Unit 4: Development through the life stages

By Adisa Nicholson Page 1

A large number of factors can influence an individual’s development. They

are as follows. These factors affect people whatever life stage people are in.

Genetic factors
Genetic diseases
Every cell in the human body has a nucleus with 23 pairs of
chromosomes. In each pair, one comes from both parents. Parts
of DNA are known as genes, which accounts for just 2% of
someone's DNA. Genes carry what we inherit. In 2006 scientists
discovered that we have multiple copies of the same gene which
is why people's children are not identical.

Some people are born with genetic conditions such as Down’s

syndrome or autism. Diseases such as this make people
dependant on carers for the rest of their life and strip people of
their independence and intelligence. To elaborate, severely
disabled people are likely to be given up by their families and be
taken into care to be institutionalised for life, and be lucky if
they ever get out.

If someone has Down's syndrome, they will have inherited extra

genetic information. Usually a whole chromosome. There is no
common trait for people with Down's syndrome. People with it
have learning difficulties, health problems, heart problems and
are more prone to illness. They will be lacking emotionally, as
they will be on the search for a fulfilling life. They will also have
trouble being social with people or fitting in.

It is still possible for a person with Down's syndrome to live a

relatively normal life if they are given the right care.

Asthma is an illness that affects the airways and affects people’s

breathing. It consists of a reversible inflammation airway
obstruction of which the muscle around the walls of the airways
tightens so that the airway becomes narrower. This gives people
difficulty whilst breathing. People with asthma shouldn't be left
unattended and should always have their inhaler on them. They
will have to go to the A&E when they have their first asthma
attack if their illness is undiagnosed.

Sickle cell is an inherited illness which the child gets when both
children are carriers. It causes red blood cells to become sickle
shaped (moon shaped) at any time for any period of time which
is very painful as red blood cells should be round, and the sickle
shape makes blood flow difficult. These cells can get stuck to
together and block blood vessels. People suffering from it will
have to go to A&E immediately.
Unit 4: Development through the life stages
By Adisa Nicholson Page 2

Environmental influences
Where they live
If people live in a place where there is a lot of crime they will be
hesitant before leaving their gate, shed or house door unlocked.
And they won’t leave their keys in full view as burglars use
fishing rods to steal them.

In some areas, people are scared to be out at night by

themselves because they feel they’ll become victim of a crime.

Where people live affects whether they’ll be a victim of crime,

get a job, and who they’ll speak to.

Where people live can add up to the amount of stress or

depression people get. And stress is one cause of depression.
Both things are serious. People who are stressed can get dizzy
spells, drowsiness, no energy and have spots. People who are
depressed lose their motivation for life. Sometimes people's
environment can be a cause for this. They eventually become
dangerous, mentally ill or suicidal.

People need to have sunlight,some people in Scotland die due

to not having vitamin D because they don't have enough
sunlight.

Jobs Available
If people live in an area where there aren’t a lot of jobs or they
can’t get one because they live in a certain postcode, it will be
hard for them to survive.

Not only will they lack money, but their choices will be limited. If
someone has no qualifications, their choice of jobs will be
limited and it is likely that they will be given jobs which pay less
money than they need to survive and especially have a
disposable income.

There is no such thing however, as too many jobs, that will not
be a problem because people will migrate or commute to those
places.

Pollution
In the city, there are a lot of pollutants on the roads, which can
give trouble to asthma sufferers. There are studies which show
that pollution causes certain illnesses. “A study by the European
Commission calculated that air pollution reduces life expectancy
by an average of almost nine months across the European
Union. Poor quality air is thought to result in more than 32,000
Unit 4: Development through the life stages
By Adisa Nicholson Page 3

premature deaths in the UK each year alone. The main threat to

health is posed by tiny particles known as particulate matter,
which can penetrate deep into the respiratory tissue, and even
directly into the bloodstream. ” If only we made an effort to
reduce air pollution, this wouldn't happen. And that report is just
talking about a typical road. This is one of the numerous
reasons why climate change should be tackled.

Pollution affects the environment. Air pollution contributes to

global warming, which makes animals extinct and causes natural
disasters. Water pollution ruins the circle of life and can cause
us to starve.

Socio-economic influences
Money
If someone is poor, their life will be infringed upon, as they will
not be able to have access to things that everyone else has.
They will have to make sacrifices.

Class
Your social class is determined by your job, unless you’re from
the royal family. And evidence shows that the higher social
class, the less likely you are to die early, get ill, smoke, take
drugs, and have time off work. If someone has a higher
social class, they are less likely to get ill. This is because
richer people can afford the latest treatments, and that
they typically live in the good areas, where people don’t
usually get stabbed or shot, or typically know anybody
round their area who takes drugs. The more money
someone has, the higher their life expectancy. The
health expenses are generally on the increases.

The higher the social class, the lower the death rate.
The higher social class someone is, the less likely they
are to smoke. The reason for this may be escapism,
because people are unhappy with their lives. The higher
social class some is, the less absence they take from
work. Not only does this show that people those people
are unhappier with their jobs so they take time off, but
they may also get injured in manual jobs.
Unit 4: Development through the life stages
By Adisa Nicholson Page 4

Education
Someone's education generally is the outcome of their life. The
trend is that people with more education are happier,
successful, and richer with a higher social class. To elaborate,
people with an education can make something of their lives, live
a decent life, get money, healthcare, get a mortgage or sell
their house, go on holiday, and be generally happier due to not
having to make too many sacrifices in their lives. Someone's
social class and earnings has a very strong link to education.

Housing
If a person is homeless, their life will be seriously affected and
they will be lucky if they are sleeping in cars or are living in an
unused house. Their diet will be poor so they may lack the
ability to fight or run. They are very likely to get ill, sleeping in
the cold, malnourished, being open to a whole load of illnesses
they wouldn't of got having not been homeless. Their mental
health is likely to decrease to, partly due to being bored, they
are more likely to get depressed, and turn to drugs, especially
solvents to make the time pass by.

If people are living in a house which rough conditions such as

having no electricity, heating or having mould growing around
the place, it’s an unfit environment for a child to live in and they
may have to be taken away by the Social Services after being
reported or found out.

Lifestyle
Health
Exercise helps people keep fit, if they are unfit. But if someone
is ill, their life will be affected, they will have time off work, or
may have to leave their health placement.

Health is such a broad issue. Aids cases have increased by

75.98% from 1985 to 2001. This is despite the symptoms being
obvious. Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted
infection. Between 2004 and 2005 there was a 5% rise in the
number of cases of Chlamydia diagnosed at genito-urinary
clinics - a rise of 7% in men and 3% in women. To make
matters worse, people with Chlamydia sometimes have no
symptoms, and if they do, it takes a while for them to turn up.

The number of cases has risen steadily since the mid 1990s and
more than tripled from 30,794 cases diagnosed in 1995 to
109,958 in 2005.
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By Adisa Nicholson Page 5

The statistics show that people must be passing it on, or are not
getting themselves checked out. There is already enough
awareness in the UK about STIs.

Life expectancy at birth in the UK has reached its highest level

on record for both males and females. A newborn baby boy
could expect to live 77.2 years and a newborn baby girl 81.5
years if mortality rates remain the same as they were in 2005–
07.

People with higher social classes are more likely to live longer.
Based on figures in the 1970s, men and women in the V (lowest
class) had two and a half greater chance of dying before the
retirement age than their professional counterparts (class I).
These differences can be traced down to environmental factors.
Boys in class V have a greater chance of dying from fire, falls, or
drowning from those in class I. This may be because children in
the higher classes get a better upbringing and are better looked
after. Their deaths from vehicles outweigh class by 7 to 1.

Females continue to live longer than males, but the gap has
been closing. Although both sexes have shown annual
improvements in life expectancy at birth, over the past 25 years
the gap has narrowed from 6.0 years to 4.3 years. Based on
mortality rates in 1980–82, 26% of newborn males would die
before age 65, but this had reduced to 16% based on 2005–07
rates. The equivalent figures for newborn females were 16% in
1980–82 and 10% in 2005–07.

Culture
People’s beliefs and traditions come from the culture they are
given when they grow up. Culture is a diverse thing to define.
But it is collectively, people’s beliefs, traditions, and identity
people define themselves. It affects their intellectual
development as it affects what people ultimately think. It affects
physical needs as it affects what someone does. It affects their
emotional development as it can make them nicer people, and
someone's culture influence what they expect to get out of life.
It affects someone's social needs as someone's culture affects,
and may obligate people to perform certain tasks.
Unit 4: Development through the life stages
By Adisa Nicholson Page 6

Religion
Religion can help children have a stable development, give them
a good upbringing, teach them right and wrong, and steer them
in the right path. It also helps children get positivity in their lives
by having faith.

Religion can also be isolating, if someone is of a different

religion than everyone else's

Media
The news is a medium, which we get information from. This
information affects us individually and collectively. The media
has the power to influence our choices, decisions and opinions.
Newspapers are very good at combining fact with opinion to
influence the general public's opinion. Newspaper coverage
influences which political party we'll elect.

Family
The family is where people go to for their support and people
without one do relatively worse in life. The family gives us our
culture, sets us rules to follow and they influence or decisions
and opinions by making us into who we are. Parents are very
important in a child’s development; children instinctively reach
out to them.

They will have to develop physically such as exploring the world,

and learning to crawl and run. They will have intellectual needs,
asking questions, and may need to have their parents teach
them some school work. They will have emotional needs, it's
likely for them to seek approval and praise off their parents, and
attention seek.

Drugs
If people are taking drugs, their health will be seriously affected.
They will miss out on opportunities in the life wasting it away. If
people are taking hard drugs, they will get withdrawal
symptoms and will have to go to hospital to get expert help to
give up. Drugs give diseases and speeds up the ageing process
and can die. Their physical state and ability will decrease, they
will become emotions will vary depending on what drug are on,
but they may hallucinate, have mood swings, withdrawal effects
or become addicted. Their intellectual ability will decrease as
some drugs reduce the amount of brain cells. They may fit in
socially by taking drugs due to peer pressure to take them. But
they will have trouble getting a job.
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By Adisa Nicholson Page 7

Alcohol
If people are drowning out their sorrows, by drinking, they can
be drinking excessively to block out their sadness. They can
easily become an alcoholic, being dependant on drink which will
make them lose the things which are important to them in life,
which will make them want to drink more. Making an endless
cycle.

If children are surrounded by people who drink alcohol, they are

likely to copy, and mainly that means drinking under-age.

Major Life Events

Death
If someone has to deal with someone else dying and they are
grieving for them, they will to re-evaluate their lives and it may
cause them to be angry, change their outlook on life, start binge
drinking or get depressed.

People also fear death, and being healthy means living longer.
Which is why lots of people want to lose weight.

Seriously ill
If someone becomes seriously ill their quality of life will be
seriously affected. If they cannot be cared for in their home,
they will have to live in a hospital, hospice, or old people’s
home. They will be cut off from the outside world so their life
will be hindered upon.
Unit 4: Development through the life stages
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References

http://www.pa.msu.edu/sci_theatre/ask_st/060293.html
(Accessed 13th January 2009)

http://www.wlfoet5.demon.co.uk/pollution/intro.htm
(Accessed 13th January 2009)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4283295.stm
(Accessed 26th January 2009)

Whitehead, M. (1992). The Pattern of Present Health Inequalities.

Inequalities in Health (43-56). London: Penguin.

Life Expectancy. (2008, January 25). National Statistics. Retrieved

11:36, January 22, 2009, from
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1091
Source: Office for National Statistics