Just Your Ordinary Kid Case Study

Case History: Kevin was just your ordinary kid, the youngest of many children in the McCallister family. He was, as the movie portrayed him, the least popular member of the family, being bullied by his older brother Buzz and often ignored by his parents and cousins. This neglect reaches its peak when Kevin is left at home alone, the kid is eight remember, while the rest of his family rushes to the airport to board a flight to Paris after the power goes out and they oversleep. In fact, his parents don’t even realize he’s missing until they are halfway across the Atlantic and unable to turn back until they reach France. Meanwhile, back at his house, Kevin wakes up and discovers that his family has disappeared. He takes to his solitude very well, and manages to order pizza and steal a toothbrush. He then goes to church after being chased by two criminals, Harry and Marv after he recognizes them from the break ins they have performed at the houses next door. While at church Kevin meets old man Marley, an elderly …show more content…
Shortly after, the rest of Kevin’s family returns home and gives Kevin what appears to be the most positive reception he has ever received, their former attitudes of him miraculously transformed.

Diagnosis: Based on Kevin’s symptoms, I diagnose him with Reactive Attachment Disorder and Bipolar Disorder. Kevin expresses symptoms of both disorders in the film, and one can only speculate as to what happens outside of it. The main criteria Kevin meets for Reactive Attachment Disorder comes from his family. In the DSM-V, Kevin meets the criteria for showing little emotion to his caregivers and has been consistently neglected by his parents, cousins, siblings, aunts and uncles. Shortly after Kevin is sent to the attic to sleep, he wishes that his family would just disappear.