Assessment Task 1 - CASE STUDY

John Liu is a 52 year old Chinese Australian. His parents migrated from Hong Kong to Sydney two
years before he was born. He was an only child. John is married to a Chinese woman who was born
in Hong Kong and they have a son and a daughter who are 25 and 23 years old. The children live at
home but everyone in the family works full Cme. John is an accountant for a medium sized firm, his
wife is an administraCve assistant for a small retail company, his son works as a database
administrator and his daughter is a graphic designer. John’s parents now live in a neighbouring
suburb in Sydney and are reCred.

Early life
John’s mother had a healthy pregnancy and delivery but experienced postnatal depression for a few
months aIer John was born. John’s father worked long hours and his mother felt quite isolated, and
did not speak English well. However, John was physically healthy and was a quiet, placid baby and
toddler. He spoke Chinese as a first language but learned English at preschool and school and
remains bilingual.

John’s mother’s depression improved and she made some friends with other Chinese-speaking
women. John interacted with other young children through his mother’s social network. By the age
of three he started at the local preschool. John was physically healthy and met his developmental
milestones as expected. He was a quiet child and was quite shy and anxious. His father conCnued to
work long hours trying to save to buy their own house. His father was also very quiet and did not
display much affecCon. However, John enjoyed being in his company when he was home and would
follow him around the house and garden.

Primary school years

When John started kindergarten, he enjoyed learning and was a bright and engaged, although quiet,
student. His mother also started working and John would go to aIer school care. At home his
mother cooked and looked aIer the house, and she would someCmes become angry with her
husband for having to do so much work inside and outside the home. John made a few friends at
school, other boys who were quiet and studious. There were a few other Chinese students at the
school, but most were Anglo-Australian. John always did his homework and when not studying at
home he would watch TV. On the weekends he would enjoy going out with his father on errands or
watch TV with him. John’s parents have very few holidays, but about once a year would have a
holiday up or down the coast of NSW.

High school years

At high school John remained a very good student, especially in Maths and Commerce. He and his
friends were someCmes teased for being studious. He was physically later than average to develop
and someCmes was teased for being ‘short’. John did not enjoy sport and did not feel competent at
team sports. During PE classes he would feel self-conscious and anxious. By this stage his parents
had bought their own home. His father started talking to him about his studies, his grades and his
future career aspiraCons. His parents conCnued to argue from Cme to Cme about money and work.
When John was 16, he became friends with another Chinese boy in his year who introduced him to
his church group. John’s parents were not religious, but John started aZending church regularly. He
made more friends at church and enjoyed the social interacCon. He dated a couple of girls from
church but did not have any serious relaConships.

Early adulthood
John studied Business at university and became an accountant. He met Jenny through his church
group when he was sCll a university student and they started daCng. He and Jenny married when
they were 25 and had their first child three years later. When John became a father, he felt very
anxious about his children’s health, wellbeing and providing for them. He would spend many hours
with them on weekends and became involved in extracurricular acCviCes, and conCnued to be an
acCve member of the church, as did Jenny. He would quietly worry about their development and
whether he was a good father. He did well in his job and was a respected colleague in his accounCng
firm.

Middle age
John is now in middle age and he finds life stressful at Cmes as work is busy. He is a senior
accountant with responsibility for several staff, his parents are ageing and oIen call him for help or
advice. He sCll gets anxious at Cmes, especially about his children and whether they are going to find
suitable partners, or have good careers. He is less involved in his church, and he and Jenny have
started to travel on overseas holidays about once a year. Overall he feels saCsfied with his
achievements and grateful for his family.