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Anthropology

Karen was a 20 year old Caucasian-American female, from a middle class home when she and her 3 year old daughter moved from her parent's home and set out on her own.

Karen is now a 35 year old mother of two, living on food stamps, government aid and part time jobs. They survive day by day, trying to avoid eviction and becoming homeless.

Biology

Karen remained single, she dated infrequently, yet continued to remain sexually active.

The now 17 year old Lauren is angry and rebellious. Karen had been living with Neil for the last five years. Karen gives overwhelming parental attention to Ernie, her 3 year old son.

Child Development

When Lauren was young Karen's world revolved around her daughter who was her sole focus of love. Family and friends poured gifts and toys upon Lauren. Yet Karen had to work full time and go to school full time in order to improve their future standard of living. Therefore Lauren spent 80% of her time in day care at her Aunt Nancy's house. 

Lauren feels that she primarily raised herself and no longer feels the need of parental authority. Ernie has either Karen or Lauren at home with him all day long. Karen seems to be giving her son the childhood she could not give her daughter out of her feelings of guilt.

Counseling

Karen's High School provided her with support and counseling after she became pregnant.

School counselors recommend professional counseling for Lauren. But she will not participate.

Demography

Karen was from a rural community where there were extended family and lots of best friends that had existed since childhood.

4 years ago Karen and Lauren uprooted their lives and moved to another state into an inner city to stay with Neil. Soon after Ernie was born.

Economics

Although Karen lived on her own she was still unable to make ends meet without support of family and friends. However lack of financial independence had also created hard feelings from some family and undesired strings attached from others.

Neil provides some financial support for Ernie. State welfare agencies also give assistance. This family consistently lives beyond their means, creating a high level of financial stress.

Education

Karen had to work very hard to graduate from High School, but she did it thanks to a special program that provided daycare for teen parents. After graduation she attended community college in the afternoons and on some evenings. Her goal was to become a nurse.

Karen struggled to finish college but could not make the grades the nursing program required. Lauren is a very unmotivated student with very low grades yet she has managed to slide through H.S. and will graduate next year. After graduation she plans to leave home and move in with her boyfriend.

English

School, family and friends had a high impact on Karen's English language formation skills.

Lauren's English language skills are highly impacted by popular music, media and teen culture.

Gerontology

Karen had a strong connection to family history, values and tradition.

Since moving both Karen and Lauren have had a significant erosion of connection to their extended family.

History

Karen's unplanned teen pregnancy resulted in the birth of Lauren. Lauren knows who her father is but has had no significant relationship with him.

Neil is previously divorced. He sporadically pays alimony to his ex-wife and children. Two children from his previous marriage stay with him for a few weekends during summer months.

Home Economics

Karen was highly dependent on her older sister, Nancy. Lauren became very close to her aunt. Nancy loves her niece and is very supportive to encourage her younger sister to make more of her life and follow her dreams.

Materialistically Karen's home and family have nothing that was not given to them from others. But they are not just poor in lacking groceries and new clothes. Their lives are empty socially and emotionally as well as in other ways.

Law

Lauren's paternal father has proven to be unreliable and too immature to provide support for his daughter. Karen had never sought child support because she had hoped not to make him angry so that he might at least become close friends with his daughter but he never seemed to have time for her.

Karen is so financially insecure she cannot even afford to move back to her family. Government agencies offer little support, and soon her state aid will end. Her family back home had supported her for so many years that eventually they began to help less in order for her to become more independent. Additionally they did not agree with her moving away to be with Neil. In a way Karen feels like her family is punishing her for moving away.

Psychology

Because Karen stayed unmarried after Lauren was born her family often pressured her saying; "When are you going to find the right guy?" Causing her to have significant feelings of emotional inadequacy and insecurity.

Lauren has never had a father that showed interest in her. So now she is substituting the missing attention from her father by finding physical attention from teenage boys from school.

Public Health

Karen came to realize that once she became sexually active she opened a door that was more difficult than she ever imagined to close. However she has learned from her past mistakes and became very aware of birth control and disease prevention.

Karen has pleaded with Lauren to avoid risky sexual behavior and illicit drug use. Yet her daughter seems to delight in frightening her mother and throwing her past back in her mother's face.

Religion

Karen grew up in a very religious home. She had hoped that one day she would find the time to start going to church again with her daughter. Yet she was also uncomfortable in her parent's church because of the churches disapproval concerning her and her daughter.

Karen now attends a local church where she takes Ernie regularly. Yet Neil and Lauren are antagonistic toward her spiritual interest.

Sociology

Karen found that being single was socially unacceptable. But most decent men were not interested in dating her because of Lauren. The men that would date her only did so because they expected they could easily get sex from her. Karen no loner expected to find Mr. Right, she would have been happy to have settled for a decent Mr. So-so.

Lauren lost her entire social support system when she moved out of state at age 12. So for the past 5 critical teen years of her life she has had no friends she could trust to open up with and share her problems and inner most feeling with.