Social Work Practice with Children, Young People and Families

This paper analyzes the crisis situation of the hypothetical Askin family by the use of certain theoretical frameworks. It would try to analyze the reason behind Justin’s behavior, which is the presenting issue in this case. The paper will mainly include the ecological systems theory and the life course development theory to assess the case and provide relevant approaches that could facilitate better wellbeing for Justin and his family and an environment that is fit for Justin.

Running head: SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE WITH CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND
FAMILIES
SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE WITH CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE WITH CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Theories and models explaining Justin’s behavior..........................................................................2
Strengths, resources and protective factors of Justin’s family........................................................5
Approaches facilitating greater wellbeing.......................................................................................6
Utilizing the Systems Theory......................................................................................................6
Person-Environment Fit...............................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References:......................................................................................................................................8

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SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE WITH CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES
Introduction
The present paper attempts to understand the crisis situation of the hypothetical Askin
family by the use of certain theoretical frameworks. It would try to analyze the reason behind
Justin’s behavior, which is the presenting issue in this case. The paper will mainly include the
ecological systems theory and the life course development theory to assess the case and provide
relevant approaches that could facilitate better wellbeing for Justin and his family and an
environment that is fit for Justin. In doing so, the paper will try to find out the factors that have a
negative influence on Justin’s wellbeing and resources and factors that provide strength and
protection to the Askin family. The exploration of these factors will help in revealing other issues
that are a cause for the problems faced by Gill, Justin’s biological mother and Justin himself. The
systems theories will help assess the developmental stages of Justin’s actual family and the
newly developing unit – Fred, Justin’s father and his partner Susie and Justin’s siblings Philip
and Hannah.
Theories and models explaining Justin’s behavior
Within the social system, marriages and families hold the key towards an individual’s
development in life. In order to understand better how these systems work, scholars developed
certain theories and models. The origin of the studies related to families began by observing the
nuclear families. However, over a period, the family structures were conceptualized again in
terms of size, cultural and social influences. A correlation between an individual’s life, the social
structures and the influences of past life, time and place was also established in the theories that
later developed. One such theory is the life course development theory that analyzes an
individual’s life within the social, cultural and historical context. Childhood, adolescence,

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SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE WITH CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES
adulthood and old age are the four stages of the life course model that define an individual’s life
(Aisenbrey & Fasang, 2010). Out of these four stages, childhood is the most crucial and
vulnerable stage. The case of Justin Askin confirms this statement as his erratic behavior is the
result of the disturbances he is facing in his childhood.
To understand the situation from the family’s perspective, the systems theory would
provide great assistance for the author. The social systems theory focuses on “the development
and transformation of systems and the interaction and relationships between them” (Teater,
2014). Here, systems refer to the components that are unified and orderly and make up a
complete functional unit. In order to assess Justin’s case thoroughly, the systems theory has to
be viewed and implemented from the ecological perspective. The ecosystems perspective of the
systems theory originated during the 1970s (Healy, 2014). As per this perspective, the
environment of an individual and his or her interactions with it has an impact on the life of the
individual. The environment of the individual is composed of different layers or phases including
the Microsystem, Mesosystem and Macrosystem. These phases comprise of families, friends,
relatives, community, institutions and society. It is not possible for a social worker to assess a
client’s situation without considering all the elements of his immediate as well as farther
environment (Fox et al., 2015).
The life course theory, as explained in the above sections is of special importance when
the social worker assesses the situation from the ecological perspective. This theory envisages
the development of an individual in a non-linear fashion from birth till death within a diverse
environment influencing his overall behavior. The social worker attending to the Askin family
initiates the life course theory to extract the exact social and historical reasons that might have
contributed to Justin’s aggressive behavior. The worker finds that Justin received little care and

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SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE WITH CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES
attentions from his parents when he was young as both were busy with their career. Further, his
parents also divorced when he was quite young and his father, with whom Justin was very close,
moved away with another woman. These incidences during his early childhood phase might have
had a negative influence on Justin’s wellbeing, as the worker finds by applying the life course
theory. The worker then uses the ecomap to assess the reasons for Justin’s negative behavior.
The ecomap enhances the worker’s capability to view the complexities in the client’s situations.
The first layer of the ecomap is Microsystems that comprises institutions or groups that
directly affect the individual’s development such as family, institution like school and
community. In Justin’s case, all these elements have had a profound impact on his wellbeing. To
cite an example, the separation of his parents deeply affected Justin’s psychological
development. In addition, Justin was greatly disturbed by the entry of another woman in his
father’s life as he had always wanted his father and mother to stay together.
Mesosystem is formed through the Microsystems. After family and community,
institutions like school or daycare services make up the immediate environment of a child.
Justin’s behavior was influenced by the elements of his Mesosystems as well. The inability of his
teachers to understand Justin’s problem and designating him as a bully has further escalated his
aggressive behavior. It is an obvious fact that when a child is not allowed an environment where
he could express himself clearly, he gives up on trying and decides to stay as the elements of his
immediate environment think of him (Espelage, 2014).
The Macrosystem that comprises the larger society and the government too had a role to
play in Justin’s aggressive behavior. These are included within the ecosystem. Growing up in an
unstable family had a direct and intense affect on Justin. He felt frustrated and angry that he

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could not bring his family together and resorted to aggressive ways to meet his ends. Although
his father provided some momentary happiness by taking him to ‘footy’ and movies on
weekends, it did not help change his rash behavior. The role of the government in this case is
limited.
Strengths, resources and protective factors of Justin’s family
To any family, especially if it is a nuclear family, the father has a major role to play to
ensure the family is happy and protected. In the social systems theory, father is the most
important component of the entire system. When a child is devoid of the love and care of his
father from an early age, it affects his overall development. Apart from that, fathers have the
ability to control how their children grow up to be by observing their behavior from the
beginning and channeling any negative behavior in the right path. Fred was the source of
strength for his family, holding everything together when Justin was born. He could have been
there for Justin instead of leaving him at daycares when Gill was working. However, Justin’s
grandparents from both his father’s and mother’s side took great care of him and even showered
much of their love. Gill’s parents used to take care of Justin quite often. Fred’s parents adored
him and thought of him as the continuation of their family lineage. On financial grounds as well,
both families were well-to-do and hence Gill had little problems managing Justin’s education.
However, Gill had concerns regarding the family home where she resides along with her three
children because Fred too has a share in it. Fred and his new partner Susie plan to demand a
handsome amount in exchange of their share in the property which Gill feels she would not be
able to pay even with help from her parents. Nonetheless, she has a strong support from her
friends and family and this is the protective factor for Gill and Justin.

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Approaches facilitating greater wellbeing
Utilizing the Systems Theory
The social worker implements the social systems theory to conduct a complete
assessment of Justin’s behavior by focusing on his interactions with the whole system mentioned
above. As per the systems theory, rather than the parts, the whole system is greater and is more
crucial. It is a fact that families that are stable and where parents have a strong relationship,
children have more positive outcomes. Justin wanted to stay with his parents but their separation
caused much trauma in the young Justin’s mind. In addition, his mother barred him from seeing
or meeting his father more often, which caused a feeling of hatred and irritation in Justin’s mind
for his mother. Although he knew his mother’s worries and wanted his father to be with them
again. In regards to Justin’s extended family such as his grandparents, they were able to provide
some attention, love and care to the young boy that prevented him from committing something
grave. Therefore, it is evident from Justin’s case that the system as a whole has more impact on
an individual’s life rather than single components.
Person-Environment Fit
It is extremely vital that Justin and his family have an improved environment where they
could interact and transact smoothly to ensure continuous positive growth. The social worker
must consider thus, the physical and social elements of the environment prior to probing the fit
between the individual and the environment (Greene, 2017). The environment in Justin’s case is
the social environment consisting of family, social institutions and community. The person-
environment fit refers to the concrete fit between the needs, privileges, objectives and capacities,
traits and actions of their social environments (Vélez et al., 2011). This takes place within

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specific historical and cultural contexts. For the social worker to aid Justin change his aggressive
behavior, it is necessary that he or she makes the fit favorable by evaluating the person and the
environment and conducting interventions for both.
Further, good mental health also contributes greatly towards facilitating positive changes
in an individual’s behavior. Justin has been deprived of good mental health because of the
emotional turbulences he had to face from a very young age. For Justin to cope with the mental
stress he has been subjected to from an early age, his parents must learn to stay together even if it
is for a short period so that Justin feels relieved and happy. Gradually, when he grows up they
could make him understand about the complexities of relationships. This would ensure that
Justin does not receive any further mental shock that blunts his life course development any
further.
Conclusion
The social worker that attends to the Askin family encourages them to undertake sessions
where skills on life course development are presented. When they gain an understanding that a
child needs his own space to think and grow, they will be able to change Justin’s aggressive
behavior. All this while, everyone including Justin’s parents have misunderstood his behavior
and therefore undertook wrong ways to treat it. They must let him share his thoughts without
judging him. Each component within the whole system has to grow independently and
simultaneously influence the entire system and its other components.

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References:
Aisenbrey, S., & Fasang, A. E. (2010). New life for old ideas: The" second wave" of sequence
analysis bringing the" course" back into the life course. Sociological Methods &
Research, 38(3), 420-462.
Espelage, D. L. (2014). Ecological theory: Preventing youth bullying, aggression, and
victimization. Theory into Practice, 53(4), 257-264.
Fox, B. H., Perez, N., Cass, E., Baglivio, M. T., & Epps, N. (2015). Trauma changes everything:
Examining the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and serious, violent
and chronic juvenile offenders. Child abuse & neglect, 46, 163-173.
Greene, R. R. (2017). Ecological perspective: An eclectic theoretical framework for social work
practice. In Human behavior theory and social work practice (pp. 205-242). Routledge.
Healy, K. (2014). Social work theories in context: Creating frameworks for practice. Macmillan
International Higher Education.
Teater, B. (2014). An introduction to applying social work theories and methods. McGraw-Hill
Education (UK).
Vélez, C. E., Wolchik, S. A., Tein, J. Y., & Sandler, I. (2011). Protecting children from the
consequences of divorce: A longitudinal study of the effects of parenting on children’s
coping processes. Child development, 82(1), 244-257.