SOWK 506: Fall1 2017
QUIZ 1
(100 points; 20% of Course Grade)
Relates to student learning outcomes: 1, 2, 4, 7
This assignment is a take home, short answer essay quiz. It is intended to be an assessment of
your understanding of the content in Units 4 through 6 (Early childhood development,
Personality theories) through critical application of theoretical concepts to a case vignette.
Please use the attached case to answer 5 questions from the list below. Be sure to follow the
directions carefully and clearly indicate which questions you are answering. You may “fill in”
details about the case that are not directly stated. If you do this, please be sure to state your
assumptions so that the instructor can follow the logic of your argument.
Provide responses that are thoughtful and directly relevant to the question, supporting your
answers with specific examples from the case and scholarly source material. In your
responses, you must go beyond simply identifying, listing and/or defining concepts, terms, or
ideas. Demonstrate your knowledge of these theories and how they can be applied to
understand the behavior of the child in the vignette.
FORMAT
This is a short answer essay quiz, not an academic paper. As such, simply indicate the number
of the question you are answering and then write your response. Please use complete
sentences, not bullet points or outlines. The completed quiz should be 5-7 pages in length
(approximately 1 page per question; page limit does not include title page and reference list),
double-spaced, with 12-point font and 1-inch margins. Provide scholarly references in each
response to support your arguments. You are required to cite in APA style a minimum of 4
academic and/or professional works from the syllabus and a minimum of 2 outside references in
the quiz overall (place outside references in bold-face font in the reference list so the instructor
can easily identify them). Please note: The Robbins et al (2011) textbook will count as 1
reference source, regardless of the number of chapters you cite. Please do not cite the
asynchronous material, lecture notes, etc., and minimize the use of direct quotes from source
material. The title page should be formatted as follows:
SOWK 506 – Fall1 2017
Quiz 1
Student Name
Date
Course Instructor
GRADING
The evaluation of the quiz will be based on whether you addressed all aspects of the assignment, the
appropriate use of theoretical concepts, the strength of your analysis, correct APA referencing format,
and graduate level writing quality. A grade sheet will be posted so that you know exactly how the
points are distributed.
Abide by the academic integrity guidelines. It is expected that students will work independently on
the quiz and submit their own work. Please note: Turnitin automatically scans all papers upon
submission to the platform. Students found to be in violation of the academic integrity guidelines may
be referred for judicial review. An overview of the University’s guidelines on academic integrity can be
found at the following URL:
http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/student-conduct/grad_ai.htm
Submit the quiz on time. As this assignment is administered under take-home testing
conditions, late submission will be heavily penalized. Students will lose 10 points for each
day the quiz is late.
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QUIZ 1 QUESTIONS
Directions: Please read the attached case vignette and follow the directions in bold
below. You should respond to a total of 5 questions.
Part A: Answer any 3 of the following questions:
1) Discuss 3 defense mechanisms that the child uses, and whether each appears to be
adaptive or maladaptive.
2) Discuss how Winnicott’s concept of “the good enough mother” can be applied in this
case to help explain the child’s behavior.
3) Apply Erikson’s model of psychosocial development to explain the child’s behavior.
4) Apply Freud’s model of psychosexual development to explain the child’s behavior.
Part B: Answer 1 of the following questions:
1) What is the child’s attachment style? How does the neurobiology of attachment help to
explain the child’s behavior?
2) How does stress affect the brain? How might the neurobiology of stress help to explain
the child’s behavior?
Part C: Answer the following question:
1) Which theory from Units 5 and 6 do you find the most helpful for assessing this child’s
case and which theory do you find the least helpful? Please explain your answers,
supplementing your arguments with scholarly material and examples from the case.
Quiz 1: Case Vignette
Identifying Information
Isagani, age 5 years old, was referred to the social work department at SOS Services, a
multi-service nonprofit in Orange County, for a mental health assessment following the
sudden passing of his father. SOS Services is a comprehensive health and human
services agency, providing a wide range of services to the community. Isagani currently
resides with his mother (Tesoro, 30), and sister (Ada, 3); they rent the garage apartment
of a friend. Following Alejandro’s death, Isagani was referred to SOS Services’
counseling program.
Presenting Problem
The Costa Mesa Kinder referred Isagani to SOS Services for a mental health
evaluation, primarily because of the recent passing of his father and behavioral
problems in school. He talks at home and to other kids, but not to adults outside the
family. In addition, his teacher complained that Isagani is extremely independent and
defiant, preferring to be alone all the time in class, not wanting to play with other kids at
school, and does not comply with adult instruction even when urged nicely and
repeatedly by adults to socialize. When playing with other kids, he gets frustrated easily,
hates to be embarrassed or to lose, and frequently reacts with physical aggression.
Tesoro, the mother, revealed that Isagani has nightmares and wets his bed frequently.
Tesoro says that she is concerned about Isagani’s active imagination. He tells her
stories that he conjures up about relatives being eaten, stabbed, or vaporized by aliens
and monsters, and that there are no ‘good guys’ in his stories. The mother suspects that
he could be struggling with his father’s recent death.
Initial Assessment Meeting
During the initial meeting with the social work intern, Isagani was withdrawn and sat
closely to his mother. When the intern asked his name, he did not respond, but hid
behind his mother. Tesoro shared some of his nightmares: chasing after a man, who
Isagani could never catch up to no matter how fast he ran, a kite diving from the sky to
bite him. When the intern asked Isagani to draw a picture of his family, Isagani drew a
green house, his mother and sister in color, his dog in color, and his father in bold black
lines. He drew his mother and sister as small characters. He drew his father as big as
the house and with bulging muscles and a halo over his head. When the intern asked
about his picture, he said, “Father is watching over me from a place so far away that I
can never see him.” When the intern asked Isagani to talk more about his father, he
kept quiet. So, Tesoro began to talk about what a wonderful husband and father
Alejandro was. She tells the intern that Isagani was really close to his father.
Developmental History
Isagani was a healthy, full-term baby delivered through natural childbirth. Tesoro
delivered the baby with a midwife because she and her husband did not have money for
the hospital and believed strongly in traditional ways. As immigrants, they did not have
any extended family members or close social ties; they tried their best raising Isagani by themselves. Shortly after his son’s birth, Alejandro began working multiple jobs,
spending increasingly less time at home. Weekends, especially Sundays, were special
days that Alejandro reserved for his family; he made sure to take Isagani to church so
he could proudly socialize him with other people from their town. It was important to
Alejandro that Isagani knew where he came from.
For the first month, Isagani slept 12-16 hours a day. He liked to suck on his fingers,
pacifier, and anything else that got close to his mouth. He cried when hungry or wet,
and Tesoro was always there to feed or change him. Within the first 3 months, Isagani
would turn his head whenever he heard Tesoro’s voice. By six months, Isagani was
able to roll over on his own and he would smile at Alejandro and Tesoro when he saw
them. When he started crawling, he eagerly made his way over to anything that
interested him and often tried to put it in his mouth. Tesoro had to keep an eye on him
to ensure he didn’t try to taste, chew or swallow anything harmful. He began walking
around 12 months and his parents would cheer him on as he toddled about the house.
At age 21 months, Tesoro has a vivid memory of Alejandro putting rouge on baby
Isagani’s nose and watching Isagani looked at himself in the mirror, touching his own
nose for the first time. At age 2, “Alejandro bought Isagani a pair of blue Transformers
pajamas, which he insisted on wearing every night,” recollects Tesoro. “Isagani showed
strong signs of independence at a young age: preferring to eat only certain foods,
climbing into his car seat by himself, wanting to brush his teeth on his own…”
At age 3, Alejandro began showing Isagani how to build a kite. “Alejandro would often
take him to the local park with our dog, Mango. One Sunday, Alejandro came home
extremely happy. He could hardly contain himself because Isagani had learned to fly a
kite on his own. When Isagani came in the house, he exclaimed, ‘Mama, I did it by
myself!’ He was so proud of himself!”
Family Background
Isagani’s father and mother came to the U.S. from a small farming and fishing town in
the Philippines in 2003. They became naturalized U.S. citizens in 2006. The father,
Alejandro, was a dentist in the Philippines; the mother, Tesoro, a chemistry teacher at
the national high school. Tesoro met her husband when she went to his clinic to have a
tooth pulled.
Tesoro, 30, is the second eldest of nine siblings. Her parents maintained a traditional,
God-fearing home. She remains close with her family, who still live in the Philippines.
They text each other often, and she sends them cash gifts through Western Union.
Alejandro, 58, is the only surviving sibling of twelve; his siblings passed away, either of
sickness or violence, under Japanese occupation in WWII. They were orphaned when
he was only seven years old. Alejandro persevered as a young man, growing up with
nothing. He worked very hard to support himself through college, and eventually
through dental school.
Alejandro wanted nothing but the best for his family, so he found a way to legally bring
his family to the U.S. He gave up his dental practice and Tesoro gave up a comfortable
teaching position to win a brighter future for their family. They settled in the U.S. with
little more than the shirts on their backs, and a few leads for work. They ultimately found
work as orderlies at a local hospital. After Isagani’s sister, Ada, was born, Alejandro
started working evenings as a security guard, and weekends as a parking attendant.
Sundays he kept reserved for his family and the church.
Isagani saw how hard his father was working, and made sure he found some way to
help as much as he could. At four years old, Isagani learned to tie the trash bag on his
own and take it out every Friday morning so that his father would not have to do it. He
learned how to lock the doors and windows, and he took responsibility for checking
them every time his father would leave for work. He often tried to stay awake until he
heard his father come home late at night from work. Since he usually fell asleep before
his father returned, he would awake early to see him in the morning before his father
had to leave again.
One night, Alejandro came home extremely fatigued. He told Tesoro that he just
needed to lay down, but on his way to the bedroom, he collapsed. Tesoro called 911.
Isagani saw paramedics rush into his home and cut open his father’s shirt and pants.
He saw his father lying helplessly as the paramedics did CPR and readied him for the
ambulance ride to the hospital. He saw his sister, Ada, crying inconsolably. He saw his
mother panicking and sobbing out of control. Alejandro died in the emergency room
from a massive heart attack.
