Case study: Gabriela is an 11-year-old girl who moved from a small border city in northern Mexico to a midsize city in the western mountain region of the United States toward the end of her third-grade year. She lives with her mother, Teresa, and her father, Daniel, in a small apartment; her only sibling is an older half-brother who still lives in Mexico. In the first months in her new school, Gabriela was involved in several conflicts with peers. Although Gabriela's teacher suspected that some of Gabriela's classmates were making fun of her weight, she also believed that Gabriela's difficulty with the English language was a contributing factor. Although Gabriela's school does not usually encourage English-learning students to repeat a grade, it was decided that she should repeat fourth grade because she was the youngest in the class and had formed a warm bond with her very nurturing teacher. She remained with the same teacher in her repeat year in fourth grade. She is now in fifth grade and is doing well with her schoolwork; her English-language skills are growing strong. However, she still struggles to make friends and appears to have low self-esteem. She recently began to participate in a girls' self-esteem group at school and seems to be gaining confidence. Prior to moving to the United States, Gabriela's mother, Teresa, lived all her life in the same small Mexican border city. Her father, Daniel, was born in the United States to Mexican American parents living in a rural community in Arizona, near the border with Mexico. In his early 20s, he moved to the small city where Teresa lived to start a construction company with a cousin. That is where he met Teresa and where Gabriela was born. When Gabriela was 5, the construction company failed. Another cousin told Daniel about a new factory being developed in the U.S. city where the family now lives, a factory that would manufacture parts for the technology industry. Daniel was able to secure a position with the building and grounds department in this new factory. The original plan was that Teresa and Gabriela would follow Daniel to the United States as soon as he obtained his new job. That did not happen for four years, but their move was finally precipitated by Teresa's growing health problems. Once she and Gabriela were in the United States, they were covered by Daniel's health insurance and Teresa was diagnosed with diabetes. She and her doctor have struggled to stabilize her condition. The family reunification has not been smooth. Teresa and Gabriela have found that Daniel consumes large amounts of alcohol and is unpredictable and often aggressive when drunk. Teresa and Daniel fight a lot. The three of them were all sleeping in one bed in the small apartment, and a report was made to Child Protective Services when Gabriela told her teacher that her father had touched her inappropriately, through her clothing, one night when he was drunk. The child protection worker mandated that Daniel should not sleep in the same bed as Gabriela. Gabriela confided to the school social worker and guidance counselor that she wants her mother to leave her father, but her mother would not be able to get health insurance if she left because of her citizenship status. She says that her mother tells her, "Gabriela, I am waiting for you to grow up, and I can live with you." Gabriela says she feels a great pressure to take care of her mother. Answer the questions Do you think Gabriela middle childhood is a time of promise, or as stated in the text; "a time of vulnerability"? What are some of the strengths of her multigenerational families? What are some of the special challenges in her families?