Michael's Struggles: A 12-Year-Old's Story of Separation and Academic Woes - Essay Sample

Introduction

Michael is aged 12 and is from a family of five, two siblings, mother, Kate and father, Tony. However, his parents were separated recently, leaving him with his mother and the two siblings James, 15 and Emily, eight. The family lives in Kedron, with Emily Attending Kedron Primary and the two teenagers, James and Michael attending Kedron State Highschool. Kate does not like the idea of Tony spending time with the kids alone. Michael is in grade 8, and he has been struggling with his academics and has been labelled to have a behavioural problem. His parents have been called severally to the school regarding his behaviour and performance. Compared to his siblings, Michael has been difficult as he never settled as a baby, and as he grew older, he would be involved in exchanges with both his friends and family. A majority of his tutors suggested he get tested for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, but his parents were reluctant. Before separation, both his parents were attending parenting courses, and there was a notable improvement. However, since his parent separation, Michael condition has escalated. Just like any other family, the three kids experience some social issues, but Michael is less close to the others. They often support each other's in public despite the usual argument.

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Contributors

A difficult child is confusing and upsetting to parents, peers, and experienced professionals such as teachers. This is because they often act, defiant, aggressive, argumentative, loud, stubborn and in many instances, hyperactive. These are the characteristics displayed by Michael. Various psychologists have studied these behaviours in child development and tried to determine causes both internal and external that might lead to such. The behaviours depicted by Michael might be as a result of emotional, behavioural disorders, oppositional behavioural disorders, anxiety, and ADHD.

Emotional Behavioral Disorders (ED)

Emotional disorder (ED) might explain why Michael is performing poorly in school and why he has been deemed difficult throughout his life. The emotional disorder is characterized by an inability to learn due to reduced attention, inability to maintain interpersonal relationships with friends and teachers (Kauffman, 2009). Michael is said to display similar characteristics; thus, he might be suffering from this condition. Some of the causes might include biological factors/internal factors such as prenatal exposure to drugs, lifestyle-related issues such as malnourished lifestyle, brain damage, as well as hereditary factors (Burt, 2017). External factors including family income, lack of concern by parents like failing to take action even after being notified, rules inconsistency and living in a society that is insensitive to diversity.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

This is a behavioural disorder which is associated with hostility, irritability, and uncooperative attitude in children. Children with this disorder may in many cases, be spiteful and annoying deliberately and in other cases, advance this negativity on the authority figure such as teachers and parents. This condition is not very common in children in early 3s and early teen (Garlie, 2000). However, Michael, who is only 12, is very argumentative with everyone. Some of the internals causes of this disorder are biological/internal, including brain damage, mental illnesses such as ADHD, depression or stress (Noordermeer et al., 2016). Additionally, the condition might be caused by hereditary factors such as mood and personality disorder. Lastly, Environmental or external factors which may include dysfunctional family life, inconsistency in rules and disciplines, and family history might be the causes.

Anxiety

Anxiety can be termed as a normal emotion that everyone experiences at various facets of their lives. However, some individuals may experience extended anxiety to a point where it affects every aspect of their lives, including how they do things in their daily lives (Fu et al., 2017). It is characterized by sleeplessness and insomnia, which affects performances both at work and school, explaining why Michael's academic performance is low (Mughal et al., 2020). This type of disorder is sometimes more than just regular anxiety. In extreme cases, this condition may result in post-traumatic disorder, panic disorder, obsessive disorder and may require specialized treatment (Cobham et al., 2020). Though the exact cause of anxiety is not known, anxiety may result from a combination of things like stress, depression and also genes.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

ADHD is a chronic condition that affects a substantial percentage of children and in a majority of time extends to adulthood. It is inclusive of several consistent problems like sustaining attention, impulsive behaviour and hyperactivity (Storebo et al., 2019). Children suffering from this condition often struggle school performance, low self-esteem, and struggle to maintain a long-term relationship with peers (Storebo et al., 2018). These are condition noticeable in Michael, meaning he could be suffering from this condition. Some of the factors which might be associated with ADHD include genetics heredity, issues with the nervous system and environmental problems (Loh et al., 2017).

Risk and Protective Factors

Risk Factors

As seen from above, Michael might be suffering from the above conditions, leading to the behavioural problem he has been exhibiting. A majority of the conditions are triggered by the same risk factors such as brain damage, inconsistency in family rules and punishments, family issues, heredity, among others (Newman et al., 2016). Since the parent has been reluctant to take him for testing, only assumptions of what the cause/risk factors and possible solutions can be discussed.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often interferes with the normal working of the brains. As a result of being damaged, nerve cells can no longer send the information the way they usually do. This results in changes in an individual's abilities and behaviours (Carfi et al., 2016). Depending on the part of the brain that is affected, the injury may be associated with varied problems. However, there are three general types of impacts resulting from brain injury, including cognitive and emotional behaviour problem, which are displayed by Michael. Since there is no indication of a fatal fall throughout his life, his brain damage may have resulted from shaking he was young. According to research, shaking an infant may result in shaken baby syndrome, which destroys the brain cells preventing them from accessing sufficient oxygen. This condition can either be temporary or permanent. Other factors that may lead to brain damage may include, metabolic disorder, toxic exposure, brain tumours and meningitis (Carfi et al., 2016). Thus, Michael case should be addressed through these lenses.

There is nothing better than consistency in parenting. Children noting the consistency in how a parent reacts to situation helps then develop balance in their lives. Parenting can be exhausting and frustrating; however, inconsistency can be equally damaging and confusing to children. In one day, if a parent yells at something and next time keeps calm about the same, the child starts to learn that adults are not predictable in their actions causing an array of characteristics including aggression and hostility as shown in the case of Michael. Elongated unpredictability leads to anxiety, making children adopt unpleasant ways of solving their issues, like constant arguments with everyone, anger issues, among others.

Following his parent's divorce, his condition went from an improved to worse. This means that family issues contribute primarily to the behavioural condition of the children (Prevoo Bas, 2014). According to recent research, children are significantly affected by family conflicts, while others may pass through the issue without significant problems (ESRC, 2013). Divorces are always messy and are a result of extended conflict. A majority of the children blame themselves for the conflicts between parents exposing them to antisocial and behavioural problems (ESRC, 2013). At the same times, constant arguments between parents leave the children feeling threatened and scared of a possible split leading to anxiety and depression.

Protective Factors

Due to their adverse effects on the child life which affects the social life, family connection and even success in life, these risk factors should be mitigated. To begin with, Michael should be investigated by psychologists and a medical doctor to determine the condition he is suffering from, so proper treatment can be initiated. Though teachers suspect he has ADHD, the right diagnosis should be made. TBI might be challenging to treat especially if it was caused by external factors such as shaking. However, a variety of therapies can help better his condition, including, physical therapy, counselling, occupational therapy and cognitive therapy, some of which can be done by his parents. However, if it is a result of a medical condition such as a tumour, Michael can be booked for surgery earliest possible and therapy afterwards.

As noted, when Michael's parent started attending the parenting seminars, Michael condition began to improve. This is an indication that their parenting before the workshops were contributing significantly to his behavioural problems. As such, they should continue attending the seminars and try as much as possible to spend time with Michael and other children. The act of his mother preventing him from accessing his father alone might escalate the situation further. Thus, she needs to allow the children to spend as much time with their father as possible. The parents should also explain to the children the reason behind the separation, so they may not keep second-guessing a situation that makes the uninvolved children start being hostile to others as its already happening whenever one of them is involved in an exchange.

Psychological Theories

There are many different ways of analyzing and thinking about human behaviours. Professional psychologists utilize numerous perspectives when reviewing and studying how individuals think, behave and feel (Kratcoski et al., 2020). Some of them focus on one particular school of thought such as the biological view while others may take approaches like eclectic perspective, which focuses on multiple points of view. In Michael's case, several perspectives can be used to address his issue, including, biological perspective, psychodynamic perspective, behavioural perspective, and humanistic perspective (Cherry, 2007).

The Biological Perspective

Also known as the biopsychology, or physiological psychology, it emphasizes the physical and the biological bases of behaviour (Cherry, 2010). Psychologist and researchers who apply this approach investigate how hereditary genes or how specific damages to some areas of the brain matter may influence human behaviour as well as personalities. If this approach is used on Michael, the areas to focus on are genetics, nervous system, the brain and also the immune system. This perspective has gained popularity, especially with the advancement of technology.

The Psychodynamic Perspective

In the approach, Michael's behaviour will be analyzed through the role the unconscious mind play, childhood experiences, and his interpersonal relationship to try and understand the actual source of his behavioural problem (Bornstein, 2011).

The Behavioral Perspective

In this approach, Michael problems will be analyzed through the possibility of adopted or learned behaviours. This approach differs from the others because it will purely focus...