RUNNING HEAD: PEPSI SCREENING-AGURCIA 1

PEPSI SCREENING

PEPSI Screening on “AJ”

Alexxis Agurcia

Edu 220-3001 Fall 2018

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BIOGRAPHY

For my PEPSI case study, I will be observing my unique little brother AJ Agurcia. AJ is a

14 year old boy, 105 pounds and about 5’1’’. AJ is the youngest child of 4, and the only boy with

3 older sisters. AJ is the only child living at home with my parents so he is basically treated as an

only child. AJ was born in Las Vegas and has been here his whole life, he has had many friends

come and go due to the tourist nature of this town. AJ has a very close relationship with our

mother because she is a stay at home mom and she is always home with him. AJ has very severe

asthma so he does not get to spend a lot of time outside due to his allergies. AJ has always

resented the fact that he has asthma because he is a very active child but has had to go to the

hospital numerous times for his breathing problems. AJ was even forced to quit his baseball team

because his allergies got so severe with the Vegas winds and allergies/ dirt out on the field. AJ

spends most of his time indoors playing his Xbox one that he just got for Christmas and he love

playing Call of Duty online with his friends. Among other hobbies, AJ like to partake in a sport

called ‘Parkour’ but he is only allowed to for small amounts at a time due to his breathing. AJ

also likes to make videos of his stunts and edit them for his Instagram page. AJ does not know

what he wants to be when he grows up but he thinks he might either go work at In N Out Burger

like our oldest sister who is a store manager, or he might go work with our father who owns his

business in contract work. AJ states that he really does not like school because sometimes he

feels like he doesn’t understand what the teachers are saying and he has a hard time paying

attention. He says he sometimes feels ‘dumb’ and is embarrassed to ask for help because he

doesn’t want anyone to make fun of him for not being as smart. AJ was held back a grade in

elementary so he is older than his classmates. AJ has missed a lot of school due to his health

issues and is at risk of being held back and not making it into the 9th grade.
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PHILOSOPHICAL

AJ is a quiet 14 year old who stays to himself because he gets nervous about what

to do or say. AJ is now going through the Identity Versus Role Confusion stage of development.

Upon observing AJ one would say that he is definitely experiencing role confusion. AJ is pretty

much cut off from the outside world and really only has our mother to turn to for advice and

approval. Unfortunately our family has a lot of drama so sometimes AJ has trouble knowing the

difference from right and wrong depending on which relative he is interacting with, which is

important for children at this developmental age. According to psychologist Erik Erickson “Role

confusion: having no clear conception of appropriate types of behavior that others will react to

favorably” (Snowman Pg. 30).

Out of the Identity statuses listed in the text AJ seems to suffer from both Identity

Diffusion and Foreclosure. AJ exhibits the following characteristics: not yet experienced and

suffers doubts about his Identity (Oswalt). AJ is very disorganized, impulsive and has a very low

self-esteem, in which he thinks he looks different than everyone else and no one will find him

cute in high school. AJ also displays a lot of anxiety to school related subjects and also tends to

look to his mother for approval at all times. Due to the fact that AJ looks to our mother’s

approval too much it would make sense why he displays a lot of misguided sense.

Unfortunately AJ is at the lowest status on the chart but over time he may show signs of

growth once he gets older and can learn to take advice from others than just his immediate

family. All is not lost, researcher James Marcia states that, people may be uncertain about values

and behavior patterns and finds themselves in a crisis. But for most individuals, a new view of

oneself is eventually created. Kroger states that this is called cycling between certainty and doubt

as to who one is and where one fits in society (Snowman Pg34).

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EMOTIONAL

AJ is a 14 year old middle school child and he is experiencing a lot of change

emotionally. AJ is going through a phase that he considers “Emo”; he prefers to wear all black,

has long hair with red streaks and listens to punk rock music. Due to the fact that AJ is an only

child and has a lot of family drama around him one would say he is not emotionally on the right

track. AJ definitely displays the extremes of an adolescent: Feelings of confusion, anxiety, and

depression; extreme mood swings; and low levels of self-confidence (H. Colarossi).

One would suggest the reasoning for AJ’s emotional issues would be the fact that he is

alone most of the time (besides his mother) and has no one to turn to about his mixed feelings he

is experiencing. He has also had a lot of negative feedback and negative life events unravel right

before him as a young child which made him feel a lot of doubt. AJ may be in danger of his

emotional state carrying on from early adolescence into later adulthood if he does not get proper

guidance. “Problems displayed during adolescence are not necessarily problems of adolescents”

(Steinberg).

Other discomforting theories as to why AJ displays the worrisome emotional issues is due

to his lack of a relationship to his father. AJ is very close with his mother and he has been known

to turn to her for approval and also trusts her most as most young children do. Because his father

has been known to cheat on his mother and hurt her emotionally AJ holds a lot of resentment

towards his father and he does not trust him. According to researcher, children who are fatherless

or have little to no relationship with their fathers exhibit the following disparities:

diminished self-concept, compromised emotional security (children consistently report feeling

abandoned when their fathers are not involved in their lives) struggles with their emotions and

episodic bouts of self-loathing (E. Kruk).

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PHYSICAL

AJ is 5’1 and weighs 105 pounds which is considered small for his age. Both of AJ’s

parents are short (5’3 and 5’9) which would lead to his size explanation. Physically AJ is behind

compared to other boys his age. At age 14, the average weight and height of boys is 112 lbs. and

5 feet 4 inches (Callaway). AJ sometimes gets picked on due to his height which leads to his

feeling of inadequacy.

AJ is considered a Late Maturing boy and experiences a lower self-esteem and strong

feelings of inadequacy which leads to his feelings of depression. AJ tends to wear all black and

covers his face with his hair so that “no one will see him”. Due to his lack of self-esteem AJ

tends to stick to himself and shows a lot of creativity in arts. Steinberg states that young boys

who are late maturing tend to be more curious and insightful which leads to higher levels of

intelligence (Steinberg). This can be held true since AJ states he tends to get interested in a

subject and gets very dedicated to what he is doing IE: learning how to film cut and edit his

videos using his phone and props.

Besides AJ’s size, his biggest physical drawback is his severe asthma. AJ has had asthma

since he was very young when our parents noticed he had a lot of trouble with breathing. AJ has

refrain from the physical activities he would like to take part in. AJ displays anxiety and fear

towards certain physical activities due to an asthma attack that was so sever he had to stay

overnight at the hospital hooked up to a breathing machine. AJ carries his inhaler with him

everywhere he goes and sometimes panics when he thinks he may have forgotten it. “Children

with asthma tend to display negative effects on peer relationships (e.g., being bullied), the

dependence on medication, shortness of breath, cough, limitations in activities, and the social

limitations as a result of avoiding environmental cigarette smoke (Bernt).

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SOCIAL

AJ tends to have trouble with social interactions and tends to stay to himself and avoid

others if possible. Rather than conform to society (Hoffman); like most boys his age do, AJ tries

to be different in a sense that he doesn’t have to worry about not being like everyone else.

Because AJ has issues with his health (asthma) he is not allowed to go play outside with the kids

in the neighborhood as much as he wishes. He tends to be left out a lot and is also bullied for his

size so this would explain his reasoning to avoid social interactions.

AJ also suffers from a “helicopter mom” who tries to control his social life but not letting

him have one at all. His mother tends to disapprove of any of his friends he tries to bring over to

play with in the house (since he can’t go outside) as well as not letting him go over to their house

to play either. AJ’s mother also tells AJ that he is not allowed to have friends over unless his

father is at work because he does not want random people in his house. AJ has no set group of

friends at school which can definitely make high school tough. Because of his mom’s helicopter

behavior AJ is considered to be at risk; “Research conducted at Washington’s University,

analyzed 297 high school students whose parents were “helicopter parents”, and found that these

young boys showed higher levels of depression and anxiety” (Delgado).

The only friends AJ tends to have are friends he meets online. Since AJ has medical

issues he spends most of his time playing his video games online as well as posting videos on

Instagram and texting his internet friends. Due to AJs circumstances and preferences he is

becoming more and more socially isolated. Studies show that children who are bullied or do not

fit in tend to seek comfort online. “Studies have shown that use of social media to replace the

need for social interaction can turn to social isolation” (Hobson). Online is where AJ prefers to

do his socializing but only because he says he can be who he wants and not get picked on.
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INTELECTUAL

According to Piaget’s cognitive levels of development, AJ falls into the Formal

Operational stage. In the early stages of the Formal Operational stage, children tend to learn

though trial an error until they reach an older age of high school and can already plan out a

problem based on hypothesizing and recalling previous events and outcomes (Snowman/Piaget

Pg. 43). AJ is a very curious and bright child, yet he lacks certain qualities that life events and

social interaction could provide. Having these qualities could be useful in future events such as

job interviews or having healthy relationships with peers and coworkers.

Because AJ is so close with his mom, she tends to get him involved in adult situations

that a 14 year old may have trouble understanding. Many adults tend to think that once children

hit their teen years they are older and can understand things that they couldn’t as a child; in AJ’s

case his mother’s constant reminder of how his father cheats and lies to her. An adult can see

this situation from different points of views and try to mentally process it. However a child AJ’s

age cannot break things down and see them from anything more than from an adolescent

egocentrism point of view. Studies have shown that adolescent’s capabilities have been highly

overestimate. According to one researcher, “Piaget’s theory is best seen as an account of optimal

competence, not a description of typical behavior” (Moshman). Since children’s thinking can be

inconsistent from task to task, they may not be able to differentia right from wrong based on

different scenarios.

One could also say that AJ’s cultural upbringing plays a big role on his

cognitive/intellectual development. My father comes from a culture where in his family the man

works and the wife stays at home with the children. My mom dropped out of high school when

she had my older sister and my dad did not go to college. Our dad does flooring for major
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businesses in Las Vegas and has been quite successful. AJ has been having a lot of issues with

his grades in school and shows a lack of interest in school. Unfortunately his father does not

believe that school or an education is important because he expects AJ to follow in his footsteps

to become a contractor. AJ’s mother also tends to baby him and does not punish him since he is

her only child at home. I have spoken to AJ about why it is important to get his grades up but I

am not around enough to make any changes for him. Children are a product of their environment

and sadly AJ does not come from a culture where education is important. As Lev Vygotsky says,

“Through both informal and formal conversations and education adults convey to children the

way their culture interprets the world” (Vygotsky).

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GRAPH
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RECCOMENDATIONS

After observing AJ in each of the developmental stages and listing his development in

comparison with other children his age, one can see that AJ falls behind on just about every

stage. AJ’s lowest placements were in the social and emotional department and highest in the

philosophical stage. AJ’s physical standing is partially due to genetics and his health issues

which AJ will have to cope with and adapt to.

Emotionally, I believe it would be beneficial for AJ to speak with a counselor about his

family issues as well as be kept out of adult matters. Children AJ’s age should not have to deal

with adult drama that they cannot comprehend. It appears that, when children are faced with

situations that they can’t handle it leads to depression and a feeling of guilt; which can also affect

their ability to pay attention in school, which AJ suffers from at the moment.

A lot of AJ’s social problems lie heavily on his emotional stress/problems. AJ also has a

lot of limitations on his environments and social activities that he can take part of due to his

asthma. One area that can be changed is how much his mother tries to control his life. Sometimes

parents need to step back and allow their children to make mistakes. AJ feels that he does not

have trust or respect from his mother because she never allows him to go out with friends in fear

of what may happen to him. I suggest that his mother gives him a little more freedom to make

decisions as well as set a reward system in place. AJ is struggling is school and even though his

father has cultural views I believe his mom can set rules in place that will allow AJ to do good in

school and be rewarded by getting to play outside with his friends, as well as spend less time in

the house online and playing video games.

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REFERENCES

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Hoffman, M. L. (2000). Empathy and moral development: Implications for caring and

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Delgado, J. (2017, November 10). Helicopter Parents: The damage they cause to their children.

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