Anthony is a 6-year-old boy living in an impoverished section of a large city. Anthony’s mother, Sephora, was 14 when Anthony was born. Anthony’s father, James, who was 15 when Anthony was born, has always spent a great deal of time with Anthony.
Although James now also has a 2-year-old daughter from another relationship, he has told Sephora that Anthony and Sephora are the most important people in his life.
Once Anthony was out of diapers, James began spending even more time with him, taking Anthony along to visit friends and, occasionally, on overnight outings.
James’s father was murdered when James was a toddler and he rarely sees his mother, who struggles with a serious substance addiction and is known in the neighborhood as a sex worker.
James lived with his paternal grandparents until he was in his early teens, when he began to stay with a favorite uncle. Many members of James’s large extended family have been incarcerated on charges related to their involvement in the local drug trade.
James’s favorite uncle is a well-known and widely respected dealer. James himself has been arrested a few times and is currently on probation.
Sephora and Anthony live with her mother. Sephora obtained her general equivalency diploma after Anthony’s birth, and she has held a variety of jobs at local fast-food chains.
Sephora’s mother, Cynthia, receives Supplemental Social Security Income/Disability because she has been unable to work for several years due to her advanced rheumatoid arthritis, which was diagnosed when she was a teenager.
Sephora remembers her father only as a loud man who often yelled at her when she made noise. He left Cynthia and Sephora when Sephora was 4 years old, and neither has seen him since.
Cynthia seemed pleased when Anthony was born and she has been a second mother to him, caring for him while Sephora attends school, works, and socializes with James and her other friends.
Anthony has always been very active and energetic, frequently breaking things and creating messes throughout the apartment.
To punish Anthony, Cynthia spanks him with a belt or other object—and she sometimes resorts to locking him in his room until he falls asleep.
Sephora and James are proud of Anthony’s wiry physique and rough and tough play; they have encouraged him to be fearless and not to cry when he is hurt.
Both Sephora and James use physical punishment as their main discipline strategy with Anthony, but he u3ually obeys them before it is needed. Anthony entered kindergarten at a local public school last fall.
When he started school, his teacher told Sephora that he seemed to be a very smart boy, one of the only boys in the class who already knew how to write his name and how to count to 20.
Months into the school year, however, Sephora grew tired of dealing with Anthony’s teacher and other school staff. She has been called at work a number of times, and recently the school social worker requested a meeting with her.
Anthony’s teacher reports that Anthony will not listen to her and frequently starts fights with the other children in the classroom.
Anthony’s teacher also states that Anthony constantly violates school rules, such as waiting in line and being quiet in the hallways, and he doesn’t seem bothered by threats of punishment.
Most recently, Anthony’s teacher has told Sephora that she would like to have Anthony assessed by the school psychologist.
