Case Study
Stephanie Ochs
Liberty University
Psyc 210-D01

In this particular case a six year-old child brought a gun to school and shot one of his classmates. As a result, the child’s 19-year-old brother was charged with involuntary manslaughter. There can be many different situations that accumulated and led to the young boy shooting his classmate. Some of the reasons that could have led the boy to such a drastic action include guided participation, emotional regulation, reactive aggression and abuse. The law states that a child under seven is considered not criminally responsible, therefore, based on evidence discovered by police, the older brother was charged with the crime, Young children learn from others, mainly their caregivers and their peers. Kathleen Berger (2011), author of The Developing Person Through the Life Span, defines guided participation as, “the process by which people learn from others who guide their experiences and explorations (p. 241).” Parents are children’s main example; they set an example for their children to follow through their life. In this case, the little boy may have parents who have not demonstrated the best lifestyle to their child, leading him to believe that drastic behavior is how people get what they want. The little boy may have potentially witnessed his older brother threaten or even shoot someone because he did not get his way. The little boy might have thought that retaliation in that manor is how you get what you want. Children look up to older people and watch how their parents react to situations and how handle things. Children have no concept of right from wrong. Another potential reason for the child’s reaction could be poorly developed emotional regulation. Berger defines emotional regulation as, “the ability to control when and how emotions are expressed” (p.265). Emotional regulation usually develops