Developmental Milestones

Ashley Shultz

COUN 637 - Advanced Human Development

Dr. Lauren Coffey

May 2, 2022
 B: Description of Your Three Developmental Milestones

Developmental Milestone I: Parental Terminal Illness and Parental Loss

Parental loss for many is something that they will not have to deal with until they have become

adults themselves. According to the Pew Research Center, “adults ages 45 to 64 are the most

likely to be caregivers” with almost a quarter of adults in that age bracket caring for an aging

adult (Stepler, 2015). However, early parental loss in which the death of a parent occured before

the child reaches age 18. I was a 15 year old sophomore in high school when my mother was

diagnosed with colon cancer. She and my father spent the next year scheduling surgeries,

chemotherapy treatments, and 100 other doctors appointments to try and find the best course of

treatment for her cancer. Even with the aggressive treatments doctors concluded that there was

no way to rid her body of the cancer and suggested to instead focus on palliative, hospice care.

The last few months were a whirlwind of good days and bad days and just trying to make her as

comfortable as possible. I was 16 years old when she passed away and I was just finishing my

junior year of high school. The death of a parent can have a profound effect on social,

emotional, and even cognitive development in later years as I will cover later in this paper.

Developmental Milestone II: Having Children/Starting a Family

I can remember it like it was yesterday. Sitting in the doctor’s office for a routine - almost ready

to pop - obstetric check up. A quick check, a feel around the belly and a few waves of the

doppler heart monitor wand later and my doctor announced that she wanted to schedule me for

an induction the next day. I was 26 and terrified. All the reading, discussions with friends, and

support of my husband could not prepare me for the fear I had that suddenly the day had

arrived in which I was to actually have a child. Luckily early the next morning my water broke

and I was on my way to the hospital with no induction needed. It was a major milestone and

sometimes I think it still is today that I’ve managed to keep three children alive and healthy for

this many years.

Developmental Milestone III: Job Change
It is difficult to quantify the number of job or career changes a person will make in their lifetime,

the last data shows two trends. First, that millenials (those born between the ages of 1980 and

1996) are the most likely generation to switch jobs (Adkins, 2019) and secondly that it is not

abnormal to see workers having at least 10 different jobs in their working lifetime (Bureau of

Labor Statistics, 2021). I had started my teaching career in rural southwest Kansas, gaining

knowledge along with years of experience. In the spring of 2019 my husband and I got the

opportunity to finally move back home to Nebraska, albeit a different city than either of us grew

up in. With three children in tow we decided that we finally wanted to live closer to family and

have the support and connections to friends we had known for years along with chasing dream

teaching opportunities we felt we couldn’t pass up. While we still managed to move to a city in

which we knew only a handful of people, it was the transition to a substantially larger teaching

environment that was a significant change in our lives. One of the largest changes that I

experienced was that I was moving from a school of approximately 200 with a makeup of mostly

middle income white families to teach at a school of 2,500 students. Of those 2,500 students

approximately 60% were identified as low SES and 80% were Hispanic. It was not just a job

change, but a bit of a culture shock as well. In understanding the school it was interesting to

see students fall into three different categories - high achieving school oriented students, low

achieving school oriented students, and low achieving non school oriented students. While this

change would probably be a milestone on its own, one cannot begin to think about the 2019 -

2020 school year without remembering what the spring of COVID was like. While much of this

milestone will focus on the job change without COVID, it is sometimes hard to think about

whether the job change itself would have been as difficult and significant if COVID had not

happened.
 C: Why Are Your Three Developmental Milestones Important?

Developmental Milestone I: Parental Terminal Illness and Parental Loss

While parental loss for children 18 or younger is not a large percentage of the population, the

long term effects can be detrimental (Scherer, 2019). Parental loss has been extensively

studied with the most common studies focusing on the effects on an adult who experienced

parental loss prior to age 18. A meta analysis of 9 case controlled studies on whether parental

loss created a risk factor for depression in adults found that “People who lost their parents

before age 18 are 2.16 times more likely to develop depression in adulthood than people

without any los before the same age” (SIMBI, Zhang, Wang, 2020.) In another study conducted

in Sweden in which researchers focused on hospital admissions and outpatient care for

depression they found that “parental death due to natural causes (such as cancer) was

associated with an increase of 1-25% of outpatient care for depression in both men and women”

(Berg, Rostila, Hjern, 2016). They concluded that there was a small increased risk of

depression and other mental health issues for those who had experienced parental loss prior to

age 18. In addition to potential mental health concerns, the death of a parent will often have a

negative impact on a child’s academic development which may contribute to additional

problems. For some, parental death can create fairly common negative academic outcomes in

addition to a negative attitude change (Coyne & Beckman, 2012).

In a qualitative interview study conducted by Nicola Turner, she focused on studying young

people who were living with a terminally ill parent and the effects it was currently having, not just

studying the child after the parent had died. Her research indicated that young adults in that

situation “purposively engag[ed] with a number of strategies to negotiate everyday life with a

parent who is dying; for example, seeking to maintain a sense of normalcy by adhering to usual

routines, and keeping busy with activities outside the home” (Turner, 2020). Understanding not
only the profound effect that the death of a parent can take on a young adult, but also the effect

of helping live with and care for a terminally ill parent is key.

Developmental Milestone II: Having Children/Starting a Family

This developmental milestone is a major one that not only has an effect on the person in

question, but also on the relationship between parents as well as on the new child. Decisions

about having a family should not be taken lightly as each partner may bring different customs,

beliefs and expectations about child rearing into the relationship. For the mother, often the

excitement of having a baby ill prepares her for the challenges that will come with it, for example

“their sense of confusion is palpable as their prenatal expectations do not match the reality they

find themselves in” (Miller, 2007). However, there is much to be hopeful for in having a first child

- “research suggests many young parents find parenthood rewarding and positively transforming

as well as difficult and challenging” (Mills et al, 2012). The decision of when to have children

and start a family is also an important decision as more families are focusing on individual

personal and career goals before having children (Newman & Newman, 2018). It is important to

consider all the other decisions that weigh in on deciding to have children such as the conditions

that led to the pregnancy, social policies, welfare policies, and even health and medical

wellbeing. It is important that partners give due diligence to understanding the gravity of

deciding to have or not have children.

Developmental Milestone III: Job Change

In looking at the Bureau of Labor Statistics data sheet that concludes baby-boomers change

their jobs an average of 12.4 times in their life and understanding how likely the millennial

generation is to change jobs, it is important to understand why this milestone happens. For

some, change in work patterns have been a result of upward career mobility (getting a “better

job”), change in the family sphere, or even financial gain have all been linked to career changes

(Damman et al, 2011). As there are many microsystems within work, it can be difficult to

transition to a new job within a company. Current trends show that women are actually more
likely to job transition, increasing 54% from 2020-2021 (Picchi, 2021). It is important to

understand why a job change was made for many employees, especially for employers looking

to retain qualified workers.

Job changes and transitions can be both a positive and a negative depending on how the

transition goes and what the expectations were. In light of the COVID lockdown and changes to

many work responsibilities, the effects of the new working conditions led to an increase in job

change that we will likely see for more years to come. In the teaching field specifically, teachers

reported increased stress, fatigue, and even psychosomatic symptoms that resulted from a

move to virtual teaching (Hilger et al, 2021). If not given new resources or changes there may

be the desire to change jobs and create a more fulfilling life. While the long term impact of the

COVID lockdown and virtual teaching has yet to be seen, career changes among teachers have

been on the rise since.

D: Describe Your Three Milestones from Different Developmental Ages

Developmental Milestone I: Parental Terminal Illness and Parental Loss

Parental loss can happen at any age and is a tremendous event in the life of a person. While

my parental loss occurred during young adulthood, it would have had a different impact if it had

happened at another time. Young children who lose a parent are affected more substantially

than those at any other age (Berg et al, 2016). Young children who lose a parent may have

their parent-child bond and attachment disrupted which can contribute to other developmental

risk factors later on. Parental loss in young children can also be traumatic because “they lack

the emotional and cognitive maturity to cope with a major or serious disruption to the continuity

of their sense of self” (Coyne & Beckman, 2012).

Compare that to parental death that may occur during middle adulthood when adults are often

caring for their aging parents. This dual obligation of caring for self or children while also caring

for an aging parent may place a strain on one during this time. Depending on the age and
individual medical needs of an aging parent can create a hardship for the adult child. The loss

of an elderly parent is still a loss, but as it is when most people experience this loss there are

coping skills that are different than that of young children or adolescence. This is especially true

if there is a sense that the elderly parent has had a fulfilling and accomplished life.

Developmental Milestone II: Having Children/Starting a Family

If I had started having children during another developmental stage such as early adolescence,

my life may have been drastically different than it is now. During this time there is not only

pressure from peer groups to conform and fit in, but romantic relationships and sexual behaviors

often begin to increase (Newman & Newman, 2018). The need for validation and a positive

group identity may also lead teens to enter into a relationship before they are emotionally and

cognitively ready. While teens may not be emotionally or cognitively ready to have sexual

relationships, “a national survey of students in grades 9-12 conducted in 2013 reported that

47% of students surveyed had sexual intercourse…[and] that by 12th grade 64 were sexually

experienced” (Newman & Newman, 2018). With that number of young adults sexually active it

is not surprising that according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2019 teen birth

rates were 16.7 per 1,000 females (CDC, 2021). Pregnancy complications are often highest in

those during adolescence and can include issues such as “preterm delivery, chorioamnionitis,

endometritis, and mild preeclampsia” (Cavazos-Rehg et al., 2015). Teens who are pregnant or

become teen mothers have a less likelihood of continuing on in education with only 50%

completing a high school diploma or GED program by age 22 (CDC, 2021) which may severely

impact their opportunities for jobs and higher earning wages later in life.

While some people do have children during their later adolescence years of 18-24, it is still less

common than those who have children during early or middle adulthood. For many the later

adolescent years are filled with autonomy, independence, and continued self discovery. There

may also be a moratorium on confusion between the identity because it is no longer about the

self, but also about a potential child. Changes in relationships between parents and their older
adolescent children are likely to change during this time period with some parents continuing to

financially support their children and others choosing to implement new guidelines about living

and financial situations. Those who have children during this time period may either find

themselves with a built-in support group of family members, while others may find that their

family has cut off some of those ties due to the pregnancy.

Older adults during this stage are often considering the culmination of many parts of their life

including their successes and failures at work, parenting, and within relationships. It is at this

stage where one can either look back onto a satisfied life or focus on the disappointments and

failures. The start of a family may be an area that was missed in younger ages, and it may

contribute to their well being to have one. Younger children however may be of difficulty to older

adults at this stage as cognitive and physical changes are occurring.

Developmental Milestone III: Job Change

As the average baby boomer changes jobs over 10 times in their lifetime, it stands to reason

that job changes would occur at varying developmental stages. An adolescent may be more

likely to switch jobs than the average person in middle adulthood because their jobs are more

expendable and less likely to be career driven. Those in adolescence are also working on

connecting with peer groups and those peer group connections can be a powerful force in

swaying a young adult to change jobs. However, some young adults may end up staying at jobs

they view unfavorably because of the peer group connections they have made with their

colleagues.

As work is becoming a primary motivator for the early adult, job changes may happen due to

social relationships, satisfactions, and frustrations at work. Early on in a job, there is less

attachment to that specific job which helps account for why the average number of jobs held

during early adulthood is 5.5 (Newman & Newman, 2018). This is also the stage in which an

early adult focuses more on training and education to promote job mobility later on in life.
Those in later adulthood are probably the least likely to change from one job to another, but

many begin to transition towards retirement or even part time work. While there is a trend for

workers to stay in the workforce later than in decades past, due to the circumstances that may

exist around benefits and workplace relationships, there is still less job change than in other

stages of life. In a study conducted in the Netherlands, research showed that there were some

midlife predictors of early retirement workers. These predictors included health problems, men

who had their first child earlier than 30, and higher wage earning workers (Damman et al, 2011).

However, because life circumstances often change between midlife and later adulthood, there

are many other factors involved in making the retirement change.

E: Identify, Discuss and Relate Three Developmental Theories to Your Three

Developmental Milestones

Developmental Theory I: Piaget and Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development drew on how children organize and interpret

information at various stages in their life. He theorized that there are four distinct stages of

cognitive development as a child develops into adulthood. The first is sensorimotor (birth to 18

months) where infants explore their world through their senses and by interacting with their

environment. Secondly the preoperational stage (18 months to age 6) in which children begin

to use symbols and images to represent words and ideas. Children at this stage are also very

egocentric and focus only on their own perspective. The third stage is concrete operational

(approximately ages 7-12) in which children begin to use reasoning and logic to understand

relationships and begin to problem solve. Finally there is the formal operational stage (12 to

adulthood) in which children develop the ability to think in the abstract, generate hypotheses,

and use highly developed logical thinking.

While Piaget’s theory focused on cognitive thinking, there is a connection that “feelings, social

relationships, and self-understanding are viewed as cognitive schemes that are constructed with
the same logic that the person applies to the understanding of objects (Newman & Newman,

2018). With this understanding it is logical that in dealing with parental loss, a child in the formal

operational stage begins to think abstractly about the death of a parent. This may mean that a

young adult can envision the afterlife that a parent may be in after death. The young adult can

also begin to hypothesize about their own life and what it may look like after the death of their

parent. Turner’s study showed that young people were able to make sense of their future and

even create a narrative of their future without a parent; “imagining the ill parent as absent

appeared to function as a form of rehearsal for a future in which the parent would no longer be

there and enabled the young person to begin the process of making sense of the anticipated

changes in their own lives (Turner, 2020).

When starting a family it is likely that the person will also be in Piaget’s formal operational stage.

While many other pieces of the formal operational stage has been discussed, the new life one

will lead with a child requires the need for equilibrium - or taking into account changes between

what is known and what is being experienced (Newman & Newman, 2018). One of the biggest

hurdles for new parents to face is the expectation they have of parenthood and the realities. As

data can show “prenatal preparation…hospital visits, and parent classes does not appear to

prepare women very well for the realities of birth and early mothering” (Miller, 2007). Piaget

would focus on the two part ideas of assimilation and accommodation in order to help prepare

parents for the changes they will be experiencing. With assimilation, parents will need to fit their

new experiences into current schemes - for example, being tired from being up with the baby to

long hours they may have previously put into studying or work. The other part of this adaptation

is accommodation or the need to modify schemes to account for new events and experiences.

The new information acquired in parenting will help create further confidence and future

assimilation.

In a job change, a person would also be in the formal operations stage of Piaget’s cognitive

development. Just as with parental loss, it would be important for a person considering a job
change to use their abstract thinking and hypothesis skills to determine whether a job change

would be needed and why that step should be taken. Central to formal operational thinking is

the ability to look at both the reality and possibilities that exist. In this way one is “better able to

think about the bigger picture of choices and their likely consequences (Newman & Newman,

2018). For someone making a job change they are able to consider the benefits and drawbacks

of a position and imagine likely outcomes. In connecting with Erkson, one who has a more

developed and positive identity about themselves will be more likely to consider other points of

view and determine the likely possibilities that exist with making a job change.

Developmental Theory II: Erikson's Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development has become one of the defining theories on

understanding how we develop over the course of a lifespan. Erikson viewed the psychosocial

crisis as “a convergence of biological, psychological, and societal factors” and that “the impact

of an unpredictable crisis will depend in part on whether the person is in a state of a

psychosocial crisis at the time” (Newman & Newman, 2018).

Some conflicting ideas exist as to whether a person at age 16 would be in either the group

identity vs. alienation stage or whether they would generally be in individual identity vs. identity

confusion. In reflecting on the milestone of parental loss, the crisis of individual identity vs.

identity confusion seems to be a better fit for the impact it may have on later adult life. During

this stage the young adult is developing a sense of self and beginning to wonder “who am I?” A

child who experiences parental loss at this time may be struggling with who they are without the

parent’s perspective. The “loss of security, stability, and predictability …may give rise to several

emotional, social, and behavioural problems…throughout the life course” (Berg et al, 2016). A

young person may also be experiencing a struggle between their private self and their public

self as “young people may sometimes avoid communication [with those outside the family] in

order to minimise distress to themselves and others (Turner, 2020). This may lead a young
adult to experience moratorium and continuing to explore who they are and where they belong

without the parent or even identity confused as they have levels of anxiety about who they may

become without a parent.

For many adults, their child rearing years will occur during early adulthood in which Erikson

focused on the crisis of intimacy vs. isolation. For some, the decision to have children will allow

them to have a sense of belonging and the fulfillment of self. In creating intimate and personal

relationships with others, the decision to have a child may be made with personal and family

goals in mind. While for others it may be more of an obligation that makes them feel even more

isolated. This isolation can lead to further mental health issues like anxiety or depression and

often “young mothers have been reported as being at increased risk of psychosocial problems

such as depression and experiencing social isolation” (Mills et al. 2012)

Adults who make career changes may do so at a variety of stages in Erikson’s model, however

managing a career becomes a major role in middle adulthood. In the psychosocial crisis of

generativity vs. stagnation, an adult must consider whether they find their work rewarding and

acknowledge their contribution to their job or whether they do not feel satisfied with their work

anymore. In understanding generativity, Erikson looked at those who were productive not only

in their own life but in wanting to further the lives of others. For those in a career that may mean

mentoring younger employees, passing on their knowledge, or even feeling as though they have

left a mark on the job. If someone is feeling career stagnation, they may be experiencing “a lack

of advancement or growth” or even “a sense of disillusion about the meaning or value of [their]

work” (Newman & Newman, 2018). While this condition is not ideal, it can actually lead to new

possibilities and redefine what they want their career and life development to look like.

Developmental Theory III: Feminist Theory and the Stone Center Model
In completing the required counseling theories courses through Chadron State, I became

interested in the feminist theories which seemed to have more focus on relationships and

connections with clients as well as a shared balance of power. Similar to the feminist theories of
counseling, the Stone Center worked on “reframing ideas about normative development as seen

through a female lens, with models emphasizing relationship and connection” (Deanow, 2011).

Similar to Erikson’s Psychosocial Development, this relational-cultural theory focuses on a

normative connection and disconnect that occur at a variety of stages.

For the first milestone of parental terminal illness and parental loss at age 16, the Stone Center

Model would have that fall into age cluster 5 or authenticity vs. voicelessness. At this age

cluster the development centers around bringing the authentic self forward in all relationships

(parents, other adults, friends, romantic partners). Peer groups often give a young adult a place

to try out different parts of the authentic self with support. However, the opposite of this is

voicelessness and the fear of rejection from others about who their authentic self is. With the

death of a parent, there is already turmoil and confusion about who the child is without the

parent, but one can become “voiceless” if they do not have a positive support person such as a

parent. At this stage as well, young adults may be testing out romantic relationships. A child

who has an optimal parent-child relationship will continue to enhance their own sense of self in

a relationship. Without the parent however there is the danger that a child may lose themselves

and their voice in a romantic relationship as a result of the loss of a solid parent-child

relationship. One of the challenges is that if voicelessness develops in this age cluster, there

may be challenges to regaining it later in life and it could lead to subordination, imbalance and

withdrawal throughout the rest of adulthood (Deanow, 2012).

Embarking on parenthood will often be done during early adulthood or age cluster 6. In this

cluster there is the struggle in a relationship between mutuality or subordination or domination.

Adults are working to navigate major relationships and achieve mutuality in which each partner

can be authentically present in the relationship. “For many, the journey into first-time

motherhood has involved a steep, lonely - and bumpy - learning curve for which…they felt ill

prepared (Miller, 2007). The learning curve is not just about the change in a relationship, but

also the new dynamic of bringing together two cultures and ideas on raising a child. One of the
greatest challenges is to make sure that neither partner give up power or even refuse to work

through and communicate within the relationship (Deanow, 2011).

An adult looking at a career change will most likely fall with age cluster 7 or dexterity vs.

imbalance. As the premise of this theory rests on relationships, it stands to reason that even in

adulthood people are looking to make connections with others. Those who work in jobs that

provide “mutually enhancing relationships” are more likely to fill successful in not only their work,

but also in their personal life (Deanow, 2011). Those relationships become even more important

to women during this time period and can often lead to women making choices based on those

work relationships (Deanow, 2011). Job changes can be difficult during this period because

there may be a creation of imbalance with new relationships at a new job. There can also be

imbalance when a person invests all of themselves to a job and does not focus on the

relationships with themselves.

F: Relevance of Your Three Developmental Milestones & Relationships to Minority

Populations

Developmental Milestone I: Parental Terminal Illness and Parental Loss

There was little specific evidence found of parental loss and the effect on minority populations

specifically, however there were some studies that focused on the general term of parental

absence, which could have been due to death, and the effect on a population. Additional

research showed that parental absence is more common among minority families with 30% of

Hispanic children and 53% of African American Children separated from at least one biological

parent (Amato, 1991). Studies shared throughout this paper showed at least some correlation

between parental death and the risk of depression or other mental health effects in adulthood.

For counselors working with young adults who have experienced parental loss, there is typically

more trust when the counselor and client are of the same race, however trust can be built to

create a collaborative relationship between the two (Holland, 2015).

Developmental Milestone II: Having Children/Starting a Family
Less attention has been paid to diverse groups in preparing to have children as most of the

studies are focused on caucasian women. However, one of the concerns for minority women

during pregnancy is the differences and biases in health care (Nelson, 2002). According to

Nelson there are many parts of the healthcare system that contribute to this problem, but “bias,

stereotyping, prejudice, and clinical uncertainty on the part of health care providers may

contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in health care” (Nelson, 2002). Healthcare bias is a

huge problem as it doens’t just lead to feelings of discrimination, but can lead to serious

complications or death for mothers and newborns. Diverse populations and women of color

may be more inclined to lean on family and community support throughout pregnancy, childbirth,

and starting a family (Abbyad, 2011). Diverse populations are also more likely to start having

children younger than white families. In 2011 the national median age to be having children was

37.3 but for Hispanics the average median age was 27.6, Non-Hispanic black was 32.9 and non

Hispanic Asians were 35.9. Compare that the Non-Hispanic white median age was 42.3

(Passel et al, 2012). It is important to understand the differences in developmental stages of

when women first start having children.

Developmental Milestone III: Job Change

Job change is something that almost everyone will experience in the course of their lifetime, but

the reasons behind the job change may vary from group to group. In looking at different

minority populations and job changes I was struck by the objective and purpose for some of the

job changes. For example, researchers looked at the effect of social ties on asian immigrant’s

ability to acquire a job. What they found was that first, interpersonal ties are used heavily in the

job search, it most often only allows a person to find jobs that are considered low-end and lack

upward mobility. Secondly, the study found that women specifically relied more on interpersonal

ties than men (Sanders et al., 2002). In addition to using interpersonal ties to acquire and

change jobs, discrimination has played a role for many minority populations in deciding to make
a job change. Along with discrimination, harrassment of workers has also been known to lead

to job changes before a person is ready.

G: How are Your Three Developmental Milestones Addressed by Health

Counselors, School Counselors, and/or Educators

Developmental Milestone I: Parental Terminal Illness and Parental Loss

The social, emotional, and academic impact on a child who experiences parental terminal

illness and parental loss can be enormous. Research indicates that children’ whose parents are

academically involved “earned higher grades, had better attendance, completed more

homework, and [had] more motivated students” (Coyne & Beckman, 2012). A student who

experiences parental loss prior to age 18 is most often involved in some type of school

environment which means that school counselors and educators are often some of the first lines

of defense for students who experience parental loss. Keeping a regular routine, while it may

seem counterintuitive for a child who has just lost their parent, can be a positive experience and

allow for a positive outlet for grief. School counselors, on the recommendation of the National

Association of School Psychologists, should allow students appropriate time to grieve and not

pressure students to return quickly without processing their emotions (Coyne & Beckman,

2012). As there is no real timetable for grief, the process is not always direct, but rather cyclical

in which a student processes, comes to a conclusion, and may need to start over again (Glass,

1990). It is important that school counselors and educators work individually with the student

who has experienced parental loss and give them time for “idea sharing, talking and discussing,

analyzing and reflecting… [on their] own personal attitudes, feelings, emotions and values”

towards grief (Glass, 1990).

Developmental Milestone II: Having Children/Starting a Family

Because minority and diverse groups are having children at younger ages, it will be important

for providers to be aware of the developmental differences that may occur between clients. As

previously mentioned as well because minority groups often face bias and discrimination in

health care, providers should be aware of any biases they harbor as well as warning signs of
complications that may not occur in Non-Hispanic white mothers. First time mothers may also

be more vulnerable as they do not have the expertise as mothers who have experienced birth

before. Younger mothers as well may not have as strong of a support group if their parents are

not willing to assist.

Developmental Milestone III: Job Change

Career development should be viewed as a lifelong process, which means that it is important to

have access to career counseling not only during the early stages of one’s career, but also

throughout the lifespan until retirement. The jobs that some wanted at 18 may not exist in

today’s workforce and conversely, some of the jobs that a person may have in 20 years does

not exist right now at this moment. Mental health providers should also understand the risks

and rewards their clients may be facing that come with a job change. For example, a study on

the effects of promotions on worker health and life satisfaction found that initially those who are

promoted have higher job satisfaction and feel they have more freedom in their job, however,

within three years of taking that promotion the life satisfaction has returned to pre-promotion

levels, but there are higher levels of stress and anxiety due to their workload (Johnston & Lee,

2013). Along with the specific mental health concerns that may come with a job change,

because jobs can also be tied to self worth it is important that counselors help to find a balance

for some between their work being tied to an identity.

H: Conclusion

The three developmental milestones that I have faced in my lifetime - parental loss, starting a

family, and moving for job change - are mostly common milestones that people will face in their

lifetime. In working through psychosocial crisis at each of these stages it continues to prepare

one for the next stage of adulthood and into considering their own accomplishments throughout

life. Mental health professionals should be aware of what stressors one can face throughout

each of these milestones and help create goals that focus on self reflection and continued

positive development. In understanding how these three milestones shaped me, I can see that
each of them has led me to this point in my life in pursuing a school counseling degree and

wanting to work in the helping profession.

 Reference Page
Abbyad, C., & Robertson, T. R. (2011). African American Women's Preparation for Childbirth
From the Perspective of African American Health-Care Providers. The Journal of perinatal
education, 20(1), 45–53.

Adkins, A. (2019, December 16). Millennials: The job-hopping generation. Gallup.com.

Retrieved April 28, 2022, from
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/231587/millennials-job-hopping-generation.aspx

Amato, P. R. (1991). Parental absence during childhood and depression in later life. The
Sociological Quarterly, 32(4), 543–556. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1991.tb00153.x

Berg, L., Rostila, M., &; Hjern, A. (2016). Parental death during childhood and depression in
young adults – a national cohort study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57(9),
1092–1098. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12560

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Number of Jobs, Labor Market Experience, Marital Status, and
Health: Results from a National Longitudinal Survey (2021).

Cavazos-Rehg, P. A., Krauss, M. J., Spitznagel, E. L., Bommarito, K., Madden, T., Olsen, M. A.,
Subramaniam, H., Peipert, J. F., & Bierut, L. J. (2015). Maternal age and risk of labor
and delivery complications. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 19(6), 1202–1211.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1624-7

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, November 15). About teen pregnancy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from
https://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/index.htm

Coyne, R., &; Beckman, T. O. (2012). Loss of a parent by death: determining student impact.
International Journal of Psychology: A Biopsychosocial Approach, 10, 109–123.

Damman, M., Henkens, K., & Kalmijn, M. (2011). The impact of midlife educational, work,
health, and family experiences on men's early retirement. The Journals of Gerontology
Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66(5), 617–627.
https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbr092

Deanow, C. G. (2011). Relational development through the life cycle: Capacities, opportunities,
challenges, and obstacles. Journal of Women and Social Work, 26(2), 125–138.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109911405485

Glass, J. C. (1990). Death, Loss, and Grief in High School Students. The High School Journal,
73(3), 154–160.

Hilger, K. J., Scheibe, S., Frenzel, A. C., & Keller, M. M. (2021). Exceptional circumstances:
Changes in teachers’ work characteristics and well-being during COVID-19 lockdown.
School Psychology, 36(6), 516–532. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000457
Holland, M. M. (2015). Trusting each other: Student-Counselor Relationships in Diverse High
Schools. Sociology of Education, 88(3), 244–262.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040715591347

Johnston, D. W., & Lee, W.-S. (2013). Extra status and extra stress: Are promotions good for
us? ILR Review, 66(1), 32–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979391306600102

Miller, T. (2007). “Is this what motherhood is all about?” Gender and Society, 21(3), 337–358.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243207300561

Mills, A., Schmied, V., Taylor, C., Dahlen, H., Shuiringa, W., & Hudson, M. E. (2012). Someone
to talk to: Young mothers’ experiences of participating in a Young Parents Support
Programme. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 27(3), 551–559.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2012.01065.x

Nelson, A. (2002). Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care.
Journal of the National Medical Association, 94(8), 666–668.

Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2018). Development through life: A psychosocial approach
(13th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Passel, J. S., Livingston, G., & Cohn, D. V. (2012, May 17). Explaining why minority births now
outnumber white births. Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project.
Retrieved May 1, 2022, from
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2012/05/17/explaining-why-minority-births-now-o
utnumber-white-births/

Picchi, A. (2021, October 27). During the "great resignation," Women are changing jobs like
never before. CBS News. Retrieved April 28, 2022, from
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/great-resignation-women-quitting-changing-jobs/

Sanders, J., Nee, V., & Sernau, S. (2002). Asian immigrants' reliance on social ties in a
multiethnic labor market. Social Forces, 81(1), 281–314.
https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2002.0058

Scherer, Z. (2019, May 6). Parental mortality is linked to a variety of socio-economic and
demographic factors. Census.gov. Retrieved April 28, 2022, from
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/05/when-do-we-lose-our-parents.html

SIMBI, C. M., Zhang, Y., & Wang, Z. (2020). Early parental loss in childhood and depression in
adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of case-controlled studies. Journal of
Affective Disorders, 260, 272–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.07.087

Stepler, R. (2015, November 18). 5 facts about family caregivers. Pew Research Center.
Retrieved April 28, 2022, from
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/18/5-facts-about-family-caregivers/
Turner, N. (2020). ‘My life's properly beginning’: Young people with a terminally ill parent talk
about the future. Sociology of Health & Illness, 42(5), 1171–1183.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13086