Problem
Jerry is a 47-year-old heavy equipment operator. His wife, Angela, has been a homemaker and mother to their three children for the past 12 years. Now that the children are all in school, Angela has decided to fulfill a lifelong dream and enroll in college classes to become a nurse. She has asked Jerry to help her with the children so she can have more time to study. She reminds him that once she is a nurse, she can supplement the family income. Three months after Angela begins her classes, Jerry develops severe back pain that requires him to take a leave of absence from work. He undergoes extensive imaging studies, but no medical reason is found for the pain. He states that the analgesics and muscle relaxants just don't seem to help. He tells you that he wants a referral to a large medical clinic 400 miles from his present location because the local doctors don't seem to want to help him. He states that he cannot help with the children or household chores because of the pain. Two months later, Jerry takes a leave of absence from his job and Angela must become the family support. She drops her classes. and finds a job as a receptionist for a local insurance agency.
a) What underlying psychological conflict may be causing Jerry's symptoms?
b) What are his primary and secondary gains?