Thirteen Case

Thirteen is the story of thirteen year old Tracy, who struggles with fitting into the popular crowd while dealing with her with family's current situation. Throughout the film it shows the extremes that she will go through to be accepted by those she considers 'cool'. This film demonstrates the different stages of development that an adolescent goes through.

During the period of adolescence, there are many factors that can contribute to a young person's development; with Tracy, there were numerous situations that contributed to her behavior and development. One of the main things that affected Tracy was the separation of her parents because of the relationship she had with them. It was evident throughout the film that Tracy and her brother did not have a relationship with their father. One of the main issues that affected Tracy was the fact that her mother was a recovering alcoholic and she would have her boyfriend, who also was a substance abuser, stay in the home. Tracy's mother was a hairdresser who worked from home, so at times they struggled financially. Her mother was not able to provide Tracy the expensive things she coveted, and because of this, Tracy began to shop lift and steal. One of the main contributors to her behavior was the influence of her peer Ivy; who after meeting her, began to act deviously.

The film portrayed the development of the adolescent Tracy accurately. Tracy's character was the prime example of what an adolescent goes through during those difficult and confusing years. At the beginning of the film, Tracy takes whatever possible measures to fit in with the popular group in school. She makes sure that she is noticed by them and slowly begins to change the way she dresses in order to integrate herself within their circle. Tracy and her new friends would make fun of other girls if they did not dress or look a certain way; this is behavior that has unfortunately become the 'norm' for some adolescents. The film also portrayed the struggling relationship between Tracy and her mother. Tracy would talk back to her mother and did not listen to her. As a result of her behavior, her academics began to suffer and she began to miss class assignments. At the end of the film she was at risk of not moving onto the following grade.

Based on James Marcia's Identity Status, Tracy would fall under the criteria of: diffusion status. Diffusion status states: the individual makes life decisions without thinking of the outcome or impact on their lives. This is a prime example of Tracy as she began to have sexual encounters and began cutting herself. Tracy was only thinking of the moment and was not thinking of the consequences of her actions. Tracy's only concern was thinking of how she would be able to fit in with the popular crowd. During this time, Tracy suffered from depression; this was apparent as she was cutting herself. It appeared that this was her way to deal