PSY 210 Week 9 Final Project Case Study

PSY 210 Week 9 Final Project Case Study

PSY 210 Week 9 Final Project Case Study

Review case studies 1 and 2 in Appendix A.

Choose one case study from Appendix A.

Complete the following questions in 150 to 200 words each. Be as detailed as possible and use the information you have learned throughout this course.

· What are the causes of stress in Michael’s or Jennifer’s life? How is stress affecting Michael’s or Jennifer’s health?

· How are these stressors affecting Michael’s or Jennifer’s self-concept and self-esteem?

· How might Michael’s or Jennifer’s situation illustrate adjustment? How might this situation become an opportunity for personal growth?

· What defensive coping methods is Michael or Jennifer using? What active coping methods might be healthier for Michael or Jennifer to use? Explain why you would recommend these methods.

· Select one theory of personality and use this theory to tell Michael or Jennifer how this theory explains his or her situation.

· In what stage of development is Michael or Jennifer? What factors about this stage might be affecting his or her perspective of this situation?

What relationship factors or considerations might be influencing Michael’s or Jennifer’s problems?

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Sample Solution:

1. What are the causes of stress in Michael’s or Jennifer’s life? How is stress affecting Michael’s or Jennifer’s health?

The causes of stress in Jenifer’s life are a cluster of things. Not only is she feeling the stress from not being able to see her boyfriend as often as she would like, she also has a one hour commute to work every day. She is pressured to have a child that she wants but every day stresses on a body can make it really hard to conceive or carry a child. Even though she is organized at work, it can be a stressful thing to be so depended on. Her mother died only two years ago, and her father needs 24-hour assistance that she cannot provide, so it has to be her decision to have to put her father in the nursing home. With all the factors added in, she could be having her headaches, backaches, and indigestion because of all her stress. Even though she tells the doctor she is happy and not feeling stressed.

2. How are these stressors impacting Michael’s or Jennifer’s self-concept and self-esteem?

The stressors can cause an impact on Jennifer’s self-esteem because after awhile of trying to conceive a child, with getting no results, it can make a woman think that she is not able to conceive. Tie in the fact that she has already been pregnant once and lost the baby would be even more of a stressor. She would start having self doubts, and would question all the things involving the conception of the child, like is he sterile, or is she. She would also worry about things like if she does not conceive soon, will her husband still love her, and stay with her, or does he want a child so bad that he would leave her for another woman that may be able to give him the child he wants. The issue with having to put her father in a nursing home would also be a stressor that would make her wonder about her self-concept. She might wonder if she is making the right choice, or if she is a bad child for not being able to take care of her father the way he took care of her when she was young.

3. How might Michael’s or Jennifer’s situation illustrate adjustment? How might this situation become an opportunity for personal growth?

Well, Jennifer could use the time she would have from not having to take care of her father to grow and adjust to the situations that have come about. She is adjusting to the death of her mother without having to stop and take the time to allow herself to go through the adjustments. She is able to understand at least that she is incapable of taking complete care of her father and she is willing to get him to where he needs to be. The first thing I would recommend to Jennifer would be that she needs to admit she is stressed and life is not as happy go lucky as she makes it out to be. Adjustment for this situation would probably be a good idea if she was to take a small vacation, not just alone time for herself, but she would need Antonio to be with her. My recommendation would be that they spend time together and talk through some things.

4. What defensive coping methods, is Michael or Jennifer using? What active coping methods might be healthier for Michael or Jennifer to use? Explain why you would recommend these methods.

Right now the only active coping method Jennifer is using is by telling everyone around her that she is okay and everything is fine. Lying to the doctor is not going to help her situation any because if the doctor does not know what is going on, he is unable to look at the whole picture, and get a better diagnosis. It would be healthier if she were to actually deal with the situations at hand and admit that she is stressed. Once she passes that stage, then she can move onto the most pressing topic. Instead of trying to conceive a child right now, she should take some time to herself and reflect on what has gone on in the last two years. She would do great to meet a friend whom she would be able to talk about all this with. If having a job that has a one hour commute one way gives her such problems, either her or her husband should think about moving to where it would be easiest on the both of them, or find another job that would be closer to home. It would make things a lot better on the whole situation.

5. Select one theory of personality and use this theory to tell Michael or Jennifer how this theory explains his or her situation.

I think that Jennifer probably learned from her mother at an early age not to complain, and keep pushing for tomorrow. I think the personality theory that fits here is classical conditioning. Her mother is no longer around so the stresses that she is going through may be hard to talk out with her husband because in her mind, she has no one who knows what she is going through that she can relate with. Talking out her problems would be a great thing because when a person talks their problems out, she would be able to move past the first bump and get on to her life! She has been bottling up her emotions and with-out being able to talk then through she is causing her body more damages than she is doing good because with her silence is causing all the little things like stress headaches, indigestion, and backaches. Your stress can cause you to become sick if it is a constant thing.

6. In what stage of development is Michael or Jennifer and what factors about this stage might be impacting his or her perspective of this situation?

Without first admitting to the problem even exists then she is un-capable of moving on from there. Once she admits she has problems, or stressors, then she would be able to at least get the attention she needs towards her physical health. With her physical health being medicated, she would be able to go to a doctor and work out her mental issues.  She could go to a psychiatrist one on one, or maybe ask her husband to go to support her with a marriage doctor.

The possibilities are endless in the lines of helping her if she were to talk the issues through. She might really think that she is fine and not understand that there is stress with everything she does. Even the smallest thing like picking out what to wear to work can add stress to her. She is not able to see that the stress is affecting her physically. If she could be an outsider to herself and see all the issues that she deals with daily, that could help her to understand that she does have an issue then she would be able to cope with the issue a little better.

7. What relationship factors or considerations might be influencing Michael’s or Jennifer’s problems?

The relationship factor that would be influencing Jennifer’s problem the most is the time that they do not get to spend together. It is harder to work things out if you are unable to at least see each other. Like I said before a great way for them to re-connect would be some sort of small vacation that they could spend time together on. With the problem of not being able to conceive and carry, being a pressing one, her relationship is not going to get any better. The pressure to have a baby, which her family is issuing and with her own self doubts, it is probably greatly affecting her relationship. Having a baby can be stressful enough, not adding in the family putting pressure on her, and being hard on herself, leave off that she is having a hard time conceiving. Losing a child is hard, but to try and jump back into the same situation without, first, having time to get over the first one, could cause more issues then she is prepared to take on at the moment. The decision to put her father in a nursing home could make or break the relationship. It really just depends on how Antonio also feels on the situation and what he would like to do. If getting the father when he is more comfortable would help out their relationship, then I would say it is a good idea. The first thing she needs to do is talk out her problems first.