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PEPSI Screening

Dariana Rodriguez

College of Southern Nevada

30 September 2019
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Biography

The individual studied for this case study is a 12-year-old seventh grader. His full name is

Angel Dominic Nava, he was born on May 14th 2007 in Las Vegas. Both of his parents are of

Mexican descent. Spanish was his first language although he currently speaks English a bit more

fluently than Spanish. Angel enjoys watching Netflix or Hulu during his free time and is a big

video game fanatic.

Angel attended Dondero elementary school from kindergarten through third grade and

was moved due to complications with his teacher and bullying. He then went on to finish

elementary school at Marion Earl where in the fifth grade his parents began filing for a divorce.

Angel, his sister Katy and his mother moved in with his grandmother and attempted to move

forward. Less than a year later, Angel’s parents are back together, have sold their house and are

moving the family into an apartment. In February of 2019 Angel’s father is deported and thus,

Angel, his mother and his sister Katy move back in once again with his grandmother. Angel was

very academically successful up until the mixture of the divorce of his parents and the bullying at

school caused the decline of his grades.

Angel would like to be a cartoonist in the future or have something to do with

advertisement copyrighting, he enjoys the idea of selling them. Hence, his obsession with

Monopoly. As a child and still today, Angels home environment did include plenty of yelling and

a bit of physical abuse when he did anything wrong. He has definitely grown up alongside an

authoritarian parenting style. When asked if he could give any advice to incoming middle

schoolers he responded, “growing older doesn’t mean you mentally grow older”. He is not a fan

of growing older as it makes him feel closer to death.

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Physical Development

Angel is 4ft 10 inches tall and weighs 161 pounds. He is a size six in men’s shoes and has

a pretty high prescription on his eye glasses. Angel does not partake in physical activity very

often. Lack of physical activity can be affecting Angel negatively since “studies have shown that

it helps youth develop a healthy loco-motor system (bones, muscles, and joints)” (Perdoni,

2019). In the article, “Environmental correlates of Physical activity among children 10 to 13

years old” their research study comes to the conclusion that the perception of the environment in

which children live is likely to play an important role in their level of physical activity. Within

the study, researchers had the participants answer a survey which was made up of four questions

such as “it is safe to walk or play alone in my neighborhood during the day” and the participants

had to either agree or disagree with the statements.

I asked Angel to take the same four question survey and most of the statements were

answered as neither agree or disagree and disagree. The four statements were proven to have

positive associations between the higher level of physical activity for the participants who mostly

answered “strongly agree”. The constant disagreement Angel revealed with the statements might

explain his lack of physical activity. He states he has always felt that way towards all of the

neighborhoods he has lived in despite moving around. The absence of comfort to play in his

neighborhood is probably why Angel recalls staying in watching movies and cartoons and

playing video games for most of his childhood.

Neither of his parents wear eye glasses, his heavy prescription is not genetic, it is most

likely due to the constant strain on his eyes from laptop screens, televisions and cell phones.

Physical activity can also aid cognitive development. When asked about his poor grades, Angel

states that he at times is confused with the material and gets the urge to sleep during homework.
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Angel gets home from school, sits down to play video games or lays down to watch television

for an hour or two and then proceeds to begin homework. Research studies have “found that

while a person sits, 80% of blood pools in the hips after just 20-30 minutes. If the blood is in the

hips and not enhancing the brain, then learning becomes more difficult without the fresh

oxygenated blood” (Stevens-Smith, 2016). Being constantly seated with no physically

stimulating breaks in between can be causing Angels lethargic tendencies while attempting to get

schoolwork done.

There is evidence found in research studies that proves physical activity can help youth

develop good control and coordination of movements” (Pedroni, 2019). For quite some time,

Angels lack of coordination has seeped through when attempting to do simple tasks. At 12 years

old Angel is unable to tie his shoe laces and wears jogger jeans most of the time because he

struggles to button regular jeans.

According to obesity actions weight for age percentiles weight graph, Angel has a weight higher

than 50 percent of children of the same age.

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Philosophical Development

Teenagers and pre-teens are stereotypically notorious for lying. Interestingly enough,

according to a research study done by Hartshorne and May included in the textbook “Psychology

Applied to Teaching” most children do not practice what they preach. A recent survey held by

Josephson institute in 2012 has further verified the validity of their study. The results of the

survey included 81% of the students stating “they were better than most people they knew at

doing the right thing” and “86 percent agreed that lying or cheating is not worth it because it

hurts your character” (Snowman, Jack and McCown, Rick, 2015). However, 52 percent of the

students cheated on a test and 76 percent had lied to a parent about something significant. Angel

comes as no exception to this rule. When asked if he believes lying or cheating is acceptable, he

answered no to both. Coincidentally, he has been caught cheating on homework before and lied

about making up schoolwork on Thursday afternoons after school. Angels lying and cheating

juxta positioning with his moral beliefs is considered to be common/normal behavior among

children his age according to the previous studies mentioned.

Angel is constantly prioritizing and showcasing his needs/wants above anyone else’s. For

example, the first time his mother was able to get in touch with his father after his deportation

Angel wanted his mother to hurry and end the conversation so that he could use her phone to

play games. He is exhibiting lack of social interest, according to the Adlerian theory “when

individuals lack concern for others (social interest) problems with family, work and friendships

inevitably follow” (Ostrovsky, Parr, Gradel, 1992). This could explain why it does not take long

to notice the somewhat toxic relationship among Angel and his mother. Disagreements leading to

yelling with no resolutions are technically a norm for them.

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There is a bit of confusion and uncertainty followed by this last observation of Angel

pertaining to his philosophical development. Towards the end of his sixth-grade year, Angel was

involved in a physical fight with another student at his school. When he had finally gotten home

after the day of the fight he cried while telling his grandmother what had happened. When asked

how he felt after the fight months after it had occurred, he said he felt good, almost a sense of

relief. Negative and positive valanced moral emotions usually “arise when one acts in violation

of (or in accordance with) one’s moral standards” (Ongley, Malti, 2013). To put into perspective,

intentionally inflicting pain on another person “violates the norm against causing harm and may

elicit negatively valanced moral emotions such as feeling guilty, or sad” (Ongley, Malti, 2013).

Violation of this norm elicited the opposite emotions within Angel, he stated he felt good, proud

after the fight. Does this situation reveal that he genuinely believes fighting is a good way to

resolve problems or does it reveal the fact that his grandmother may be the only person he feels

comfortable sharing his true emotions with? Perhaps it is a mixture of both.

Emotional Development

Adolescence and the years coming up to it can cause great stress and confusion. Tensions

and feelings run high for teens since they “experience more intense positive and negative

emotions than do adults” (Snowman, Jack, McCown, 2015). To learn to express emotions and

communicate with others, professionals recommend different types of youth programs. In their

article “Emotional Development in Adolescence: What can be Learned From a high School

Theater Program?” Larson and Brown state that programs organized for the youth can be crucial

when trying to comprehend “emotional development, first, because they are typically contexts of

instrumental goal-directed activity” and hence, could help teens orient and prepare themselves

for emotional adult work settings.

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Angel is involved in two youth programs, technology club and theatre. Tech club meets

once a week and has enabled Angel to feel more comfortable learning from his peers. He

experiments with tools he is unfamiliar with and asks for help to navigate them from older

members of the club. He has also become more outspoken at school towards his peers thanks to

the warm up exercises in his theatre class. When Angel is picked up from school and asked how

his day went, he will immediately begin talking about what he did in theatre that day. His

elective has helped him create a positive connection in find something to genuinely look forward

to while at school.

There have been several studies conducted on the connection between parenting style and

emotional development. At first glance, it seems as if Fran (Angel’s mother) uses an

authoritarian approach to parenting. However, after some observation and research it is clear

Fran carries a mixture of permissive, authoritarian, and neglectful parenting styles. Style is

crucial because it creates “the emotional climate in which parents raise their children and this

factor mediates the relationship between parenting practices and developmental outcomes”

(Darling & Steinberg, 1993). Permissive parents tend to give into their child’s demands “or avoid

responsibility for the child’s development” (Argyriou, Bakoyannis, Tantaros, 2016). Angel seems

to have an unhealthy relationship with video games. If not stopped, he will play all day long,

every day. The severity of the situation reached a new peak when Angels grandfather threw his

computer monitor down the staircase in attempt to get him to play outside or do homework.

Since then, Fran has enabled Angels tendency to try to find any other outlet for video games. She

will lend him her phone and has allowed him to keep a laptop his school let him borrow for

school work after he broke his arm, which is now healed. When Angel is assigned a chore he
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does not want to do, he cries and throws a tantrum until his mother okays for him not to do it

anymore.

Authoritarian parenting is included in Frans mixture due to her coping mechanisms when

dealing with her children’s behavior. Within this parenting style “corporal punishment is a

common choice of punishment. Yelling and scolding is often used”, Fran frequently uses both of

these (Trishala, Kiran, 2015). Angel also seems to be handed a bit of neglectful parenting. This

parenting style lacks warmth, does not create limits for the children, resulting in a clear

“presence of a long gap between the parent and child” (Trishala, Kiran, 2015). The individuals

living with Angels mother cannot recall the last time they heard her say I love you to him or seen

her give Angel a hug. The nonexistent limits can also connect to her permissive parenting

techniques when enabling his unhealthy relationship with video games and constantly buying

what he asks for to avoid hearing one of his tantrums. The resulting traits following this

parenting style seem to have already began affecting Angel. Children experiencing this kind of

neglect “tend to be suffering in social competence, academic performance, and problem

behavior”, Angel is definitely struggling academically and has shown some problematic behavior

at school with his fights and cursing at teachers (Trishala, Kiran, 2015).

Social Development

Angel believes a good leader is someone who has patience, knows how to strategize, and

is not bias or prejudice. He does not necessarily embody all of these characteristics when it is

time for him take on a lead role around his younger sister, he is quite impatient with her.

Nonetheless, it is a very good sign that he at least acknowledges what makes a good leader even

though he still is working on becoming one. Cooney and Selman’s article on social cognition

splits interpersonal reasoning into four stages. During their research “when the counselor asked
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what a good leader would be like, John (12 year old subject) replied, someone who everyone else

did what he wanted” (Cooney, Selman, 1980). This response can easily be placed at stage one

where a leader is seen and interpreted as some sort of dictator. Angels response can be placed on

stage three where group work is seen as more of a homogeneous community even when there is

a leader. This stage correlates perfectly with Angels age and shows virtuous interpersonal

reasoning development.

According to another one of Robert Selman’s studies on interpersonal reasoning, “toward

the end of elementary school and adolescence, children become capable of taking a somewhat

detached and analytical view of their own behavior” (Snowman, Jack, Mc Cown, Rick, 2015).

Angel is able to do this when presented a valid argument through healthy communication. His

grandmother is able to speak to him and explain why a certain behavior or choice of words is not

acceptable in a calm manner. Angel responds with the same tone usually admitting that his

actions were out of character. However, when his mother presents a valid argument, she does so

through insults and yelling, the goal of the conversation is now lost and Angel responds with a

verbal outburst and eventually ends up storming off.

Angel does not have many friends but the few he does have he is very close with and

lights up like a Christmas tree when he speaks about them. Close peer friendships have been

reported to “have a positive influence on adolescents’ social and personality development” (Hay,

Ashman, 2003). Angel is a very outspoken young man with a bright personality. He is constantly

sharing jokes at family gatherings; he is not shy when expressing something he believes in and

carries a contagious laugh.

Intellectual Development
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Angel is a seventh grader reading at an 8-9th grade level, performs well in math

homework assignments when his mother reminds him to do them, is interested in politics, and is

able to elaborate on his ideas nicely through pen and paper when needed for essays. However,

Angels’ grades have been at an all-time low for three school years in a row. Angel shows signs of

task avoidant behavior whenever he is at home. He rather play video games than get anything

else done such as, homework, chores, or form other hobbies.

According to Mestapelto and Pakarinen in their article on developmental dynamics,

“avoidance of learning tasks has been found to be more common among boys than girls” and

lead “to low effort and task avoidance in learning settings” (Mestapelto, Pakarinen, 2014). Angel

carries the intellectual ability to thrive academically but lacks the self-regulation to actually

complete the schoolwork. The lack of concern Angels’ mother shows towards his schooling can

also be fueling his task avoidant behavior. Martinez-Pons suggests indirect forms of guidance

and motoric support from the parent “to produce self-regulatory behavior on the part of the

student” (Martinez-Pons, 2002). Towards the end of Angels sixth grade year when his family was

not sure whether he would be moving on to the next grade level or not, Angels’ mother said

“well, if he fails, he fails they’re the consequences of his own actions”. Angel does not have

good examples of motoric support at home. The extent to which children feel connected to their

parents is called relatedness, studies show, “children with high relatedness are able to internalize

parental values and expectations as their own ones” (Wong, Rao, 2018). With comments from his

mother such as the one previously mentioned, Angel feels as if there are no academic
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expectations or values and does not feel the need to complete schoolwork unless told to do so.

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Recommendations

To help with Angels’ weight problem he could join a sports team or do simple physical

activities lead by a family member. He can go for walks, be taken to indoor playgrounds for

teenagers such as sky zone, anything to get him out of the habit of staying inside playing video

games all day. Physical activities such as these could not only help lower his weight but would

also help develop good control and coordination of movements so that he could tie his shoe laces

and learn to button real jeans.

To improve his social interest/morals Angels’ mother should communicate and also

model herself the proper behavior when dealing with others feelings. His school counselors and

parents should also heavily examine his coping mechanisms when he is angry and provide him

with new suggestions. In regards to his emotional development, Angel is around good influences

with his extracurricular activities and should continue to attend them to develop his people skills

and learn to communicate with his peers. Angels’ parents should look into family therapy or

counseling in order to help change their parenting styles from authoritarian, permissive, and

neglectful to authoritative. Angel will need an abundance of love, attention and nurturing to

respond to the evolving parenting style.

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Angel exudes great social development, he is able to make friends easily, communicates

well with his grandmother and has a bubbly personality. He may need some workshops to

develop his leadership skills however, it is a very good sign that he at least acknowledges the

characteristics of a good leader even though he still struggles to model them.

Intellectually, Angel is more than capable of performing well academically. He lacks the

self-regulation needed to follow through with school assignments. To help with this, Angels’

teachers can offer one on one help before or after school and his mother should begin to exhibit

more concern over his academic achievements to model and pass on her own educational values

on to Angel. She should also remind Angel of his assignments and encourage/reward good

grades while limiting his time spent on video games.

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References

Argyriou, E., Bakoyannis, G., & Tantaros, S. (2016). Parenting styles and trait emotional

intelligence in adolescence. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 57(1), 42–49.

Ashman, A. F., & Hay, I. (2003). The Development of Adolescents’ Emotional Stability and

General Self-Concept: The Interplay of Parents, Peers, and Gender. International Journal

of Disability, Development and Education, 50(1), 77–91.

Boys Weight-for-Age Percentile Chart. (2000). Retrieved from

https://www.obesityaction.org/get-educated/understanding-childhood-obesity/what-is-

childhood-obesity/boys-weight-for-age-percentile-chart/.

Brown, J. R., & Larson, R. W. (2007). Emotional Development in Adolescence: What can be

Learned From a High School Theater Program? Child Development, 78(4), 1083–1099.

Castetbon, K., Dujeu, M., Godin, I., Lebacq, T., Méroc, E., Moreau, N., & Pedroni, C. (2019).

Environmental correlates of physical activity among children 10 to 13 years old in

Wallonia (Belgium). BMC Public Health, 19(1), 187.

Chan, K. L., Chow, C. B., Ho, F. K., Ip, P., Rao, N., Tung, K. T., Wong, R. S. M., Wong, W. H. S.

(2018). Parental Involvement in Primary School Education: its Relationship with

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Cooney, E. W., & Selman, R. L. (1980). Children’s Use of Social Conceptions: Toward a

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Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (1993). Parenting style as context: An integrative model.

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Gradel, A., Ostrovsky, M., Parr, G. (1992). Promoting Moral Development through Social

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Kiran, S., Trishala, M. (2015). Impact of perceived parenting styles on the emotional maturity

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Kiuru, N., Lerkkanen, M.-K., Metsäpelto, R.-L., Nurmi, J.-E., Pakarinen, E., Poikkeus, A.-M.

(2015). Developmental Dynamics between Children’s Externalizing Problems, Task-

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Up. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(1), 246–257.

Malti, T., Ongley, S. F. (2014). The Role of Moral Emotions in the Development of Children’s

Sharing Behavior. Developmental Psychology, 50(4), 1148–1159.

Martinez-Pons, M. (2002). Parental Influences on Children’s Academic Self-Regulatory

Development. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 126.

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R. (2015). Psychology applied to teaching. Australia: Cengage

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Stevens-Smith, D. A. (2016). Active Bodies/Active Brains: The Relationship between Physical

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