Running Head: PEPSI

PEPSI Screening- Jeremy

Natalie N. Fernandez

College of Southern Nevada

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Biography

The individual observed for this PEPSI screening process is a 16 year-old teenager

named Jeremy, who is currently a junior in high school. Jeremy comes from a family of four

which includes himself, his military veteran father, his respiratory therapist mother, and his

sister. Jeremy is the younger sibling out of the two, as his sister is in college.

He was born in Warner Robins, Georgia in 2005, his family moved to Ely,

Cambridgeshire, England the following year around September, which they then stayed till

October 2009, when he was 4 years old. Even with his father being in the military, with the

constant travel of states and countries, it had hardly affected him since it happened early on in

his childhood. He has grown up in Las Vegas, Nevada since then, so he generally has

experienced stability regarding his home and school environment. Jeremy’s family has no

extended family in Las Vegas, they are instead in El Paso, Texas which can sometimes

perpetuate the feeling of loneliness or overall just missing his extended family.

His parents had grown up struggling with broken homes and unsafe environments.

They have moved from the lower class and have worked their way to an upper-middle class

area. So, they have both worked hard to ensure that Jeremy has the best opportunities given to

him. With his sister, they will often bicker at each other, however they generally have a good

relationship with one another and will often crack jokes with one another. The family will

often spend time with one another such as having movie nights together. They will also often

take trips together in places like Hawaii, California, and Texas. Overall, Jeremy has a fairly

stable nuclear family.

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P- Physical Development

Jeremy had grown at a rapid pace starting at the age of 14-years old, as most boys his

age do, yet at around 16-years old, his physical growth begins to cap off. According to the

website Medical News Today, young males at the age of 16 will begin to stop growing taller.

Jeremy is currently 5’7 in height and it seems as though this will be his permanent height,

since he has not shown to have grown any taller this past year. With this, Jeremy has shown

to have been placed within the 25 percentile range on the Clinical Growth Charts for

stature-for-age according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017).

With his weight however, he currently weighs 185 pounds. Jeremy is generally an

active teen, yet his weight will constantly fluctuate easily if he allows himself to remain

inactive for too long. This is due to his autoimmune disease, Hashimoto’s, which leads to the

condition of Hypothyroidism. Often labeled as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis,

The patient's antibodies, which usually fight infection, get confused and attack the body.

In the case of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the antibodies attack the thyroid and destroy it. As

the disease progresses, the thyroid gland is unable to produce enough thyroid hormone and

the patients develop hypothyroidism (Gavrila, 2017).

This disease most often leads to a variety of symptoms but some of the most notable ones

include rapid-unexplained weight gain, fatigue, and an enlarged thyroid gland, all of which

Jeremy had experienced. There is no cure for this disease, but there is treatment for it. In

order to treat this disease, Jeremy must take a singular pill called synthroid everyday, an hour

before eating. If he is not careful in taking his pill, he may start to feel symptomatic, which

includes his weight gain. Currently, he falls into the 95 percentile range on the weight-for-age

Clinical Growth Charts according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017).

So far, Jeremy is doing well for his weight and is currently doing boxing lessons as well as

taking his synthroid. To continue to be healthy he must continue to do both of these things.
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E-Emotional Development

During this age, Jeremy is still going through many different changes in his mental

and physical development, which in turn affects his emotional development. Jeremy is very

emotional like most teens his age. Jeremy does not usually have any outbursts in terms of

anger and frustration. He instead conveys his emotions through his facial expressions,

remaining unresponsive to anyone around him, or he will go to his room privately to sort

through these emotions. He tends to display these emotions the most whenever he and his

mother or sister get into a disagreement. This type of emotional behavior is normal as,

“Adolescents are growing and changing. And the hormones that drive puberty can have a big

impact on mood. When kids seem like they’re overreacting it’s important to remember that

they’re less able to manage big feelings, like anger, than adults are.”(Jacobson, n.d.). This is

also evident by how quick Jeremy is to anger, despite not displaying the typical loud tantrum

that is expected of adolescents his age. When he gets upset he ensures that everyone in the

family is aware.

Aside from the display of negative emotions, Jeremy is generally a laid back 16-year

old. This laid backness is often shown through his grades that averages in A’s and B’s.

Furthermore, Jeremy has two separate friend groups that he tends to frequently spend time

with during school. Emotional and social behavior can factor in how a student performs

academically, “well-developed social-emotional factors increase student availability to learn

and engage with their peers, in turn promoting academic outcomes”(McKown et. al. 2016).

By ensuring that Jeremy maintains positive social behavior, his willingness to learn will

eventually start to increase.

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Jeremy also tends to enjoy remaining active in sports and other activities such as

playing the piano and the acoustic guitar. The outlets in which he chooses to express himself

emotionally begins to correlate to self-esteem as

The process by which an adolescent begins to achieve a realistic sense of identity also

involves experimenting with different ways of appearing, sounding, and behaving. Each

adolescent approaches these tasks in his or her own unique way. So, just as one adolescent

will explore more in one domain (e.g., music), another will explore more in another (e.g.,

adopting a certain style or appearance) (American Psychological Association, 2002)

The outlets stated previously are generally met with appraisal by his family and friends,

which in turn has raised Jeremy’s self-esteem overall. By continuing to increase his

self-esteem, Jeremy’s emotional development will go on to form positively.

P-Philosophical Development

Most adolescents of Jeremy's age know general morality, however as they become

more aware of the world, their internal thoughts and choices may start to become more

complex. According to the “Cognitive Development, Ages 15 to 18 Years”(n.d.), adolescents

start to develop abstract thoughts aside from the general “good” and “bad” behavior. They

“are developing the ability to think abstractly, deal with several concepts at the same time,

and imagine the future consequences of their actions,” (Cognitive Development, Ages 15 to

18 Years, n.d.). For example, Jeremy at one point between the ages of 13-14 years old,

believed that guns were of great importance to protect oneself from the harsh world, now as

he grows older, he believes that there should be a world-wide eradication of the use of guns.

He believes that this could be achieved, yet as of now, he thinks the step in the right direction

is to enforce gun control laws here in the United States. It is clear to see with this example

that Jeremy’s thought process has evolved from the simple “right” and “wrong” moral
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compass and behavior. He instead has now applied this concept to a much broader range of

thinking. Furthermore, this viewpoint on guns may continue to evolve more or may entirely

change again as he gets older as, “Between the ages of twelve and sixteen, political thinking

becomes more abstract, liberal, and knowledgeable” (Snowman & McCown, 2014).

Jeremy aligns towards Stage 5 of Kohlberg’s theory, Social Contract, and is rapidly

approaching Stage 6, Universal Ethical Principles Morality. In stage 5, “people begin to

account for the differing values, opinions and beliefs of other people. Rules of law are

important for maintaining a society, but members of the society should agree upon these

standards,” whereas in stage 6 of Kohlberg's theory, “people follow these internalized

principles of justice, even if they conflict with laws and rules,” (Kohlberg, 1984). With the

previous example, Jeremy has displayed he fits the mold of stage 5, yet he will display

aspects of stage 6 entering into his mindset as he gets older. Jeremy is often seen bickering

with his mother over minor things, as she will get upset over his questioning of authority. He

will often ask questions as to why he must do this or that, as he internalizes that the constant

following of her orders, whether it may make logical sense or not, is an injustice in his eyes.

He will do whatever he can to follow his instincts of justice and will question or outright

refuse what she is telling or ordering to do. Though it may seem minor, this shows how his

principle of justice and injustice is now becoming a part of his own philosophy.

S-Social Development

Jeremy is a fairly active 16-year old outside of school, with two tight-knit circles of

friends. He is sometimes seen being driven by his sister to the park so that he may hang out

with his friends. With this particular group of friends they’ll throw around a football or

baseball back and forth, or they’ll do workouts together. As for his other group of friends,

Jeremy will walk around the neighborhood with his peers, engage in conversations with
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them, and will go to the nearest gas station to buy snacks with them. With both friend groups,

how he remains actively social is through text, video games, and social media. He does at

least one of these things everyday to interact with his friends. According to an article on the

PEW Research Center (2015), “Some 88% of teens text their friends at least occasionally, and

fully 55% do so daily.” Jeremy has stated that he is a picky individual that chooses his friends

carefully, so during school hours he only interacts very minimally with his other classmates,

or he will generally not speak unless spoken to. Although he is introverted, Jeremy remains to

have positive attitudes and relationships towards his friends.

Jeremy spends a majority of his time around his parents, as he is usually home the

majority of his time. He tends to adopt a lot of his personality from his mother and father in

general. During this stage in Jeremy’s life, he falls in line with stage 5, of Erikson's

psychosocial development, Identity vs Role Confusion. “Identity involves the experiences,

relationships, beliefs, values, and memories that make up a person's subjective sense of self,”

while Role Confusion leads to “Being unsure of who you are and where you fit,” “Drifting

from one job or relationship to another,” and, “Feeling disappointed and confused about your

place in life,” (Cherry, 2021). With Jeremy’s self-identity, he most falls in line in foreclosure

identity, which endorses both parents' values upon his thinking, not experienced in

discovering self-identity, and often seeks approval/guidance from the adolescent’s parents.

Although not entirely being in line with foreclosure, Jeremy is often reciting or practicing the

values that his parents believe in. This in turn affects his social skills and decisions as, “These

findings indicate that female adolescents are more likely than males to make developmentally

advanced decisions in the areas of family and career roles and sexuality,” (Snowman &

McCown, 2014). This is evident towards the choices in friends he spends his time with, as the

friends he chooses to surround himself with fall in line with his own beliefs or similar
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behavior, which in turn are influenced by his parents. Yet despite this, Jeremy maintains a

positive relationship and attitude with both his mother and father.

I-Intellectual Development

Jeremy’s intelligence is influenced by a variety of factors that include his

current developmental stage, the state educational ranking in Nevada, and his ADHD. Jeremy

currently falls in line with Piaget's theory of the Formal Operational Stage. During this stage,

students around his age, “begins to think abstractly and reason about hypothetical problems,”

“Abstract thought emerges,” “Teens begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical,

social, and political issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning,” and they “Begin to

use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific information” (Cherry,

2020). Jeremy has displayed all aspects of the final stage to Piaget’s theory and has even

applied them to his school work. He will often receive homework that requires critical

thinking or abstract ideas to complete assignments in subjects such as math and english.

As of now, Jeremy’s current grades in school are all B’s and C’s. In Nevada’s grade

system, letter grades A through D are all considered passing, whereas an F is an obvious

failing grade. As of now, Jeremy is passing all of his classes with average grades. According

to an article called “Quality Counts 2021: Educational Opportunities and Performance in

Nevada,” found on the site called EducationWeek, Nevada ranks 50 out of all 50 states in

educational performance, with an overall score of 68.6 out of 100, a D-plus. Furthermore, the

article states that “In the area of adult outcomes, based on postsecondary educational

attainment and workforce indicators, Nevada’s grade is a D-plus. It ranks 48th in the nation.

The national average is a C-plus,” ( EdWeek Research Center, 2021). Findings such as this

could very well affect Jeremy’s overall success and intellectual development as Nevada is the

state he lives in, and this is the type of education that he is receiving.
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Another aspect that could greatly affect Jeremy’s intellectual development is his

Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD. Symptoms include,

“inattention (not being able to keep focus), hyperactivity (excess movement that is not fitting

to the setting) and impulsivity (hasty acts that occur in the moment without thought),”

(American Psychiatric Association, n.d.). According to the American Psychiatric Association,

there are 3 types of behavior associated with ADHD, the inattentive type,

hyperactive/impulsive type and combined type. Jeremy falls most in line with the inattentive

type as he displays several symptoms such as “Often loses things needed for tasks or daily

life, such as school papers, books, keys, wallet, cell phone and eyeglasses,” “Has problems

organizing tasks and work,” and “Avoids or dislikes tasks that require sustained mental

effort,”(American Psychiatric Association, n.d.). These symptoms that he experiences affect

his ability to retain information, so Jeremy has to put in extra effort in not only his school

work, but in everyday situations. Though there are a variety of obstacles that hinder his

intellectual ability, with the help and guidance from his parents, and his own extra effort put

in, he has been able to ensure that he can get by to achieve his own success.
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PEPSI Screening Graph

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Recommendations

P- For Jeremy’s Physical aspect, though his stature is smaller than average, he is at an

average weight range for his age. Especially since the majority of his weight has

turned into muscle due to his activity in sports. Encouragement is advised to ensure

he remains active. To continue to ensure that Jeremy remains physically healthy,

implementing a healthy diet that encourages healthy portion sizes is advised.

E- His emotional state is normal for his age, however, monitoring Jeremy’s behavior

would be wise. Not only is taking note of his behavior a wise idea, it would also be

advised for both teachers and parents to talk or check in with how he is feeling.

Encouragement to open up about his feelings, and normalizing his emotions are

valid are also highly recommended.

P- It is highly recommended that Jeremy continue to think outside the box. His moral

standards are normal for his age, continuing to remind Jeremy of right and wrong

should be implemented.

S- Jeremy’s social development is very minimal, it would be wise to recommend him

to after school groups or activities. Jeremy should also set himself some space

between him and his parents to allow himself to think more freely for himself, which

will in turn influence his ability to socialize further. Furthermore, it would be wise to

implement him in team sports so that he may have opportunities to socialize further.

I- For Jeremy’s intellectual abilities, involvement from both teachers and parents is

advised. Parents should talk with his teachers to develop a plan of action in his

ADHD and determine how severe symptoms are. If symptoms are directly sourced

in deterring his ability to develop intellectually, action should be made. Direct help
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from involvement from parents should be incorporated as well to ensure his grades

are on track.
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References

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Developing adolescents: A reference for

professionals. American Psychological Association. Retrieved November 15, 2021,

from https://www.apa.org/topics/teens/developing-adolescents-professionals-reference.

Amy Morin, L. C. S. W. (2021, November 11). Here's what to expect from your

16-year-old. Verywell Family. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from

https://www.verywellfamily.com/16-year-old-developmental-milestones-4171922#socia

l-development.

Center, E. W. R. (2021, September 2). Quality counts 2021: Educational opportunities

and performance in Nevada. Education Week. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from

https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/quality-counts-2021-educational-opportunities-

and-performance-in-nevada/2021/01.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017, June 16). Growth charts - clinical

growth charts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved November 15,

2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/clinical_charts.htm.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, February 22). Adolescence (15-17

years old). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved November 15, 2021,

from

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/adolescence2.html.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, September 23). ADHD in the

classroom. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved November 15, 2021,

from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/school-success.html.

Cherry, K. (2020, March 31). What are Piaget's four stages of development? Verywell

Mind. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from

https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457.

Cherry, K. (2021, June 3). How people develop an identity or cope with role confusion.

Verywell Mind. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from

https://www.verywellmind.com/identity-versus-confusion-2795735.

Ethics, Kohlberg's moral development - cdn.ymaws.com. (n.d.). Retrieved November

15, 2021, from

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.naswaz.com/resource/resmgr/imported/EthicsKohlbergM

oralDevelopment.pdf.

Lenhart, A. (2020, May 30). Teens, technology and Friendships. Pew Research Center:

Internet, Science & Tech. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/08/06/teens-technology-and-friendships/.

MediLexicon International. (n.d.). When do boys stop growing: Height, genitals, and

what to expect. Medical News Today. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320676.

Parker, K., Horowitz, J. M., Morin, R., & Lopez, M. H. (2020, August 21). Race and

social connections-friends, family and neighborhoods. Pew Research Center's Social &

Demographic Trends Project. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from

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https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/06/11/chapter-5-race-and-social-conne

ctions-friends-family-and-neighborhoods/.

Teens and anger. Child Mind Institute. (2021, August 16). Retrieved November 15,

2021, from https://childmind.org/article/teens-and-anger/.