Case Analysis of Jack and Ally through the Ecological Framework

2009 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dsm v diagnostic criteria oppositional defiance disorder

The following is a critical analysis of a case study on a three year old boy named Jack. Case documents reveal that Jack expresses behaviours and developmental issues that align with a diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and/or Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Case information outlines details of Jacks infantile behaviours, family dynamics and current developmental issues. The purpose of this critical analysis is to identify and examine multiple risk factors that are present across various levels of Jack’s environment simultaneously. This type of analysis is guided by the ecological-transactional model (Bronfenbrenner, 1989). The ecological-transactional model divides environments by levels named the ontogenic environment, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem. Each environmental level is identified by certain characteristics. The proximal systems are those that individuals are actively participating and socialising within while the distal systems are not in direct contact but still have a direct influence on the individual (Cicchetti et al., 2005). Jack’s case depicts that there are a combination of both ‘vulnerability’ and ‘challenger’ potentiating factors across all levels of his environment. Vulnerabilities and challengers are a type of risk factor which Cicchetti et al. (2005) describe as variables that increase the potential for maladaptive trajectories. Vulnerability factors are those that are enduring risk factors present in the child’s life while challenger factors are transient risk factors (Cicchetti et al., 2005). There is a predominance of risk factors within Jack and his family’s context but there are also protective factors present which are those factors that promote a...

... middle of paper ...

...l of consulting and clinical psychology, 68(4), 624.
Sanson, A., Hemphill, S., & Smart, D. (2004). Connections between temperament and social development: A review. Social Development,13(1), 142-170.
Vernberg, E., & Medway, F. (1981). Teacher and parent causal perceptions of school problems. American Educational Research Journal,18(1), 29-37.
Weinfield, N., Sroufe, L., Egeland, B., & Carlson, E. (2008). Individual differences in infant-caregiver attachment: Conceptual and empirical aspects of security. In J. Cassidy, P. Shaver (Eds.). Handbook of Attachment: Theory, research, and clinical application (2nd ed.) (pp. 78-101). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.

Wittenberg, E., Saada, A., & Prosser, L. (2013). How illness affects family members: A qualitative interview survey. The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, 6(4), 257-268. doi:10.1007/s40271-013-0030-3

Show More
Related

  • The Lives of the Grape Family in What's Eating Glibert Grape

    1641 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...concerns appropriate interventions were assigned to each one. For the priority concern of the family’s ability to cope and their risk of depression commendation and interventative questioning were the chosen interventions. For the priority concern of Gilberts care giver burnout and risk for compassion fatigue commendation and encouraging respite were chosen. The Grape family is a fitting example of the complex difficulties a family can have when they are faced with the difficulty of dealing with a chronic illness and tragedy. This paper demonstrates the importance of assessing and creating interventions for a family in a way which includes every member of the family not only the ones with complications. Raising the question should patients who are suffering from chronic illnesses better off to be treated as an individual or as a member of a functional family unit?

    Read More

  • Caring for Children with Cystic Fibrosis

    2008 Words  | 5 Pages

    Being diagnosed with a chronic illness is a life-altering event. During this time, life is not only difficult for the patient, but also for their loved ones. Families must learn to cope together and to work out the best options for the patient and the rest of the family. Although it may not be fair at times, things may need to be centered on or around the patient no matter what the circumstance. (Abbott, 2003) Sacrifices may have to be made during difficult times. Many factors are involved when dealing with chronic illnesses. Coping with chronic illnesses alter many different emotions for the patients and the loved ones. Many changes occur that are very different and difficult to get used to. (Abbott, 2003) It is not easy for someone to sympathize with you when they haven’t been in the situation themselves. No matter how many books they read or people they talk to, they cannot come close to understanding.

    Read More

  • Social Anxiety Disorder: Nature vs Nurture

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scarr, Sandra. "Social Introversion-Extraversion as a Heritable Response." Child Development. Vol. 40. N.p.: Wiley, n.d. 823-32. JSTOR. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Mary Ainsworth's Attachment Theory In Possessing The Secret Of Joy

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    The attachment theory helps to examine who we form relationships with, why these relationships work or fail, and how the relationships help to develop us in adolescence and on to adulthood. Mary Ainsworth stated a child/infant needed a secure base from where they could explore the world (Bretheron, 1992). Ainsworth stated a secure base is an emotional rich environment (1963). She also formulated the ideal of maternal instincts allow the mother to meet the infants need and with that ability, the infant-mother attachment is solidified. Ainsworth methodology made it possible to test and empirically prove attachment theory (Bretheron, 1992). The attachment theory highlights the importance of a secure base, infants and young

    Read More

  • John Bowlby's Attachment Theory On The Bond Between A Caregiver And A Child

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    Attachment theory focuses on the bond between a caregiver and a child and how these fragile bonds, if not attended to properly have psychological and social effects on the child’s future. The attachment process itself responds to the developing identity of the child, which is very dependent on the sensitivity and guidance of the caregiver. John Bowlby takes attachment theory in a more biological/ evolutionary perspective, in which he views these formations of bonds as a survival mechanism in which the infant ensures its survival by attaching themselves to an adult (caregiver) who can meet their needs. This take on the attachment theory suggests that parents and infants may be biologically programmed to form an attachment and that every interaction and behavior thereafter facilitates the creation of this bond (Ashford 2013, 266). On a bio-social level children look for this attachment because they are biologically wired to be related to others and be social creatures. Regardless if the attachment theory is taken through a biological,

    Read More

  • Attachment Theory: Systematic Analysis Of The Family Of Origin

    1912 Words  | 4 Pages

    The first topic that came up in the interview relates to idea of attachment theory. Attachment theory explains the human’s way of relating to a caregiver and receives an attachment figures relating to the parent, and children. In addition, the concept explains the confidence and ability for a child to free explore their environment with a place to seek support, protection, and comfort in times of distress (Levy, Ellison, Scott, and Bernecker, 2010, p. 193). Within attachment theory explains different types of attachment styles that children experience during early childhood. These attachment styles affect the relationships they continue to build in adulthood. The best attachment style happens when the parent is attuned to the child during his or her early childhood called secure attachment (Reyes, 2010, p. 174). In order for complete secure attachment, the child needs to feel safe, seen, and soothed. Any relationship that deviates from this model represents the anxious or insecure attachment. This means that parents or caregivers are inconsistently responsive to the children. Children who have these parents are usually confused and insecure. Some children experience a dismissive attachment where they

    Read More

  • Health and Social Care

    1450 Words  | 3 Pages

    Attachments are formed with parents; this contributes to give a sense of who we are and who we will become in later life. However where these attachments are broken the child needs to have a secure attachment established with an alternative adult care giver,...

    Read More

  • James and the Giant Peach

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    Levine, L. E., & Munsch, J. (2011). Temperament. In L. E. Levine, & J. Munsch, Child Development: An active Approach (pp. 342-343). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publishers.

    Read More

  • Family With Chronic Illness

    1226 Words  | 3 Pages

    Also, the whole family needs to come to term with the health condition, make change in priorities and schedule, and keep the family. For example, it can be much more stressful for a young or a newly married couple because they may have more experience to overcome life's difficulties. As a result, as with individual maturation, family development can be delayed or even revert to a previous level of functioning (Hockenberry, p 762.) Therefore, health care providers need to apply family development theory while planning care for a child and family with chronic health condition. Indeed, family centered care should be a part of that intervention. Parents and family members have huge and comprehensive caregiving responsibilities for their chronically ill child at home or at hospital. Moreover, the main goal taking care of chronic ill child is to “minimize the progression of the disease and maximize the child’s physical, cognitive, psychological potential” (Hockenberry, p 763). Therefore, it is essential to family being part of the child care to give highest quality of care. On the other hand, we are as a part of the health care provider need to give attention to all

    Read More

  • The 15-Minute Family Interview

    3056 Words  | 7 Pages

    ... the context of chronic illness: a family health promoting process. Journal of Nursing and Healthcare of Chronis Illness 3, (3), 283-92.

    Read More

  • Attachment Styles Essay

    1381 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mary Main was Ainssowrth student. She therefore introduced another fourth category of attachment styles with her attachment studies with adults. During her longitudinal research project alongside her colleague Goldwyn on middle class children’s attachment styles, they found that about 79% of the time attachment styles remained constant from 18 months to 6 years of age (in Brandell & Ringel, 2007,). However in their observations about 5%) that did not fit into Ainsworth’s classification of attachment styles, which they called ‘disorganized/disoriented attachment’ (Main & Solomon, 1986, 1990). These children were fearful and engaged in repetitive or aggressive behaviors. Their behaviors at reunion were unpredictable. They displayed contradictory behavior patterns such as approaching and then suddenly avoiding or exhibiting misdirected behavior patterns such as crying when the stranger leaves or stereotypical behaviors such as rocking, hair pulling or freezing. The mothers of these children were either depressed or had unresolved grief due to early loss of own parents (Main & Solomon, 1986). In this type of attachment, there is no or very little organized strategy to cope with stress and to form an attachment relationship with the caregiver, because here, the attachment figure is the direct cause of distress or fear. An abusive, abandoned and frightening caregiver is the source of fear and the protector at the same time. The infant shows signs of distress and displays avoidant and inconsistent reactions in the presence of the caregiver (Bakermans-Kranenburg & van IJzendoorn, 2007; Stams et al, 2002).

    Read More

  • Infant Attachment

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    Infant attachment is the first relationship a child experiences and is crucial to the child’s survival (BOOK). A mother’s response to her child will yield either a secure bond or insecurity with the infant. Parents who respond “more sensitively and responsively to the child’s distress” establish a secure bond faster than “parents of insecure children”. (Attachment and Emotion, page 475) The quality of the attachment has “profound implications for the child’s feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships” (Book). Simply stated, a positive early attachment will likely yield positive physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development for the child. (BOOK)

    Read More

  • The Importance of Attachment for the Children's Development

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    Attachment theory is the idea that a child needs to form a close relationship with at least one primary caregiver. The theory proved that attachment is necessary to ensure successful social and emotional development in an infant. It is critical for this to occur in the child’s early infant years. However, failed to prove that this nurturing can only be given by a mother (Birns, 1999, p. 13). Many aspects of this theory grew out of psychoanalyst, John Bowlby’s research. There are several other factors that needed to be taken into account before the social worker reached a conclusion; such as issues surrounding poverty, social class and temperament. These factors, as well as an explanation of insecure attachment will be further explored in this paper.

    Read More

  • Essay On Behaviour Is A Socio Cultural Construct

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory will be applied throughout this essay to delve into the reasoning behind particular behavioural issues. According to Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, an individual has multiple environments known as their ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). Bronfenbrenner (1994) suggests that a developing child is influenced by the relationships surrounding them and the best way to understand a child’s behaviour is to look at the numerous aspects of the child’s environment and how they interact with each other. The relationships and environments that the child interacts with have been separated into layers known as the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and the overarching chronosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). The microsystem is the environment where the child has direct face-to-face relationships such as at home, day care and school (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). The relationships formed within the microsystem directly impact the development of a child (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). It is through the processes of repeated interactions with people, objects and symbols that the human develops (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). The second layer in the ecological model is the mesosystem, which is the interaction between two of the microsystems such as the relationship between a parent and a teacher (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). The exosystem is an external environment, with which the

    Read More

  • Psychology and Relationship Problems

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    Scoufe, L.A., Duggal, S., Weinfield, N. & Carlson, E. (2000). 5 Relationship, Development and Psychopathology. Handbook of Development Psychopathology, 1-17.

    Read More

More about Case Analysis of Jack and Ally through the Ecological Framework

Open Document