Analyze the development of a person in a case study who is in middle or late adulthood by applying theories and recommending an evidence-based intervention.
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Note: The assessments in this course follow the successive stages of lifespan development, so you are strongly encouraged to complete them in sequence.
Theorists and researchers focus on these phases to understand the developmental trajectories of adults:
- Early adulthood, often referred to as young adulthood or emerging adulthood, is a period from 18 to 25 years, where the focus on relationships and career choice and success can become primary. Young adulthood is often understood by applying lifespan development theories that help in understanding social-emotional and career development issues that emerge in young adulthood. Examples are adult attachment theory, Holland's personality type theory linked to career development, Super's vocational self-concept stages, as well as Erikson's stage of identity development.
- Middle adulthood or midlife is a period where, according to developmental theory, there is evidence of growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss in various contexts such as family and work. Middle adulthood is often understood by applying lifespan development theories that help in understanding the cognitive and social development issues that emerge in midlife. Concepts of maintenance and loss as well as coping strategies linked to stress such as Hobfoll's theory of conservation of resources (COR) are often useful. Cognitive changes are often understood in terms of fluid and crystallized intelligence. Social development is often understood in terms of Erikson's concept of generativity.
- Adulthood or late adulthood is a period when people move into their 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, with various challenges and losses that can define developmental trajectories. Late adulthood is often understood by applying lifespan development theories that help in understanding the gains and losses that are hallmarks of this stage of adulthood, such as the lifespan theory developed by Baltes and colleagues.
For this assessment, you will focus on either the middle or late phases of adult development.
Note: The assessments in this course follow the human developmental sequence, so you are encouraged to complete them in order.
Overview
How can a person live a happy life? How can we better cope with stresses in our lives and become more resilient? Development does not stop at adulthood. We continue to change and grow because life is not static. In early adulthood, most people focus on developing friendships and partnerships as well as developing a work life. In middle adulthood, people are affected by a wide variety of situations, such as becoming a parent, switching careers, caring for aging parents, coping with a chronic illness, or weathering financial issues. For this assessment, you will apply the concepts you've learned to analyze a case study focused on middle adulthood or later adulthood.
Instructions
In this assessment, you'll choose one case. Please choose only from the cases in Case Studies: Middle to Late Adulthood. 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.
As you read the case, consider the following:
- The person and their strengths and challenges.
- The person's medical, family, and social context.
- The developmental challenges evident in the person's behavior.
- 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.
As you develop your paper consider:
- Explore through theory and research stages of adulthood development.
- Consider the challenges for the adult who is navigating through either middle or late adulthood. Describe what the selected adult struggles within this phase of their lifespan.
- Maintain a resource list of the materials you consulted to build your case.
Consider the following:
- Research evidence-based interventions that have been effective in meeting the challenges of the adult you described in your case study.
- How the deficits in developmental domains or environmental contexts impact functioning.
- Recommended interventions for the person in the case.
- Evidence for those outcomes from the professional literature.
- Theories and research in the domain in which the adult has challenges, considering that early influences can impact development across the lifespan.
- How the earlier issues that are manifested in adulthood could be relevant.
- How the developmental history might help in understanding and determining an approach to working with an adult with the identified challenges.
Follow APA style and format for style and formatting, as well as for citing your resources. Include a reference list of the scholarly resources you use. See below for helpful links.
Structure of the Report
Organize your assessment 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 Academic Writer for guidance in citing sources in proper APA style. See the Writing Center 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 text containing the case study.
- Length: 5–6 double spaced pages of content plus title and reference pages.
- Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 points.
Refer to the scoring guide to ensure you meet the grading criteria for this assessment.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide 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 adult 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 adult 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 adult individual in a case.
- Apply research findings from a scholarly research article to support a recommended intervention for an adult individual in a case.
- Competency 4: Apply professional writing and APA formatting to scholarly writing with few errors.
- Address assessment purpose in a well-organized text with appropriate tone and grammatically sound sentences.
- Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing with few errors.
Scoring Guide
Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated.
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Criterion 1
Apply two or more developmental theories to understand an adult individual in a case.Distinguished
Applies two or more development theories to understand an adult individual in a case, and justifies the relevance of the theories selected to the case.
Proficient
Applies two or more developmental theories to understand an adult individual in a case.
Basic
Describes a developmental theory, but does not apply it to understand an adult individual in a case.
Non Performance
Does not describe a developmental theory.
Criterion 2
Analyze individual, familial, cultural, or contextual factors in understanding development of an adult individual in a case.
Distinguished
Analyzes several individual, familial, cultural, or contextual factors in understanding development of an adult individual in a case, explaining how each factor relates to the individual's current functioning.
Proficient
Analyze individual, familial, cultural, or contextual factors in understanding development of an adult individual in a case.
Basic
Identifies but does not analyze individual, familial, cultural, or contextual factors relevant to the development of an adult individual in a case.
Non Performance
Does not identify individual, familial, cultural, or contextual factors relevant to the development of an individual in a case.
Criterion 3
Describe a recommended intervention for an adult individual in a case.
Distinguished
Describes an intervention for an adult individual in a case, and analyzes the connection between specific elements of the case in relationship to the intervention.
Proficient
Describes a recommended intervention for an adult individual in a case.
Basic
Identifies but not does not describe an intervention for an adult individual in a case study.
Non Performance
Does not identify an intervention for an individual in a case study.
Criterion 4
Apply research findings from a scholarly research article to support a recommended intervention for an adult individual in a case.
Distinguished
Applies research findings from two or more scholarly articles to support a recommended intervention for an individual in a case.
Proficient
Applies research findings from a scholarly research article to support a recommended intervention for an adult individual in a case.
Basic
Describes research findings but does not directly apply them to an individual in a case, or applies professional information that is not from a scholarly research study.
Non Performance
Does not describe research findings to support a recommended intervention for an individual in a case.
Criterion 5
Address assessment purpose in a well-organized text with appropriate tone and grammatically sound sentences.
Distinguished
Presents a focused purpose through strong organizational skills. Presents evidence through strong paraphrasing/summarizing and appropriate tone and strong grammar.
Proficient
Addresses assessment purpose in a well-organized text with appropriate tone and grammatically sound sentences.
Basic
Addresses the assessment purpose with minimal issues related to evidence, tone, and sentence structure with few grammar errors.
Non Performance
Does not respond to the assessment prompt and/or does not organize text appropriately, uses inappropriate tone, or does not include grammatically sound sentences.
Criterion 6
Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing with few errors.
Distinguished
Applies current APA style to scholarly writing with nearly flawless format.
Proficient
Applies APA style and formatting to scholarly writing with few errors.
Basic
Applies APA style to scholarly writing, but with multiple errors in format.
Non Performance
Does not apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
Mali
Mali is a 48-year-old Thai American woman. She has three adult children, two sons and a daughter, and one grandson. She lives in a two-bedroom apartment near her mother, now in her early 70s. Mali visits her mother several times a week to check on her health and her emotional state. Although Mali’s mother is relatively self-sufficient, a recent medical check-up suggested some early warning signs of a neurological disorder. Mali’s mother expects attention from her daughter and will let her know when she feels she’s being neglected. Mali has always been very responsible and concerned about the well-being of her family members. Even though this takes a lot of her time, she faithfully attends to her mother’s needs without complaint. Now, with the threat of a potentially deteriorating health problem, she is more concerned than ever about her mother’s health and her own ability to cope.
Mali and her husband, who was born in Thailand, lived with their young children in a state on the East coast. Although Mali met and married her husband in the United States, he always wanted to go back to Thailand, a place he considered his real home. After 10 years, he left the family to return to his home country, because he missed his extended family, and his familiar surroundings. He also worried that he could not make enough money to support three children. He occasionally sent Mali money from Thailand. Single now for 14 years, Mali feels that she would like to meet someone with whom she could share her life. This is a new feeling for Mali. Until recently, she was too distracted with the problems of raising her children and getting her small business started to think about herself. Now she feels that she only has a limited amount of time left to pursue some of her own wishes. She can envision herself like her mother, old and alone, and that prospect disturbs her. She has started to attend social functions at her church and has accepted some social invitations from members of the close-knit local community.
Mali’s life has recently become more complicated. Her daughter and her three-year-old grandson have moved in with her. The relationship between her daughter and her husband deteriorated after the birth of their son, the couple fought frequently. Mali is sad about her daughter’s impending divorce, but happy to be around her daughter and grandson as this relieves some of her loneliness. However, she does worry about their finances as having them live with her is an extra expense on her limited budget.