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Pepsi Screening

Benette Yates

College of Southern Nevada

EDU 220

Professor Dr. Vincent Richardson

October 16, 2021

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Pepsi Screening

Biography

Val Patience is a fifteen-year-old girl born on January 2nd, 2007, at Sunrise Facility in Las

Vegas. She comes from a family of six, and she is the firth born. She is in a high school called

Lowman School in an area that faces social-economic problems. Patience lives in a three-

bedroom house with the father, mother, and five siblings, three of whom are girls and two boys.

Her mother is unemployed, but she engages in casual works such as cleaning people’s

compounds. On the other hand, the father is a teacher and thus the primary breadwinner.

Growing up, Patience has faced many problems because of the family’s weak economic status.

The problems started at birth, where the mother almost delivered at home. The neighbors assisted

her in getting to the hospital, but she had underweight issues. She, therefore, spent several more

days in the hospital than others. The family affords only the basic needs, and so Patience is not

used to luxury things. For example, during weekends, when her friends visit different places for

fun, Patience spends her time cleaning clothes and cleaning for the family.

In her early years, Patience suffering emotional abuse. The parents were not on good

terms, as the mother had been accused of stealing in one of her cleaned homes. It was

challenging for the family as the mother spent a lot of time in the criminal justice system. Instead

of the father being there for her, he believed that she might have stolen. Luckily, the mother was

found innocent. Later on, the parents resolved their problems. They apologized for causing

emotional pain, which Patience felt was helpful even though it did not eliminate the wound.

Today, Patience is a happy girl, and she is determined to work hard in school, get employment

and help her family eliminate poverty. Her father is almost going for retirement, and thus, they

need to work hard as the family’s future is unknown. She enjoys reading books, watching
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movies, and playing with her classmates and neighbors. She desires to pursue nursing because

she likes helping people who encounter issues while giving birth. Her career choice was highly

influenced by the mother’s story of almost losing her, not by the nurses who helped her deliver.

Physical Development

Patience is fifteen years old, meaning that several changes are expected in her body. She

is 63 inches high and weighs 110 Ibs. According to Body Mass Index (BMI) (Vijayakumar et al.,

2018), her weight and height are average. One of the notable things is that Patience’s height has

reached maximum as she has weighed in for the past year. Another change is on the breasts and

hips, which appear larger. The changes were first noted by the friends, who at first bullied her.

Comments such as ‘you look big’ were made, which her as she considered it bullying.

Afterward, she asked her mother about the changes from which things were clarified. It was less

tedious for the mother to explain the changes as Patience had learned about adolescence in

school.

She also experienced hair growth under the armpits and private parts. She disliked the

hair because she constantly had to shave it, which was not a good experience. While her friends

went for waxing in expensive parlous, she used a razor. Among all the physical changes, she

hated hair growth the most. The menstrual period was the other physical change that Patience

encountered. When describing the breasts and hips growth, the mother mentioned the periods. It

was thus easy for her to handle the changes, unlike some of her friends. Moreover, she started

encountering it during a weekend when the mother was home. She was helped through, but she

did not like the cramping and other experiences. Therefore, Patience was scared by some

physical changes, and she disliked some of them, but the mother’s help and classroom education

helped her cope with the changes.

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Emotional Development

At this age, emotional development involves the teens’ search for identity and

independence from the world (Pfeifer & Allen, 2021). They start to become mindful of the things

that matter to them, for example, education and relationships. One of the critical development

noted in Patience is that she went through fewer conflicts with her parents. Previously, she

always complained about their financial status pushing the mother to look for work like her

friends’ mothers. She changed at this age, where she became more understanding and seemed

happy when there was peace. One evening, when they were cleaning the house with the mother,

she asked about her encounter with the father while growing up. She showed empathy for the

emotional pain that the mother encountered earlier on when accused of stealing. The mother felt

happy that her daughter had developed enough to understand the need to be there for people

when going through challenges. Patience also showed more independence from the parents. For

example, when she developed disagreements with her classmates, she was reporting less.

Instead, she tried to resolve the issues with the conflicting party. Moreover, when

deciding whether to attend parties and other social events, Patience relied on the parents’ views

less. Also, she improved in regulating her emotions. For instance, she does not always cry when

hurt and when problems arise, her days are less altered. However, the childhood encounters

affected how she handled some of the emotions in socialization. A classmate mentioned that

Patience comes from the wrong home because her mother is a thief. The statement was

impacting as it lowered her self-esteem. She was ashamed and did not attend school for several

days. Notably, at this age, the teens try to understand things deeply, which makes them

emotional. She recovered several months later as she understood that people make any

comments that she cannot control, but she has the power to determine her mindset about it.
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However, in some cases, she felt confused and angry, tending to blame others. Therefore,

Patience’s emotional development was smooth as she understood and controlled her emotions

most of the time.

Philosophical Development

In teenagers, philosophical development involves a better ability to think abstractly, deal

with several pressures, and consider the consequences of their actions. The logical sequence in

thinking begins to develop, affecting who they become in adulthood (Graber & Petersen, 2017).

For example, the teens who manage the high demanding educational curriculum by

understanding their effects on their future economy perform better than the rest. Another change

is that the teens know what they are expected to do, but the self-centered thoughts become

overwhelming and lead to negative consequences if the moral sense is not well-developed. One

of Patience’s friends involves drug abuse, and in their neighborhood, engaging in such activities

is considered cool. Patience knows that she should not abuse drugs because of the adverse effects

that would prevent her from becoming a nurse. She attended a party where alcohol was available,

and since she did not want to be associated with ‘naivety,’ she drank it with the rest. The

behavior indicates that though she understood the outcomes, she would not overcome the

negative behavior.

Most teenagers also become arrogant because the new mental abilities make them think

that they know everything. In times of conflict, they become defensive based on the belief that

their perception is the best. Patience’s family attended the same church, but she felt that she

needed to switch after some time. She wanted a place where the teens were educated separately

from the adults, a program absent in their church. When she informed the parents about it, she

was unwilling to listen to their point of view. Instead, she wanted them to say yes to her requests
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without wanting to know her reasons. When the parents seemed reluctant, she became angry,

claiming that she was a big girl who would make her decisions. In the end, Patience moved

churches which was a good decision as she acquired more information from the other place. It

is a critical age because cognitive development occurs, but the teens lack enough life experiences

required in decision-making; as noted with Patience, the teens struggle to determine what is right

as they do not want other people’s ideas. Her experiences shaped her way of thinking about the

self and the environment. For example, when she attended a function and felt happy, she

concluded that she was an extrovert. Besides, it increased her confidence that she would become

a good nurse since she is good at socializing.

Social Development

Social development involves psychosocial changes, where the teens go through identity

versus role confusion. They are trying to define who they are and what they want to become in

life (Pfeifer & Allen, 2021). Patience spends less time with her parents as she finds her peers to

be more helpful. At the previous age, she preferred to sit in the same place with the parents in

church, and after school, she went home. At fifteen, things have changed since she attends a

different church, and during weekends, she prefers to attend social events. Nevertheless, her

parent’s behaviors are evident in hers, even when she spends less time with them. For example,

her mother is a peacemaker who dislikes conflicts, and when they occur, she deals with them

well. Patience attended a party when two friends fought due to bullying. Patience was

uncomfortable with the matter, and she pushed them to apologize and say good words to each

other. It is said that children from healthy families develop a better identity than the rest because

they are more aware of their feelings and emotions. Although Patience comes from weak family
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background, her parents are concerned about their emotional wellbeing, which Patience shows

while interacting with her peers.

Patience values family more than she did in the previous years. Since childhood, the

parents have convinced their children that they need to consult whenever they have problems and

listen. The good parent-child relationship motivated Patience to spend quality time with her

parents. For example, when a boy approached her for a relationship, she was excited as it proved

to her that she was lovable and good-looking. However, she did not know how to engage with

the boy, considering she would have to compromise her reading times to be with him. She asked

the parents what she would do to build a good relationship with the boyfriend and do the things

she loved. The parents were happy that Patience was open about her relationships. They guided

her by offering education and reading materials. Her interaction with her peers was also positive,

as negative peer pressure did not affect her. As mentioned, when she attended the first party, she

drank alcohol. In the subsequent parties, she rejected due to the fear that she would become a

lousy nurse. Nevertheless, she knew that rejecting the behavior would attract negative words. To

counter this, she lied to her peers that she suffered a medical condition preventing her from

indulging. Therefore, Patience’s social development was good because she established good

relations with other people without going against her beliefs.

Intellectual Development

Intellectual development entails thinking abilities that empower teenagers to make better

decisions. Attention is one of the elements here, where selected and divided attention is noted

(Román et al., 2018). Selected is where the person focuses on one thing over the other, while

divided is where two activities are executed simultaneously. Patience showed development in

this aspect because she was more attentive to the things she liked. For example, she wanted to
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learn swimming to allow her to bond better with her boyfriend. During training, she was

attentive to the details given and seemed less distracted. Also, she concentrated better in class

and church. It is also expected that memory is improved, both the working and the long term.

Patience’s development in this area was evident in the classroom. She performed better in

school, especially in the subjects focusing on memory. Also, when they made plans with her

peers about an event, she remembered them more and made the necessary arrangements. She was

also more focused on her long-term goals, especially her career and the determination to improve

her family’s wellbeing.

Her processing speed of information was also better. In adolescence, the processing speed

increases due to cognitive development (Graber & Petersen, 2017). Her parents are involved in

her schooling, where they ask them questions during weekends on what they learned during the

week. Patience answered the questions faster, which motivated her to work harder. Besides, the

parents reward them when the questions are answered correctly, encouraging her to be keen on

details. Her hard work was reflected in her performance as she was top three in her class.

Patience also had a better thoughts process organization. In this age, mnemonic devices develop,

enabling the person to think and remember information better. Patience is involved in a local

program, teaching the youth on ways to prevent crime and drugs. It is necessary for her

neighborhood because the weak economic status has pushed many young people to indulge in

harmful behaviors. In one of the events, she volunteered to speak about why drugs need to be

avoided. It was a smooth talk because she described the causes, effects, and preventive measures.

Considering that she gave the speech without prior writing means her thoughts process

organization was efficient. Moreover, her metacognition was better because she could think

herself. For example, when asked by her peers to visit someone she is uncomfortable with, she
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says no and gives reasons immediately. Therefore, her intellectual development is smooth as she

has attention, memory, processing, organizational, and metacognition skills.

Graph

Recommendations

Based on the assessment above, parents and teachers have a huge role in children’s

growth and development. They need to understand the different changes and their impacts on

their children to educate them. Here, they should identify the specific needs, types of changes,

and possible challenges and ways to resolve them. For example, when Patience faced physical

changes, she became uncomfortable with her body and was more sensitive to comments. Were it

not for the mother who educated her about it; her self-esteem would be highly affected. When

the mother educated her about it, she became more confident that girls go through the changes.

On the other hand, Patience adapted better as the teacher had informed her about it. Parents and

teachers need to provide a suitable environment for growth. At home, the child needs basic needs

and parental love leading to a reliable child-parent relationship. When Patience was going
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through social changes, her excellent relationship with her parents helped her build a close

relationship with her boyfriend without losing her identity. Teachers also need to establish this

environment so that the learners ask questions whenever they face something new. Adolescence

is a delicate stage because the cognitive changes occur, but the individuals lack life experience,

thus needing support.

Parents and teachers also need to provide sex education among adolescents. In this age,

physical, emotional, and social changes are taking place that increases socialization. The teens

want to spend more time with their peers other than their parents. On the other hand, feelings and

emotions are developing, pushing them to identify with others. With proper sex education, the

teens understand the changes and make the decisions better. They cope better with the hormones

released since their judgment is improved. For example, Patience’s parents educated her about

having a boyfriend and what she needs to prevent. It empowered her to continue with her life

desires and also develop a healthy relationship with her boyfriend. In providing this education,

love, and care need to be shown. As noted, the adolescents assume to know everything and thus

less likely to listen. Therefore, parents and teachers should use good language, convincing them

that they are loved and cared for other than distrusted. On the other hand, they need to avoid

pushing the teens to make certain decisions. Their primary role is to offer education and

guidance while allowing the teens to make decisions for themselves. It builds self-confidence

and also leads to better intellectual and cognitive development. Finally, parents and teachers

need to be good role models because most teens follow their behaviors. For example, Patience

became a peacemaker because she observed how her mother made decisions when conflicts

developed.
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References

Graber, J. A., & Petersen, A. C. (2017). Cognitive changes at adolescence: Biological

perspectives. Brain Maturation & Cognitive Development, 253-280.

Pfeifer, J. H., & Allen, N. B. (2021). Puberty initiates cascading relationships between

neurodevelopmental, social, and internalizing processes across adolescence. Biological

Psychiatry, 89(2), 99-108.

Román, F. J., Morillo, D., Estrada, E., Escorial, S., Karama, S., & Colom, R. (2018). Brain-

intelligence relationships across childhood and adolescence: A latent-variable

approach. Intelligence, 68, 21-29.

Vijayakumar, N., de Macks, Z. O., Shirtcliff, E. A., & Pfeifer, J. H. (2018). Puberty and the

human brain: insights into adolescent development. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral

Reviews, 92, 417-436.