CASE STUDY Lupe is a 45-year-old Mexican American woman. She has two adult children, a son and a daughter, as well as one granddaughter. She lives in a small apartment near her mother, now in her late 60s. Lupe visits her mother several times a week to check on her health and her emotional state. Although she is relatively self-sufficient, Lupe’s mother expects this kind of attention from her daughter. Lupe has always been very responsible and concerned about the well-being of her family members. Even though this takes a lot of her time, she faithfully attends to her mother’s needs without complaint. When Lupe’s children were young, she and her children’s father lived together. He left the family after a few years, however, because he found the stress of family life to be overwhelming. In particular, he felt that he could not make enough money to support two children. Although he and Lupe were never legally married, she considered them to be a “married” couple. Single now for 16 years, she feels that she would like to meet someone with whom she could share her life. This is a new feeling for Lupe. Until recently, she was too distracted with the problems of raising her children to think about herself. Now she feels that she only has a limited amount of time left to pursue some of her own wishes. She can envision herself, like her mother, old and alone, and that prospect disturbs her. She has started to attend social functions at her church and has accepted some social invitations from members of the congregation. Lupe feels comfortable with this approach, because she is very close to the members of her parish community. Lupe’s life has recently become more complicated. Her daughter, Lucia, and her 2-year-old granddaughter, Eva, have moved in with her. Lucia and her boyfriend, Tomas, were living together and were planning to marry. Their relationship deteriorated after the baby’s birth, and the couple fought frequently. Lucia accused Tomas of spending too much of his paycheck on frivolous things. Tomas, in response, withdrew even further, spent more time with his friends, and continued to spend money as he pleased. Lucia finally took the baby and threatened not to come back. In addition to this, Lupe was injured on her job as a practical nurse in a large hospital. She was trying to prevent a patient from falling and hurt her back in the process. She will need to receive physical therapy, which means she will be out of work for a few months. Her physician, noticing her depressed mood, referred her to a counselor at the local mental health clinic. Discussion Questions 1. What are the developmental stresses (age-related) and contextual stresses (nonnormative) in Lupe’s life at the present time? Consider her age, family role, and cultural context. 2. What are Lupe’s sources of strength? What aspects of her cognitive functioning and her personality might support her resilience in the face of difficulties? 3. What is the potential impact of Lucia’s r ...