Factors Affecting Josie's Transition To Adulthood

In looking at the youth of today, there are many factors that can affect them. And the decisions that they make today can affect them not only now but in the future as well. The 2010 Census showed that over 74 million children reside in the United States—with almost one-fourth being children under the age of 12 and one-fourth being youth ages 12-17 (Federal Interagency on Child and Family Statistics, 2011). These numbers are very large which means a lot of youth will have some tough choices that they will be faced with as they transition through the years into their adulthood, but with the right direction given some of the challenges can be met. Youth have a lot of factors that can affect them throughout their transition to adulthood. In looking at Josie she has risks factors that will affect her, and will affect her as she transitions through her youth. Josie risks factors are that she is bi-racial, that she has behaviors, and mental health issues, as well as
she resides with a single parent, and may not know who her father is, or what culture he comes from.
These are risks factors for Josie, because they all affect her in more ways than one. Josie being bi-racial is a risk factor, because Josie may wonder if what her father is like, and how is his culture plays into who she is, she may also have issues at school over being bi-racial such as being bullied, and perhaps being bullied for not knowing what races she consist of. Josie has behaviors, which could be related to not knowing enough about herself and getting bullied, or perhaps there are issues at home with her mother, perhaps her mom works a lot and she isn’t home much. And due to her being the only parent this affect Josie. Josie has mental health issues, this could be related to what she is going through with her issues, or it could be that she has a mental health issues, beyond what she is going through. It is apparent that Josie needs help in order to address the issues that she is dealing with, so that she can get through school, and be able to participate in things with her peers. The first step in helping Josie is to find out what underlying issues are causing the most problems for Josie then start by addressing those issues. Starting with Josie being bi-racial, a good start to address this risk factor would to be to see how Josie feels about herself and if she is aware of cultural background. One thing that can be done is to talk to Josie’s mother and find out information about Josie’s father. And then encourage her to talk to Josie, about this so she is aware. Another thing is to allow Josie to talk about what she is experiencing in school about her culture. According to AAMFT “Many mixed-race kids experience racial scorn and rejection from peers. Such experiences are painful but with appropriate guidance and affirmation children can cope successfully. (Multiracial Families). Josie other factors, her behaviors and mental health issues, the key to helping Josie is to get her counseling and allow the mental health professionals be able to decide what Josie needs in in order to not feel depressed.
Therapy can help her identify her own feelings, as well as why she feels this way, and if Josie is experiencing an extreme form of depression she could get on medication. According to Mental Health America “When children experience emotions or engage in behaviors that interfere with their happiness and ability to thrive, they may benefit from meeting with a mental health professional such as a therapist or counselor”. (Depression). In addressing Josie being raised by a single mom, and if there are factors there that can be addressed to help Josie putting social worker in the home could help, or Josie and her mom could engage in therapy together to work on issues Josie may have with her mother, or supports that Josie’s mother needs, to be able to help Josie in what she is dealing
with. While these are good ideas to help Josie, and her mother there could be roadblocks that come up while trying to figure out if these measures put in place are going to help Josie or not. One road block could be that Josie doesn’t want the help and she refuses to explore options to help her feel better and get her behaviors under control. She may be reluctant to talk about her troubles if there are deeper issues such as abuse that no one is aware of. Abuse can lead to a child acting out, and having mental health issues. “Research has found that children exposed to violence or abuse, if left unaddressed or ignored, are at an increased risk for emotional and behavioral problems in the future. Children who are abused may not be able to express their feelings safely and as a result, may develop difficulties regulating their emotions. (Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect). If this was not a known fact about Josie, it could be barrier in helping Josie manage her behaviors.
In addition, Josie could have mental health issues that lead to her acting this way, such as being “Defiant : Challenging; non-compliant; confrontational; openly and boldly challenging and resisting authority. With emerging new mental and physical abilities, pre-teens and teens want to have a say in their world. They want to influence what happens and have their opinions considered. This desire, mixed with a lack of life experience, and a not-yet-fully-developed frontal lobe (the part of the brain that helps us to recognize danger and fully feel empathy for others), especially in boys, often results in them wanting a longer leash than parents and educators feel it is wise to give”. (Behavioral Problems and Conduct Disorder in Children)
In dealing with children that have at risk behaviors it’s important to understand as you are exploring why these are occurring that you must legal turn in any and all abuse that you may suspect occurring based on facts that you gather during the case. It’s also important to that as you are making referrals to different places that could help Josie that you obtain consent from Josie’s mother.
In addition you must ensure that you are knowledgeable about the cultures that are a part of Josie life, so that you can help her be able to gain information about herself and her culture. In this case it would be important that the worker know local resources that could help Josie’s mother if she was struggling at home due to being a single parent. Having these skills will help in giving this at risk youth the best outcome.
Josie is a young child who has many factors playing against her, and if these issues that Josie is dealing with can’t be changed it could lead to her engaging in activities that are not safe or healthy for her to engage in as she gets older. Children need direction, and help in understanding themselves and what their own barriers are. With the right kind of guidance and help Josie can have a good outcome. The youth of America are faced with many challenges, and tough choices that they will be faced with as they transition through the years into their adulthood, but with the right direction these challenges can be met.