Question

The parent of a 5-year-old child tells a medical assistant that the child has begun sucking her thumb. The parent states, "She hasn't done this since she was a baby." The medical aaa isn't should identify that the child is using what defense mechanism?

Answer 1

A 5-year-old child sucking her thumb is demonstrating regressive behavior, likely reverting to the oral stage of development as a way to cope with stress or anxiety. This behavior is associated with innate reflexes like the sucking reflex, which are crucial for infant survival but are typically outgrown as a child matures.

Step-by-step explanation:

The child in question is exhibiting a behavior known as thumb sucking. This is generally recognized as a regressive behavior, which is a type of defense mechanism where an individual reverts to an earlier stage of development. In the context of Freudian psychology, particularly his theory of psychosexual stages, thumb sucking is associated with the oral stage of development, which occurs from birth to roughly 1 year of age. During the oral stage, pleasure is centred on the mouth, and activities such as sucking and chewing are particularly gratifying. Thumb sucking in a 5-year-old could suggest a regression to this earlier stage, potentially signaling difficulty in coping with stress, anxiety, or changes in the environment.

Infants have a number of innate behaviors, such as the sucking reflex and the grasping reflex, which are essential for survival. These reflexes help them feed and maintain physical contact with caregivers. Regression to earlier behaviors like thumb sucking, although developmentally atypical at the age of five, can be a way for the child to seek comfort and security during times of stress.