Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Psychology case study case study A seventeen-year-old high school student is showing difficulty in his academics at school. He has lately been a "troublemaker" in his class and his grades have significantly dropped. After a conference scheduled with the mother, the teacher discovered that recently his father died of alcohol poisoning which emotionally disturbed the young boy. On the other hand, she also discovered that the mother was having an affair with another man in California and so did not show much emotion towards her late husband. As a result, the son became frustrated and angry towards his mother and started interacting with the wrong peer group. The student was recently caught with the possession of drugs and was in question of being expelled from the high school and recommended for counseling. During counseling, the student further admitted to drinking himself and spending nights with his girlfriend because his mother was always in California. The teacher and administrators are extremely concerned of the support and counseling the student may need. After reviewing the student's case history, an analysis of the student's psychological state of mind was created to assist the student with much support. The first hypothesis was based on the Kohlberg's moral theories. Specifically, the preconventionl level in which during adolescence, egocentrism is built in the young individual's mind. The young student feels invulnerable towards anything damaging because of his ego. In this case, the adolescent has developed immunity towards harmful things such as drugs alcohol and sexually transmitted diseases and hence doesn't realize the potential perils lying ahead of him. In conjunction to his egocentrism destroying the young student, the parenting style at home augments the situation. Clearly, with his mother not spending enough time to instill values and guide the young boy not only as a mother but also a confidante, destroyed the young boy's identity. Perhaps he could have been an "A" student in honors classes, but because there was no one to show him right from wrong and share experiences, he began to lose himself. The adolescent got under the wrong influence of people who thought that smoking pot was just experimenting for the sake of experimenting. Improper judgment was used and the situation became out of control. The mother's parenting style was permissive because she was very lenient and had no set rules or structure in the household. If she had high maturity demands but yet a nurturing and communicative environment the adolescent would not be suffering as much. Unfortunately, the young boy had no one to turn to and so he got involved in the wrong crowd. After collecting some additional data, the school learned that the father spent whatever time he could with his son even though he traveled extensively. Hence, the young boy had some emotional ties with his father, which seemed to provide any structural aspect in his life. He helped him with his work at school and played basketball with him indicating to be a positive outlet for the young boy. Thus, when the young boy came to know of his mother's affair with another man he was devastated and lost respect for her. At this point, the young boy might have been undergoing "negative identity", an identity taken on with defiance because it is exactly the opposite of what parents expect. There may be a role reversal in that the mother may have come to realization of trying to help her son but he developed a negative identity because of linking his mother's affair to his father's death. At this point, the family seems to be a supportable family in which outside support is definitely needed to restore the structure of a healthy family. The primary concern of this case is for the young boy to seek help immediately via counseling and family therapy with his mother. He needs to be given time and understanding to speak his mind. The mother though, also needs to understand that she needs to give her son support and comfort in order to steer in a positive direction. The mother needs counseling on how to be a "nurturing yet firm" parent- perhaps using the authoritarian method of parenting. With the collaboration of the school, counseling, and mother's help, a strong effort to revive this adolescent's life in a healthy and happier way can be achieved. Bibliography: Word Count: 743
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