Introduction
The development of autism has been indiscriminate across all age groups and ethnic or racial backgrounds. In other words, the condition may be diagnosed in any other child from early days of development (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009).
In addition, it is worth to mention that autism impacts negatively on the socio-physical development of the victim. The negative effects of autism are also felt by the wider family and close friends who have been mandated to take care of the autistic patient.
The sociological development of an individual is usually made possible by close interaction between cognitive ability and personality. Moreover, there are environmental factors that may affect the social and cognitive development of an individual. Such factors may be embraced voluntarily or coerced by the prevailing circumstances.
In the movie The Black Balloon, a critical analysis has been carried out in order to explore the character traits, social and cognitive development of Maggie. In order to achieve this kind of evaluation, the character traits of Maggie have been assessed based on the prevailing circumstances in her family (Down & Jack, 2008).
For instance, her character has been clearly brought out as she interacts with her son Charlie. The latter is suffering from autism. Moreover, various psychological models and theories have also been applied in the essay in order to evaluate Maggie in the movie The Black Balloon.
The synopsis of The Black Balloon movie
The character of Maggie has been fully depicted in the 2008 version of The Black Balloon. The main theme of the movie revolves around devastating family challenges that are brought about by autism. Although Mollisonâs family seems to be psychologically prepared to handle the unruly behavior of Charlie who is autistic, there are myriads of challenges which befall this family every single day (Down & Jack, 2008).
Even Charlieâs siblings are evidently disturbed by the condition of their brother. For instance, Thomas is uneasy about his brotherâs unruly behavior and feels embarrassed to walk with him in public. Thomasâ classmates with the exception of Jackie are also a source of embarrassment to him since they donât sympathize with what Thomas is going through.
In spite of the negative impacts of autism in a family, the movie attempts to unearth the relevance of devising better coping strategies among affected members of a family and also close acquaintances.
It is also worth to mention that since Charlie is the centre of attraction in this movie, the title The Black Balloon has been symbolically chosen and used to depict Charlieâs autistic nature that appears to be opaque to an extent that nobody seems to understand the solution to the problem at hand.
Charlieâs mother (Maggie) is extremely stressed by her sonâs condition. Although she demonstrates immense parental love to her autistic child, her inner energy seems to be wearing out each passing day.
It is definite that the family unity as portrayed in the film when they take dinner together is a real source of moral support to Maggie. Needless to say, The Black Balloon symbolizes a common big challenge facing Mollisonâs family (Down & Jack, 2008). Each member of this family tries to find a coping strategy by being resilient.
Literature review
In order to comprehend the movie and the relevance of Maggie towards plot development, it is worth to explore various psychological supporting frameworks. For example, Eriksonâs theory provides one of the best psychological frameworks that have been used to correlate family dilemmas and coping strategies (Barkway, 2009). However, the Feudâs theory of personality development is also instrumental in this analysis.
Sigmund Feud was very critical towards influencing Eriksonâs theory on coping strategies. Mollisonâs family in the movie The Black Balloon has found itself at crossroads due to the condition of Charlie (Down & Jack, 2008).
According to the theoretical models presented by Erikson, the first three initial stages of development are usually crucial in determining the psychological wellbeing of an individual. Perhaps, this assertion can be linked to the Charlieâs autistic condition which affected him while still young in age.
However, of greatest importance to note in this discussion is the developmental stage of Maggie who relentlessly attempts to manage the condition of her son Charlie.
The growth and development of an individual shapes the overall personality (Barkway, 2009). Hence, it is not easy to artificially influence the character traits of a person since such traits are completely genetically engineered.
Although both Sigmund and Erikson concur that personality is a natural development factor, Sigmund is of the opinion that the first five years are integral in shaping the personality of an individual.
Erikson notes that there are eight stages of development spread throughout the life of an individual and that all of these stages are critical in molding personality. In spite of the differences noted in these two theoretical literatures, it is still arguable that human personality is one of the most complicated natural entities that can be altered (Down & Jack, 2008).
Eriksonâs stages of development and psychological perspectives
Erikson observes that there are eight unique stages of human development (Barkway, 2009). These stages are known to model the kind of socialization which an individual adopts in the due course of growth and development. As a result of the eight different stages, individuals often devise survival mechanisms that enable them to effectively counter the prevailing challenges in life.
In any case, the case of Maggie as she struggles on a daily basis to bring her son back to normalcy is a typical example of life challenge (Peterson, Beck & Rowell 1992, p.142). Therefore, the eight stages of development are usually accompanied by various crises or challenges that must be resolved (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009).
Moreover, moist individuals who undergo preeclampsia as well as stressful conditions find themselves in at least one of the developmental stages (Barkway, 2009). It is not possible to evade lifeâs crises associated with psychological trauma. Therefore, it is necessary to manage any elements of psychological trauma and stress at early stages before such conditions advance to adverse levels (Down & Jack, 2008).
As already mentioned, all the eight stages are worth considering when assessing both the psychological and biological development patterns of an individual. For instance, the somatic system controls biological processes. It may exert undue pressure to an individual if not managed early enough.
Moreover, there are various demands that a human body will present during the various stages of development. Hence, these demands are responsible in influencing how a person solves various crises and challenges faced in life as it is the case with Maggie. On the same note, an individualâs ego is a major driving force when facing various challenges in life (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2011).
Case analyses of Maggie
It is worth to mention that Maggie is in her middle adulthood stage. At this level or stage of development, Maggie is highly likely to experience both stagnation and generativity syndromes (Koenigsberg, Bartlett & Cramer 2009, p.313).
According to the development theory presented by Erikson, individuals who are between 40 and 60 years fall in the seventh stage of development. These individuals are known to possess a broader perspective towards life and are not narrow-minded. From the movie The Black Balloon, it is evident that Maggie is in the seventh stage as portrayed from her caring attitude towards her autistic son Charlie and the entire family.
At this stage, Maggie is more concerned with the unity and overall well being of her family since she needs to leave behind a clean track record that she did her best to her family.
In addition, Maggie is definitely frightened by the slightest possibility of her son dying due to accidents around the home or while playing out in the field. There is a possibility of an individual experiencing a sense of stagnation in cases where geocentricism takes a centre stage (Harris, Nagy & Vardaxis 2010, p.123).
Maggie is in her mid forties and struggling on a daily basis to bring up her children. She appears to be committed with her family affairs. For instance, she has two sons to rise and she is also pregnant.
The manner in which Maggie plans and manages her household is a clear indication that she is indeed a hardworking person. Nonetheless, Maggieâs source of stress emanates from the overwhelming responsibility of taking care of Charlie. It is also imperative to mention that Maggie is a career woman who has to work round the clock besides being a mother to her two sons and wife to Mr. Mollison.
Stagnation and generativity can be best used to describe the developmental stage of Maggie (Brigg 2009, p.4). Eriksonâs theory attempts to explain how individuals in the middle stage of development may find themselves committed in managing their families and careers.
In the case of Maggie, she appears to be versatile and general in terms of handling various duties. For example, Maggie is determined to make her family successful. Although she succeeds in her career development, the element of stagnation is evident due to the fact that she is a housewife (Mandleco et al 2003, p.381).
As a mother to an autistic child, her life has been stagnated by the responsibility of taking care of a terminally-ill patient. To make matters worse, her life rotates around taking care of Charlie and her family (Down & Jack, 2008). This is similar to being in a full time job.
Maggie has also been depicted as the only member of that family who understands Charlie well. Mr. Mollision and his sons (Thomas and Simon) are mainly disgusted by the unruly nature of Charlie and as such, they feel more disturbed with his condition. Maggie makes every effort to take care of Charlie because the two brothers (Simon and Thomas) are not in a position to handle him.
There is always some problem when Charlie is left under the care of his two brothers. In the end, she is driven into psychological stress because she has to cater for the needs of her family first before considering other responsibilities.
In addition, Maggie seems to suffer from pre-eclampsia (Gill & Liamputtong 2009, p.312). This is evident when she seeks some form of comfort in the many committee meetings she attends.
Different studies have shown that autistic children who lack efficiency skills are likely to attract serious consequences on social relationships and family bond. As the movie reflects, after realizing that Charlie is not capable of marrying or performing various duties, it is likely that these failures might have a negative impact especially on the health of children and their parents.
Such challenges have caused most mothers such as Maggie to experience stressful symptoms (Altiere & Kludge 2009, p 143). Similarly, mothers face the risk of developing care and love on the individuals with disorders. This is due the fact that mothers direct much attention to children with such disorders (Gray 2006, p 973).
As seen in the initial stages of the movie, Thomas is not able to comprehend the reason why Maggie seems to be always attentive to the needs of Charlie. Thomas does not understand the reason why Charlie is never punished when he does wrong things like smashing the birthday cake against the wall.
Thomas becomes exceedingly upset after Charlie spoils his birthday party even without minding the presence of Thomasâ girlfriend. Thomas cannot hold back his temper and decides to break Charlieâs game as a way of revenging.
Charlieâs case and its impacts
Industry versus inferiority
This stage occurs when the child is between six and twelve years old. At this stage, the child can attend school and get exposed to other community members other than the usual parents and family caregivers. After attending school and getting exposed to a different environment, the child can easily learn and gain more skills and eventually join other peers.
This process is also facilitated by the fact that a child can interact with different groups. The child can make more friends who can help the child to adapt and get used to the new environment. Charlie may not manage to complete this stage effectively because of his present condition.
Failing to complete these stages can cause adverse effects to the child. It is highly likely that the child can suffer from an inferiority complex, a challenge that proves to be extremely difficult to rectify in the future. It is advisable for parents to talk with the child so that the child can appreciate his/her condition at an early age.
Lin, Orsmond and Cohn (2011) observe that a disorder is a serious constraint that prevents individuals from undertaking their various duties successfully. It is a remarkably robust strategy to provide consequent guidance to such people as a way of enhancing them to make informed decisions. Maggie is interested and ready to take this kind of action.
Identity versus role confusion
According to Eriksonâs development theory, identity crisis is viewed as the key and significant aspect faced by individuals as they develop in life. During this stage, there is a conflict between the health resolutions that occurred in the previous stages and the present resolutions.
The main aim of this conflict is to generate the expected sense of competence, trust, independence and control. The aforementioned factors are vital during incorporation. It should be understood that the success witnessed during the initial stages provide a strong identity and also serves as a way of showing preparedness in planning for the future.
Similarly, failing to realize success during the earlier stages make the adolescentâs experience a lot of difficulties especially when they need to make decisions or choices that are correct (Horn, Pössel & Hautzinger, 2010). Specifically, adolescents experience sexual orientation and vocational problems.
For instance, during the fourth stage, adolescents can profoundly suffer from peer pressure. This is likely influence them towards engaging in conflicts with the authority, the community and may eventually subject them to cumulative stress (Mounts 2002, p 58).
When the autistic children reach adolescent stage, the parents usually experience many challenges. These challenges relate to making decisions on whether it is appropriate to enroll them to the normal schools or they should be enrolled to specific schools (Pottie & Ingram 2008, p 859).
Hunter and Chandler (1999, p 244) are quite categorical that other than the normal children who can easily learn to become self reliant, this is not the case with autistic children since they are not capable of achieving such a milestone because they have some form of cognitive underdevelopment. This is the main reason which makes such children place their emotional and physical demands on their caregivers or parents.
The confusion associated with autistic patients shows some relationships with the identity crisis found in different stages of Eriksonâs theory of development. In the fifth stage of Eriksonâs model, confusion is extremely evident whereby individuals seem to lack a sense of consideration (Newman & Newman, 2003).
It is evident that loss of identity has a direct relationship to poor resolution of crisis during the earlier stages. In this context, ability refers to the capability of an individual to address developmental avenue, enhance the required intimacy and manage to fit in a holistic society in which the demands are met without causing any conflict of interest.
It is pertinent to note that the absence of the expected relationship and cohesion with other people and the environment is likely to subject an individualâs demands to hegemony and consequently causing confusion (Peterson, 2010).
Guerin and Guerin (2009) point out that some situations might cause negative feelings of identity especially when an individual aims at generating or fitting personal traits so that he or she can be accepted by people.
It is also necessary to comprehend that negative identities may make the community look down upon the individual with such identities since they interfere with the culture. In addition, inconsistencies of the individual values, inharmonic values and lack of the required societal ideals may also translate into identity confusion.
Coping strategies
The resilience theory provides a satisfactory explanation regarding how families that place a lot of emphasis on parents are able to deal with children with disorders and stress. Hunter and Chandler (1999, p 244), assert that it is vital to come up with coping strategies since they help to determine the potential of an individual in recovering from stressful situations.
This concept proves to be immensely intriguing because of its ability to explain why some families can cope with stress. This concept is clearly portrayed in this movie. This is because Maggie can control the situation regardless of the stress brought by Charlie. Many studies have revealed that it is not easy to predict the behavior of an autistic child.
Thus, family members are forced to exercise some flexibility when dealing with behaviors that are not certain. From the movie, it is also evident that Maggie has managed to adopt a constructive approach. As stated by the theory, an individual can remain healthy if he or she has the potential of coping with the different aspects that cause stress.
To achieve this, an individual is expected to remain optimistic without minding of the stress causing factors. In addition, the theory on family resilience aims at identifying the elements that are responsible in promoting high level resilience. These elements are termed to be ideal and other families are free to emulate them whenever they experience a similar situation.
Implications for healthcare practice
Addressing psychological disorders is a critical aspect that has a significant contribution to the peoplesâ wellbeing. The increasing levels of these disorders have led to increased research in order to come up with an appropriate method of dealing with such disorders. Examples of methods used in handling such problems are cognitive and behavioral therapies.
Cognitive and behavioral therapies usually share common considerations. However, behavioral therapy does not put a lot of focus on internal considerations of an individual. It also takes into account the psychological behavior of the individual influenced by internal state.
Similarly, the cognitive therapy is also built on the assertion that an individualâs internal state dictates these behaviors, and thus it is vital to perform some manipulation in order to provide solutions to psychological disorders.
It is also crucial to comprehend that the environmental influence can be employed in these therapies. Cognitive therapy is capable of employing environmental influence to help in identifying or tracing the psychological disorders after treatment.
According to Lloyd and Hastings (2009, p 110), both cognitive and behavioral therapies are different. These differences come as a result of the approach taken in solving problems that relate to psychological disorders.
On the other hand, cognitive therapy aims at addressing issues that relate to psychological disorders basing on individual consideration. For instance, a client can be provided with information to help in dealing with the beliefs and solving issues associated with negative thinking.
The debate to find out the most appropriate method between cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy has remained a majorly significant challenge that needs to be resolved. Tobing (2005) argues that by relying on the type and thoroughness of disorder in question; all the methods can be employed effectively.
Combining both methods is likely to yield superior result other than opting to use either behavioral therapy or cognitive therapy. According to Kesebir, Graham and Oishi (2010), most psychotherapists prefer to use cognitive-behavioral method in addressing different conditions like depression, stress, schizophrenia and identity disorders among others.
Conclusion
In recap, it should be noted that personal development and growth is a complex process that needs to be monitored closely especially under circumstances where mental or physical infirmities are observed. The conclusion of this paper is based on the importance of addressing the psychological disorders within society.
Undertaking this process is extremely crucial since it enables people to remain productive, stress-free and harmonious. Both behavioral and cognitive therapies contribute significantly in reducing stress. However, psychological disorders can be addressed better by combining the two methods.
References
Altiere, M & Kludge, S 2009, âSearching for acceptance: Challenges encountered while raising a child with autismâ, Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 142-152.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009, Autism in Australia. Web.
Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2011, Risk assessment in child protection. Web.
Barkway, P 2009, Psychology for Health Professionals, Sydney: Elsevier Australia.
Down, E. & Jack, J. 2008. The Black Balloon. Web.
Brigg, J 2009, âThe Approach to the Education of Students with Autism in Australiaâ, Australasian Journal of Special Education, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 1-5.
Gill, J & Liamputtong, P 2009, âWalk a mile in my shoesâ: Researching the lived experience of mothers of children with autismâ, Journal of Family Studies, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 309-319.
Gray, D 2006, âCoping over time: the parents of children with autismâ, Journal of intellectual Disability Research, vol. 50, no.12, pp 970-976.
Guerin, P & Guerin, B 2009, âLifespan: middle and later years (adulthood to aging)â in Psychology for health professionals, Elsevier Australia, Chatswood, NSW.
Harris, P., Nagy, S & Vardaxis, N 2010, âMosbyâs Dictionary of medicine, nursing & health professionals, Elsevier Australia, Chatswood, NSW.
Hunter, A & Chandler, G 1999,ââAdolescent resilienceââ Journal of nursing scholarship, vol. 31, no. 3, pp 243-247.
Kesebir, S, Graham, J & Oishi, S 2010, âA theory of human needs should be human-centered, not animal centeredâ, Perspectives on psychological science, vol. 5 no. 3, pp.2-6.
Koenigsberg, MR, Bartlett D & Cramer JS, 2009, âFacilitating treatment adherence with lifestyle changes in diabetesâ, American Family Physician, Vol.69, no.2, pp.309-316.
Lin, L, Orsmond, G, Coster, W, & Cohn, E 2011, âFamilies of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders in Taiwan: The role of social support and coping in family adaptation and maternal well-beingâ, Electronic journal of Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, vol. & no. unknown, (online Science Direct).
Lloyd T & Hastings RP, 2009, âParental locus of control and psychological well-being in mothers of children with intellectual disabilityâ, Journal of Intellectual & developed Disability, Vol.34, no.2, pp.104-115.
Mandleco, B et al 2003, âThe Relationship between Family and Sibling Functioning in Families: Raising a Child with a Disabilityâ, Journal of Family Nursing, vol.9, no.4, p.365-396.
Mounts, N, S 2002, âParental management of adolescent peer relationship in context: The role of parenting style.â Journal of Family Psychology, vol. 16, pp. 58-59.
Newman, MB & Newman, RP 2003, Development through life, 8th edn, Thomason Wadsworth, New York, U.S.A.
Peterson, C 2010, Looking forward through the lifespan âdevelopmental psychologyâ, Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW.
Peterson, C, Beck, K & Rowell, G 1992, Psychology an introduction for nurses and allied health professionals, Prentice Hall, Sydney, NSW.
Pottie CG & Ingram KM, 2008, âDaily stress, coping, and well-being in parents of children with autism: a multilevel modelling approachâ Psychological Association, Vol.22 no.6, pp.855-864.
Tobing, L E 2005, âStress, coping, and psychological distress of mother of children with pervasive developmental disorderâ, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, (online Bell & Howell/ ProQuest).