Social Influences

Individuals experience situations in his or her environments differently. An individual’s personality is influenced and constructed from the environment. Social and family influences, emotional and behavioral functioning, and social cognition influence thoughts, behavior, and form personality. Below are two examples of how social influence and other factors effects personality and behavior of an individual. Because each individual has different situations and circumstances, the recommendations are tailored to meet the specific needs of the individual at this current time.

Johnny

Johnny is a 10-year-old male who lives with both parents and his older sister. Johnny is very active constantly doing something; playing video games, completing chores around the house, or playing with friends. Johnny does not enjoy reading books or magazines; he would rather be active with his body or mind in motion. Johnny makes eye contact with those he knows and others he is shy around, making little eye contact. Johnny tries to please those closest to him but communication difficulties are a common occurrence. Johnny displays minimal repetitive type behavior. Insisting upon certain foods, games, or activities is a weekly common occurrence.

Emotional and Behavioral Functioning

Johnny is empathetic, energetic, sensitive, emotional, and caring. However, he often struggles with frustration, anger, slower processing, and completing tasks. Johnny is often seen as a revengeful bully; he yells, hits students on the playground, and chases students around the classroom. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) either overreact or underreact to certain sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes.” Normal classrooms contain an overwhelming amount of external stimuli. Johnny’s attention span varies between length, depending on the situation and amount of interest in specific tasks. Johnny cannot process his thoughts and feelings as quickly as possible because he is often quick to react to his feelings. When Johnny reacts from emotion without thinking, he begins to think negatively about himself and his abilities, internally focusing his attention on negative aspects of himself. Johnny displays anger and frustration at both school and home.

Social and Family Influences

Social facilitation effects become present when individuals can be picked out of the group based on performance alone. This often occurs as the behavior and communication with other students increase. “When tested, some areas of ability may be normal, while others – especially cognitive (thinking) and language abilities – may be relatively weak” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2011, p. 1). Teachers notice the behavior problems with Johnny but do not correlate his frustration may come from his inability to keep up with other students in a normal classroom setting. Many students with autism spectrum disorders have difficulty processing information, not with intellect.

Social Cognition

However, According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2011, p. 1), “Many children with autism spectrum disorder have some degree of intellectual disability.” Anger and frustration typically appear when Steven cannot gather his thoughts in a cohesive manner. Many times he knows what he wants to say or how to solve a problem but has difficulty gathering that information correctly. The brain needs a greater amount of processing time. While trying to process information, Johnny becomes overwhelmed with trying to keep up. His frustration comes out in his behavior. Johnny can concentrate on one or two tasks at a time; any more given to him may cause confusion and frustration. Johnny lacks self-confidence when compared to ‘normal’ students. His inability to keep up with his social group affects his feelings about himself as well as his behavior. Autism Spectrum Disorders can coexist with ADHD, anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders.

Environmental Influence

The violence witnessed on television, in video games, and experienced in his family environment may contribute to his outbursts of anger and violence. Johnny also witnessed arguments and violence in the home during specific developmental periods of his life; during his infancy and toddler years and again during his early elementary years. These influences in his life as well as the current social influences, may explain his behavior.

Recommendation

My recommendation for Johnny is to incorporate special education classes in addition to his regular classes. Steven may also benefit from a dialectical behavior therapy group specifically structured toward preteens and adolescents dealing with anger management. He may also benefit from a male teen mentor. Incorporating children’s mental health case management can assist in locating these resources.

Amy

Amy is a 17-year-old female who lives with both her parents and younger brother. Amy has an older half-brother whom she infrequently talks to on the phone. She also has a younger half-brother whom she has no contact. Amy is currently attending a small-class size charter school and is in 11th grade. She has difficulty concentrating, managing her time, and completing tasks both in school and home. Amy has difficulty planning and executing long-term assignments. She often challenges authority figures and lacks trust. Amy frequently experiences headaches, stomach pain, and dizziness. Amy does not sleep well. She has flashbacks from a traumatic event in her life. Amy has a few close friends; many are acquaintances. Amy is not employed.

Social and Family Influences

Although Amy attends various youth groups in the community, she has difficulty maintaining friendships. Conflict between Amy and others occurs almost daily. Raelen was sexually abused by her grandfather between the ages of seven to 13. There are many psychological effects that occur from a sexual assault; PTSD, Depression, BPD, and Dissociative Identity Disorder (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 2009). The family has no contact with the grandfather. Amy struggles with her sense of identity at times, which can influence her intense, rapidly changing mood swings. Amy acts impulsively on her emotions, which may affect her relationships. Amy’s inability to regulate her emotions may also cause conflict in her relationships.

Emotional and Behavioral Functioning

Amy has experienced depression, anxiety, and self-harming behavior in the last three months. She also experiences periods of boredom and impulsive behavior. Amy often veers “from extreme closeness and love (idealization) to extreme dislike or anger (devaluation)” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2011, p. 2). She struggles to separate her emotions; often displacing her anger on those closest to her at the time. At periods of overwhelming emotion, Amy has cut her wrists. A year has gone by with no cutting behaviors until one month prior. Amy appears confident, happy, determined, emotional, and social. However, at times Amy can appear selfish, angry, reserved, and manipulative. She constantly worries about school, turning 18, the past, and the future. The need to conform to others and form close relationships is strong.

Recommendation

My recommendation for Amy is to include an after school-tutor to help her complete her long-term assignments. She should also include a skills group that will teach her valuable skills needed in adulthood. Amy may benefit from joining a teen support group dealing with sexual abuse. Other therapy options include cognitive behavioral therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and exposure therapy. Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) centers on the relationship between the client and the therapist. The focus is on dealing with difficulties and emotions in relationships. Stress inoculation training teaches a person how to reduce anxiety and view memories positively. Medications are an option to reduce depression or anxiety symptoms.

References

Council for Exceptional Children (2011). Behavior Disorders/Emotional Disturbance. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from cec.sped.org

Kowalski, R. and Westen, D. (2011). Psychology (6th ed.). Wiley: Hoboken, NJ

National Institute of Mental Health. (2011). Autism Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from nimh.nih.gov.

National Institute of Mental Health. (2011). Post traumatic stress disorder. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from nimh.nih.gov.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children. (2004), January. Cinahl Information Systems. Accession Number: 5000000539

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) (2009). Effects of Sexual Assault. Retrieved February 6, 2012 from rain.org

Wolraich, M. (2006). Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – Can it be recognized and treated in children younger than 5 years? Infants & Young Children, 19(2), 86-93 Retrieved February 4, 2012 from depts.washington.edu