FAMILY & PEERS
When a kid is under stress, two systems that are important to gather information from are parents and peers.
PARENTS
Families are dynamic systems and both parents and kids form a dyadic relationship in which all family members directly influence each other. You want to get information on what kind of familial stress the kid is encountering. For instance, maybe the parents are fighting or going through a divorce, maybe someone in the family is sick, or maybe parenting styles aren't fitting best with the child. If a parent is ignoring and not engaging with their child, whether intentionally or not, they may feel as though something is wrong with who they are and think that that is the reason why the parent doesn't want to engage with them for instance. These things will effect how frustrated Dionte is, he may even be angry with the situation and this could have an influence on how he is behaving at school because family life does effect how you see the world, relate to it and are able to cope with other stressful situations.
PEERS
Socialization is difficult for some kids. They may face discrimination, bullying and isolation and these can result in poor self image, self confidence, and a hard time finding where you belong in society. If you do not like how you are related to by others, this may have a negative impact on how you behave at school. If someone doesn't feel secure in who they are then they compensate in different ways such as trying to "act cool" and disobey rules, like not attending class on time. If a child is bullied they may internalize it and put up a wall towards others. If they are constantly being hurt, kids sometimes think it's best to hurt others before they can hurt you so they may start to act aggressive towards others, fueled also by their discontent with the social situations they constantly face.
Paying attention to how a kid is relating to their peers and how the peers relate reciprocally can give insight into what kind of day to day events the individual faces and this can give greater insight into why someone might be acting a certain way or displaying certain characteristics.
The Parent-Child Relation as a Social System: I. Parent and Child Roles
Orville G. Brim, Jr.
Child Development
Vol. 28, No. 3 (Sep., 1957), pp. 343-364
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https://www.jstor.org/stable/1126194?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Helsen, M., Vollebergh, W. & Meeus, W. Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2000) 29: 319. doi:10.1023/A:1005147708827
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Handbook of Social Influences in School Contexts: Social-Emotional, Motivation, and Cognitive Outcomes
by Kathryn R. Wentzel, Geetha B. Ramani
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