A 4 page paper that responds to a student-provided scenario. The writer identifies the presenting problem, background that includes one sibling becoming 'parent' to other siblings after the abusive father walked out and the apparent roles each sibling has adopted. The essay describes background and existing situation and discusses stress, capacity, and coping abilities. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: MM12_PGcops.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Nancy has been in the role of parent and care-taker since the age of 5. First, she took care of four siblings, then she took care of her mother, then
her own husband and children and now, her father, the father who was abusive to her mother, herself and all siblings. This individual would naturally feel abandoned, fist by
her abusive father who walked out on them and then, by her mother who allowed her to care for her siblings, married again and moved as soon as the children
were adults. Given the abuse and the enormous responsibilities this woman has taken on since childhood, feelings of distrust, abandonment and exploitation are reasonable. Nancy had no childhood, no
adolescence, she was required to be a little adult. Erikson said that individuals who are abused in childhood have significant problems ever trusting anyone. And, now, she has cancer! Jung
tells us "the ego is the centre of consciousness" (Pettifor, 1995). The ego is who I am, it is the individual me (Pettifor, 1995). An individual cannot develop an individual
ego until and unless they separate from their parents (Zimberoff and Hartman, n.d.). Many theorists tell us that for a healthy person to develop, there must first be bonding and
attachment to other humans, typically to parents or other caregivers but this can only occur in a safe and nurturing environment (Zimberoff and Hartman, n.d.). Nancy did not have this
type of experience. Instead, she was abused by the father and ignored by the mother. Bartholomew and Horowitz would explain Nancys inability to feel secure in intimate relationships as "Avoidance
of intimacy [which] reflects the degree to which people avoid close contact with others as a result of their expectations of aversive consequences" (Zimberoff and Hartman, n.d.). This is the