Dean is a White 16-year-old. He is a sophomore at George Washington Carver High School

Dean is a White 16-year-old. He is a sophomore at George Washington Carver High School. He lives with his father and his stepmother in a semirural community in the South. His father and mother divorced when Dean was 8 years old, and both parents

remarried shortly after the breakup. Dean’s mother moved to another state, and, although she calls him from time to time, the two have little contact. Dean gets along well with his father and stepmother. He is also a good “older brother” to his 5-year-old stepbrother, Jesse.

Dean’s father owns and operates an auto-repair shop in town. His wife works part time, managing the accounts for the business. She is also an active contributor to many community projects in her neighborhood. She regularly works as a parent

volunteer in the elementary school library and is a member of her church’s executive council. Both parents try hard to make a good life for their children.

children.

 

Dean has always been a somewhat lackluster student.

 

His grades fell precipitously during third grade, when his parents

 

divorced. However, things stabilized for Dean over the next few

 

years, and he has been able to maintain a C average. Neither

 

Dean nor his father take his less-than-stellar grades too seriously. In middle school, his father encouraged him to try out for

 

football. He played for a few seasons but dropped out in high

 

school. Dean has a few close friends who like him for his easygoing nature and his sense of humor. Dean’s father has told him

 

many times that he can work in the family business after graduation. At his father’s urging, Dean is pursuing a course of study

 

in automobile repair at the regional vo-tech school.

 

Now in his sophomore year, Dean’s circle of friends includes mostly other vo-tech students. He doesn’t see many of his former friends, who are taking college preparatory courses. Kids in his class are beginning to drive, enabling them to go

to places on weekends that had formerly been off-limits. He knows many kids who are having sex and drinking at parties. He has been friendly with several girls over the years, but these relationships have been casual and platonic. Dean wishes he would meet someone with whom he could talk about his feelings and share his thoughts. Although he is already quite accustomed to the lewd conversations and sexual jokes that circulate around the locker room, he participates only halfheartedly in the banter. He has listened for years to friends who brag about their sexual exploits. He wonders with increasing frequency why he is not attracted to the same things that seem so important to his friends.

 

The thought that he might be gay has crossed his mind, largely because of the scathing comments made by his peers about boys who show no interest in girls. This terrifies him, and he usually manages to distract himself by reasoning that he will

develop sexual feeling “when the right girl comes along.”As time passes, however, he becomes more and more morose. His attention is diverted even more from his classwork. He finds it more difficult to be around the kids at school. Dean starts to drink heavily and is arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. He is sentenced to a 6-week drug education program and is assigned community service. His parents are disappointed in him because of this incident, but they believe he has learned his lesson and will not repeat his mistake. Dean’s father believes that his son will be fine as soon as he finds a girlfriend to “turn him around”.

 

 

Discussion questions

 

1. What are the issues facing Dean at this point in his development?

 

2. Enumerate the risks and the protective factors that are present in his life.

 

3. How would you, as his counselor, assess Dean’s situation? What approaches could you take with this adolescent? What kinds of psycho-educational interventions might you consider within the school setting?

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