Posted: April 28th, 2015

Adult Case Study

Adult Case Study

Order Description

Guidelines for the Adult Case Study:
The following format can be used in writing up your interviews:

PURPOSE: What are you trying to find out? You should be examining factors that make for “successful” of “unsuccessful” personality growth and development in older adulthood. How does a person’s lifestyle and personality affect the way that person has, or has not, adapted to aging? What factors in the person’s past or present have helped or hindered the process of growth and development? Decide on your aim and state it clearly at the beginning of your paper.

SUBJECT: Describe the person you are interviewing (age, gender, marital status, health, past or present occupation, socio-economic status, education, place of birth, etc). How long or how well do you know the person, and in what capacity (relative, friend, neighbor, stranger, fellow student, etc)?

METHOD: Your primary method will be the “interview”, supplemented by observation. Ask such questions as what problems they have (or previously) faced and how they have attempted to handle these problems. Does the person find it easy to do new things, or is s/he upset and threatened by any change? How does the person view the future? Their own old age? During the interview, make sure that the person is comfortable, and knows that s/he has the right to refuse to answer any question, for any reason. Use questions which provide information, without embarrassing the person.

Your secondary method will be that of “observation.” Note the person’s behavior and mood during the interview (happy, sad, optimistic, contented, pessimistic, miserable, complaining, suspicious, etc). If you have known the person for a long time, compare present mood and behavior with earlier mood and behavior. For example, has the person always been depressed (if this is the case), or has the person recently changed? If so, have there been any recent events that may have caused changes? Has the person noticed any change in their memory? If so, how do they describe it?

DATA OBTAINED: The data obtained consists of a synopsis of the answers to your questions and their responses. Jot down your impressions right after the interview session(s), so that you do not forget anything. Note place, time, and length of each session. If more than one session, note the time between sessions, and changes in mood or behavior at each session.

ANALYIS (most important part!): Carefully look at your answers and observations. What has the person revealed? What have you learned from your observations? How does what you have learned relate to the readings, lectures, handouts, and discussions in class that relate to the older adult? What are the developmental tasks for this person’s stage of life? Where is this person in terms of accomplishing these tasks? How did the concepts, issues, and theories of later adult development that you learned in the class relate to what you have learned about this person’s development? What is their mental health like? Any changes? Go back and look at your aims. Did you find out what you were looking for? What factors seem to have influenced the person’s growth and development? Did you find out anything that you were not looking for? What?

SUMMARY: What did you learn from this project?