Erikson believed when a child was fed when it was suppose to be fed, comforted when it needed comforting, and love when it needed love, the child would develop trust (Sharkey, 1997).
The responses to traumatic events could be irritability, sleep problems, diarrhea, and frequent illnesses (Alkhatib, Regan, & Barrett, 2007, p. 587).
If events or people are unpredictable and issue anxiety, mistrust will result (Studer, 2006). In this video, we see Peter attempting to feed Stewie, but in all the wrong ways. Peter is way too unpredictable as a parent. Could Peter's curiosity lead to Stewie's mistrust in himself and others?
Absent or inattentive parents can lead to mistrustfulness in infants, also. Basic trust is hard to achieve when the parents are psychologically unavailable (Alkatib et al., 2007, p. 587). Stewie can just be a bit mean at times, though. Perhaps his attitude has been developed over time because of his parent's attentiveness and unpredictability. |
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