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Sunday, March 29, 2020

Adolescent Development free essay sample

There are mutual influences between an individual and their social environment. There are also at-risk factors involved in the life of a developing adolescent that interconnects with a series of reciprocal systems. I can recall as a developing adolescent quickly maturing into adulthood, the many social, economic, external and internal influences that contributed to certain at-risk behaviors. These type of influences impacted me directly and indirectly. I was influenced by the several environments I was in, and I also contributed to influencing the environment around me. Attempting to exert control over uncontrollable circumstances only lead to desperate situations and weighty consequences. However, learning to accept my present circumstances, and how to appropriately respond to the hardship and temptations in life developed positive life changes. Individual human development occurs within interconnected and embedded ecological systems (McWhirter et al, 2013). We will write a custom essay sample on Adolescent Development or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The ecological systems include the individual, the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, and macrosystem (McWhirter et al, 2013). The individual consists of genetic and biological factors, and personality characteristics (McWhirter et al, 2013). The microsystem consists of the people that the individual comes into direct contact with and who the individual interacts with (McWhirter et al, 2013). The mesosystem is the embedded interconnections between different microsystems and the impact of the interactions that take place (McWhirter et al, 2013). The exosystem consists of the interconnections between one or more settings that indirectly involve the individual (McWhirter et al, 2013). The macrosystem represents the social blueprint of cultural values, societal structure, gender-role socializations, race relations, belief systems, and national and international resources (McWhirter et al, 2013). The chronosystem is the interconnection and interaction of the individual within different environments, and is the transitions that occur during the course of the individual’s lifetime (McWhirter et al, 2013). These interconnecting systems are referred to as the ecological model, and assumes that the individual is continually interacting with his or her environment  that produces constant change due to mutual influences (McWhirter et al, 2013). Part A – The Ecological Model The core of who I really am involves the combinations of my genetic predispositions, evolutionary and biological components, personality characteristics, and the ongoing process of behavioral, cognitive, and affective experiences (McWhirter et al, 2013). Who I am has a lot to do with my experiences in life, my responses to life events, and the social and environmental influences and interactions involved. The ecological model provides a greater understanding of how I influence my environment and my environment influences me. This is important because it is through the interactions of the ecological systems that help me better understand myself and others. The Individual. I entered the world with an umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, struggling to live due to insufficient oxygen intake. As a child I was very susceptible to illness. As an adult I discovered that I was living with an autoimmune disorder. I have very vivid fragmented memories as a child of several doctor office visits. At the personal level, I was a very fearful, anxious, angry, socially withdrawn child who experienced an unstable, insecure, neglectful, abusive, and dysfunctional home environment. The structure of personality develops in childhood and continues to develop in adulthood (Caspi, Roberts Shiner, 2005). I developed a combination of extraversion and introversion traits. These traits show themselves depending on how safe I determine the environment around me to be. As a child I experienced positive and negative emotionality. I at times struggle with viewing the world as a safe place and occasionally viewed it as threatening. I experienced anxious distress with a tendency toward anxiety, sadness, insecurity, and guilt. As a teenager I experienced darker emotions such as anger, frustration, and irritation. I developed agreeable personality characteristics as a child. In adulthood I sometimes struggle with the fear of rejection, self-acceptance, people pleasing tendencies, self-awareness, and feeling comfortable in my surrounding environment and own skin. I also developed a strong motivation to achieve academically, and have a strong sense of independence. As a child and through my teenage years I was not allowed to have an opinion or express individuality, which resulted in the inability or challenge to think on my own, questioning who I am through life stages, fearful of making decisions on my own and especially decisions I need to make on behalf of others, and codependency issues. The Microsystem. I grew up in a traditional family household for a time being that consisted of my mother, father, and sister. Although, it was considered a traditional two parent household, my father was rarely home, and when he was home he was unavailable. My mother was emotionally unavailable and suffered from manic depression. My mother stayed at home and my father was either out working or pursuing one of his addictions. My family was homeless until I was the age of 5. We had lived and slept in my father’s suburban, randomly stayed with strangers, and at times lived in a recreational vehicle. I assumed responsibility and care of my younger sibling, my mother, myself, and household chores. I entered the stages of maturity alone and without parental support. The lack of positive parenting during my adolescent years made me vulnerable to at-risk risk behaviors such as premarital sex, tobacco use, substance abuse, gang involvement and mental and social disorders (Clinton Clark, 2010). At the age of ten I was removed from my parent’s custody and placed in foster care where my sibling and I were separated and placed in different homes. In the foster system I was only allowed to socialize at school, and attended church depending on whether or not my foster parents at the time deemed it necessary. My sister and I went through several foster home placements which resulted in the loss of security, the loss of our personal possessions, and sense of belonging. Being bounced from home to home, it was difficult maintaining a close friendships with others. I developed an internal mechanism of being friendly with everyone, but not allowing myself to develop a close friendship with others. As I gained independence and freedom in my later teen years and early adulthood, I became more involved in church. The Mesosystem. I grew up in a rural community with a lack of parental involvement. There were no real established mesosystem relationships. The environment was inconsistently positive and very negative at times. Since school was my outlet, I strived for academic excellence and successfully achieved it. School seemed to be the only sense of stability. The Exosystem. Outside agencies that developed policies and created public resources were an indirect benefit to me as an adolescent and young adult. During childhood, I was able to eat lunch at school, and enjoy extracurricular activities such as Campfire Girls, cheerleading, and Key Club. I was given accessibility to the basic needs that my parents could not afford such as cloths, food, and shelter. As an adult, several community resources helped my daughter and escape and terminate a domestically violent relationship. The Macrosystem. During adolescence I was exposed to abuse, neglect, and violence first hand and via the television. My father grew up in the south and was very racist toward certain nationalities and races of people. The cultural context consisted of low socioeconomic status (SES), poverty, and experiencing our Native American ethnic background and being exposed to several conflicting belief systems. I grew up on a culture where corporate punishment was an acceptable practice. The culture valued individuality, independence, and self-reliance. I grew up in poverty with a prevailing crime rate not as noticeable as it is today. Social norms included the overuse of antibiotics (McDonnell Norms Group, 2008), and the use of drugs and alcohol were socially acceptable. Chronosystem. A pattern of environmental events, transitions, and sociohistorical circumstances contributed to my development over my lifespan. Both of my parents lived disloyal and adulterous life styles. Overtime, there unhealthy and dysfunctional patterns of relating to each other resulted in a separation. My father died when I was 17 years old. My parent’s marriage legally dissolved at the time of my father’s death. My mother remarried multiple times. My sister and I were exposed to their dysfunctional lifestyle, which tremendously impacted our lives. I personally, transitioned through many of life events by experiencing two divorces, being a single-mother of four children for quit sometime, remarrying and adjusting to a blended family, the loss of my oldest daughter, and facing the social political arena at work. The soil of my family growing up consisted of poverty, low socioeconomic status (SES), judgmental and racist attitudes, abusive and neglectful home environment, and conflicting belief systems. The three primary roots are family, school, and peer groups (McWhirter et al, 2013). My parent’s inability to raise my sister and me in a loving, secure, stable, and nurturing environment, and expose us to family conflict, abuse, neglect, lack of parenting, being emotionally unavailable, and an unstructured home environment contributed to my dysfunction and the at-risk behaviors in my life. The school system was unaware of our life circumstances and did not any support. My sister ended up dropping out and getting involved with drugs. I became sexually involved with my boyfriend at the age of 15 and became pregnant at the age of 16. My daughter gave me the drive to continue my education and succeed academically in order to provide her with a better life. I was withdrawn during my adolescence and teenage years. Although, I made intent to get along with everyone, I did not associate with everyone. The peer group I involved myself in strived for academic excellence and engaged in positive extracurricular activities. The trunk of the at-risk tree representing my life consisted of low self-esteem, and depression. The branches of at-risk categories in my life were high-school dropout, substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, and suicide. I was at risk for teen pregnancy and became pregnant at the age of sixteen. I succumbed to sexual activity with one partner in high school that resulted in teen pregnancy. I was very fortunate that at risk behaviors did not escalate. My tree was broken and bruised and produced damaged fruit. Instead of running to quick gratification I learned to run to God. I found my value and security in Christ. My branches although bruised eventually healed and produced good, healthy fruit. It took a lot of effort, drive, motivation, will, and trusting God in the midst of temptation and hardship. I was fortunate to have a variety of Gardeners in my life from Christian counselors, law enforcement, human service workers, youth group leaders, Sunday school teachers, and church mentors who helped me redirect my lifestyle. I learned how to be academically successful, a loving, supportive, caring mother to my children, a hard worker of integrity, and to do the right thing when the wrong thing seems easier at the time being.

Saturday, March 7, 2020

buy custom Organ Sales essay

buy custom Organ Sales essay Organ transplantation is a process by which an organ or tissue is surgically removed from one persons body (donor) to another (recipient). Organ transplant are an option when a particular organ is failing or absent (Winters, 2004). Kidney failure, heart disease, lung disease and cirrhosis of the liver are all conditions that can effectively be treated by transplant. Most of the organs and tissue donations occur after the donor has died though some organs and tissues can be donated while the donor is alive. For example, the kidney and the liver may be transplanted from a living donor since people are born with an extra-kidney and the liver is regenerative. There has been a debate over whether organ transplant should be legalized with various countries increasingly passing legislations which allow for the practice. The major argument in favor of the transplant is that it helps the patients to live a longer and a healthy life. Process for Eligibility of Transplant experienced It should be noted that organ transplant can only be considered as an option when medications and surgery has failed to manage the failure and the progression of the particular organ. In such situations, the transplant is then considered as a treatment option. However, before one is placed on the transplant list for any organ transplant, they must undergo a careful screening process (Winters, 2004). The process involves a review by diversity of professionals comprising of the doctors, nurses, social workers, and the bioethics. This team reviews the patients medical history and carries out a psychosocial evaluation to find out if the patient is able to survive the particular organ transplant procedure. They also find out the possibility of the patient complying with the recommended continuous care after the transplant (Winters, 2004). Tissue typing is also done during the evaluation to identify genetic markers on white blood cells. Other blood tests are also done to determine the compatibility of the pair. The evaluation of the patients support system is also done for clinic follow-ups and the subsequent medical care. Once the person passes this screening test, he/she is then placed on the waiting list until a matching donor becomes available (Winters, 2004). During this time, the patient will closely be monitored by the health care team to keep the organ failure in control. Once a matching organ is obtained, the transplant then takes place (Winters, 2004). Health and Emotional Risks of Transplants While transplant surgery is a cure for some patients, it has comes along with both health and emotional risks. Many survivors and caregivers experiences problems such as fatigue which is common medical condition for transplant. Almost all survivors feel weak exhausted and slow during recovery. Another common problem with survivors is anxiety which normally occur because most of them are always either worried or afraid of their condition. The patients are normally worried that they may return to their original state (Center for Bioethics, 2004). The specific risks related to transplant include; Organ acquisition related stress: In most cases, patients with organ related complications seem to believe that an appropriate donor must have died for them to secure an organ. Studies have also found out that in cases where the recipient dies, the donor may be stressed up by the feeling of a total loss.Secon is alcoholic addiction related stress. Because of the overwhelming temptation to take alcohol, alcoholic addicts waiting for organ transplant always find it difficult having to battle with the temptation. They may find it extremely difficult to maintain sobriety while abstaining as per the medication requirement. The third emotional issue is related to obtaining the organ from a living donor. The process of recovery after one donates an organ may in some cases be longer than expected.Some donors also develop complications after surgery. It is also common among the recipients to have a feeling of owing the donor.In cases where the transplant results into any surgical complication, the recipient may begin feeling feel guilty for having caused these problems. A donor who assisted a person whose situation was caused by drug abuse may be very sensitive to seeing the person drinking again. Forth issue is related to pregnancy after organ transplantation. This is normally experienced by the women patients who are still in their child bearing age. Such women normally worry about their ability to become pregnant and the effect the anti rejection may have on their unborn child. This is even more complicated among those who are barred from conceiving by the doctor. Fifth is the effect of transplant on children. In most cases, a child who has gone through organ planting may require mare limits in their behavior than is the case with normal children. These may affect their self esteem especially when they dont understand why their behavior is being restricted (Center for Bioethics, 2004). Organ transplant may also result into stressful relationships especially if it results into a long term illness. Adolescent patients who want to be independent may be stressed from having to depend on others. Finally, there are also a number of physical changes that are usually experienced by most organ transplant patients. The changes which may include weight gain, fluid retention and rounded face may cause mood swing and the emotional changes which are difficult to predict and harder to deal with (Center for Bioethics, 2004). Laws against Organ Sale Various policy makers in this field have argued that with proper regulative mechanisms, organ sales can be beneficial for both the patient and the donor. The most often sited argument in favor of organ transplant is that it helps the patients to live longer and healthy lives. The disparity in the low supply of organs for transplant has promulgated legislation and case laws. The laws seek to regulate the sale of the organs and to help establish equitable national system of how to best allocate the organs. The laws were promulgated to address a variety of medical, legal and moral issues involved in organ donation and transplantation (Fredrick, 2010). They include; The revised Uniform Anatomic Gift Act of 1987. The Act prohibited the sale of human organs and tissues with the exception of blood, sperms or human eggs. Another Act is the National Organ Transplant Act which expressly forbade selling human organs across state lines. The act made the sale of organs a federal crime. It prohibited the payments to those who provided the organs for transplantation. Though, it was designed to prevent the sale from the living donors, it also prevented the possibility of individuals selling the right to harvest their organs after their deathh . The third law is the Patent Self-Determination Act of 1991 that established the issue of donor cards. The cards can not be issued to those who are under the age of 18 years. It therefore made it difficult for them to donate organs. Elsewhere the Transplantation of Human Organ Act passed in India in 1994 made the sale of organs a punishable offence. Reasons why Organ Transplant can be Beneficial Organ sales would save peoples lives. Various proponents of organ transplant have argued that there is no reason for people to die if there is a way of saving them. Legalizing organ sales is also the most efficient measure of increasing the organ supply. Heather argued that the patients have the right to regain normal life. Secondly legalizing the sale of organs will discourage the existing black market (Heather, 2003). These practice has led to killing of people like was witnessed in China in 1998 when smugglers were found with 50 freshly harvested organs from prisoners. Corrupt Chinese officials are also making huge money by selling organs to rich foreigners. Legalizing organ sales will compel the brokers to resort into offering a cheaper alternative to potential recipients. This will enable the patients to save part of their money and while greatly reducing the length of time for which they have to wait. At the same time, it reduces the risk involved in receiving organs through a black market. An example is the case of Malaysia in 1994 when five kidneys purchased from India were found infected with HIV virus (Heather, 2003). Third, legalizing organ sales will also reduce the amount of money the government spend on Medicare and thus help save government money. For example in US dialysis will cause Medicare $240,000 while the patient with a new kidney will only cost $160,000 (Heather, 2003). This will enable the government save money to improve the life of its citizens. Forth, legalizing organ sales would possibly encourage more people to donate the organs. This is because of the possible compensation to the donors for the risk and time involved. Studies have shown that despite the willingness to donate organs by nearly 69% of Americans, the donation is currently merely around 4,000 people annually. Many people confessed that they are afraid of donating their organs to strangers because of the risks involved. Finally legalizing organ sales will protect the individuals right to choose. According to Hither, the decision to assume risk should be made by the individual. He argues that there is no different between legalizing the sale of blood platelets, eggs and sperms while legally denying people the right to sell other organs. They also argue that the individual will make decisions which reflect their need for money which is necessary for meeting their basic needs. Conclusion In conclusion it is therefore clear that irrespective of the many arguments against organ transplant, legalizing organ sales can be very beneficial to both the donor and the recipient. It will save more lives as many people are encouraged to donate organs. Such a move will result into an affordable medical cost for patients. The government will also save both the money that it spends on Medicare while greatly reducing the risks involved in black market enabling it to save and improve the lives of its citizens. Buy custom Organ Sales essay