Child Called it Understanding Development:

Child Called It Understanding Development: Human Behavior and Social Environment Theories in David Pelzer's a Child Called it In general, developmental theories try to explain "normal" behaviors and childhood development in individuals who do not face extreme adversity and conflict in the development process. That is, the primary goal of most of these theories is to explain how normal development occurs and can be encouraged through interaction and environment.

It is from the establishment of such "normal" developmental processes and mechanisms that other situations can be effectively studied, and corrective measures for those with apparently aberrant or detrimental developmental conditions and/or environments can be suggested and implemented. This does not mean, however, that the examination of abnormal developmental situations and environments does not yield useful information. In fact, extreme scenarios can often provide very evidence that either supports or refutes certain theories of development.

While it is entirely unethical to create such extreme conditions with human subjects, especially over long-term periods of development, there are unfortunately cases where children are subjected to abhorrent conditions over many years of their development. One such case is that of David Pelzer, who recounts the abuse he suffered as a child in his book a Child Called it, as well as its sequels.

Though Pelzer has been accused by many of stretching the truth both in his books and in his attempts to sell them, his story reveals many truths regarding childhood development in adverse conditions that can be directly applied to certain theories of behavior and development.

Themes and Theories in a Child Called it David Pelzer's a Child Called it is a poignant and disturbing tale of childhood abuse from the time the author was around six years old until the age of twelve, when he was finally removed from his home and put into the care of his state's foster care system.

His later books deal with his time in foster care and certain later periods of his life, but a Child Called it deals with his time at a crucial stage of development in a home with his own mother, his brothers, and a father who was seldom present and did nothing to stop his mother's tortuous behavior. In fact, the lack of people to intercede on David's behalf is one of the major themes of this book, and this is visible right from the outset of Pelzer's story.

The first chapter of the book is entitled "The Rescue," and it consists of what are actually the last events to take place chronologically within the scope of the book.

In this way, it makes it clear what one of the central conflicts and themes of the book by providing its resolution -- as David's teacher, principal, and school nurse finally decide that the evidence of abuse and the danger it presents to David's life is too great for them to ignore, it becomes clear that this is the first time the grown up world has ever taken real notice and control of the situation (Pelzer 1995, pp. 1-14).

David had been forced to fend for himself during much of his childhood and development, and the loneliness and fear he experienced even as his "rescue" was being put into effect are clearly evinced in the author's retelling of the story, and are equally visible throughout the experience of abuse he recounts. With no one to intercede on his behalf or even to acknowledge that he was being mistreated, David was forced to become entirely self-sufficient.

His isolation and the refusal of others to either acknowledge what was going on or to intercede form the two most apparent themes in the book. Throughout his story, Pelzer is constantly mentioning the witnesses to his mother's abusiveness and to his own malnourishment that could have intervened, but were to scared, or worse that could have come forward but simply didn't want to.

This, in fact, seems to be the author's primary conception of himself as a child; he was helpless, alone, and without any trusted friend or adult on whom he could depend. This would have obvious effects on a person's personality no matter when these feelings and situations occurred, and the fact that his environment was allowed to perpetuate for six years of growth and development means the effects must have been profound for young David.

This theme of isolation can be seen as hugely influential on David's development in any human behavior and social environment paradigm or theory. Whether examining his life from Piaget's theories of cognitive development, Erikson's psychosocial development, Freud's linked progression of cognitive and sexual development, or even Bandura's theories on moral development, learning and growth depend on interaction with outher individuals, and especially adult role models and/or parental figures.

These figures simply did not exist for David; he had his mother, but even he knew that what she was doing was wrong. This is one of the most striking features of David abuse, and of many other instances of child abuse. Though the child is of course fearful of the abuser, they often also feel a great sense of guilt and shame for both causing their parent to behave in this way, and for keeping the burden of their parent's behavior as a shameful secret in and of itself.

This guilt makes up another theme in the book, and it relates to some theories of development and behavior more than others. David's cognitive development, for instance, does not appear to have been severely affected by these feelings; Pelzer notes that he is usually "a very good student" despite the abuse he suffers, and indeed in many respects he appears normal on Piaget's cognitive development scale (Springhouse 1990). Other theories of development, however, reveal how the extremity of the guilt and shame David felt could have affected his life.

Erikson posited, for instance, that children who fail to exert a sense of control over their world through predictable social interactions at a young age can experience feelings of guilt for failing in those relationships later in life (Wagner 2009). Though David had basically moved beyond the initiative vs. guilt phase according to Erikson's model, it is not at all unlikely that a slight reversion took place with the onset of his mother's abusive behaviors, and this David might have reformed some new channels of behavior.

The themes of this book all directly relate to David's life, and do not explicitly reveal any truths or misapprehensions regarding specific theories. Yet these themes tie very obviously and very intimately to many of the conclusions and assertions made by such theories, and this connection is essential to understanding David's dilemma as a child and the resultant developmental trajectory he embarked upon. There are certainly social factors at work in the persistent denial of the abuse, but through and through this is a story about a single individual.

An Application of Developmental Theories to a Child Called it The style of the book itself and even its title certainly reflect certain psychological and developmental traits of the author that were almost certainly caused at least in part by the abuse he suffered and that have been perpetuated into his adulthood. The full title, a Child Called it: One Child's Courage to Survive, reflects both the isolation and the defensiveness of the author.

It is important for him to be seen as a victim, and throughout the book he defends this position. In the opening pages of the fourth chapter, for instance, hardly a sentence goes by without detailing a different abuse his mother practiced upon him (Pelzer 1995; pp. 47). It is not that these abuses didn't occur, necessarily, but the style and method of their presentation still betrays certain things about the author's perspective.

The abuse that Pelzer describes doe not begin until he is six years old, when according to Erikson's theory of psychosocial development the primary conflict is between feelings of industry and inferiority (Wagner 2009). This establishes a clear precedent for the type of defensive behavior the author exhibits as an adult, as a lack of support during this stage of development can lead to serious internal doubts about an individual's ability to accomplish anything or succeed in life (Wagner 2009).

These doubts could very well have manifested into the defense mechanism that is evident in the author's style and the title of his book. By constantly making the perspective of himself as a victim clear and reinforced, he is explaining what he feels might be his inferiority and lack of industry. Given that Pelzer's abuser was his mother, it seems almost necessary to view the issue at least momentarily from a Freudian perspective.

The age of six is what Freud considered to be the beginning of the phallic stage, where the primary pleasure zone becomes the genitals, and also when Freud believed boys started developing sexual feelings for their mother and antagonistic relationships with their fathers (Heffner 2003). Pelzer's largely absent father and his horribly abusive mother would undoubtedly have had a major effect on him as he grew through this stage.

This developmental theory provides one possible explanation for why Pelzer continued to defend and protect his mother for so long, and felt such a duty to do so; as the object of his repressed desires and his attempts to exhibit protective and masculine behavior, this would have been his essential task (Heffner 2003). The age of six is somewhat on the cusp of Piaget's stages of preoperational and concrete operational.

Many of the author's observations, such as that he "could determine what kind of day [he] was going to have by the way [his mother] dressed," suggest that he was already in the concrete operational stage, where future events could be abstracted from current information in a cause-and-effect manner (Pelzer 1995; pp. 30).

Becoming stuck in this developmental phase due to a lack of stimulation and motivation was almost certainly a factor in the author's perspective throughout much of his life of an immediacy about the world and the need for concrete information in order to make rational judgments (Springhouse 1990). Abstract reasoning was a luxury that a child forced to busy itself with the task of survival simply didn't develop, in this particular instance.

A simpler and far more disturbing analysis of the development of Pelzer as a child is found in the theories of Albert Bandura. Bandura's theory of moral development does not have specific stages, but posits that development, especially in a moral sense, is the product of children mimicking adult behavior (Fraser et al. 2001, pp. 196-9). In Pelzer's case, this very clearly applies to his internalization of his mother's constant insistence that he was worthless, as well as simple and essentially a bad person.

Pelzer often repeats these assertions and mentions the extent to which he believed his mothers claims, which strongly suggests the aptness of Bandura's theory to his situation. When he is reduced to stealing other children's food, Pelzer also notes the keen sense of guilt he felt because he knew his actions were wrong (Pelzer 2009, pp. 45-60). His experiential learning had taught him how to survive, but he also knew right from wrong from having observed adult behavior.

Pelzer is not a psychologist, or any other type of social scientist or social worker. He does not use specific theories explicitly in his book, yet evidence for many theories can be found within the text. Both the trajectory of Pelzer's development and his specific maladaptive behaviors can be at least partially explained and projected by one or more of these theories. There is not, however, a dominant theory in the book; this was not the intent of the author nor a perspective he would be especially qualified to undertake.

Instead, his description of his own development can be used as a way to examine many developmental principles. Applications of a Child Called it in Social Work Practice and Policy There are many obvious implications for social work that arise out of David's story and the various theoretical interpretations that can be made from the events as Pelzer describes them. Essentially, there are three primary areas of concern for the social welfare system and an individual social worker assigned to a similar case.

The first concern is the most obvious and the most pressing; David's welfare -- and the welfare of any abuse child -- must receive the greatest degree of attention, and the quickest. There are certainly larger factors at work that have an effect on the child's welfare, but first and foremost appropriate living environments and caretakers must be found, in whatever way the system is best able to provide these things. Second, the mother -- or the abuser -- must also be scrutinized.

There are elements of criminality and of psychological distress, but although the latter might mitigate the former it does not excuse it. Finally, there are the larger social issues at work, such as those that tend to promote alcoholism and that allow abuse to be ignored and/or go unreported, and thus allow the problem to be hidden and perpetuated. The abuse victim is at once the easiest and most difficult of these concerns to deal with.

Removal from the abusive situation can and should be effected immediately, as there is no potential for healthy growth in such a living environment. This is the easy part. Finding an environment that is conducive to healthy development, especially after a traumatic experience like David's abuse, is far more difficult. The system is not exactly overflowing with people looking to take in abused twelve-year-olds.

Efforts to establish more effective and healthier (both physically and psychologically) group homes, as well as increased efforts to both enlist and regulate foster families, would both help this issue immensely. Dealing with the mother leads to no small amount of complication, either. Child abuse is certainly a.