Running head: PEPSI SCREENING 1

Physical, Emotional, Philosophical, Social, and Intellectual Screening

Genevieve Weems

EDU 220
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Biography. The child I am observing is a female 16-year-old junior in high school. They

come from a family of divorce. They live with their mother, though they see their father

occasionally he lives out of state. They get along better with their fathers, but don’t have a choice

of who to stay with. They have a step-father, and a half-sister. Their relationship with their

mother is rocky. Half of the time their mom is good to them and is trying her best, the other half

of the time her mother is losing her temper or ignoring her. Her step father is indifferent to her,

choosing to ignore her. Only really talking with her when it is to yell at her for messing up.

Sometimes even going as far as to pretend that she doesn’t exist. Her little sister looks up to her

though. They have little fights as siblings often do, however they get along well for the most

part.

They went to two elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school.

Bouncing from school to school for most of her life, never having long lasting friendships. She is

a voracious reader and will read anything she can get her hands on. One of her favorite authors is

John Green, she has read his book The Fault in our Stars at least ten times. Though she enjoys

reading and writing poetry just as much. She taught herself how to play guitar, and often escapes

into her music.

Her room reflects her interests and familial situation well. She has a mattress in one

corner on the floor. Her parents said they would get her a bed frame but chose instead to

renovate other rooms in the house. She has a book case filled with second hand books that spills

out onto the floor around it. She has a small tv with a shelf of DVDs and a DVD player. As well

as an old gaming console and a few games. She has many posters covering her walls ranging

from her favorite band, to her favorite musical, to her favorite youtubers. She also has many kick

knacks and candles relating to her Wiccan beliefs.

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Physical development. By this time in their life cycle, teenagers have gone through

puberty and have started to settle into their adult bodies. "Girls also experience puberty as a

sequence of events, but their pubertal changes usually begin before boys of the same age. Each

girl is different and may progress through these changes differently” (Stanford Children’s

Health). Puberty can be an uncomfortable topic, so I didn’t push the girl to talk about it much.

However, if she is progressing normally then she should be fully developed.

Sexual activity is another topic that comes up during the maturing of young adults.

“Many adolescents become sexually active, although the long-term trend is down” (Snowman,

McCowen ch.3-5). The girl says that she isn’t sexually active, and I would choose to believe her

considering she’s never had a partner. Though sexual activity is another topic teens tend not to

talk about with those who are older than them.

Teens start to think about how attractive they are and how they can best present

themselves to the world. Sometimes this idea manifests themselves in healthy way, such as

dressing nicely and showering regularly. Sometimes this idea manifests itself in ways that are

harmful, such as eating disorders. Due to social pressures and familial suggestion she has been

practically starving herself through diets that she doesn’t need to be on. This is something many

females around that age do to be attractive, or to fit the social constructs of what they should

look like. “Eating disorders are much more common in females than in males” (Snowman,

McCowen ch.3-5). There is more pressure for females of that age to look a certain way than for

male in the same age group.

Emotional development. Teens go through a lot of emotional changes through middle

and high school. Many of these emotions are negative. “Many psychiatric disorders either appear

or become prominent during adolescence” (Snowman, McCowen ch.3-5).

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“Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by a preoccupation with body

weight and food, behavior directed toward losing weight, peculiar patterns of handling food,

weight loss, intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of one’s body” (Snowman,

McCowen ch.3-5).

At this point in her life, she is just starting to get herself together after a long time of

being emotionally unstable. “The most common type of emotional disorder during adolescence is

depression” (Snowman, McCowen ch.3-5). She has realized that she has clinical depression and

has started to seek help for it rather than bottling her emotions. As such, she has started to

distance herself from her extended goth phase and has started thinking of the world in a healthier

light.

Philosophical development. (chapter 2-1,2-5) At this stage in her life, she is in what

Erikson would describe as the “Identity Versus Role Confusion” stage. This is the stage where

teens start to figure out who they are and how they will fit into society. “If adolescents succeed

(as reflected by the reactions of others) in integrating roles in different situations to the point of

experiencing continuity in their perception of self, identity develops. In common terms, they

know who they are” (Snowman, McCowen ch.2-1). Where she has struggled with self-image in

the past, she has settled into her identity well. She has done ample amounts of reading about the

world online and started to form her own opinions. Impowered by knowledge and the very

women forward movements in the world currently, she has chosen to stop caring so much about

what other people think of her and has found comfort in making herself the best version of

herself.

All her reading and self-thought and reflection, along with her decision to get help for her

depression, have helped her to become a more well-adjusted individual. Where many of her
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peers still struggle to figure out who they are and what they want to be, she has decided that next

year she is going to try out for the CSN high school to college program, and that she wants to

push through school and start her life in the working world. By this point in her life, though hard

work, I believe she has reached the Identity Achievement status. “Adolescents who had reached

the identity achievement status by actively exploring various occupations, beliefs, and value

systems, and then making a commitment, were better adjusted and happier than their peers”

(Snowman, McCowen ch.2-1). I truly believe that she is happier than many of her peers at this

point in life.

Religion was never something that was forced in her family, so she had plenty of freedom

to explore what she wanted to believe. She has recently stopped going to the Christian youth

group she found, due to moving and being too far away now. She has instead started to read

about and practice Wicca. Her friend introduced it to her not too long after she stopped going to

youth group, and since she has had her friend teach her everything her friend knows and has read

several books on the issue. She has recently made the switch to being vegetarian. She comments

that ideally, she would be vegan, but that she loves cheese too much. She came to this by

researching the meat industry thoroughly and forming her own opinions on the matter.

“Technology, however, has expanded the range of our experience. This is especially true with

the advent of what has been called Web 2.0 technologies, which include interactive information

sharing, collaboration, multi-user virtual environments, social networking, blogs, and the like”

(Snowman, McCowen ch.2-4). Through reading on blogs and news articles, she has formed

many opinions and world views because of it.

Social development. The girl I observed describes herself a socially awkward. “Girls

seem to experience greater anxiety about friendships than boys do” (Snowman, McCowen ch.3-
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5) and she is no exception to this. She has a close nit group of friends, and rarely strays beyond

this group. She has no problem talking amongst them, however when in a social situation outside

of this group, she prefers to remain silent. However, there is a social situation in which she

excels, that being the internet. Where she has problems talking to new people face to face, she

has no problem meeting and talking to many people in her age group though medias such as

YouTube and Facebook.

“Parents and other adults are likely to influence long-range plans; peers are likely to

influence immediate status” (Snowman, McCowen ch.3-5).

“When it comes to social experiences, Piaget clearly believed that peer interactions do

more to spur cognitive development than do interactions with adults” (Snowman, McCowen

ch.2-2).

Intellectual development. (chapter 2,4) It’s obvious that children are constantly

learning. Their lives revolve around going to school and learning. “High school students become

increasingly capable of engaging in formal thought, but they may not use this capability”

(Snowman, McCowen ch.3-5).

“Intellectual character refers to ways of thinking that direct and motivate what a person

does when faced with a learning task and that often lead to a meaningful outcome” (Snowman,

McCowen ch.2-5).

“Meaningful learning, then, occurs when people create new ideas, or knowledge (rules

and hypotheses that explain things), from existing information (e.g., facts, concepts, and

procedures)” (Snowman, McCowen ch.2-2).

Recommendations. Each “Many high school students, girls in particular, experience

periods of depression, loneliness, and anxiety. Because severe depression often precedes a
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suicide attempt, teachers should refer students they believe to be depressed to the school

counselor” (Snowman, McCowen ch.3-5). “To encourage students to discuss their concerns with

you, suggest that they read books written for adolescents that address suicide in a direct and

forthright manner” (Snowman, McCowen ch.3-5).

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References

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (2015). Psychology applied to teaching. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth

Stanford Children’s Health. (n.d.). Retrieved March 08, 2018, from

http://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=the-growing-child-adolescent-13-

to-18-years-90-P02175