running head: ADOLESCENT INTERVIEW ANALYSIS

Adolescent Interview Analysis

Aliza Robinson

Spring 2018

EPY 707
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Adolescent Interview Questions

Parenting Style

Would you consider your mother's parenting style controlling or undemanding, warm or cold?

How do you think that has helped shape your personality?

Our text discusses "Regulation" and guidance and control on page 205; the text goes on to

discuss the differing effects the various parenting styles have on adolescents. According to our

text the authoritative parenting style has the most "positive" effects on the development of an

adolescent. Dolgin states "Few ideas are agreed upon more readily by developmental

psychologists than the assertion that authoritative parenting is best" (Dolgin, pg. 206). The

adolescent (David) that I will be interviewing was raised by a single mother, his father left the

family when David was a young boy. The parenting style of his mother, according to our text,

has played a role in the development of David's personality, self-esteem, and independence.

One-Parent Family

Will you please rate the following categories, about yourself, on a scale of 1-5? 5 meaning you

feel the category fits your concept of self very strongly.

Masculine 1 2 3 4 5

Heterosexual 1 2 3 4 5

Independent 1 2 3 4 5

Aggression 1 2 3 4 5
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Peer Relationships 1 2 3 4 5

Our text discusses the "Development of Masculinity/Femininity" on page 232. "The common

assumption has been that boys who lack an effective father figure and who are raised by their

mothers are more likely to score lower on measures of masculinity; to have less masculine

self-concepts and sex-role orientations; and to be more dependent, less aggressive, and less

competent in peer relationships than those whose fathers are present" (Dolgin, pg. 232). Since

David's father was not present throughout most of his childhood/adolescence I would like to see

how he would rate himself based on those categories. The text also states "As a boy gets older,

however, the early effect of father absence decreases" (Dolgin, pg.232).

Moral Development

*Read Kohlberg's Story (Heinz)*

Should the husband have stolen the drug? Was doing so right or wrong? (Kohlberg, 1963)

Kohlberg outlined 6 different stages of moral development. Our text states "In outlining his

stages, however, Kohlberg was careful not to equate each type with a particular age. Within one

age group, individuals are at different levels of development in their moral thinking..."(Dolgin,

pg.178). David is 19 years of age, I would like to see if I can narrow down his stage of moral

development at this point if his life.

Self-Concept/ Self-Esteem

How would you rate/characterize your overall self-esteem? Rate the following categories:

Having Successes
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Being Recognized

Athleticism

Feeling Attractive

Vocational Aspirations

Close to Your Parents​

Dolgin states "Self-concept, and later identity, form the basis for self-esteem, a related term that

refers to how one feels about oneself; it is more evaluative in nature" (Dolgin, pg.150). I would

like to see how these factors affect his level of self-esteem. "...self-concept is subject to change

under the influence of powerful forces, both positive and negative" (Dolgin, pg.157).

​Limitations of Low-Socioeconomic Status

Throughout your childhood and adolescence have you ever felt powerless or "stuck" as it

pertains to your ability to make decisions or changes for your future? Did you ever feel bitter,

embarrassed, isolated, or rebellious?

Chapter 3 discusses the "Limitations of Low Socioeconomic Status;" the four possible outcomes

are limited alternatives, helplessness, deprivation, and insecurity. I would like to see David's

point of view when it comes to low socioeconomic status. I do not believe every individual in

this position feels the way our chapter describes. Dolgin states "The media makes them

constantly aware of their own abject status and ‘failure,’ often resulting in bitterness,

embarrassed withdrawal and isolation, and social deprivation and rebellion" (Dolgin, pg.56).

Again, I would like to see the mental affects David's situation has had on him and if it has

affected him in the ways described above.

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Interview Results

Parenting Style

Would you consider your mother's parenting style controlling or undemanding, warm or cold?

How do you think that has helped shape your personality?

David stated “A bit of both, actually. A bit of both, again. Depending on whether she has

been drinking (alcohol) or not… Or other substances (illegal drugs).” When she is sober, he

stated that she is undemanding, but a little controlling and warm. When she has been drinking, he

said, she is controlling and cold. When asked how her parenting style has shaped his personality

he responded “I feel that I can handle situations better. I have gone through stressful situations

when I was younger. Stressful situations don’t faze me, I guess.”

According to David, his mother was a bit of all the parenting styles; she was

undemanding yet demanding at times, warm when sober and cold when under the influence of

alcohol. He stated that he is now better able to handle stressful situations in life. Although it

sounds like his ability to handle stressful situations is a positive effect of her parenting styles, it

may not have all been positive. He mentioned that he was forced to deal with stressful situations

when he was younger; these stressful situations could have put a lot of anxiety and strain on his

younger self. His response, although surprising relates to our text… “Authoritative parents also

encourage individual responsibility, decision making, and autonomy” (Dolgin, pg.206). David’s

stressful situations could be viewed as individual responsibility as well as decision making.

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David did not comment on the negative effects his mother’s parenting style may have had on his

personality.

One-Parent Family

Will you please rate the following categories, about yourself, on a scale of 1-5? 5 meaning you

feel the category fits your concept of self very strongly.

Masculine 1 2 ​3​ 4 5

Heterosexual 1 2 3 4 ​5

Independent 1 2 ​3​ 4 5

Aggression 1 ​2​ 3 4 5

Peer Relationships 1 2 3 4 ​5

“I am very dependent on people (financially), right now. Once I get a job I will be independent,

because of school and stuff.”

David’s self-ratings were varied across the board. According to our text, male adolescents

raised by a mother with that absence of a father normally score lower on levels of masculinity,

sex-role orientation, independence, aggression, and peer relationships. David’s self-rating in

aggression is reflective of our text. He rated his aggression level a 2 out of 5, definitely on the

lower end of the spectrum. His ratings in masculinity and independence also, somewhat, are

concurrent with the information in our text. He rated his independence and masculinity at 3 out

of 5, neither masculine or non-masculine; independent or dependent. His scores differ, however,

in his self-ratings of peer relationships and sexual-orientation. He rated himself a strong 5 out of

5 on both; this differs from the norm in that males who are raised in the absence of a father figure
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typically score lower in the areas of peer relationships and sexual orientation. Our text did state

“As a boy gets older, however, the early effects of father absence decrease” (Dolgin, pg.232).

​Moral Development

*Read Kohlberg's Story (Heinz)*

Should the husband have stolen the drug? Was doing so right or wrong? (Kohlberg, 1963)

David’s response: “Broad question, depends on… Yea, but from the Chemist’s point of view it’s

not right. Yea, I would have, I can understand.” David would not elaborate more on his response

or his reasoning, even after I restated the question. According to David, he does not believe it is

“right,” but he can understand why the husband would steal the drug. If he was in the husband’s

situation, he would have stolen the drug for his wife. Our text states that the answer an individual

gives is not what is important, the reasoning behind their decision is what is used to decide their

level of moral reasoning (Dolgin, 2011). I needed more information from David, so I called him

a week later to get more information. When asked ​why​ he would have/should have stolen the

cure David elaborated with “My wife/family needed the cure and the last thing I want to see is

for them to die.” I asked “Why wouldn’t you want to see them die.” He replied with “They’re my

family and I love them.” I wasn’t able to get anything else from him, so I decided to analyze this

answer.

When David stated that from the Druggist’s point of view, stealing was “wrong,” he was

operating under the postconventional moral reasoning “…when people don’t necessarily do what

is best for themselves or what others think they should do but instead do what they believe is
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right and just” (Dolgin, 179). He did not stick with that answer, though. David eventually came

to the conclusion that he would have stolen the drug because he loves his family and he wouldn’t

want to see them die. This answer has stumped me. On one end of the spectrum, it could fall

under instrumental hedonism orientation in which “…people are motivated by the thought of

payback and future gain” (Dolgin, pg. 179). The future gain being the survival of his wife. On

the other end of the spectrum, it could also be seen as social contract orientation where

“individuals understand that the purpose of rules and laws is to serve the greater societal good.

At this stage, individuals define morality in terms of general principals such as individual rights,

human dignity, equality, and mutual obligation” Dolgin, pg.179).

I am leaning more towards social contract orientation, mainly because of the mention of

general principles and human dignity. David was unable to give me reasoning as specific as “If

he saved her, think how grateful she would be. She would treat him like a king” (Dolgin,

pg.179). His reasoning was more broad, simply stating he wouldn’t want to see his family die.

He never mentioned payback in the future. I feel comfortable stating that his level of moral

reasoning, in this situation falls under social contract orientation.

Self-Concept/ Self-Esteem

How would you rate/characterize your overall self-esteem? Rate the following categories:

Overall 1 2 ​3​ 4 5

Having Successes 1 2 3 ​4​ 5

Being Recognized 1 2 ​3​ 4 5

Athleticism 1 2 3 ​4​ 5
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Feeling Attractive 1 2 ​3​ 4 5

Vocational Aspirations 1 2 ​3​ 4 5

Close to Your Parents 1 ​2​ 3 4 5

According to David’s ratings, he falls relatively neutral with an overall self-esteem score

of 3 out of 5. His personal successes, 4; being recognized, 3; athleticism, 4; feeling attractive, 3;

vocational aspirations, 3; being close to your parents, 2. Our text states that these factors directly

influence an adolescent’s self-esteem. After I added up his scores and calculated the mean, it

came out to an average rating of 3.2. David’s overall self-assessment score was a 3; this perfectly

fits with our text’s explanation of self-concept. His average score of factors almost exactly

matches his overall self rating.

Limitations of Low-Socioeconomic Status

Throughout your childhood and adolescence have you ever felt powerless or "stuck" as it

pertains to your ability to make decisions or changes for your future? Did you ever feel bitter,

embarrassed, isolated, or rebellious?

David answered that he did feel helpless at times, but that overall it fueled his drive (to

accomplish personal goals). Bitter: “Yes, towards my mom because of the situations she put me

through.” Embarrassed: “Yea, I would try to have my friends come over when she wasn’t

around…which was easy because she worked a lot.” Isolated: “Yea, when it was just me and her

(siblings moved out). My friends were my escape.” Rebellious: “Yes, definitely. I would find her

weed stashes and beer and put them down the drain. I would runaway and change the code on the

Xbox so she couldn’t use Netflix.”

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David’s responses directly support our text. “…often resulting in bitterness, embarrassed

withdrawal and bitterness, and social deviation and rebellion” (Dolgin, pg.56). David

experienced all of the effects of living in deprivation and hardship. My prediction, that not all

individuals feel these effects when enduring hardship was not supported by his responses. David

definitely experienced the effects of hardship as the text stated.

Connection to Education

The results of this interview were eye opening; I am close to David and did not expect the

results that I received from this interview. These results solidify all of the information I have

been absorbing throughout the duration of this course. The effects of poverty, parenting styles,

lack of father figure, and self-concept are absolutely real. I do not work with adolescent aged

students, but I do work with students who are affected by all of these factors. I teach at a Title I

school with 100% free lunch and breakfast for all of our students. More than 90% of my first

graders are affected by one or more of these factors. David is almost 20 years old, but many of

the influences that affect who he is today started when he was very young.

One of the more surprising portions of the interview was my last question pertaining to

poverty and hardship. There is no doubt that David was affected emotionally and socially by his

low-socioeconomic status. All of my students come from low SES families and homes. I have a

direct line of communication with my students’ families and our Communities and Schools

Coordinator. Our Communities and Schools Coordinator can help parents connect with various

resources. Some of the resources I have seen her provide are uniforms for students, bus passes,

food for the weekend, parenting classes, English classes, and much more. She connects with
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families when they are unable to get to school, provide food for their children, provide proper

clothing, and communicate with teachers.

If I keep an open line of contact with parents and foster ongoing communication, I will

have a better sense of what my students are facing when they go home. I can help connect

families with the resources they need in order to make sure their children are successful.

Another area that was surprising to me was the direct connection between self-concept

and the factors that affect it. David’s scores proved that factors such as having successes, feeling

attractive, athleticism, vocational aspirations, and being recognized directly impact one’s overall

self-concept. Many, if not all of these areas can be addressed at school by teachers and coaches.

I want all of my students to experience successes in my classroom. I focus on the growth

mindset, as opposed to RIT scores and academic level. I assess my students at the beginning of

the year and expect to see a certain amount of growth by the end of the year. Often times, my

lowest academic achievers show the most growth. With Growth Mindset, all students have the

chance to feel successful as a result of hard work. Feeling attractive, I want to make a point of

discussing similarities and differences between peers in our class at least once a year. I took

training recently; in this training they shared the idea of having students create a class book

showing the similarities and differences between the students. I think this will help all of my

students accept who they are and what they look like.

I cannot do much about athleticism, but I can address vocational aspirations. I teach first

grade, students at this age have aspirations, but more often than not they aren’t realistic. My job

is to give my students the means of exploring many different vocations. We learn about
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community helpers in social studies, scientists and the like in science, authors and illustrators in

reading, and engineers and mathematicians in mathematics.

I saved recognition for last. So often teachers get caught up in all of the tasks that need to

be completed each day, lesson planning, attendance, paperwork, tutoring, RTI, progress

monitoring, interventions, small group instruction, whole group instruction, assessments,

behavioral management, communicating with parents, grading, meetings, and more. It is very

easy to forget to stop, and take a moment to connect with our students. This is something I have

struggled with since I started teaching, but also something I love doing. When we stop and listen

we are nurturing the relationship we have with our students. When students feel important and

cared about it impacts their self-esteem positively. I want to make an effort to take time to

recognize, celebrate, and listen to my students. I expect them to work hard to reach goals, so in

return I should be there to recognize their effort.

If I have learned one thing from this course and this interview, it is that children and

adolescents are impacted greatly by their surroundings and relationships. As a first grade teacher,

my goal is to alleviate stressors by connecting parents to effective resources and make the effort

to connect with my students.

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Resource

Dolgin, K. G. (2018). ​The adolescent: Development, relationships, and culture​. New York, NY: 

Pearson.