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Running head: ADULTHOOD CASE STUDY 1 Case Study: Isabelle Unit 8 Assignment 1 PSY – 6015 Lifespan Development Dr. Brad May Capella University Fall 2023

Running head: ADULTHOOD CASE STUDY 2 Introduction For fifty-three years, Isabelle and her husband, Victor, lived in a tiny, Italian American area of a large city. It was a very close-knit area where everyone was familiar with each other, like a family. Victor was a forklift operator, and Isabelle was a stay-at-home mother until her children were of high school age. Then, she returned to work as a salesclerk and enjoyed the social interaction her job provided for her. Victor and Isabelle keep in touch with their four children, who are grown and enjoying their own lives with their new families (Broderick & Blewitt, 2019). All the children have their own obligations and families. Paul runs a restaurant with his wife that is close to his parents’ house. Paul and his wife have two young children that are now adults. Sophia is a middle school teacher who is married with two young children as well but lives about an hour away from her parents. Lenore recently divorced but has gotten remarried to her second husband. She lives with him and her three children in the city limits. Joseph is a salesman and is not married. He lives in another state with his partner, Joanne. So, all of Victor’s and Isabelle’s children have busy, full lives (Broderick & Blewitt, 2019). Unfortunately, the entire family is struggling heavily with the death of Victor, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He expressed his wishes not to have extreme measures taken to prolong his life, preferring quality over quantity due to the terminal state of his illness. Yet, Isabelle’s husband never wrote theses wishes down upon paper for the healthcare power of attorney. Joseph, Victor’s older brother, and Victor’s religious doctor all disagreed. When Victor fell into a coma, Joseph convinced his mother, Isabelle, to place Victor on a ventilator, which upset his siblings. All his siblings thought he was prolonging their father’s suffering, which he

Running head: ADULTHOOD CASE STUDY 3 stated he did not want. Victor ended up passing a few days later, leaving Isabelle alone and grieving (Broderick & Blewitt, 2019). Isabelle is thinking about asking Paul if she can move in with him and his family, since she can no longer work or barely function. Paul feels overwhelmed by the responsibility to his family and now, his mother. Lenore and Sophia are unsure of how to help their mother and are uncomfortable listening to her expressing grief over their father. The relationship between Joseph and his siblings is strained due to him not respecting his father’s final wishes, and no one will speak to him or his partner. Isabelle is afraid of being alone like other widows and does not know how she can go on with her life (Broderick & Blewitt, 2019). Analysis There are several problems to identify within the family. Tensions were on the rise due to Victor’s final wishes not being respected by Joseph, causing his siblings to cut off communication with him. Paul feels like the brunt of responsibility has been thrust upon his shoulders due to his mother’s grief. Lenore and Sophia are avoiding their mother due to being unable to come to terms with their father’s death. It is impacting their mental health to hear their mother speak of their father and saying she’s at the end of her life. Every individual in the immediate family has been negatively affected by the loss of Victor. At this point in the lifespan of an individual, dealing with loss is a common step. An individual who experiences the sudden loss of a loved one may take a long time to recover and be at higher risk of drowning in grief and becoming depressed (Captari et al., 2021). This is due to the sudden change in attachment or lack of it between family members that the death may

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Running head: ADULTHOOD CASE STUDY 4 cause. There are concerns with various types of attachment which could reflect deeply rooted emotions when the death of a loved one occurs. Attachment anxiety reflects upon the individual’s closeness with one another and the fear of abandonment (Captari et al., 2021). Isabelle may feel that she has been abandoned after Victor’s death since the two of them were together for over fifty years. Attachment avoidance includes a fear of being dependent upon others and a predisposition toward being self-reliant in dire circumstances (Captari et al., 2021). Lenore and Sophia both love their mother, but right now, Isabelle is so deep in her grief, she is dragging her daughters down with her. Thus, Lenore and Sophia are both avoiding their mother due to her excessive talk about their father. The two girls need their own time to grief and then arrive at the stage of acceptance. Secure attachment is a strongly built relationship between various individuals which one another can rely on the other for strength, emotional support, and other needs (Captari et al., 2021). However, due to Joseph’s betrayal of not respecting their father’s wishes, and Isabelle going along with his suggestion, the strong bonds of the family began to crack. Prior to this, the entire family seemed to have a very secure relationship. Acceptance is an essential part of death and of the dying theory. There are different ways to come about to the acceptance of a loved one’s death. Usually, the five most common ways of speaking about acceptance of a death is speaking of the deceased, self-care, taking care of family, talking to a therapist, spending time with immediate family or loved ones, and lastly, having a celebration of life of the deceased individual (Nordal, 2011). Though, not every individual in the family is able to come to accepting the death easily. These individuals might avoid other family members or social circles, leading to loneliness. Unfortunately, avoidance may lead to isolation and disrupt the entire healing process, even with surrounding support, which is the case for some

Running head: ADULTHOOD CASE STUDY 5 of the family members (Nordal, 2011). Experiencing such a traumatic life event is unfortunately, a predecessor for developing depression (Fried et al., 2015). For an intervention, Isabelle needs psychotherapy and grief counseling. She is unable to come to terms with her husband’s death and cannot see how the ill effects of her decision, and Joseph’s decision, has led to family tensions. Due to the prolonged grief and centrality to the loss of Isabelle’s identity as a wife, it would be tantamount to have her arrive at the acceptance stage to realize there is a life after the loss of a loved one. Therefore, she needs to focus on her own self-identity and look forward to other life experiences and events after the loss of her husband to establish a new sense of self (Hanifah et al., 2018). For the siblings, a grief counselor would be a good start, however, family therapy must follow. Due to Joseph crossing a line with their father’s wishes, and playing on his mother’s heart, the siblings have cut off contact with him. There must be a reason behind Joseph’s thinking process. Whether it be religion, personal belief, or refusal to let his father go, Joseph needs to come to terms with what he did and why it was wrong to disrespect his father’s wishes. Assisting the siblings in confronting the loss, confronting the issue of disrespect, and arriving to the appropriate stage of grief and acceptance would be beneficial for all siblings involved in the family (Hanifah et al., 2018). One therapeutic work with future benefits is the development of insight and self-reflection with the entire family during a therapy session (Kealy et al., 2017). Then, an arrival of understanding could be possible from any end of the discussion. Group psychotherapy involves a variety of factors to assist the family members in sharing their experiences, embracing acceptance, and asking for help if needed (Kealy et al., 2017). However, it may not be possible to achieve all in a single session if bitterness still lingers over Joseph’s action that is perceived as a betrayal.

Running head: ADULTHOOD CASE STUDY 6 Italian families are close knit, religious, and have a role in the community. The focus of child development with Italian mothers is a natural process and which adults play very little role in contributing the child’s growth. Whereas, on the other hand, American mothers are involved in the role of contributing to the child’s growth and development (Cassibba et al., 2013). From a cultural standpoint of view, children have a different childhood in Italian standards versus American standards. Thus, since Isabelle’s family are immigrants, it is possible there was a blend of both Italian and American standards. Italians are usually deeply, devout Catholics and find comfort in faith after the loss of a loved one. Italian-American Catholics turn to their faith for coping and usually have a religious symbol, such as the cross or a rosary, to remind them of their convictions during difficult times of loss or hardship (Mangione et al., 2016). Thus, Isabelle’s family might turn to religion for some comfort during the loss of Victor. A time of mourning, a time of connection, a time of separation, and a time where sadness and relief join are often focused upon in Italian families because it is the norm for her culture (DiCello et al., 2018). However, while it may seem normal for Italian culture, the prolonging of grief could still negatively impact those around Isabelle in her immediate family who have a desire to move on and deal with loss instead of hanging onto their late father’s memory. Conclusion After Victor’s death, each of the family members have had trouble coming to terms with acceptance of loss. Isabelle and her children need guidance on how to accept loss in a healthy manner without burdening one another. With Joseph’s actions, there is now tension and distrust among the siblings. Everyone is dealing with grief in their own way, but it is clear that not all are dealing with the loss of their father or husband in a healthy manner. Therapy is needed so each

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Running head: ADULTHOOD CASE STUDY 7 family member will have to face their feelings and realize that family is required to arrive at the end of the grieving journey and arrival to the stage of acceptance. Rather than isolating themselves from one another or repressing feelings, it is better for all of them to talk to one another and find a healthy coping mechanism.

Running head: ADULTHOOD CASE STUDY 8 References Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2019). The Life Span (5th Edition). Pearson Education (US). https://capella.vitalsource.com/books/9780135206157 Captari, L. E., Riggs, S. A., & Stephen, K. (2021). Attachment processes following traumatic loss: A mediation model examining identity distress, shattered assumptions, prolonged grief, and posttraumatic growth. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 13(1), 94–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000555 Cassibba, R., Sette, G., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2013). Attachment the Italian way: In search of specific patterns of infant and adult attachments in Italian typical and atypical samples. European Psychologist, 18(1), 47–58. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000128 DiCello, D., Pidano, A., & Mangione, L. (2018, August). An Italian-American view of grief: connection, transformation and resilience. Web. https://web-p-ebscohost- com.library.capella.edu Fried, E. I., Bockting, C., Arjadi, R., Borsboom, D., Amshoff, M., Cramer, A. O. J., Epskamp, S., Tuerlinckx, F., Carr, D., & Stroebe, M. (2015). From loss to loneliness: The relationship between bereavement and depressive symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 124(2), 256–265. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000028

Running head: ADULTHOOD CASE STUDY 9 Hanifah, D., & Owings-Fonner, N. (2018, September). Research roundup: Spousal loss and bereavement care. https://www.apaservices.org/practice/ce/expert/spousal-loss- bereavement Kealy, D., Sierra-Hernandez, C. A., Piper, W. E., Joyce, A. S., Weideman, R., & Ogrodniczuk, J. S. (2017). Short-term group therapy for complicated grief: The relationship between patients’ in-session reflection and outcome. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 80(2), 125–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.2016.1220231 Mangione, L., Lyons, M., & DiCello, D. (2016). Spirituality and religion in experiences of Italian American daughters grieving their fathers. https://web-p-ebscohost- com.library.capella.edu/ Nordal, K. C. (2011, March). Grief: Coping with the loss of your loved one. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/families/grief

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