Emerging Adulthood

Question #2 : Family Systems Case Study.(19 Points)

B. After reviewing Cara's family history it was obvious to me that there were various factors causing the disequilibrium in the family horizontal axis. The first few things that I noticed were that Cara is going to college, her parents are divorced and her brother passed away in a car accident. All of these things are very difficult for Cara while she is transitioning into emerging adulthood. All of these things will come into play in the horizontal axis.

C. I have noticed that the factors on the vertical axis are pretty extreme for any merging adult. Cara is having to deal with fusion between her and her father which is a historical trend because her grandfather and her mother were fussed as well. There seemed to be triangulation between Cara, Cara's father and Cara's mother. This is very unhealthy for any child, as no child should be put in that type of situation. Even though Cara seemed to have a rough childhood, she still valued her family. She seemed to really love her brother and she is very close to her father.

D. I have also noticed that Cara is not transitioning normally through the PAFS. The reason I believe she is having so much trouble is because she unable to be independent. Even though she is living in a dorm away from her father, she is not making any of her own friends. Her father is fussed so tightly that she is unable to reach emerging adulthood. The vertical stressors that Cara is facing prevent her from adjusting into a young college student.

E. I believe that an intervention is needed to help Cara grow as a person. As Cara's therapist, I would suggest family therapy along with one-on-one theory. I would also explain to Cara's father that it is crucial for Cara's development that he allows her to be her own person; she needs autonomy. He can still maintain a close intimate relationship, but he needs to consent to her making her own choices in life while treating her as an equal. Her father also needs to explain to Cara that what happened between Cara's mother and him should not affect Cara's relationship with her mother. These are just a few things that I would suggest while going about an intervention.

Take home essay 2

Question 1: Identify development in emerging adulthood has been affected by various factors in Western society.

First: One historical change that has affected identity development in emerging adulthood is education to work transition. In the 1970's and 80's it was easier for people to go strait form high school into a blue collared job. Then they made enough money to pay their bills and take care of their families. There really wasn't any need to go to college if you knew you could get an honest paying job. However, in our society today it is much more difficult to do that. If someone doesn't go straight to college it might be much more difficult for them to get any type of job, much less a blue collared job. Today a college degree is almost equivalent to a high school diploma