Case_Study

Case Study Psychology 210 B19 Liberty University Online Maude Martin Case Study In a small Michigan town, a 6 year old boy brought a gun to school. He accidentally shot his playmate, a little girl whom he had a playground scuffle with on the previous day. Tragically he killed her. After an investigation of his home another gun was found along with drugs. Even more disturbing it was revealed that his father and grandfather were both in prison for gun related charges. The young boy shared a home with his mother, an uncle and a younger sibling. The child in this situation is between the age of 2 and 6 years old. This falls into the category of “early childhood”. During early childhood, children are learning social skills and developing manners and morals. This is due to the “immaturity of the prefrontal cortex” children impulsively do what they see and what they are told to do. (Berger pg.216) It appears that the adults in this case did not monitor the child's actions nor did they provide a safe environment in their home. Child maltreatment now refers to all intentional harm to or avoidable endangerment of anyone under 18 years of age. (Berger pg.227) The adults allowed drugs and guns into the home. The young boy may have emulated what he saw of his relatives. He thought that it was okay to take the gun to school and use it as a scare tactic. These were the same actions displayed by his father, grandfather and possibly the uncle. This is clearly a sign of maltreatment called fantasy play, with dominant theories of violence or sexual knowledge. (Berger pg.230) According to our legal system, children under 7 are not held responsible for crimes. Children have the ability to feel hatred or dislike. (Berger pg. 279) Neither externalizing nor internalizing children do not regulate their emotions very well, or the expression of emotions. (Berger pg. 268) Based on these studies it would not be appropriate to charge this child with a crime. The uncle, 19 years old, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in this case. He was responsible for not securing the gun in a safe place out of a child’s reach. Stopping maltreatment of all kinds is urgent but complex, because the sources are often the family, the culture, the communities and the laws. (Berger pg.233) Due to no fault of his own, the child was forced to endure a lifestyle without a father figure. He missed the affection of a grandfather, and he was forced to live in a house that guns and drugs were made available. Therefore he should not be held accountable for his actions. It would be safe to say that he will need some long term counseling and mentoring. After the shooting, he threw the gun down and ran out of the room. The school authorities found him hiding in a corner. They placed him in their office, where he calmly drew pictures while he waited. This shows that he did not realize that a crime had been committed. The young boy obviously was not able to acknowledge the consequences of his actions. He did not understand the seriousness of what had taken place. It was not apparent that a child had lost her life due to him committing this violent act. He, the young boy was also a victim in this horrible incident. The guilty person was charged for his neglect, leaving a gun accessible to a minor. Works cited Berger, K.S. (2011). The Developing Person through the Life Span Eighth Edition. City University of New York: Worth Publishers.