Sam Odani's psychosocial development through Erikson's identity theory

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SECTION I – SOCIAL HISTORY Personal 1. Name: Sam Odani  2. Age: 27 3. Sex: Male 4. Race/Ethnic: Japanese 5. Education/Occupation: Veterinarian 6. Health: Ok Social Sam Odani is a Californian. I live with multiple generations of my family. They include my grandmother (Kiku Ito), my father (Howell Ching), and my mother. Our home is in the city of Sacramento, California. My parents and grandparents came to live with me to help me raise Nick, my son. I know my parents are at home caring for my young son, allowing me to spend more hours at work and earn more. Because my parents are old, it is now time for me to provide or care for them. In Japanese culture, parents usually make sacrifices to provide for their children. They work longer hours and spend a lot of money to ensure their children get a quality education (Russell, Crockett & Chao, 2010). For instance, my parents sacrificed the comfortable life they had back in Japan to bring to the U.S. so that I could have a better life than them. Since we arrived in America, they ensured all my needs were met and provided me with everything I needed to succeed. This is how I became a veterinarian. As an Asian American, I engage in religious activities for spiritual nourishment and network with people with whom I share a national or ethnic identity. I am interested in technology, movies, and hockey. SECTION II –THEORY/THEORIST(S), CONCEPTS OF HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT Psychosocial development theory   This is an 8-stage theory of psychosocial development and identity developed by Eric Erickson. According to Erikson, every individual has to undergo the eight phases/ stages of development in their life. The stages are wisdom, care, love, fidelity, competence, purpose, will, and hope. The stages are divided in terms of age from the infancy stage to the older adult stage (Sigelman & Rider, 2014). According to Erickson\\\\\\\'s psychosocial development theory, Sam Odani is now in stage 6 because he is a young adult. Erickson stated that this stage, solidarity, and intimacy are very important, and they determine if someone feels isolated or loved/ belonging. As a young adult, Sam is expected to get into the institution of marriage and start a family to ensure the society goes on. As a young adult, Sam is also expected to need emotional, physical, and other intimacy types that he can get from marriage. The presence or lack of intimacy will make him feel isolated or belonging. Relationships with friends are also important at this stage (Sigelman & Rider, 2014). Social learning theory Probably the foremost social learning theorist was Albert Bandura. Bandura was mainly interested in morality\\\\\\\'s behavioral component. In other words, he had been interested in what people do when they face temptation or an opportunity to act in a pro-social manner. As per Bandura and other social theorists, morality is something that people learn in a similar way to how they generally learn social behavior: via punishment and reinforcement principles and observational learning. Because of situational circumstances, people always do not do what is consistent with their moral standards and values. Using his social cognitive framework, Bandura stressed that valued or aspirational moral values/ standards become moral actions via self-regulatory mechanisms such as the evaluation of one\\\\\\\'s anticipated actions or recent actions, the disapproval of oneself when thinking about choices that are not moral, and self-approval when one acts humanely or responsibly (Sigelman & Rider, 2014). Person-In-Environment: Existentialist According to Thompson, there are two basic existentialist principles – responsibility and freedom. Existential freedom is not the product of human nature but a self-creation via actions and choices. Freedom entails individuals carrying responsibility for their actions and the consequences, if any, for oneself and others. Sartre was quite interested in looking at the moral viewpoint on how individual praxis is sociopolitical through both its consequences and its context. Via the above framework, Thompson integrates the person-in-environment theory as a discourse between political liberty and existential freedom. Existential freedom is ontological freedom – one\\\\\\\'s ability to make their own choices. On the other hand, political liberties are the choices or options available for the individual to choose from. This framework presents a situation of environmental constraints (objective) and individual experiences (subjective) and the ongoing exchange of the two resulting in experience totalization (Cornell, 2006). Apply the theories you have chosen to your interviewee\\\\\\\'s development Generally, individuals are defined by the things that they do in life. And since most people work or have careers in their adulthood, their work or careers define them. While people earn good money from working the jobs that define them, their sense of satisfaction usually comes from their workmates\\\\\\\' contact. Contact between workmates often increases opportunities for promotion and independence. Positive relationships between lovers or married partners generally contribute to positivity and wellness. In addition to identifying themselves through work, most people, especially in the Western World, usually identify themselves through their families. For instance, they identify themselves, especially with parents, children, and spouses. While it is often stressful to raise young children, research shows that when most children grow into adults, they usually remember the help they get and payback. By paying back, parents usually experience improved mood and well-being. A stable family or marriage also often enhances well-being, especially in adulthood (Sigelman & Rider, 2014). Sam\\\\\\\'s family provide him with stability and enhance his well-being. These are some of the reasons he continues to live with his parents and one grandparent alongside the fact that they help him take care of his young child. The social connectedness brought about by living in a multi-generational home helps both Sam and his family. Conform to \\\\\\\"normal\\\\\\\" developmental milestones Sam\\\\\\\'s development is normal for a person of his age. Sam has sought and discovered his place in society. He has a good career, has found a partner, has a child, establishes a family, and is in a relationship with his partner and a household with loving parents. He is in a very good position compared to most people his age, and he seems destined for great success. Sam used to depend on his parents. But he is now responsible for them and his young child. Biological, psychological & sociological factors influencing the specified age group Sam is a young adult. His development stage can be defined as emerging adulthood. In this stage, identity is formed, intimate relationships are built, stronger interpersonal relationships are developed, maturity is achieved, and transition into more adult roles is starts. This stage is usually marked by changes in relationships, education, employment, and residence. Emerging adulthood is also a stage in which young people: focus on self, start new roles, develop stronger social networks, separate from some old friends and family members, increase their opportunities, increase their independence, achieve freedom from social control and time constraints, and experience reduced parental monitoring, guidance, and support (White & Jackson, 2004). Biological factors When analyzed biologically, humans are biological systems. This makes human behaviors, emotions, and cognitions the human physiology and anatomy products alongside all-important systems such as the endocrine and nervous systems. Emerging adulthood is a development stage between the late twenties and early thirties. It coincides with the human body being at its peak biologically for both males and females. Males are strongest in the stage, while women are very fertile. Fertility for women begins to decline from around the age of thirty-five. Most young adults usually have no significant health problems. Sociological factors In the emerging adulthood stage, individuals are partly responsible for the pathway of development they take by adaptively responding to various physical, cultural, social, and biological contexts that they can influence or be influenced by. Various factors have been identified as being cable of changing life pathways at this stage. They include macro-level and micro-level factors. Macro-level factors are societal and historical influences. Examples include neighborhood environment, family support, and socioeconomic status can either negatively or contribute change one\\\\\\\'s life pathway. More specifically, poverty, dysfunctional families, and discrimination reduce growth opportunities and the ability to make certain choices (Wood et al., 2018). Psychological factors As one transition into adulthood or emerging adulthood, character qualities and individualism become quite important, especially in developed countries. One important quality that becomes very important as one becomes a young adult is sole decision-making. Even though one\\\\\\\'s ability to make independent/ sole decisions shows his moral and psychological identity, it also particularly shows his ability to consider various factors and his cognitive maturity when making a choice. Recent brain studies have concluded that brain development, especially in the front part of the cortex, does not stop until the late thirties. Full development usually results in the integration of action, emotion, cognition, and executive control. The continuing development of various brain parts in the adolescent stage and the emerging adulthood stage determine future life pathways and behaviors in adulthood. As the brain gets enhanced with development, capacities to block unnecessary input, delay gratification, and solve problems. As these capacities develop and mature, emerging adults become more capable of reflecting on and influencing their internal state and environment. They also become better able to solve problems and regulate their emotions. These new skills are particularly important in personal relationships and social interactions as they improve them and the adults\\\\\\\' ability to handle them (Wood et al., 2018).  Identify how power, privilege, and oppression has affected your interviewee within their development. Generally, Asian families in the United States, e.g., Sam\\\\\\\'s, face several challenges and stressors. While many of the life stressors they encounter are general, quite a number are also specific to Asian Americans. The type of challenges and stressors Asian Americans face vary with length of stay in the U.S., social class, migration history, language skills, education level, acculturation level, country of origin, culture, and ethnicity. These contextual stress sources come from individual families and at the societal level. They indirectly and directly affect gender roles, power structures, relationships between couples, and child relationships. An example of a problem that many Asian American families have to cope with is racism. This is usually expressed in the form of prejudice discrimination. Racism against Asians in the United States is historical. And it continues, although there are thousands of Korean Americans, Chinese Americans, and Japanese Americans who have been living in the U.S. for many generations (White & Jackson, 2004). While they have lived in the United States for a long, they are still perceived as foreigners because of their Asian looks. Asian Americans experience multiple types of discrimination in several life areas, including institutional domains such as healthcare and housing and interpersonal interactions (McMurtry et al., 2019). A recent survey established that almost 70 percent of Asian Americans believe that prejudice is a big problem. In comparison, around 14 percent believe that they face discrimination in government policies and laws. The remaining 16 percent said they believe both prejudice and discrimination are equally an issue (McMurtry et al., 2019). In society, Sam experiences barriers in his career because of ethnic discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping. Nevertheless, in contrast to African Americans who are prejudiced and stereotyped negatively, Asian Americans\\\\\\\' stereotypes are largely positive. They face the stereotype of the model minority. According to Grand (2008), Chinese and Asian Americans were first labeled a model minority in the mid-sixties in an article that praised their discipline and hard work despite discrimination. The model minority stereotype unnecessarily burdens Sam and other Asian minorities like him (Leong & Tang, 2016). Identify at least one policy/trend which were part of your interviewee\\\\\\\'s development. The McCarran Walter Act of 1952, which is also known as the Immigration and Nationality Act, was enacted to unify migration and related laws under a single law. The law was particularly enacted to deal with skilled labor immigration, protection of American jobs, and family reunifications. In effect, the law permitted anyone from any country to earn citizenship through naturalization regardless of their race or color. For the first time, it enabled Asians from Korea, China, Japan, and other places to become American citizens. It repealed a law that excluded Asians from American citizenship. Despite this law coming into force, a system known as the national origins system prevented further immigration from people of Asian countries if their number already met a certain quota. Congress acted in by amended the 1952 Act in 1965 to remove the national origins system. A new system was adopted that did not discriminate by nationality and focused on bringing in immigrants who would contribute to the United States\\\\\\\' betterment and its people (David & Lin, 1997). This law helped Sam\\\\\\\'s parents to immigrate to the United States from Japan. It allowed them and him to become citizens of the United States. And it allowed him to grow and develop as an American of Japanese ethnicity. Identify injustices, limitations, and deficits in advocacy needs for your interviewee. Asian Americans are very diverse. The major ethnic groups include Indian, Korean, Filipino, Chinese, and Japanese. Apart from differing by ethnicity, they also differ by class, degree of acculturation, education, preferred jobs, etc. Because they are minorities, they are considered one group despite their distinctiveness for administration. Because Asian Americans look different, they are considered foreign regardless of how long they live in the United States. Because of this, they are denied equal opportunity; they face discrimination and extensive prejudice. Despite discrimination, apologists say they have survived discrimination and become a model group, and they have not. They still face a lot of discrimination. Moreover, Asian American immigrants and refugees are also denied equal access to legal, health, education, and police services (David & Lin, 1997). The model minority myth that depicts Asian Americans as a successful group has led many agencies to ignore Asian Americans\\\\\\\' problems. The myth has also led to the resentment of the community by other minority groups. Moreover, language and cultural barriers among Asian American groups have made it difficult for them to team up and collectively ask for equal rights and equal access to opportunities and services. The barriers have reduced their collective political voice. And while many immigrants widely speak English, some new immigrants only speak a few English words and, therefore, find it difficult to communicate with other immigrants and ask or get the help they need. Another issue making it difficult for Asian Americans to fight discrimination is their lack of representation in Congress and local legislatures. They also lack the know-how to act politically and effectively to get their issues addressed. The fact that many immigrants cannot vote until they officially become citizens is also a problem. Lack of political representation and political know-how makes it a challenge to stop the issue of Asian American discrimination a top agenda (David & Lin, 1997). Asian Americans face violence and bigotry. They also face misplaced anger from people feeling they are part of the Asian countries that deny them jobs or make life difficult for Americans. They also face resentment for the perceived or real success of Asian Americans. The media additionally plays a role in promoting the model minority myth, which fuels resentment and sensationalizes Asian gangs. These things make life very difficult for Asian Americans, who are a very large and very diverse group in terms of many things (David & Lin, 1997). SECTION III – SPIRITUAL FORMATION Because Sam is a Buddhist, he feels spiritual connectedness, pleasure, positive communication, commitment, affection, and appreciation when he spends time together with his parents, grandparent, and child every day. All his family members are Buddhists, which makes him feel blessed and as if he is playing an important role in continuing his family\\\\\\\'s heritage. Japanese families\\\\\\\' major strengths include tolerance of diversity, family (parents) commitment, family responsibility, and family solidarity (Xia, Do, & Xie, 2013).