NCLEX Growth and Development

Question 1

A maternity nurse is providing instruction to a new mother regarding the psychosocial development of the newborn infant. Using Erikson’s psychosocial development theory, the nurse would instruct the mother to

1. ) Allow the newborn infant to signal a need
2. ) Anticipate all of the needs of the newborn infant
3. ) Avoid the newborn infant during the first 10 minutes of crying
4. ) Attend to the newborn infant immediately when crying

Answer 1

1.) Allow the newborn infant to signal a need

According to Erikson, the caregiver should not try to anticipate the newborn infant’s needs at all times but must allow the newborn infant to signal needs. If a newborn is not allowed to signal a need, the newborn will not learn how to control the environment. Erikson believed that a delayed or prolonged response to a newborn’s signal would inhibit the development of trust and lead to mistrust of others.