Reference no: EM133866707

Abby is a single parent who dropped out of high school to marry Michael when she was 16 years old and pregnant. After 6 years of marriage and two children (Milly, age 5 years, and Emily, age 3 years), Abby divorced Michael because of his drinking, affairs, and lack of support of her and the children.

Michael has a job delivering newspapers and spends free time drinking beer with friends. He only sporadically provides monetary support. Abby and the girls live in a small apartment. Because she has only a minimum wage job, Abby relies on food stamps and other types of assistance. Babysitters and rent are major expenses, and Abby continually worries about being able to pay rent. She would like to earn her GED to get a better job, but she lacks the time and resources to make that happen. Michael sees the girls only occasionally-usually when Abby asks him to keep the girls so she can work extra shifts. He dislikes spending his time babysitting the girls and openly verbalizes his frustration with the "whiny girls."

Abby's parents live close by but believe that Abby deserves her situation. They were very against her leaving school to get married, and they consider Michael a "deadbeat." They have declined to help Abby financially, citing concerns for their own retirement. They also do not help with babysitting, and they accuse Abby of "spoiling the girls." Abby has always believed that her parents liked her older brother, Dominic, better. He is married and has three children, who spend a great deal of time with Abby and Dominic's parents. Dominic rarely interacts with Abby because they "don't have anything in common."

Recently, after the girls spent time with their father, Abby noticed bruises on the arms and the buttocks of Emily. When she asked the girls what happened, Milly said, "Daddy got mad when Emily wet her pants and spanked her." A week later, while at a health clinic getting Milly immunized for school, Abby shared with the nurse practitioner details of her life and situation: lack of money, lack of support, working too many hours, fear of losing her apartment, and now Michael hurting Emily. She said she does not know what to do, and began crying.

1) Based on the information in the case study, what theory of Family Dynamics, from your textbook, would best fit this family? Provide rationale and examples from the case study.

2) What is the law regarding mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse in your state? Are nurses mandated reporters? Members of what other professions are mandated reporters? What constitutes "suspected child abuse?" How would you feel about reporting alleged child abuse in this case?