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Case Study: Adolescent Development and Ethnicity
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Department: University
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Case Study: Adolescent Development and Ethnicity
Essay Question 1
The case reveals that Monica suffered from childhood obesity and experienced early-age
menarche at ten. During her infancy, Monica was obese and only attained normal body mass
when she reached 12. According to Ward et al. (2017), the biological significance of childhood
obesity is likely to continue affecting and influencing the body's functioning during adolescence
and adulthood. Therefore, Monica's biological factors and conditions during her early ages could
influence her current and future psychological, behavioral, and social outcomes. This essay
examines how Monica's biological conditions may influence her current and future functioning.
According to Chen et al. (2021), people with a history of high obesity are likely to
develop psychological disorders of anxiety, stress, and depression. Monica affirms that during
her early age, she believed that she had been depressed. She adds that although she had already
attained a normal weight, she occasionally felt fat. At 16 years, Monica risks suffering from
severe depression and stress. Furthermore, Monica's early obesity condition may also impact her
behavioral outcomes. In essence, people that suffer from obesity in their early childhood
development are much more likely to suffer from low self-esteem (Gow et al., 2020). The
authors affirm that the main reason early childhood obesity could be associated with low self-
esteem is the negative perceptions of their body images. In Monica's case, the adolescent already
affirms that she feels fat and occasionally battles with self-esteem. Courtesy of her early
childhood development biological factors, Monica may also show behavioral disorders due to
poorer perceived lower health-related quality of life scores. Lastly, Monica's biological
conditions in childhood may have a negative impact on her social outcomes. For instance,
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Monica may experience bullying, discrimination, and stigma in the school environment due to
her earlier conditions. Early obesity development may also be linked with social outcomes such
as isolation, withdrawal, and sedentary lifestyles during adolescence and adulthood (Mougharbel
& Goldfield, 2020). The social outcomes would lower her self-esteem and predispose her to
lower perceptions of her quality of life.
According to Galvan (2010), the phase of adolescence is characterized by increased
reward-seeking behavior. The authors affirm that the heightened reward-seeking behavior in
adolescence is essential to achieve the same as adults. The authors affirm that behavioral changes
are driven by monetary, novel, and social rewards during adolescence. According to the authors,
adolescents adhere to a reward-sensitive dopamine system. During adolescence, dopamine levels
increase. Therefore, a reward-sensitive system could be attributed to adolescents' change in
behaviors and social outcomes. The research in the article could be used to explain some of
Monica’s social outcomes. For instance, the adolescent affirms that she had been convinced to
smoke marijuana by her friends. Initially, she enjoyed the new and exciting feeling. However,
after considering her mother's and pastor's rewards and sanctions, Monica quit smoking ten
months ago. The adolescent is inclined that she would gain positive rewards by staying away
from her marijuana-smoking friends and spending more time with the youth in her church.
Essay Question 2
Monica affirms that her mother has been a “strict disciplinarian” for most of her
childhood. She also reveals that although her mother usually corrects her behavior, she is more
open to discussing issues. Monica’s mother also warns Monica of trusting people so much and
reminds her of the dangers she might face as a member of the minority. Since her mother’s
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wedding, Monica and her parents usually attend a non-denominational Christian church. Monica
is quite active in church as she participates in the youth group and volunteers in the church
nursery. For the last year, Monica reveals that she has spent considerable time reading the Bible
on her own. Her familial and social upbringing greatly influences Monica's moral reasoning. Her
"strict" mother's insights must have played critical roles in shaping her decisions, insights, and
behaviors. Her participation in the church could also have helped in filtering immoral behaviors.
Monica is in Stage 3 of Kohlberg’s Moral Reasoning theory. According to the theory, the
third stage is characterized by elements such as mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships,
and interpersonal conformity reasoning (Eisenberg et al., 2009). At this stage, the adolescent seeks
to conform to what is right when living and what is expected by the people around him or her. In
the case, Monica affirms that she has quitted drugs and premature love relationships to focus on
school, her relationship with God, and finding herself. She also reveals that she feels like she is
"getting her life together." Inarguably, the adolescent is in the third stage of Kohlberg's Moral
Reasoning theory.
According to Eisenberg et al. (2009), peoples' moral reasoning is critical in shaping
psychological and behavioral outcomes. The authors affirm that volunteering behaviors during
childhood are highly associated with positive outcomes such as volunteering, voting, and
prosocial moral activities. Therefore, Monica’s background as a volunteer in the nursery school
may inspire her to volunteer, vote, and conduct prosocial moral activities during her adolescence
and early adulthood. Furthermore, Monica’s moral reasoning and belief systems played vital
roles in characterizing her psychological self. Currently, Monica believes that her mental health
is gradually improving. Lastly, Monica's parent (mother) and peer relationships (church youth
group members) might play critical roles in shaping and influencing her behavior. Whereas her
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parent provided the fundamental moral principles, the peer group continues to influence Monica
to live a life guided by Christian values and virtues.
Essay Question 4
Chapter 15 of the Handbook of Adolescent Psychology affirms that factors such as
ethnicity and immigration contribute essentially to determining the familial relationships,
friendships, and education of children and adolescents (Fuligni et al., 2009). The case reveals
that Monica’s mother frequently reminds her to remain cautious when dealing with people.
Considering that she was born into a Latina family, her mother consistently reminds her of the
dangers she would face as a minority. Her mother warns that she should not visit many places
and may be discriminated against as a minority. Furthermore, Monica is the sole child and has
been brought up by a single mother. Although her mother was recently married, she had lived her
early life lacking paternal love from a father figure. Her ethnicity as a Latina intersects with the
issue of being raised by a single parent. Considering that Monica was brought up by a mother
who felt insecure when interacting with people from other races, her ethnicity may increase her
biases and prejudice against people from other races during her adulthood.
Furthermore, Monica’s ethnicity has majorly contributed to the characteristics and quality
of her friendships. The case reveals that Monica maintains a small group of close-knit female
Latina friends. Monica interacts with Latina-only female friends, probably because her mother
had warned her against the dangers she might experience as a member of a minority. Parents
from minority ethnic groups usually prepare their children for the negative treatment they might
receive from their peers from majority ethnic groups (Fuligni et al., 2009). Considering that
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Monica's friendship cycle lacks members from diverse races and genders, the quality of Monica's
friends is adversely impacted by her ethnicity.
Lastly, Monica’s ethnicity may be related to her current and past educational experiences.
In her early educational experiences, Monica affirms that she experienced "test anxiety" in
science and math classes because she had previously heard that females from minority ethnic
groups hardly excel in the subjects. The negative perceptions of the two subjects could have
contributed to her current doubts about pursuing a career in medicine.
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References
Chen, C., Chen, I., O’Brien, K. S., Latner, J. D., & Lin, C. (2021). Psychological distress and
internet-related behaviors between schoolchildren with and without overweight during
the COVID-19 outbreak. International Journal of Obesity, 45(3), 677-
686. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-021-00741-5
Eisenberg, N., Morris, A. S., McDaniel, B., & Spinrad, T. L. (2009). Moral cognitions and
prosocial responding in adolescence. Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, 155-
188. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780471726746.ch8
Fuligni, A. J., Hughes, D. L., & Way, N. (2009). Ethnicity and immigration. Handbook of
Adolescent Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470479193.adlpsy00201
Galvan. (2010). Adolescent development of the reward system. Frontiers in Human
Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/neuro.09.006.2010
Gow, M. L., Tee, M. S., Garnett, S. P., Baur, L. A., Aldwell, K., Thomas, S., Lister, N. B.,
Paxton, S. J., & Jebeile, H. (2020). Pediatric obesity treatment, self‐esteem, and body
image: A systematic review with meta‐analysis. Pediatric
Obesity, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12600
Mougharbel, F., & Goldfield, G. S. (2020). Psychological correlates of sedentary screen time
behaviour among children and adolescents: A narrative review. Current Obesity
Reports, 9(4), 493-511. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-020-00401-1
