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Fundamental of Caring: A Developmental Review

Christopher S. Messier

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

HSS 3001: Advance Lifespan Development

Professor Susan Dudley

June 17, 2023

I pledge…
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Fundamental of Caring: A Developmental Review

"The Fundamentals of Caring" (Burnett) is a 2016 film that tells the story of a newly

certified caregiver, the ward, and a romantic interest. This film offers a wonderful opportunity to

explore the emotional and personal growth of the caregiver and the ward, but we will be focusing

on the ward, Trevor Conklin. Trevor’s development is very much defined by his health and his

life circumstances. Moving to the U.S. brings new challenges and an adventure that will push

him beyond his normal boundaries, confront him with new social encounters, and reconcile a

past trauma. All these crises allow us to further understand the nuances of lifespan development,

our role as healthcare professionals, and our impacts upon them.

Trevor Conklin

We are introduced to the primary character of this review in a scene where Ben, the

prospective caregiver, is in the middle of an interview when Trevor enters the room. Trevor, who

suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and uses a wheelchair, portrays an

exaggerated persona of a severely handicapped individual, shocking Ben. This initial glimpse of

Trevor highlights his use of sardonic humor as a defense mechanism. His progressive and

debilitating neuromuscular disorder has robbed him of normal physical development, and his

reliance on this defense mechanism becomes evident as he copes with the disease that will

ultimately shorten his life. Trevor's mother informs Ben that the move was challenging for her

son, as he is not accustomed to venturing beyond his home, and that his caregivers provide full-

time care. This information suggests that his education primarily took place through
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homeschooling, and his social interactions were limited to his caregiver and mother during his

formative childhood years.

Trevor's early diagnosis and possible limited social interactions as a child may indicate

incomplete emotional development, as discussed by Santrock (2020). Key aspects of emotional

development occur during middle childhood, including the ability to suppress negative emotions,

understand reactions, and show empathy. Trevor's overtly sardonic attitude reveals a potential

lack of development in these areas, which is evident from the moment he starts speaking.

However, as change disrupts all things, the move to America and the arrival of a new caregiver

provide the perfect catalyst for Trevor's emotional and personal growth.

Act I – Breaking the Routine

In the first act of the film, we are introduced to the very rigid daily routine that

encompasses Trevor's life. Departures from this routine cause panic attacks. His self-regulation

(Schunk & Green, 2018), an emotional trait related to effortful control, is simultaneously a

positive and negative trait. Trevor's ability to behave or act in a manner of self-preservation by

strictly adhering to his routine is complementary to self-regulation, while also limiting his ability

to emotionally manage new stressors. Though his emotional defense mechanism may diminish

some social interactions, it has provided him with a strong self-esteem as he has clearly mastered

coping with the stressors of DMD rather than avoiding them, leading to a strong sense of self

(Burger, 2019; Mash & Wolfe, 2019). In his interactions with Ben, we learn that Trevor has been

mapping the locations of roadside attractions in the U.S., and the future ill-mannered interaction

will push Ben to confront him with his mortality and fear of change by challenging him to leave
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his house and see these attractions. Santrock (2020) presents the life-events approach toward

personality and self, which defines events as catalysts for change in personality. Confronted with

his stagnation, Trevor ultimately concludes that he has a strong enough definition of self to break

his routine, challenge himself, and engage in new experiences. We may infer that as he is at

midlife due to DMD, Trevor's conceptualization of self may allow him to deal with

environmental changes more effectively at this stage of his life, as proposed by Caspi & Roberts

(2001). Using some deceit against his mother with the complicity of Ben, Trevor breaks his

routine and sets out on the open road.

Act II – New Faces, New Trevor?

Act II sees Trevor dealing with the largest assault on his development thus far, in the

form of interactions with people beyond his caregiver or mother. We are introduced to Dot,

whom Trevor clearly has a physical attraction to. During their first interaction, Trevor can only

provide a one-word response to a question from Dot. This clearly speaks to the inference that he

had limited social interactions as a child. Connolly & McIsaac (2009) presented three stages of

romantic relationship development in adolescents: entry, exploring, and consolidation. The first

two stages occur between 11-16 years of age and revolve around group dynamic settings as the

instructor of interactions, something Trevor may not have encountered. To cope with this

shortcoming, we see Ben acting as a third-party facilitator and indirectly providing Trevor with

insight on how to communicate. Dot and another female, Peaches, join their party as they travel

the open road, providing Trevor with ample opportunities to progress through the first two stages

of Connolly & McIsaac's (2009) model. Ultimately, Trevor progresses to the final stage,

consolidation, by asking Dot out on a date. Trevor's development, while very rapid in the film,
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may be indicative of his strength of self and his ability to effectively cope with the new

challenges that he faces. His newfound emotional growth will be essential in managing the

penultimate crisis of the film: confronting his father, who left him upon learning of his diagnosis.

Act III – Reconciliation

The final act of the film has Trevor forcing a meeting with his father. In this meeting,

Trevor learns that his father has no remorse over abandoning his family. This realization, as it

would be for anyone, is soul-crushing and causes Trevor to state that he wants to end the trip

while lashing out at Ben for forcing these changes to his routine upon him. Santrock (2020)

presents multiple studies that speak to the impacts of parental attachment styles and their effects

on their children. Lewis et al. (2000) found that stressful or disruptive experiences had a

significant impact on attachment styles. While Ben is not the romantic interest of Trevor, the

intimacy of a caregiver relationship may still be affected by these stressors. The trauma from the

recent interaction with his father easily portrays the avoidant attachment style of Trevor due to

the inconsistency in his emotional attachments, absentee father, and high turnover of caregivers.

When Dot hears of the plans to abandon the trip, she refuses, showing a commitment to Trevor’s

desires. Using Sternberg & Sternberg’s (2020) triangular theory of love, we can see that Dot

(passion), Peaches (commitment), and Ben (intimacy) form an amalgamation of partners who

share a consummate love with Trevor, emboldening his emotional capacity and self-identity to

reach their fullest potential.

Reflection
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While Trevor has been the subject of this film review, the character Ben is most reflective

of us as healthcare professionals. In every interaction with Trevor throughout the film, Ben met

him where he was physically, emotionally, and socially. On occasions, Ben's emotions would

blur the lines between professional and unprofessional behavior, though more often than not, he

tempered his resolve. However, the intimacy of his role and his comfort with Trevor provided a

level of leeway. I believe this to be an important realization in our care of patients: while we

strive for professionalism, we must understand that the enduring human element of care cannot

be ignored or dismissed, and that emotions will inevitably rise to the surface. If we allow

ourselves to use our own emotions to improve patient care, even if it means being unprofessional

at times, it may lead to optimal outcomes. Each of us must judge the situation on an ad hoc basis

to determine the acceptability of this idea.

Conclusion

"The Fundamentals of Caring" (Burnett, 2016) has shown that development is lifelong,

regardless of the length of that life, and is marked by change. Each experience brings with it

something new that challenges our conception of self. How we react both speaks to who we were

and who we become. In those moments, those around us can influence the outcomes. Trevor,

Ben, Dot, and Peaches highlight what happens when we support one another and how our growth

and development require others. As emerging healthcare professionals, we must understand the

level of intimacy that we have with our patients' lives and the impacts that we will have on their

development.
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References:

Burger, J. M. (2019). Personality (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Burnett, R (Director). (2016). The fundamentals of caring [Film]. Worldwide Pants; Levantine
Films; Netflix.

Caspi, A., & Roberts, B. W. (2001). Personality development across the life course:the argument
for change and continuity. Psychological Inquiry, 12(2), 49–66.
https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1202_01

Connolly, J. A., & McIsaac, C. (2009). Romantic relationships in adolescence. Handbook of

Adolescent Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470479193.adlpsy002005

Lewis, M., Feiring, C., & Rosenthal, S. (2000). Attachment over time. Child Development,
71(3), 707–720. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00180

Mash, E. J., & Wolfe, D. A. (2019). Abnormal child psychology (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Santrock, J. W. (2020). A topical approach to life-span development (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill

Education.

Schunk, D. H., & Greene, J. A. (2018). Handbook of self-regulation of learning and performance
(2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis.

Sternberg, R. J., & Sternberg, K. (Eds.). (2020). The New Psychology of Love (2nd ed.).
Cambridge University Press.