Case Study: Poor Puerto Rican Family

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Using the micro, mezzo, and macro levels of conceptualization, we can understand some of the interactions that Brenda’s family is having with the environment. This type of conceptualization helps take into perspective multiple angles of Brenda’s life and its interaction with the environment. At the micro level, we can understand that Brenda is from a poor Puerto Rican family. Brenda’s mother, Delia, suffers from a mental health issue, but it is not being addressed appropriately because of their beliefs they understand that she is possessed by an evil spirit. We can observe how this unresolved issue brings a lot of fear, stress, and frustration of the entire family, above all Brenda as a result of being targeted by Delia’s situation and beliefs. …show more content…
She is scared of her mother and her illness and doesn't understand why the family continues to believe that Delia has an evil spirit inside of her. Furthermore, she feels the pressure of being the child that has to be “saved” and how the family has to endure hardships to be able to ensure her “salvation”; it also disconnects her from the rest of her siblings since she has to be categorized as different from them, even to a certain point, more worthy than them. Even though Brenda has a positive relationship with her teachers, she hates the school by cause of the pressure it puts on her family and she also feels completely out of place and unable to fit in with her peers due to the difference in economic and social status. It is important that at this level Brenda finds healthy coping skills to help manage the stress she confronts due to her mother’s illness, having that special label on her within her family, and isolation and discrimination she endures at her school by her peers. When we look at Brenda’s mesosystem we can pay special attention to the interaction of the church or churches and school with her family. Brenda has decided not to adopt her family’s perception of her mother being possessed by a bad spirit because she has seen how different religions have not been able to deal, explain or cure her possession. She has made it clear that her mind needs to be dealt with but she can’t help but feeling alone since she is the only one in her family that has that opinion of the situation. Educating Brenda about mental health illnesses and finding ways on how to help her family be educated and understand those types of issues which will help her not feel alone. The economic factor makes the family’s relationship with the school a stressing one and it also puts Brenda to a disadvantage when it comes to her peers. Those
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