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 AdolescentThe 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 with the task of addressing the prevention of future use of alcohol and the task of catering to the issues from which the drinking problem stemmed from to begin with. Alcohol use and abuse is the confluence of different social and psychological models wherein the adolescent finds himself (Lilja, Larsson, Wilhemsen, & Hamilton; 2003).The primary reason for Dean's alcohol abuse is his insecurity regarding his sexuality. The issue of whether or not he is heterosexual haunts him. He is pressured by his peers to gain interest in engaging in sexual activities with the opposite sex.His lack of desire holds him back however and as he has yet to mature physically in the same level that his peers have, he copes with his inadequacy.
Without anyone to talk with about his problems he becomes increasingly scare and confused about his self-identity thus resorting to the forgetfulness that alcohol affords him. Studies have shown that non-heterosexual tendencies in adolescence with increased substance use as well as psychological distress (Busseri, Willoughby, Chalmers, ; Bogaert; 2006).Another issue facing Dean is the inhibition in his cognitive development with no adult to encourage him to achieve more for himself, as his C average performance was never questioned. Rather, he was encouraged to simply get passing grades with the assurance that he would be welcome in the family business. There was thus little motivation for Dean to hope for or pursue college plans.Risk and Protective FactorsRisk factors are conditions linked with lower chances of socially desirable positive results and increased chances of negative or socially undesirable ones (Jessor, Turbin, ; Costa; 1998).
Such factors apply to a wide range of areas in life, from well-being to social role performance. Protective factors on the other hand, are the opposite, These factors enhance the likelihood of good outcomes and decrease the chances of bad ones resulting from risk exposure (Jessor et al.; 1998).Among the risk factors Dean is exposed to are his partying and sexually active friends. Although it has increasingly been deemed normal for adolescents to engage in such activities, it is far from psychologically unstable for an adolescent not to engage in such.
The peer pressure and the self-comparisons, particularly the condescending remarks made by his friends expose Dean to doubts about himself and his identity.Another would be his dependence on his father's acceptance of his lackluster performance in school. Without self-motivation in place, it falls upon his support system, in this case his family, to encourage him to achieve greater things for himself.Taking support system into consideration, it is also a risk for Dean that he has few to no friends to whom he can confide his feelings of inadequacy. It has been held that peers and friendships are major contributors to psychosocial adaptation in adolescence constituting a protective element against deviant behavior, depression and feelings of alienation (Corsano, Majorano, & Champretavy; 2006).In the case of Deans friends, such feelings are encouraged rather than held at bay.
Thus it can be clearly seen that the same are risk factors.However, it should be noted that the supportive family and good family relations that Dean possesses are strong protective factors which should motivate him to achieve positive outcome potentials. He also has the protection of a good education from the vo-tech school program, education which he can be sure he will be able to apply as he has already been assured work.He is therefore certain of his job in the future.
Also, the protection factor of peers may be considered as regards Dean's past friends who accepted him without judgment for his good nature and lackadaisical ways.Methods to Be Employed to Address the IssuesTo address the present substance abuse that Dean is facing and to answer the different risk factors that are present in his case, it would be wise to first of all involve his family. The family is key in opening windows of opportunity for Dean to pursue a career different from his father, if he so chooses.But as long as his parents take for granted the easy nature of their son, then they will miss out on his problems and will not be able to accurately assess his potentials, potentials which he himself may not be aware of, especially considering his depression and peer alienation.Also, taking into consideration that the peer social factors in this case are risk factors as opposed to the popular view that they are solely protective factors, it should be considered that Dean be taken out of the current social group he is exposed to (Peterson, Compas, ; Brooks-Gunn; 1992). Dean should be made to understand that his identity is not determined by the maturity of his peers in areas such as physical development.
Rather, his identity is determined by his own personal preferences, interests, and choices.ReferencesBusseri, M. A., Willoughby, T., Chalmers, H.
, and Bogaert, A. R. (2006). Same-sex attraction and successful adolescent development.
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(1998). Risk and Protection in Successful Outcomes Among Disadvantaged Adolescents. Applied Developmental Science, 2(4), 194-198.Lilja, J.
, Larsson, S., Wilhelmsen, B. U., and Hamilton, D. (2003). Perspective on Preventing Adolescent Substance Use and Misuse.
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