The Thomases Family Psychological Analysis - Case Study Example

?outline 0. Introduction 2.0. Sarah 3.0. Rachel 4.0. Amy 5.0. Analysis 6.0. Conclusion 0. Introduction. The Thomases is a family of three. Sarahis the mother to Rachel who if the mother to Amy, Sarah’s granddaughter. Sarah is in her mid forties, Rachel in her early twenties, while Amy is 5. The family does not stay together as Sarah stays alone while Rachel stays with her daughter with her foster parents. She knows Sarah as her real mother and the three meet occasionally for mere regards and on special occasions. None bothers to make effort in this relationship as they seem to understand each other and the extent to which they can relate. 2.0. Sarah. Sarah, being in her early menopause, finds it more difficult to relate with both Rachel and Amy and other relatives and friends; not that they have ever been so close though. In the past one year, she has lost all of her close girl friends, not that they were many, however. It has been worse for the male friends and colleagues as most have been roughed up both physically and psychologically by the young grandmother. Sarah was born Ellen in the city of Philadelphia to the Thomases. She was the only girl among five brothers, and all through her childhood she had to fight her way through the siblings. Although her father worked in the city’s Rail station and was legible to a good salary, Ellen’s family lived in poverty as the money never got home. Her father was a routine drunk who besides drinking spent his money and time with woes in night clubs. As a result, Ellen grew up on the care of her mother alone, the same for her brothers too. Her mother, on the other hand, did not offer her and her brothers the much needed support to fill the gap left by the father. She devoted most of her time to a religious sect she belonged to, and according to Ellen, she was always filled with peculiar beliefs and perceptions on a number of issues. She did not seem to mind neither her husband’s negligence and over-indulgences nor her children’s need for proper care. When Ellen was six, her mother fell into deep depression and no medication or advice could get her out. In a week, she committed suicide. It is then that Ellen and her brothers were taken into foster care, thus becoming Sarah. Sarah got a better life and education to college and was able to secure a good job. To many, she seemed normal going about her daily routine. What many did not see, however, was the bitterness and anger within her for both her mother and father. She resented her mother more because she feels that she owed them a lot, being the sober parent among the two. As a mother, she was supposed to protect them and stand by them no matter what. While working as a clerk in a government office, the worst thing that could happen to Sarah happened. She was raped by a known lunatic, thus bearing her daughter Rachel. She abhorred Rachel who had to be taken care of by a friend through an informal agreement. The two have never really known each other well despite frequent visits and even after the birth of Amy, Rachel’s daughter who Sarah has never held in her arms. Sarah grew up to hate men and vowed never to become a victim of any man’s sexual desires. She hated responsibility for the fear of failing and not meeting the dependants’ expectations. To her, Rachel and Amy were unwelcome disruptions to her otherwise ‘straight’, life as she terms it. 3.0. Rachel. Rachel was privileged to grow up in a better way than Sarah did as she was given up to a foster mother immediately after birth. Although she harbors some feeling of rejection, they are less as she did not have the chance to experience the care of her real mother. Besides, her foster parents gave her the best care they could, making her content. Rachel is almost entirely the opposite of her mother. She is loving and caring and has many social friends. She is still dating Amy’s father, and relates well with her ‘parents’. This serves to show that Sarah’s problems are only psychological and not genetic. It is the traumas she faced in her early life that she has not been able to reconcile with. Although she is a bit over protective to Amy, it is because she does not want to be like her mother whom she considers to be negligent. We, therefore, cannot say that she suffers any excessive socioemotional effects since her childhood was smooth. 4.0. Amy. Amy is still young though she seems to be growing as a normal child. She has a number of friends at school and her performance is good. There have not been signs of her getting emotional over things. She loves her mother and father and relates well with them. She does not understand why her ‘other’ grandmother is so distant to them, but at the same time she does not seem to be bothered by that as she gets along well with her foster grandmother. Amy’s case, just like her mother’s show that children can develop well if they have the love of at least one parent, and better if it is the mother’s. 5.0. Analysis. Sarah’s case is typically psychological in terms of human development and in line with the theories associated with the development process. The psycho social theory, for instance, states that human development is intrinsically a function of one’s social life and the events that happen in one’s life play a major role in shaping an individual’s development. Besides one’s inherited characteristics, external factors such as parental upbringing, and environmental factors play a vital role in shaping one’s personality and informing his/her future relations with others (Wood & Wood, 2006). Children from a tender age develop a closer bond with the mother more than the father and if they get the right attention from the mother, they are likely to develop a better self with more strength to overcome frustrations of life. If they do not get this attention, they, as adults, are likely to become and feel abandoned, isolated and alone (Wood & Wood, 2006). Sarah’s behavior can be understood using this theory. She feels that her mother rejected and abandoned them when they needed her most. She, therefore, did not have the opportunity to mirror herself and build the resilience needed to face life’s challenges. She did not want to be involved with those in the opposite sex for fear of intimidation and exposing her heart to possible heartbreak. She did not want to have children of her own for the fear of responsibility and lack of self belief that she could manage. Because she did not complete these stages as a child, she stunted upon the stages and is unable to move past them to date. In menopause, her state has only got worse with the side effects and the feeling of ageing with the abrupt realization that she actually missed out a lot in life and that there is little she can do to catch up. Human development is a smooth process that takes place naturally without major and sudden disruptions. A major debate in the field of psychology, however, is whether human development occurs continuously and evenly (continuity) or whether it follows specific age periods; discontinuity. The idea of discontinuity prescribes that an individual must perform certain tasks at certain age periods, failure of which leads to stagnation later in one’s life (Wood & Wood, 2006). Although Rachel and Amy are relatively fine, Sarah did not escape the trap of discontinuity. The stages and things she lacked as a child caught up with her as an adult and she is still trapped in the web. She has never learnt to accept Rachel and Amy as family, and worse, to perceive men and mothers as loving persons who care deeply for their children. The concepts of continuity and discontinuity both appreciate the effect of biological characteristics and their role in the development of an individual. The issue of nature Vs nurture has gained prominence with psychologists striking a balance between the two that they reinforce each other during the development process (Wood & Wood, 2006). These are clearly exhibited in Sarah. Rachel and those close to Sarah describe her as a loving and caring person, who only becomes ‘difficult’ suddenly for no apparent reason. She broke off a number of engagements for no reasons, leaving her fiancees in dismay. This shows that even though Sarah was born a generous and loving person, the events in her young life overshadowed these traits, thus the sudden robust of anger spells. They come when she remembers or observes something that reminds her of her dark past. Mrs. Washington, the woman who brought up Rachel in her place describes her as a deeply loving woman unable to confront some issues within her. She used to send her enough financial support for Rachel as a child and continues to do the same for Amy, secretly though. This is also related to the cognitive effect of human development. The fact that Sarah retrieves some of the memories within her to relate them with the present events is a strong indicator of the strength of cognition (Wood & Wood, 2006). She still compares the environment in which she was brought up and relates it with the one she would go through if she, for instance, got married or had children. Besides, Rachel did not get substantial opportunity to develop her socio-emotional aspects in the development process. She lacks empathy to the true needs of a family and her role as a mother. Rachel got a bit of the effects from her mother’s rejection, although hers was inverted. Rather than hate motherhood and men, she developed an even stronger urge to be a better mother to her child. She is too overprotective toward Amy and treats her as a baby even as she celebrates her sixth birthday soon. She adores Amy’s father and looks up to her as everything without which she says she cannot go on. On her mother, she says she wishes she could be there for her and give her the love she needed and still needs. She, however, is content with her foster mother and says she will never want to see her children go through what she went through. The case of Sarah, Rachel, and Amy is just one of the many where persons are affected by the events of their childhood and carry them to adulthood. Although this is in line with the theories of development, some people have managed to break off these effects to develop into normal adults; Rachel is trying to, maybe Amy will succeed. This is achieved through the process of family constellation (Wood & Wood, 2006). During such sessions, family members make efforts to reveal things and secrets that could be the reason for development problems. The ancestor syndrome possesses that effects of trauma by an individual can be unconsciously passed on to future generations, causing similar effects. This would be quite appropriate for Sarah for by revealing the cause of her feelings and behavior, Rachel and Amy might reconcile with her and her with herself, enabling her to lead a normal life. She can then build normal and long lasting relations and be happy for the remaining part of her life. Family constellations are instrumental for helping such victims as Sarah and Rachel avoid delving into abnormal psychology. Through this story, we are able to understand human development as a process that relates an individual’s development with another, especially those in close relation. A parent’s behavior will have significant effect upon the child, and the mother’s effect will be even bigger because of the closer relationship with the child. It was inevitable for the case of Sarah to escape her parents’ negative upbringing effects. Rachel was the recipient of her mother’s effects, and Amy is the next recipient. With efforts and programs such as family constellations, the effects can only be lessened with the hope of extinction with future generations. 6.0. Conclusion. Human development is a complex process that should be studied and understood in details as it has significant effects upon persons as adults. the cases of Sarah, Rachel, and Amy show the effects of childhood experiences and how they can affect an individual as an adult if they are not reconciled with. events such as trauma, rejection, abandonment, and rape, especially for children are quite destructive and can have lasting negative effects on one’s cognitive and socio-emotional abilities. The best way to deal with these is by opening up and letting the pain hidden inside out. This enables healing and moving on past the events. Reference List. Wood, S. E., & Wood C. E. (2006). Mastering the World of Psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Read More