User:Beebee's wingman/sandbox

Annotated Bibliography

1. This article talks about the effects of separating a child from its parents whether it be through death, divorce, or even through a foster hosme. It can have an impact on the child’s psychological development and possibly on his/her cognitive and physical development as well. It includes the short term effects and possible long term effects.

2. This article is the source used in the original page for dependency need. It talks about how dependency need is characterized and how this phenomenon was first noticed. It also talks about a study done with monkeys that shows dependency is a necessary part of life. .

3. This article is from the Western Journal of Medicine and talks about the dependency needs of the elderly and how to prevent it including getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night and engaging in some sort of physical activity.

Dependency Need

Definition

A dependency need is characterized by two components: (1) It is a real need of the organism, something that must be present for the human being to thrive, (2) It is something that individuals cannot provide for themselves. An infant has many dependency needs. Some are obvious, and some have only come to the attention of researchers as the result of epidemiological studies. It is very well known that infants must be adequately fed, provided with adequate water, kept within a narrow range of temperature, cleaned, etc. It was not well known until the middle of the 20th century that infants also need the presence of warmth and the texture of skin or fur. In other words, infants need something that is usually called "maternal warmth" even though males and even members of other species can provide it. The phenomenon was first noticed when researchers learned of the higher mortality rates for infants maintained in orphanages. When the obvious factors such as inadequate nutrition, contagious diseases, etc., were ruled out, researchers discovered that mortality rates could be greatly ameliorated by having the nurses in charge of these infants cuddle them in a way that approximated the amount of cuddling infants would normally receive from their own parents. One classic study involved groups of monkeys that were removed from their mothers during early infancy. The members of one group were maintained in warmed sterile cages and fed from a rubber nipple that was readily available to them. A second group was provided with a maternal figure made of wire mesh, with the nipple in the appropriate position on the figure's body. A third group was provided with a similar mock-up of a mother monkey, but the model was covered with manmade fur. The survival rates and eventual adult levels of social competency varied according to how well the experimental devices provided for the dependency needs of the infant monkeys. .

Dependency in Children

Children depend on other people for everything. We don't come into this world ready to care for ourselves like other species. We need someone to take care of us. But what happens to children who become separated from their parents or lack the "maternal warmth" they need. Several things can occur in the first year alone. For example a child could become behind in terms of dependency needs and it is quite likely that when he/she grows up they will have trouble ever meeting the dependency needs of others. During the toddler years The balance between age appropriate dependency and independency will be disrupted. Some possible long term effects include the possibility the individual will permanently take on the “victim” or “victimizer” role and long term control issues may be prominent. When a child reaches school age he/she will become acutely aware of differences between themselves and their peers and these may lead to problem behaviors with peers. Moving into adoloscence is a difficult part of a childs life and without someone to depend on control issues will continue to impact the adolescent’s behaviors, especially if he feels a large part of the decisions about his life are out of his control. Children need a parental figure in their lives that can nurture them and take care of them..

Dependency in Elderly

With the number of elderly people growing everyday it is going to become more necessary for people to take care of them whether that be helping with their everyday lives or helping them out in a nursing home. The leading conditions causing limitations in the elderly and causing them to lose their independence and rely on other people are arthritis, hypertension, hearing impairment, heart conditons, etc. There are some things that elderly people could do to reduce their dependency needs and increase their physical health, assuming they are already in good health. The elderly are encouraged to refrain from smoking (ever or currently), try to engage in some sort of physical activity, a good example is gardening, maintaining social networks and getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night. So basically trying to stay active is a good way to keep your independence. .