development is influenced by multiple levels of influence in a child’s environment. These levels are comprised of the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. The microsystem starts with the inner child and the immediate family. Each system is comprised of individuals in a child’s world. The range of influence is broadened and becomes more far reaching and distant with each level. Bronfenbrenner’s theory points out the multi-directional influence in each level. For example- the family influences the child, just as the child influences the family. They are interconnected and influence goes in both directions.
Piaget’s (as cited in Cherry, 2020) Cognitive Development theory evaluates the way children, adolescents, and adults think differently as the brain develops and they gather a wider range of experiences. Piaget outlines four stages of learning that coincide with specific age ranges. The pre-operational stage and concrete operational stage are applicable to my developmental age during this milestone. During the pre-operational stage, children do not yet understand logical thinking and are unable to consider another person’s point of view.
Bandura’s (as cited in Cherry, 2020) Social Learning Theory is the idea that learning takes place through the observation of others. The idea is that children learn simply by observing parents, peers, and even fictional characters, in their environment. As a result, children often adopt similar behaviors and attitudes to those they are observing.
Identify, Relate and Discuss Three theories to Milestone
Bronfenbrenner’s (as cited in Guy- Evans, 2020) Ecological Systems Theory could be applied to this period of my life in the following ways. Through my microsystem, I learned that all people are equal, regardless of ethnicity. I also learned that though we might have different preferences and experiences, we shared many innately human qualities that connected us. My Exosystem and Mesosystem were very different. I learned that there were certain people or crowd-like environments that were too emotionally charged and reinforced by cultural belief, to be challenged logically. The only way to solve differences was through conflict and respect would go the most intimidating or ‘hardcore”/ “gangster” party (much like a slightly less volatile version of prison). I learned to be guarded in certain environments and I developed a tougher exterior. My Macrosystem was comprised of various cultures expressing themselves openly, yet obviously many of these people had developed negative feelings and attitudes toward white ethnicities. These attitudes and feelings had a direct impact on the relationships I had with those in my Exosytem and Mesosystem. Although I did not understand this at the time. My Chronosystem has been comprised of environments with primarily white ethnicities, so I have rarely encountered the same type of racial tension I experienced as a young child.
Piaget’s (as cited in Cherry, 2020) Cognitive Development theory explains how I understood the events going on around me at this time in my life. During the pre-operational stage of thinking, I did not recognize or understand any conflict regarding my ethnicity or the ethnicity of others. I was completely oblivious. As I grew older, this started to change. When I look back, I can see that it was when I entered the Concrete Operational Stage, that I started to notice the tension between other ethnicities and mine. There seemed to be a constant competition between all other ethnicities and white ethnicities. I was told so many times that I couldn’t dance, had no sense of style, and was weak because I was white, that I believed it was a universal fact. I did not have the ability to understand that there could be more than one perspective on one’s ethnicity and this might change from one environment to another.
Bandura’s (as cited in Cherry, 2020) Social Learning Theory seems to explain a lot of what I learned during this time. I thought that value was assigned to people based on their ethnicity. Oddly enough, these values were supported more by those I encountered who were of a minority ethnicity, than those of the majority ethnicity. My school population was primarily comprised of students from a minority group, and most of them had positive beliefs about their ethnicity and negative beliefs about my ethnicity. The asian students were incredibly intelligent. The African American students were good at sports and danced like pros. The hispanic students had tight knit groups and seemed to do everything with style. The white students were considered ordinary and insignificant. We had no special powers to speak of. This is what I believed to be true because of the cultural values that were promoted in my school, neighborhood, and group of friends.
Relevance of milestones related to minority populations
I imagine that my experience is not the norm in our country. In fact, I would think that my experiences might accurately depict the experiences of many minorities in areas that are primarily populated by white people. Since most of our country’s population is white, it is likely that many minorities have encountered similarly hostile environments during their early childhood year and these encounters may have lasting effects on their identity and self-esteem.
Addressed by mental health counselors, school counselors, and educators
School counselors in areas of diversity might institute programs that reinforce the value of each individual, while highlighting the beauty of each culture. This type of programing would endorse the importance of treating all people with dignity and respect, while appreciating the different qualities of the various cultures. Educators would be trained in cultural diversity and would treat each student the same. They may also have special assignments involving the study of another culture.
Mental health counselors might promote the value of each individual by engaging their clients in culturally appropriate ways. They would also involve their clients in self-esteem building activities and expose them to other ways of thinking about their ethnicity. They might point out role-models from their client’s ethnic group or suggest a mentor from their client’s ethnic group. These are just a few of the ways that mental health counselors would seek to restore a positive identification with one’s ethnicity.
Milestone 2 Description
Shortly after I entered adolescence, I found myself face to face with a more formidable enemy than a school yard bully. At first I just thought my mom was behaving strangely. I didn’t find out why until the first champagne glass flew across the room and shattered when it hit the wall, barely missing my step-father. Shortly after, my older sister moved back in with us and educated me on the behaviors of an alcoholic. Over the months and years that followed, it became evident that my mom was officially, an alcoholic. The one-time incident involving the hurled champagne glass, became a regular occurrence.
Up until this point, my mom was a model parent. She was always home after school, making dinner or working on other household chores. She was always kind and she spent a lot of time taking me to extracurricular activities and even chaperoned many trips and events. I always felt I could confide in her and she was the one constant in my life. I never saw this coming.
Nevertheless, my life was changing and I was helpless to stop it. Myriad of horrible experiences plagued my teen years between this time and early adulthood. Needless to say, these were some tough years. During this time, I adopted a whole host of negative attitudes and behaviors, including a mistrust for authority figures, a lack of respect the rules, and mildly depressed affect. I began to view myself as a victim, who was doomed to have nothing but a hard life. Combined with my previous experiences in early childhood, I started to think that I wasn’t as valuable as others. I often compared my circumstances to others, and wondered why I didn’t have a good life or good parents or a good home. I felt cheated, so I adopted the identity of a victim. Erickson (1980) defines it quite well, when he says, “A child has quite a number of opportunities to identity himself, more or less experimentally, with real or fictitious people of either sex, with habits, traits, occupations and ideas. Certain crisis force him to make radical selections.” The crisis of living with an alcoholic “forced me to make radical selections” in the development of my identity.
Importance of Milestone
This milestone is important in two reasons. The events of my adolescence forced me into an identity crises and stunted my growth. In many ways, it was like I had regressed to level 1 in Erickson’s (1980) Personality theory as I was struggling with trust vs. mistrust issues at the age of 18. Although I should have been dealing with the crisis of identity vs. role confusion, I felt like I had to start over again. Thankfully, I did, and I have been making progress ever since.
The second reason this milestone is important is that it created the foundation for developing meaning in my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had been through an abnormal amount of difficulty, pain, uncertainty and fear that would one day be my motivation for helping others work through these same emotions.
Three Developmental Theories that apply to this milestone
Erikson’s (1980) Personality theory outlines eight stages of development or crisis that occur throughout ones life. This development is an interaction between the individual and those in his environment. The individual must overcome challenges in each stage in order to develop “the healthy personality”, as Erickson calls it. The eight stages of development or crisis are as follows: 1) Trust vs. Mistrust; 2) Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt; 3) Initiative vs. Guilt; 4) Industry vs. Inferiority; 5) Identity vs. Role Confusion; 6) Intimacy vs Isolation; 7) Generativity vs. Stagnation; and 8) Ego Integrity vs. Despair. Each stage corresponds with an age range within which these crisis should be addressed.
According to Broderick and Blewitt (2015) classical conditioning is the process by which behavior is changed due to exposure to a stimuli that creates an automatic response and associating that response with an object, person, or situation. Exposure to the associated object, person, or situation can create the same automatic response, even if the element inciting the automatic response is no longer present. For example, this is often seen in veterans who are suffering from PTSD. They might be in the Safeway parking lot and they hear a helicopter fly overhead. Their automatic response might be to take cover or hit the deck, although they know intellectually that they are at Safeway in America and there is no real danger. This automatic response has been drilled into them in a such an emotionally charged situation, that they almost cannot react any other way to the stimuli of the helicopter noise.
Vygotsky’s (1934, as cited in McLeod, 2020) emphasizes the importance of the effects of social interaction in cognitive development. Vygotsky argued that cognitive development is greatly influenced by a child’s interactions with others who have a greater knowledge base than them. Two main principles of Vygotsky’s theory are “More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)” and “Zone of Proximal Development” MKO is defined as a person who is of greater intelligence or who has a better understanding of a task or concept. The Zone of Proximal Development refers to the zone between what a child can accomplish on their own and what a child can accomplish with the assistance of a MKO.
Identify, Relate and Discuss Three theories to Milestone
Erickson’s (1980) Personality theory explains a lot of what I experienced during this milestone and afterward. Based on my observation, I would guess that I was progressing through Erickson’s stages of development normally, until my mom started drinking. Since she was my anchor, it is like the loss of her, caused me to be lost at sea for some time. I had to go through each crisis again, later in life, to “fix” what was broken during this time.
Classical Conditioning (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015) played a major role in changing some of my behaviors and thoughts. I became more fearful about negative consequences and when they might present themselves. In clung onto what I could control and what was familiar in order to reduce these feelings of fear. This did not successfully relieve my fears, but kept them at bay. I ended up having to face down many of these fears later in life. It was like I went through my own desensitization process and many of those fears are gone or have subsided significantly.
Vygotsky’s (1934, as cited in McLeod, 2020) principle of the Zone of Proximity played a role in my development at this time as well. I believe this was present in both a positive and negative way. There were developments that I was somewhat behind in, such as emotional regulation and decisions about my future. Since I didn’t have a More Knowledgeable Other to help bridge the gap between what I could develop on my own and what I was capable of developing with assistance. One the other hand, I think that I developed a greater resourcefulness during this time as well. I have been able to fall back on this resourcefulness over the years, whenever I needed to navigate a tricky situation. I have come to appreciate this development and I see it as a positive that came out of this milestone.
Relevance of milestones related to minority populations
According to the American Addiction Centers Statistics (n.d.) 12.8% of American Indians and Alaskan Natives over the age of 12, struggle with substance abuse and dependence. Whites over the age of 12 had a 7.7% substance abuse rate, while African Americans had a 6.8% substance abuse rate and hispanics had a 6.6% substance abuse rate. The minority group with the lowest rates of substance abuse are Asians, at 3.8%.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2020) put out a publication outlining appropriate procedures for counselors working with families where substance abuse is present. The following is an excerpt from this publication:
Some racial and ethnic groups have higher rates of poverty
(which can be intergenerational), domestic violence, childhood
and historical trauma, and involvement in the criminal justice
system than the general population. These risk factors can
increase the chances of relapse or recurrence os SUDs and
mental disorders. Levels of education and of health literacy can
also influence awareness of and access to treatment and
recovery supports (SAMHSA, 2020, p 98).
Although substance abuse rates are similar amongst Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics, there may be other factors that prevent certain ethnic groups from getting the treatment they need and may precipitate a relapse.
Addressed by mental health counselors, school counselors, and educators
The first thing counselors, school counselors and educators would do would be to ensure children in homes where substance abuse is present, are safe. This may mean that a child has to be removed from their home. Then, helping professionals may recommend treatment programs, ongoing counseling with a LADC, and even family counseling. Counselors might also suggest attending 12 step meetings and promote the attendance of church and other community support groups.
Schools also have ongoing trainings and school-wide discussions about substance abuse and where students can get help if they need it. They might provide pamphlets with resources or have guest speakers come in from local agencies that deal with substance abuse prevention.
Milestone 3 Description
During my early adult years I was as lost as one could be. I had lost my family, my sense of self, and any hope for the future. It was during this time that I had a spiritual awakening, or as Russo-Netzer (in press) calls it a spiritual development. My spiritual development started as the result of an experience that enabled me to belief in something greater than myself. As I moved through the process of spiritual development, I experienced a renewed hope, changes in my beliefs about myself and others, and found meaning in past difficulties.
I joined a church and became part of an entirely new social group. These people were unlike anyone I knew. They seemed to care for all people and were actively involved in improving the lives of others. The time I spent in this environment had a lasting impact on me. I began to think of the needs of others more and thought of my losses less. I started to notice that I had a strong compassion for people and they seemed to naturally open up to me. I new desire grew in my heart and mind- the desire to help others in difficult situations.
This all came together one morning when a warm and inviting woman stood up in church and announced that she was going to open a home for foster children and she needed people to come and work for her. I almost stood up right there and raised my hand. It was one of the few moments in my life, when I knew exactly what I was supposed to be doing. I was one of the first employees to get hired on and I enthusiastically attended all the trainings.
My first few months working at the group home were challenging, to say the least. My feelings about this time ranged from extremely irritated to furious. In spite of these feelings, I continued on working at the center. At my six month marker, I had had enough. I marched into our resident counselor’s office and demanded that she teach me how to better address the behaviors we were dealing with on a daily basis. To my surprise, she did. What’s even more surprising, is that her interventions really worked. By the end of my first year, I was in love. I loved every day at my job and I loved the kids. I loved seeing them change and I loved being lucky enough to be part of their transformation. I got a kick out of their sass, ingenuity and creativity.
I remember one event in particular, that was crucial in the process of beginning to developing a more positive outlook on the events of my life. One of the boys at the home was quiet all day, which was incredibly rare, since he always had something to say. Later that day, I found him in his room with tears in his eyes. I asked him what was going on and I was completely unprepared for his answer. He sat up in his bed and said, “Why doesn’t my family want me?” My heart sank. In that moment, I felt his pain more real than I wanted to. When I looked back at that 9 year old boy, to try to give him some sort of answer, I realized there was no answer that would fix what he was going through. I sat there with him for some time, hugging him and telling him that it wasn’t his fault.
When I finished my shift for the day and had some time to reflect on the exchange between us, I had a life-changing thought. For the first time in my life, I was able to acknowledge that something good had come out of the years I spent with my mom. I realized that my experiences with conflict, rejection, abandonment, and fear had given me a profound understanding what this boy was feeling.
I have experienced similar situations like this since then and I have noticed that the presence of empathy when relating to others, has made all the difference in the world. Over the years, I have discovered many other valuable skills and traits that were developed during my adolescence. Coming to an understanding of this has led to an acceptance of the difficulty I experienced during this time. It has helped me to let go of the anger and self-pity, and move on to a more positive outlook on the events of my life.
Importance of Milestone
The discovery of meaning and the development of a more positive outlook has been important for many reasons. Recognizing that good had come out of my adolescence helped me to rebuild. I rebuilt my identity, my belief systems, my moral compass, and my character.
Not only did I rebuild who I was, but I discovered an unexpected side-effect of grief- meaning. Kessler (2019) calls it the sixth stage of grief. He defines this stage in the following way,
In the sixth stage we acknowledge that although for most of us
grief will lessen in intensity over time, it will never end. But if we
allow ourselves to move fully into this crucial and profound sixth
stage-meaning-it will allow us to transform grief into something
else, something rich and fulfilling (Kessler, 2019, p 2) .
Three Developmental Theories that apply to this milestone
Perry’s (as cited in Broderick & Blewitt, 2015) theory of intellectual and ethical development in the college years. Perry’s theory outlines the cognitive and moral development of college students. He breaks this development into 9 different stages that progress as students progress through the college years. The basic idea behind Perry’s theory is that college students begin their cognitive and moral journey with the thoughts and ideas of a Dualist and end their college journey with more relativistic beliefs. Kubler-Ross & Kessler ( 2015) discuss the five stages of grief. These are the common stages one goes through after the loss of a loved one. The five stages of grief are: 1) Denial; 2) Anger; 3) Bargaining; 4) Depression; and 5) Acceptance. Later, Kessler (2019) proposed a sixth step of grief. He calls this step- Finding Meaning. Hazan & Shaver’s (1987, as cited in Broderick & Blewitt, 2015) Three Attachment Prototypes in Peer/Romantic Tradition discuss three types of adult attachments: 1)Avoidant; 2) Anxious- Ambivalent; and 3) Secure. Avoidant describes someone who has difficulty attaching to others. They are not comfortable depending on others and often find it difficult to get too close to someone else. Anxious-Ambivalent describes a person who always seems to want more connection from the relationship than their partner. They attach quickly and worry often about the reciprocation of their feelings from their partners. Secure describes a person who finds it easy to get close to others and feel good about depending on another.
Identify, Relate and Discuss Three theories to Milestone
Perry’s (as cited in Broderick & Blewitt, 2015) theory of intellectual and ethical development applies to this milestone in that I became aware of the fact that there were different ways to think about the difficulties I had experienced in earlier years. As I developed and was exposed to new ideas, I was able to see two accurate ways to define the events of my life. The first was that I had experienced traumatic and painful situations that warranted being angry and hurt. The second was that I had also gained valuable skills and abilities because of these difficulties and I had come to appreciate that. At a key point in my development, I decided to commit to the second way of seeing my life, rather than the first, even though they were both valid.
When I look back on the years leading up to this milestone, I can see how I was going through Kubler-Ross & Kessler’s ( 2015) stages of grief. It sounds odd, since my mother did not actually die, but I did lose her (rather, I lost the mother I knew and loved). I had to work through these stages to come to the place of finding meaning. During this milestone, I was going through the process of finding meaning. I did finally come to the place where I was able to accept the loss I had experienced and I found what Kessler (2019) calls, “something rich and fulfilling.”
Hazan & Shaver’s (1987, as cited in Broderick & Blewitt, 2015) Three Attachment Prototypes in Peer/Romantic Tradition applies to this milestone because it was during this time that I learned to build secure relationships with other people outside my family. Since I had lost my family completely this was a process of ups and downs, but I made some progress in developing secure relationships nonetheless. The warm and inviting woman who stood up in church that day, is now my mother-in-law. I am still working on building secure attachments with others, but I have come a long way.
Relevance of milestones related to minority populations
I believe the search for meaning amongst suffering is a universal concept. There are examples of finding meaning in different cultural environments throughout history. The African American’s turned to Christianity to find some meaning in the horrors they experienced as a result of slavery. Viktor Frankl (1946) discusses the idea that human suffering is unavoidable, yet we can find meaning in the atrocities that we face. Frankl was an Austrian Psychiatrist who was imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps during WW2.
It doesn’t seem that we are much different in our quest to understand, process and find meaning in the aftermath of suffering. In this instance the commonalities of the human soul seem to span across cultural divides.
Addressed by mental health counselors, school counselors, and educators
From all that I have read about human suffering and finding meaning, it seems like the natural process I went through was similar to what a counselor might have tried to encourage. To strengthen the process of turning suffering into meaning, counselors might encourage writing and reflecting on the events of one’s life, as well as the ways that individual has found meaning. They might ask their client to conceptualize the meaning they have found and to get involved in support groups or mentor another individual who is struggling. These ideas would further develop their client’s search for meaning.
In Conclusion
My three milestones account for important events that occurred during my early childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. Each of these milestones had a hand in shaping me into the person I am today. These milestones are largely responsible for the character, belief systems and meaning I have in my life today.
My time as a young child in a multicultural environment was both enlightening and disparaging. The experiences I had with ethnic minorities taught me to see people first, rather than ethnicity. It also taught me not to label or stereotype others, but to approach each person as a unique individual. During this time, I also developed some negative views about myself because of my ethnicity, which I later had to address. Finally, I feel that I was made stronger by these events. In the face of adversity, I learned to confront bullies and developed a compassion for those who have experienced poor treatment due to their ethnicity. Ultimately, these experiences have made me uniquely attuned to the effects of prejudice and the mistreatment of others. I feel these experiences will contribute to my counseling career in a positive and eclectic manner.
My experiences as an adolescent in an alcoholic home made me into a surviver. I no longer had the luxury of being fragile, incapable, or dependent. I was forced to develop new skills and a resourcefulness that I am grateful for now. At the time, I felt like a victim and had a difficult time seeing value in any of the events that I experienced. Much of the time, I just wanted to escape. Little did I know, there was no escaping from the marks that time left on me. I took them with me into my adult life. Even today, I still bare some of these scars, but I feel that having an understanding of hopelessness, loss, and helplessness can be a valuable asset when counseling others. There is something spiritual about being truly heard, understood and accepted.
Finally, my experience of finding meaning in my young adult life was profound. I began to realize that suffering was not wasted and it could be very powerful when channeled. Of course, I have been doing the hard work of healing the many negative consequences of this suffering over most of my adult life. Yet, I can honestly say that it is all worth it if I can help another child find meaning in their suffering. I hope that these experiences have prepared me well for helping others, as it is all I have ever wanted to do since.
References
Guy-Evans, O. (2020, Nov 09). Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Bronfenbrenner.html
Cherry, K. (2020, Jun 23). Child Development Theories and Examples. Developmental Psychology. https://www.verywellmind.com/child-development-theories-2795068
Broderick, P & Blewitt, P. (2015). The Life Span: Human Development for Helping Professionals (4th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
Erickson, Erik. (1980). Identity and the Life Cycle. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
McLeod, S. A. (2018, August 05). Lev Vygotsky. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
American Addiction Centers. (2021, April 7). Alcohol and Drug Abuse Statistics. Retrieved April 20, 2021, from https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-statistics