Case Study

Sarah is a 10th grade student who just started to attend Monarch High School. Sarah just entered a new foster hom,e in the county and her and her brother are happy for the change, Sarah and her younger brother have been in 7 foster homes in the last 5 years. After their mom left when she was 4, Sarah and her brother lived with their grandmother. Unfortunately, she passed away a few years later and there were no other available family members to care for the children; thus making them a ward of the state. At their most recent foster home, there were 5 other foster kids and Sarah had to share a room with two other girls. The two girls were not very nice and used to steal or hide her belongings from her. There was also an older boy in the home that often tried to hug and touch Sarah. She complained about him several times to her foster mother. At her old school, she had some difficulties with a group of girls starting rumors about her and posting mean things about her on a blog. Those students made fun of her clothes as well as her weight, Sarah gained quite a bit of weight in a few short months and her peers noticed very quickly. This caused Sarah to withdraw from her clubs. She also started to sleep for longer periods of time and often refused to leave the house. Last May, Sarah fell ill and was in the hospital for a few days. She returned to school shortly after and finished her 9th grade year before learning of the impending foster home change. In the last 4 months, Sarah has lost 40 pounds and wants to try out for the cheer and dance teams. On the first day of tryouts, Sarah was sitting near a girl in one of her classes and noticed her brand new purse and shoes. She commented that she thought they were pretty and she really liked the way they looked on the girl. The girl politely said "Thanks" and moved away from Sarah. A few days later, a rumor was going around the school that Sarah was a lesbian and was coming on to girls in the locker room. This made Sarah very upset and she went home and cried into her pillow. She did not know what to do.

Reflect on Erikson's 8 Stages of Psychosocial Development.

What Stage or Stages do you feel Sarah is in currently and how is she being impacted by the world around her?

Do you feel she may have been impacted during her earlier stages of development as well?

What stages specifically?

What are some additional questions you would like to know about Sarah's history that would help you better understand her?