Adolescent Psychosocial Assessment
SECTION I – SOCIAL HISTORY

Personal

In list format, cover the following:

1. Name: John Mathew

2. Age: 18

3. Sex: Male

4. Race/Ethnic: Black, African-American

5. Education/Occupation: Student

6. Health: Okay

Social

John's family lives in an apartment situated in the middle of a range of complexes. The residence is right in the middle of communities in Washington, DC. The household is always abuzz with activity. There are two boys named Zebulon and David. The boys still call for their mother's attention. Ervin, my father, does not have a job. He is grounded in a wheelchair, following health challenges he has faced in the past couple of years. My mother is a part-time writer. Her name is Monique. The main poverty indicator about my family is the challenge we face in paying bills and lack of money to travel around (Sherman, 2012). Several aspects of culture support my family and me. We have strong social networks that work. Family members are cooperative and are ready to take up tasks. We are also highly religious and spiritual. I love watching T.V., taking part in sports, creative activities, reading, and listening to music.

SECTION II –THEORY/THEORIST(S), CONCEPTS OF HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

1. Choose any two theories/theorists on the effect of the social environment on human behavior and one theory/theorist on, Person-In-Environment (PIE).

Social Learning Theory

According to Bandura, a crititcal element of human learning occurs through imitation. Of course, imitation involves some cognitive processes. A lot of information is gained when we simply look at models. W consequently code what we see on our minds. The model by Bandura provides deep insights into learning by imitation. Broadly, one of the basic and rather subtle concerns by Bandura is the process of socializing. This is the process of inducing the society members to operate in socially acceptable ways. The socializing process is so important that it has a major effect on all kinds of behavior, including skills of technical nature. Most of the boys of teenage age in the U.S. feel that they won't be compatible with their social group before they learn how to drive an automobile. However, driving an automobile is not a skill that is expected of teenagers in all cultures. There are several categories of social conduct that bear wider import and relevance. The socialization process makes sure that children behave in a certain gender-acceptable manner. The boys across societies are taught to behave in masculine ways; girls are also taught to behave in ways expected of girls and women. People, though, as they grow older, keep adjusting their behavior as they depend less and less on external influence. In other words, adults build their internal standards to punish and reward what they do (Crain, 2014)

Psychosocial theory

Erik Erikson, on his part, opined that all humans pass through eight developmental stages –from when they are born until they die. The adolescent stage demands that one discovers that they are separate entities from their family. This stage is necessary if ego identity is to be attained. The ego identity stage pressures one to find out who they are and their place in the society they live in. The stage involves taking earlier experiences that one has gone through and developing a life philosophy. Erikson proposed that adolescents might as well choose a psychosocial moratorium: space and time to pursue different activities that encourage life experiments. These activities may comprise of traveling and studying until the attainment of ego identity (Reubins&Reubins, 2014).

The stage also manifests a positive relationship with the industrious world. It also marks the start of sexual maturity. These two developments are clear markers of the end of childhood and the onset of adolescence. While they look for ways of mutually regulating themselves in light of the changes occurring on the psychosocial front, adolescents are expected to develop an identity with meaning independently. Such an identity should integrate and reconcile the past, present, and future. The confusion that emanates from their view of the self and self-exploration urges makes them to be too concerned with how they look before other people. This makes them overly preoccupied with crowds and cliques. The value system that one carries into their adult life starts to develop at this point (Chávez, 2016).

Person-In-Environment theory: Psychoanalytic theory

Oedipal feelings preoccupy the life of a teenager, suddenly and with force. They tend to resent the same sex parent. The incestuous forces that draw them to the parent of the opposite sex are common-place but unconscious. When the oedipal feelings, first, manifest, the adolescent feels like running away. They feel rather uncomfortable and tense in the presence of their parents. They feel relieved when they are away from them. Some adolescents cannot stand it at home. They run away. Others stick around but with a boarder attitude. They lock themselves up in rooms and feel free only when they met their peers. Other adolescents try to create a psychological justification o avoid their parents by crafting a blanket condemnation. They try not to think about their parents in a vain attempt to try and break away from parental care (Crain, 2014).

Apply the theories you have chosen to your interviewee's development

John, an adolescent, is shaped by his residential environment. Environmental factors have also become part of his development process. All adolescents are subject to a wide range of transitions. The changes range from cognitive, biological, and social. The changes are in tandem with the normative ones expected of adolescents from childhood to adult life. John, who is an African American in...…discriminate against people of color and other minorities. There are coverage gaps in the health insurance sector, affecting minorities more than the rest of the groups. Poor health outcomes and lack of access to service are part of the problem of these events. When these challenges overwhelm a group in a given population, there is a high chance that the generations that come after that will also be affected in a similar but even worse fashion. They will not have equal opportunities as the rest of the populace. When the employment and health status of parents are poor, parents are disabled from monitoring the educational progress of their children. John faces a myriad of challenges at home at school. The rate of unemployment in Washington DC stands at 28.5%, while the poverty levels are reported to be at 40%. Available data from the U.S Population Survey, there are 14 million children in homes with incomes below the poverty level ratings. (Alexander, 2010).

Part of the ESEA provision caters for most of the funding needs for disadvantaged youth. It was also reauthorized recently by the Every Student Succeeds Act. The Local Authority Agency Grants provides the biggest access platform for secondary education. The grants from Title I-A reach he children perceived to be low achievers in prekindergarten settings through to grade 12. These are mainly focused on schools with high population concentration and those with parents with low income. Title I-A directs agencies at both state and local levels to promote enrolment, school attendance, and educational success of disadvantaged children (Fernandes-Alcantara, 2018).

SECTION III – SPIRITUAL FORMATION

John subscribes to the Christian faith. He calls churches "church homes and families." It means that the church forms an inclusive support system. The church leadership and structure provide an anchor for the life cycle stages. For instance, the church has built a nursery where children and parents are actively involved in the services. The church also offers a wide range of services, including tutoring after school. The role of religion and spirituality is critical in the life and lifecycle of the African American youth and adults alike. It is the survival mechanism that sustains the resilience of this minority group.

Interview questions

1. How are you?

2. What is your name?

3. How old are you?

4. What is your gender?

5. How do you identify?

6. What is your current occupation?

7. How would you describe the structure and socioeconomic status of your family of origin?

8. Did you ever encounter any problems or obstacles growing up?

Follow-up: Were you able to overcome those obstacles? What systems of support did you have?

Follow-up: Were there some obstacles that you couldn't overcome?

9. How are you involved in the community?

Follow-up: What are your interests?

10. What are your hobbies?