Growth and Development; and Self-Concept chapter 22 & 23
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Components of self-concept are identity, body image, and role performance. Self-esteem and sexuality are closely related terms.
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Each developmental stage involves factors that are important to the development of a healthy, positive self-concept.
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Body image stressors include changes in physical appearance, structure, or functioning caused by normal developmental changes or illness.
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Body image is the mental picture of one's body and is not necessarily consistent with a person's actual body structure or appearance.
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Growth and development are orderly, predictable, interdependent processes that continue throughout the life span.
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Growth is most rapid during the prenatal and infancy stages and continues to slow until the second skeletal growth spurt announces that puberty is approaching.
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Identity is particularly vulnerable during adolescence.
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Patients need specific immunizations throughout life, not just in childhood. These immunizations help to protect individuals against illness and infections.
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People progress through similar stages of growth and development but at an individual pace and with individual behaviors.
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Physiological, cognitive, and psychosocial development continue across the life span. You must be familiar with normal expectations to determine potential problems and promote normal development.
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Planning and implementing nursing interventions for self-concept disturbance involve expanding the patient's self-awareness, encouraging self-exploration, aiding in self-evaluation, helping formulate goals in regard to adaptation, and helping the patient achieve these goals.
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Self-concept is an integrated set of conscious and unconscious attitudes and perceptions about the self.
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Self-esteem is the emotional appraisal of self-concept and reflects the overall sense of being capable, worthwhile, and competent.
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Self-esteem stressors include developmental and relationship changes, illness (particularly chronic illness involving changes in what were normal activities), surgery, accidents, and the responses of other individuals to changes resulting from these events.
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Sexual health involves physical and psychosocial aspects and contributes to an individual's sense of self-worth and positive interpersonal relationships.
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Sexuality is related to all dimensions of health. Therefore, address sexual concerns or problems as part of nursing care.
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The health concerns of older adults are related to chronic illnesses, lifestyle changes, functional ability changes, accidents, and infectious diseases such as the flu.
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The health concerns of the middle adult commonly involve hormonal changes, stress-related illnesses, situational stressors, screening for health problems, and adoption of positive health habits.
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The nurse's self-concept and nursing actions often have an effect on a patient's self-concept.
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Theories of growth and development such as those of Freud, Erikson, and Piaget provide nurses with a framework for understanding individual behaviors.
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Young adults have few health problems but need to develop positive health habits to avoid problems in middle and late adulthood.
