Assessment Vignette: Mary

Assessment Vignette: Mary

Mary is a 13-year-old female who has been suspended from school a number of times following physical fights with other girls. She claims that the other girls had it coming to them because they were hitting on her boyfriend or talking trash about her or her friends. She is known for speaking her mind, no matter who she is talking to. Teachers and parents complain about her defiance and stubbornness. She has fierce loyalty to her friends and scathingly ridicules anyone she does not like. She is very jealous of her boyfriend and gets angry if he even looks at another girl. She and her 15-year-old sister are responsible for child care for her three younger siblings while mother works as a secretary. Although her parents are divorced, she has had regular contact with her father, who only lives a few blocks away. Mary does not like school and just passes her courses. She is easily distracted and gets restless in classes. Although she admits to trying some wine coolers when she is out with her friends, she does not usually drink or use any drugs.

Assessment Vignette: Joe

Joe is a 14-year-old male who has a quick temper. When he is challenged or verbally ridiculed, he becomes verbally belligerent, cursing and threatening. His arguments with peers occasionally escalate into pushing or hitting. He once shoved a physical education teacher who he claimed poked him in the chest during an argument, which resulted in a 4-day school suspension. Once he calms down, he is embarrassed by his actions and apologetic. He promises that he will control his anger in the future, and he is able to successfully control his temper for a while. He is able to talk out his anger and work out a solution if the other person ignores his initial outburst or approaches him in an apologetic manner. He is an average student and maintains friendships with a number of peers. Joe lives with his mother and father and two younger siblings. He often will get into fights with his 12-year-old brother, but gets along okay with his 7-year-old sister. His father also is known for his occasional angry outbursts, but father has never hit any family members and is apologetic after verbal outbursts. Joe does not use alcohol or drugs, is not in a gang, and has been arrested once for vandalism (throwing rocks at windows) with a few friends.

Assessment Vignette: Parker

Parker is a 16-year-old male who is over 6 feet tall and weighs over 200 pounds. He has always been big for his age, and he has a reputation of being a bully. He regularly intimidated school mates, collecting money from them in order to prevent him from beating them up. He belongs to a neighborhood gang and brags about beating up rival gang members and committing petty robberies. He drinks and smokes marijuana with friends on weekends. Parker lives with his mother, who has given up trying to enforce rules since Parker just ignores her pleas to behave. He does not remember his father, who was alcoholic and was divorced by Parker’s mother when Parker was 2-years old. Parker’s older brother (presently 19-years-old) regularly punched and kicked him, and also introduced him to the gang, against mother’s wishes. Brother is presently in jail following a conviction for armed robbery.

SkillsBuilding Vignette: Crystal

Crystal, age 15, has again been suspended from school for fighting with another girl. She claimed that the other girl was bad mouthing her boyfriend and had it coming to her. Although Crystal has good grades, her repeated suspensions are making it difficult for her to keep up with her classes. Crystal has been living in a group home for approximately eight months following Family Court hearings about ignoring her grandmother’s rules and shoplifting. She has been in her grandmother’s custody since an infant. Her mother has had an ongoing drug habit, and although she has seen Crystal off and on over the years, she has never been interested in being a mother to her. Crystal joined a neighborhood gang at age 13 at the invitation of her 17-year-old boyfriend. After he went to jail for assault, Crystal started a relationship with another gang member, two years older than she. Since being in the group home, she has had limited contact with her boyfriend and gang friends, but she still proclaims her gang membership. Although she is mouthy, she generally will do what she is told, both at the group home and at school. She does regularly get into shouting matches with other girls that can escalate into physical violence if the other girl does not back down.

SkillsBuilding Vignette: Dean

Dean is 13-years old and was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder at age 8. He has never done well in school, regularly failing one or two classes each year. He also has a history of being mouthy and oppositional with parents and teachers, and he regularly would hit, kick or otherwise assault his two younger brothers if they would not give him his way. His parents say they have tried everything with him, but nothing has worked. When they were strict and grounded him for misbehavior, he would scream, refuse to go to his room, and destroy whatever he could get his hands on. Afterwards, he would continue to be mouthy and violent with his brothers anyway. They tried to talk to him, but he only argued with them. Most of the time they just tried to avoid his angry moods, and they ignored most of his behavior, only concentrating on severely violent actions. They were inconsistent in giving him the medication prescribed for him because they did not believe that it helped him. Dean is presently in a residential treatment facility following truancy, fights with peers, and parent’s inability to control his behavior. Although he is small for his age, he gets into regular fights with other residents, even those who are much bigger than him. He has a reputation as being a little crazy, and once a fight starts, he does not back down. He continues to be mouthy and uncooperative with staff, who tend to see his fights with peers as caused by him.

Helping Adolescents Build Skills That Prevent ViolenceCase Vignettes