NU145 Unit 4 Middle Childhood Case Analysis Example

New in October, Still Alone at Recess in December: A Case Analysis of a Composite Ten-Year-Old Girl After a Midyear School Move, Read Through Selman's Friendship Stages, Concrete Operations and Bronfenbrenner's Systems

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Purdue University Global

NU145: Psychology Across the Lifespan

Unit 4 Case Analysis

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[Date]

The child, family and school are composite; the analysis applies developmental theory and is not a clinical assessment.

The Case as Supplied

From her teacher: "[Ava] is polite and does her work. She hangs back at recess and in group work waits to be assigned." From her father: she was outgoing at her old school, had a best friend since first grade, and now video calls that friend most evenings; she has asked twice to move back. From Ava: "Everyone already has their friends. I sit with Lily and Grace but they just talk to each other. It's not like with Sofia." Her grades are As and Bs, the same as before the move.

Theory One: Selman's Stages of Friendship

Selman described how children's understanding of friendship grows with their ability to take another's perspective. Around six to twelve, many children see friendship as two-way, fair-weather cooperation: friends help each other and take turns, but the bond can break over a single conflict. From about nine to fifteen, children begin to understand friendship as an intimate, mutually shared relationship that lasts through disagreement and is built over time (Selman, 1980). Ava's comment, "It's not like with Sofia," shows she is reaching the later understanding. She is not looking for someone to sit beside; she wants the shared, lasting closeness she had for years. That is exactly what cannot be found in eight weeks. Lily and Grace offer company, which would have satisfied her at seven, but not the friendship she now understands.

Her problem is not that she cannot make friends; it is that she now knows what a friend is, and that kind takes longer than a semester to build.

Theory Two: Concrete Operational Thought

Piaget placed the years from about seven to eleven in the concrete operational stage, when children reason logically about real situations and can compare and order. This lets Ava compare her old friendship with her new ones point by point, and it lets her see that the other girls' groups formed before she arrived. A younger child might simply play with whoever was near. Her clearer reasoning, a developmental gain, also makes her loneliness sharper.

Theory Three: Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems

Bronfenbrenner described development as shaped by nested systems (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). In Ava's microsystems, home and the new classroom, she is supported but not connected. Her mesosystem, the links between those settings, is thin: her parents do not yet know other families, so there are no weekend playdates. The exosystem, a setting she is not part of, started it all: her mother's employer transferred her mother. The chronosystem matters too, since a move at ten, after friendships have formed, is different from a move at six. Seen this way, part of the problem lies outside Ava. Group work assigned by the teacher, a club after school or a parent's contact with another family could each build a link where the system is thin.

Weighing the Three Accounts

Each theory explains part of the case. Concrete operations explains why she compares and why it hurts. Bronfenbrenner shows where help could come from, the links between home and school. Selman explains the most, because it accounts for the central puzzle: why a girl who is polite, capable and not rejected still says she has no friends. Research on middle childhood shows that being accepted by a group and having a close friend are related but separate, and that children without a close friend tend to feel lonelier even when the group accepts them (Parker & Asher, 1993). That fits Ava, who has company but not a friend.

What This Suggests

Patience is part of the answer, since the friendship she wants takes time. Her parents and teacher can speed the start by creating repeated contact with one or two classmates in smaller settings, where closeness can grow. Her video calls with Sofia are not a problem to solve; they keep her sure she can be a good friend.

A Possible Objection

One might argue that Ava simply needs to try harder, joining conversations instead of waiting to be included. That reading treats her behavior as the cause, but the case points the other way: she was outgoing at her old school, and her hanging back began after the move. Waiting to be invited is a common response to entering groups that have already formed, and it tends to ease as a child gains one secure connection. The theories suggest that adults can help by creating that first connection rather than urging her to perform confidence she does not yet feel.

Limits of the Analysis

The case gives three short accounts. Without more information about her mood, sleep and interest in activities, the analysis cannot say whether her sadness is more than loneliness after a move, and a parent who noticed those changes should talk with her pediatrician.

References

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.

Parker, J. G., & Asher, S. R. (1993). Friendship and friendship quality in middle childhood: Links with peer group acceptance and feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction. Developmental Psychology, 29(4), 611-621. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.29.4.611

Selman, R. L. (1980). The growth of interpersonal understanding: Developmental and clinical analyses. Academic Press.