Case Analysis of Jack and Ally through the Ecological Framework

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Recommended: Dsm v diagnostic criteria oppositional defiance disorder

The following is a critical analysis of a case study on a three year old boy named Jack. Case documents reveal that Jack expresses behaviours and developmental issues that align with a diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and/or Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Case information outlines details of Jacks infantile behaviours, family dynamics and current developmental issues. The purpose of this critical analysis is to identify and examine multiple risk factors that are present across various levels of Jack’s environment simultaneously. This type of analysis is guided by the ecological-transactional model (Bronfenbrenner, 1989). The ecological-transactional model divides environments by levels named the ontogenic environment, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem. Each environmental level is identified by certain characteristics. The proximal systems are those that individuals are actively participating and socialising within while the distal systems are not in direct contact but still have a direct influence on the individual (Cicchetti et al., 2005). Jack’s case depicts that there are a combination of both ‘vulnerability’ and ‘challenger’ potentiating factors across all levels of his environment. Vulnerabilities and challengers are a type of risk factor which Cicchetti et al. (2005) describe as variables that increase the potential for maladaptive trajectories. Vulnerability factors are those that are enduring risk factors present in the child’s life while challenger factors are transient risk factors (Cicchetti et al., 2005). There is a predominance of risk factors within Jack and his family’s context but there are also protective factors present which are those factors that promote a...

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...l of consulting and clinical psychology, 68(4), 624.
Sanson, A., Hemphill, S., & Smart, D. (2004). Connections between temperament and social development: A review. Social Development,13(1), 142-170.
Vernberg, E., & Medway, F. (1981). Teacher and parent causal perceptions of school problems. American Educational Research Journal,18(1), 29-37.
Weinfield, N., Sroufe, L., Egeland, B., & Carlson, E. (2008). Individual differences in infant-caregiver attachment: Conceptual and empirical aspects of security. In J. Cassidy, P. Shaver (Eds.). Handbook of Attachment: Theory, research, and clinical application (2nd ed.) (pp. 78-101). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.

Wittenberg, E., Saada, A., & Prosser, L. (2013). How illness affects family members: A qualitative interview survey. The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, 6(4), 257-268. doi:10.1007/s40271-013-0030-3

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