Case Studies in Middle Adulthood

As a part of the human service professional reviewing case studies will be an important part of the job. Not only should we keep notes on every client but we could use them as a reference for future clients. The case studies could become useful if past and future clients have similar cases. In this case study we will examine family, social, and intimate relationships. Identify any role changes that may have occurred, and immediate and future effects of healthy and unhealthy habits demonstrated in this case study.

My case study is on Jackson the 25-year-old, unemployed, single adult male, with a substance and alcohol abuse problem. After graduating high school Jackson started attending college the following fall to earn a degree in chemistry. In the course of his freshman year Jackson suffered a major head injury in a car accident. As a result he sustained loss of his cognitive and analytical functioning skills, due to damage to his Cerebrum. Jackson begin drinking alcohol and abusing the painkillers giving to him by Doctors following the accident. As a result Jackson is now using prescription painkillers and mixing with alcohol to relieve the pain of feeling like a failure because he had to quit college. He now lives with his mother in Chicago Illinois where he currently attends a substance abuse program.

Growing up in a single-parent household without the contributions of a father figure, Jackson has had problems holding on to any type of relationship. Although he’s been involved with women in his past, while in college he began to question his sexuality after becoming sexually attracted to this college roommate, uncomfortable with the way he was feeling toward another man Jackson asked the transferred to another room.

As a son, Jackson was dependent on mother. Growing into a man, he left for college and begin to gain independence. After the accident it seems roles may have changed over time because Jackson has retreated back to his infant dependence stage. He’s now reliant on his mom, painkillers, and alcohol. As a middle adult male Jackson’s future looked bright, but after slipping back to young adulthood Jackson has lost the inability to maintain control over his life.

Jackson’s unhealthy habits will have many ill effects now and in the future. Starting with his alcohol abuse as stated in an article about underage drinking among college students, alcohol use among college kids is a major concern… At colleges and universities throughout the United States. The main problem being alcohol is consumed by students on the under the legal age of 21 (Miller, Stout, and Shepherd, 2000). Jackson’s drinking is putting at risk for splurging on alcohol, killing someone or himself, or trouble with the police.

Jackson also suffers from substance abuse problem, which according to the article, Trauma and Substance Abuse, there are an estimated 20.6 million young and middle adults that are classified as the defendant on drugs or alcohol (Galonte, Salman, Albers, and Sena, 2012). Jackson’s drug use is also increasing the risk of death. After long-term drug and alcohol use Jackson’s behavior could lead him to stealing from his family, thus bringing about issue of trust within the family. His run-ins with the police and having a record could hurt his chances of obtaining a job. The drug use could also affect him from being able to pass a drug test.

Jackson’s inability to gain his sobriety is not only hurting himself, but his future, family, and even his health (mixing alcohol with prescription drugs can damage the liver). This paper has assessed Jackson in great detail. A 25-year-old middle adult whose future seemed bright, but due to the accident Jackson has lost all hope. Jackson needs to complete his substance abuse program, become sober, become employed, and consider going back to school, this will ultimately built his self-esteem and give him self-worth.

After careful consideration, I will continue to follow up with the client in order to repair his self-confidence and interpersonal skills, so that he can improve his Intimate and personal development.

Reference
1. Galante, J.M., Ahmad, S. & Albers. E.A. (n.d.) Trauma and Substance Abuse: Deadly Consequences of Intravenous Percocet Tablets. Clinical Communication; Adults,() 2. Miller, N.S., Stout, A.W., Sheppard, L.M. (2012, September). Underage Drinking Among College Students. The journal of emergency Medicine, 43 (3), e167-e169