Case Study Analysis

Overview

Early childhood begins at the end of toddlerhood, at approximately age two, and continues until middle childhood begins with formal school entry at age five or six. During this period, there are greater changes in cognitive development than any other period of life. At the same time, family relationships provide children with their earliest social experiences. Attachment patterns developed in early childhood influence an individual’s ability to successfully develop and maintain peer and adult relationships throughout the lifespan. For this assignment, you will apply the concepts you’ve learned to an analysis of a case study dealing with adolescence or emerging adulthood.

Note: FirstPass, an AI-powered feedback tool, is available to use as you draft this assignment. The FirstPass tool for this assignment is available in the Weekly To-Do List and includes directions on how to upload your draft to receive real-time feedback before you submit for a grade.

Instructions

In this assignment, you’ll choose one case. Please choose only from the cases in the . Do not use other cases or make up your own. In your paper, present the person and the concerns they are facing. Then apply developmental theories to specifics of their case. You’ll choose and describe a potential intervention for the person and the challenges faced. Finally, you’ll support that recommended intervention with evidence from research studies.

Some things to think about as you read the case:

• The adolescent or young adult and their strengths and challenges.
• A challenge for the person in terms of identity and self-concept.
• The medical, family, and social context.
• The developmental challenges that were evident in the behavior of the person.
• Cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial stages of development.
• Individual and cultural factors that theory and/or research indicate could impact the person’s development.
• Any other factors you deem appropriate based on your understanding of the theory and related research.

Consider the following as you search the literature:

• Research evidence-based interventions that have been effective in meeting the challenges of the adolescent or young adult that you described in your case study.
• How the deficits in the social-emotional developmental domain impact development.
• How the environmental contexts impact development.
• The evidence for recommendations.
• Literature on adult identity and self-concept, considering that early influences can impact development across the lifespan.
• The identity issues (for example, Erikson’s theoretical perspective) that emerged in adolescence could be manifested in adulthood.
• Explain how this might help in understanding and determining an approach to working with an adult with a history of identity issues.
• Theory and research related to development linked to adolescence or emerging (or young) adulthood.

Maintain a resource list of the materials you consulted to build your case. Follow APA guidelines for style and formatting, as well as for citing your resources. Include a reference list of the scholarly and professional resources you use.

Structure of the Report

The case study analysis should be a maximum of six pages, including the introduction and conclusion, each of which should be approximately one-half page. The body of the paper, including the introduction and conclusion, should not exceed six pages.

Organize your assignment as follows, including headings for each section:

• Title Page.
• Introduction: Include an overview of the contents, with a brief summary and background information on the case study.
• Case Study Analysis:
• Present the challenge: Explain the presenting challenge or challenges and primary issue or issues for the person in the case study that you selected.
• Apply lifespan theories: Consider lifespan development theories to determine the most appropriate theory or theories and apply them to the case. Note that to achieve a distinguished score, you will need to apply more than one theory.
• Discuss individual and contextual differences: Discuss possible individual, familial, group / cultural, or contextual factors that may impact the individual’s current development and functioning.
• Present an intervention: Search for an intervention that you find appropriate for the individual (or family if applicable) in the case and describe the intervention. Make sure that you find support for the intervention so that you can achieve the next step.
• Provide research support for an intervention: Search the Capella library for studies that test the intervention you select. Present research articles and their findings that show support for the potential effectiveness of the intervention. Note that to reach distinguished, you will need at least two research articles that support the intervention.
• Conclusion: A conclusion that summarizes the case study context, challenges, and interventions.
• References: Cite a minimum of four current peer-reviewed articles, as well as your course text, to support your assertions for a total minimum of five references. You may use additional sources as needed.

Additional Requirements

• Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: References and citations should be formatted according to current APA style and format. Use
• for guidance in citing sources in proper APA style. See the
• for more APA resources specific to your degree level.
• Number of references: Your paper should include at least five properly cited peer-reviewed articles in addition to the textbook in which the case study is embedded.
• Length: 56 double spaced pages of content in addition to the title page and reference page.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 points.

Refer to the rubric to ensure you meet the grading criteria for this assignment.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and rubric criteria:

• Competency 1: Apply developmental theories to explain human growth and behavior at different stages of life.
• Apply two or more developmental theories to understand an individual in a case.
• Competency 2: Analyze the influences of individual, familial, and group differences on lifespan development.
• Analyze individual, familial, cultural, or contextual factors in understanding development of an individual in a case.
• Competency 3: Apply research findings as evidence to support recommended interventions for specific developmental concerns.
• Describe a recommended intervention for an individual in a case.
• Apply research findings from a scholarly research article to support a recommended intervention for an individual in a case.
• Competency 4: Apply professional writing and APA formatting to scholarly writing with few errors.
• Address assignment purpose in a well-organized text with appropriate tone and grammatically sound sentences.
• Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing with few errors.