Case Study on Physical, Cognitive and Identity Development in Adolescence

RUNNING HEAD : PHYSICAL , COGNITIVE , AND IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENTS

Adolescent Development : A Case Study

[NAME OF CLIENT]

[UNIVERSITY]

[ The subject under study herein is a sixteen year old white male , Dean When Dean was eight years old , his parents divorced and both his parents remarried shortly thereafter . Eventually his mother moved to a different state . They have maintained little contact since . His stepmother and stepbrother however lived with the Dean and his father . Dean was in good terms with his stepmother and was observed to be a good

brother to Jesse , his stepbrother

It was noted however that at the time of the separation , Dean 's grades declined markedly . He was however able to maintain a passing average His father encouraged him to play football and so he joined the football team . But he dropped out of the team when he reached high school . He enrolled in George Washington Carver High School , a school established to cater to African-Americans . Dean was fine there however as he kept a group of close friends . His friends enjoyed his easygoing nature and appreciated his sense of humor . He maintained a C average standing . His father assured him that after graduation he could work at the family auto-repair shop

Dean 's father owned and ran an auto-repair shop where his stepmother helps out part-time with the account management . His stepmother was also a very active volunteer in their community and in their church , With his father 's assurance , Dean enrolled in a course on automobile repair in the regional vo-tech school . With his other friends taking up preparatory courses for college , Dean spent most of his time with his vo-tech friends

They were at that stage in their life when they were finally allowed to do things which heretofore had been deemed off-limits for them . Dean was therefore exposed to his friends stories about drinking and having sex He himself was not able to relay any such stories as he had maintained only friendly platonic relations with girls . As he hears remarks from his friends regarding boys who were not interested in girls , Dean wonders if there was something different about him , that he himself was gay . Scared of such a possibility , he reasons that he will develop the feelings once the right girl comes along

With no change in his circumstance , Dean became more and more depressive . He started drinking heavily and was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol . The penalty was that he join an education program and accomplish community service . His parents are disappointed but believe that he has learned his lesson and will be alright as soon as he finds a girl to set him aright

Issues Confronting the Adolescent

The present striking issue exhibited by Dean 's actions is his alcohol abuse . Such abuse exposed him to law violation and to endangering behavior . However , such reliance on alcohol cannot be said to have resulted simply from the addictive quality of the drink . We are therefore faced...