Class/section: FHS 1500-004

Name:

Sarah Paulson

Assignment:

Observation 4

Childs age:

17 Years Old

Fictitious name:

Debra

Location:

The teens home

Brief
Description:

Asked her questions regarding on how she felt about different subjects.

Physical Development
When interviewing Debra, there were many things I came across in all fields of
development. We talked about many aspects of physical development within herself
and her peers. She said she never really noticed that she had gone an extravagant
growth spurt, but she thought I was only talking about physical appearance, whereas a
growth spurt also deals with the insides of your body, such as your heart and lungs,
undergoing a transformation and becoming larger (Berger, 2014, p. 326). Debra and I
then began discussing body image and how she felt about herself. She said she doesnt
really compare the way she looks to other people, which is much different than the
average teenage girl. She said she liked the way she looked and had a good body
image (Berger, 2014, p. 328).
Debra was asked whether someone she knew had an eating disorder. Although
Debra was familiar about what eating disorders were, she did not know someone who
had an eating disorder. She knew and understood the risks of an eating disorder. She
said that an eating disorder would be painful and very unhealthy for someone to
undergo. She hopes that none of her friends have undergone an eating disorder,
bulimia or anorexia (Berger, 2014, p. 329).
I then asked Debra what I hope wasnt an uncomfortable question: How do you
feel about puberty? She defined it as sucking, and it being very hormonal; your
hormones get the best of you. She talked about (without using the word) sex and how
some of her friends let their sexual desires overcome their bodies. I then defined it more
in depth for her, telling her that it didnt solely mean that a teen was hormonal, but that it
had a lot to do with their physical development as well (Berger, 2014, p. 319). She was
right there by the average female adolescent and didnt have a problem with physically
developing too early (earlier than her peers).
Intellectual/Cognitive Development
We then started discussing topics dealing with cognitive development. The first
topic that came to discussion was the invincibility fable. The invincibility fable is defined

as an adolescents egocentric conviction that he or she cannot be overcome or even

harmed by anything that might defeat a normal mortal, such as unprotected sex, drug
abuse, or high-speed driving (Berger, 2014, p. 333). She said that she couldnt think of
a time when she had done something like that. I found that odd, but then proceed to ask
her if she knew of anyone else who had done something impulsive. She told me no.
When in class, we rose our hands in regards to if we knew of anyone, including
ourselves, who had done something to endanger themselves in some way without
knowing the consequence of their action, and almost all of us raised our hands. It was
weird to talk with someone who didnt feel like they had done anything like that.
We then discussed on how people viewed herself as a person: her imaginary
audience (Berger, 2014, p. 333). She said that she doesnt care about how she looks
physically, but that she felt people thought she was stupid. I asked her why, but she
didnt have a valid reason. She just thought her peers were watching her, especially
during class, and that they thought she was stupid when she wasnt. She didnt want to
be the center of attention, but she felt that others were watching her every move.
Bullying and cyberbullying was also a topic brought up in conversation. I asked
her if she or her peers had ever been bullied. She said that she, herself, and never been
the topic of bullying, but that she had many friends who were bullied or who were bullys
themselves. I asked her what she thought of cyberbullying, and whether or not she had
witnessed it. Cyberbullying is where someone get bullied (rumors, insults, etc) through
technology: text message, social media, and so on (Berger, 2014, p. 343). She said she
had seen actions from this one girl she knew and was close with. She was cyberbullied
often by her peers over text message and over Facebook. Debras friend received a
threat one time from this girl who didnt like her. Although tragic, this same girl, the one
who was bullied, began cyberbullying Debras friends on the internet. Debra said that
her friends did it back, and it caused a lot of unneeded drama.
Social/Emotional Development
The last set of questions I asked Debra dealt with more of the emotional and
social side of things. This part of the interview was full of very intimate and serious
questions. The first topic of discussion was that of suicide. I asked her about if she knew
of anyone who had gone through a parasuicide, or an suicide attempt (Berger, 2014, p.
378). She said, unfortunately, that someone she was very close to overdosed but didnt
succeed in her attempt. I asked her if she had ever thought about suicide, and she said
yes. As discussed in class and by talking with Debra, I knew that she had a dip in her
self-esteem. I then asked her a very hard question. I asked her if she was undergoing
suicide ideation: the idea of planning out (Berger, 2014, p. 378). I knew that this would
be a red flag if she said yes. Luckily, she didnt. She said that she thought about what it
would be like to be gone, and that it quickly fled her mind. She said she would never do
anything like that.
I continued on asking her the intimate questions. I then asked her if she knew of
any of her peers who had been sexually assaulted. She said that, as far as she know,
she didnt have any friends who had been sexually assaulted. We began to talk a little
bit more in depth about sexual assault: what it is, how can it be prevented, and so on. I
was very glad that she had never gone through a sexual assault. I know her parents
very well, and knew that Debra was being very honest with me. It causes long term

effects on an adolescent or child, and is more likely to cause eating disorders, bullying,
and so on (Berger, 2014, p. 372).
Last, but not least, we discussed whether or not she knew anyone who was
sexually active. She said she didnt know someone who was having sex all the time, but
that she knew someone who had sex once. I then asked her about what she thought
about abstinence in comparison to sex education. She believes that abstinence should
be taught over sex education (Berger, 2014, p. 375). She explained that she didnt want
her peers to be told that it was alright to have sex; she didnt want counselors to hand
out condoms to those who wanted to have sex (I told her about this scenario and asked
her about condoms, and she was appalled). She then began to talk about how she has
not had sexual feelings or desires, and that she has no reason to feel that way right
now.
Reference List
Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to the life span (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.