Running Head: GONZALEZ CASE STUDY
GONZALEZ CASE STUDY
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Gonzalez Case Study
Tony L. Thomas
Union University HBSE II
Luz Gonzalez: Early Adolescent, Age 13
Biological Influences
The early adolescence stage can be one of the most challenging times in a child’s life. Luz is encountering numerous different changes in his body that are influencing his growth. Biologically I believe that Luz is developing at a healthy pace of growth but other biological changes like puberty could be affecting him, causing him to become more withdrawn than usual.
Psychological Influences
Due to emotional unrest and instability Luz is undergoing psychological challenges. He has become very inactive in class and does not interact with his classmates. Luz evaluates himself in reflection of his peers due to his mental activities during this development phase. Adolescents gain new awareness of themselves and others as they mature. (Steinburg & Morris, 2001) Luz acts shy due to him becoming embarrassed about himself. To avoid rejection Luz distances himself from his peers. Although Luz is a smart child his low self-esteem is psychologically hurting his academic achievements.
Social Influences
Luz is at the age where he prefers to spend more time with his peer groups. At this stage of development there are certain roles that youth play through firm social rules. Youth learn to control their emotions to fit into whatever group they best relate to and to avoid rejection. (Steinburg & Morris, 2001) The Gonzalez family does not have the finances to fund after school programs, so Luz is not able to participate, which could improve his social acceptance. After school his social groups are confined to mostly his older brothers or grandparents. Hector was recently diagnosed with ADHD and Jose dropped out of school in the 10th grade. Due to Luz being the youngest his older brothers have a huge impact on him. He possibly could feel the need to follow in Jose’s footsteps and drop out of school. Hector having ADHD could be bothering Luz, also not being around his adequate age group could cause him to feel insecure due him being the baby which turns into negative feeling causing him to be withdrawn.
Cultural Influences
Cultural backgrounds play a vital role in integration to social setting. Due to Luz’s mother and father being from immigrant families he was raised by a certain set of values and traditions. Those values and traditions possibly could be difficult to understand by an outside source. His mother emigrated from Mexico and his father’s family immigrated from Columbia so they both possess different culture guidelines than your typical American born youth. His classmates could discriminate against him just because he is different. Social behavior is a subset of human behavior therefore behavior is impacted by certain traits an individual has so his culture could be affecting his behavior. (Steinburg & Morris, 2001) Societies and cultures are closely related to each other and I believe social change involves cultural acceptance. Luz’s Supportive Factors for Human Development
Luz has several supportive factors that influence his development. One supportive factor is that his father is a positive role model, completed high school and has steady well-paying job. Also, that both parents and children are in reasonably good health. Luz is also very intelligent and well-mannered in class. He has the potential to succeed academically far pass his parents expectations. Luz’s Unsupportive Factors for Human Development
There are also a few factors that may potentially hinder healthy development for Luz. One factor could be the family’s financial situation which is causing Luz not being able to participate in after school activities. Leaving him feeling left out and unincluded from the rest of his peers. Another factor could be his sibling, Jose dropped out of high school and has not being able to keep a steady job. Hector was recently diagnosed with ADHD and has been displaying disruptive behaviors which could be affecting Luz in a negative way. I am sure Luz does not know what ADHD is and can’t understand why Victor’s behavior has recently gotten worse. Older sibling has a huge influence on younger sibling.
Jose Gonzalez: Late Adolescent, Age 19
Biological Influences
At this stage in Jose’s life it is very little normative and frequent change as he transitions to adulthood. (Steinburg & Morris, 2001) The process of becoming an adult is difficult to some, younger people take longer to achieve economic and psychological security. He is s also experiencing rapid change in his capacity to think by developing abstract thinking skills. (Changing and Understanding Social Development, 2008) Maturing is causing him to move from identifying as an extension of his parents to recognizing his uniqueness. Which could be the reason Jose asserted his rights against his parent’s and dropped out of school.
Psychological Influences
In the tenth grade Jose dropped out of school against his parents wishes and has been unable to transition to an adult lifestyle successfully. He is 19 but does not have career choices with longevity and only working low salary jobs. The psychological connection between Jose quitting sports influenced his decision to drop out of school as well. Jose was the star athlete in school and likely aspired of one day playing professionally. Dreams are important in psychological growth, it gives you focus and self-worth. (Changing and Understanding Social Development, 2008) He possibly views himself as a failure, at this stage of development Jose should be more financially and emotionally independent but due to his poor decision making he is not.
Social Influences
Jose is in the process of coming to terms with his identity as he transitions into adulthood. He is refining his identity around issues such as gender, physical attributes, sexuality, and ethnicity. (Steinburg & Morris, 2001) When Jose ignored his parents and dropped out of school that’s an example of asserting his right to independence, which is common in this stage of life. (Changing and Understanding Social Development, 2008) His social environment is only limited to family and work so possibly Jose feels the need to branch off and build other relationships outside of his family. Also, in this stage you start to focus on intimate relationships and future aspirations/goals. (Changing and Understanding Social Development, 2008)
Cultural Influences
It can be assumed that Jose’s decision to drop out of high school is a result of his family culture. His father completed high school, but his mother did not. In the Latino culture education is not valued as much as Americans, even though over the past decade Latino high school dropout rates has declined and college enrollment has increased. (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2015) The Latino culture strongly values family, so him dropping out school and getting a job could be to assist his family finically so his parents and younger sibling can have a better quality of life.
Jose’s Supportive Factors for Human Development
Jose possesses self-less character traits that should be valued in all cultures. He dropped out of school and went to work just to help his struggling parents financially. He is young, healthy, physically fit and can do many different jobs. He is also the oldest of three and serves as a positive role model for his sibling. Jose’s Unsupportive Factors for Human Development
Jose being the oldest of three brings a set of more responsibilities that your normal adolescent around his age. Jose is physically strong and is working but what if he gets seriously hurt on the job. He dropped out of high school, so he does not have an education and only certain businesses will hire you without a high school diploma.
Three Factors
One factor that not addressed is the parenting issues. Both Jorge and Maria have different cultures, and both have different views about what is best for their children. Jose going against his family wishes and dropping out of school created conflict within their family. This shows that both Jorge and Maria need to improve their parenting skills, so their other children will not to follow in Jorge’s footsteps. They should have found out the reason why Jorge wanted to drop out of school and found an alternative to the problem. Another factor would be that is not addressed are the grandparents. Very little is said about the grandparents outside of they keep the children when the parents are not home. Grandparents have a hug impact on their grandkids and we do not know if it is a positive or negative influence. In some families, the role of grandparenting is almost seamless but sometimes grandparenting can be complicated due to past issues that have created emotional distance between the grandparents and their adult children. This emotional distance will usually extend between the grandparents and their grandchildren. (Why grandparents are key to children’s development, 2017) The last factor could be the boy’s school atmosphere. The learning environment a child is placed in has a lot to do with the student’s success. If Jose was at a more positive supportive school environment it’s a good probability he would have graduated high school. We don’t know what the school was like or his teachers. How Certain Systems Support or Hinder Family
A formal organization is a social system constructed by clearly laid out rules, goals, and practices that functions based on a division of labor and a clearly defined hierarchy of power. There are three different types of formal organizations, the first is coercive in which memberships are forced and controlled within the organization like a psychiatric facility, boarding school or a prison. Another formal organization is utilitarian which are defined by what you can gain from them like a school, college or a company. For example, you pay tuition to go to college and work to get paid. The last formal organization is normative in which membership is on a voluntary basis like a church. (Types of Formal Organizations “n.d.”) If the Gonzalez family joined a church it could improve their social functioning by providing structure and guidance.
References
University of Minnesota Online Library (2008) Sociology: Changing and Understanding Social Development. Retrieved from http://open.lib.umn.edu/sociology/chapter/6-3-formal-organizations/ National Center for Educational Statistics (2015) Fast facts. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16 Steinberg, L., & Morris, A. S. (2001). Adolescent development. Annual review of psychology, 52(1), 83-110. Aged Care Channel (2017) Positive Impact: Why grandparents are key to children’s Development. Retrieved from http://inform.acctv.co/au/grandparents-are-key-to-childrens-development Monroviainquirer (2018) The importance of Culture and National Identity in the Society. Retrieved from http://monroviainquirer.com/2014/05/30/the-importance-of-culture-and-national-identity-in-the-societythe-sad-story-of-liberia/
Lumen Sociology (“n.d.”) Types of formal organizations. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-sociology/chapter/reading-formal-organizations/
