Sanchez Family Case Study

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After reviewing the Sanchez Family case study, I have chosen to review Emilia Sanchez with Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial development, Operant Conditioning, and Social Learning Theory. In her case study, Emilia is described as being the oldest daughter in the Sanchez family, she helped her mother a great deal with housework and with helping care for the younger children and was a good quiet child who never gave her parents any problem, however at the age of 14, things changed, and she got involved in drugs. Now at 28, she has lost custody of her son due to her problems with drugs, and she is estranged from her parents due to having an abortion shortly after her son was born because her parents have very strong religious beliefs and they …show more content…

The first stage is Stage 5 Identity vs Identity Confusion in adolescence (Rogers, 2013). All of a sudden at the age of 14 Emilia started to change and become involved in drugs. This may have occurred due to her mother’s dependence on her to help with the housework and helping with her younger brothers and sisters. She could have begun to feel confusion on her true identity as a normal teenage girl or a mother figure to her siblings. Getting involved in drugs may have been her way of rebelling against her parents for not paying attention to her when she needed them or for placing her in this position as a caretaker. The second stage she is struggling in is Stage 6 Intimacy vs Isolation in young adulthood (Rogers, 2013). She is 28 years old, and is isolated from her family and her son, Joey, who her parents now have custody due to her drug abuse. The other reason she is isolated from her family is due to her having an abortion, and her parents feel she has committed a mortal sin and they do not want her in their home. She has the lost the intimacy of being with her son and her …show more content…

There are both positive and negative reinforcements (Rogers, 2013). Emilia has not been able to finish a treatment program for her drug addiction, she has not been able to get job training or work due to her substance abuse, and is also risking her US citizenship because if she is arrested for drug offences, she could be deported. Using the Operant Conditioning theory, a social worker could use positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement as interventions. The social worker could explain to Emilia the steps she could take to improve her life. She could enter a drug treatment program, and finish the program. After that, she could receive job training and secure a job. The job could in turn allow her to be able to support herself and her son, and hopefully if she succeeds at these things, her family will accept her back into their lives. Negative reinforcement could be the social worker telling her if she does not complete a rehab program, she will not be able to secure herself a job. By not securing a job, she has no way to support herself and her son so she won’t regain custody of him. Also, if she is arrested, she faces possible deportation which would further increase her isolation from her family and her

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