Maladaptive behaviours can be referred to as the type of behaviour that inhibits a person’s

ability to adjust to certain situations (Beaker, 1986). According to McGrew and Bruininks
(1989), maladaptive behaviours is a failed coping behaviour that people submit to and
become unable to meet the demands of life or current situation. Social workers are
responsible for helping individuals, families, and groups of people to cope with the problems
they're facing to improve people’s lives. One aspect of this is teaching skills and developing
mechanisms for patients to rely on to better their lives and experiences. Social workers are
equipped with skills that help support people with maladaptive behaviours. They are roles
that they can play that help support people with maladaptive behaviours. The roles can
include advocating, educating, counselling, researching, meditating, managing, facilitating,
organising, and linking.

Occasionally, people react to situations in ways that are not effective for their health.
Everyone does this to a certain degree. However, when the behaviour is used to continuously
avoid the perceived negative situation, maladaptation occurs. In adaptive behaviour, people
rise to meet challenges in daily life. A person might not want to get up and go to work, but
the person still does. At times a person might not want to take medication, but they realize
that they need these pills for a better quality of life, so they take them. Adaptive behaviour is
not just doing something you don’t like to do but it is facing challenges and finding ways to
cope with needing to do things that you do not prefer.

Sometimes, we find strategies to deal with the things we don’t want to do. For example, an
individual might not want to get up to that alarm to go to work but they know if they do, the
reward will be a paycheck. A person might find that they can change jobs or negotiate a
different start time, so they don’t have to wake up so early. Some people will go as far as to
change jobs, so they can look forward to going to work. Changing your mindset can help as
with taking medication. If the medication comes with side effects, one can always ask for a
different prescription. The point is, you figure out a way to help yourself through life’s
hurdles. Maladaptive behaviour can result when a person just does not see a path to their
desired future. This can happen with any chronic illness or major lifestyle change. With
maladaptive behaviour, self-destructive actions are taken to avoid undesired situations.

One of the most used maladaptive behaviours is avoidance. Everyone uses this behaviour at
one time or another. This involves not doing something that should be done. It can be
avoiding a person, like your healthcare professional, an activity, or it can even be a thought
such as not recognizing changes due to injuries such as spinal cord injury. Avoidance
becomes maladaptive when physical or mental health is harmed or in danger of being
harmed. Avoidance seems like a simple solution because we have all used it so we all know
how to do it. However, it does results in anxiety and stress because we know we should be
doing the exact thing we are avoiding. Developing a pattern of avoidance can lead to many
mental health issues including anger outbursts or internalizing the anger, changes in
socialization, lack of appetite, inability to sleep, low self-esteem and depression.

As these mental health issues build, they can convert to include physical components. At
first, you might experience weight loss and fatigue. Several medical consequences have been
attributed to the stress of avoidance, hypertension, ulcers, headaches, irritable bowel, muscle
aches. Even the development of diabetes has been related to stress. Some individuals will
develop maladaptive behaviour by starting with avoidance and build into other, more intense
maladaptive behaviour. Others will just jump right into more detrimental types of
maladaptive behaviour including destructive behaviour towards self.

Self-destructive behaviour includes self-harm, eating disorders, and substance abuse. Self-
harm is the physical destruction of the body that can appear in a variety of ways.
Traditionally, self-harm is associated with the cutting of one’s own body. However, this
behaviour can be demonstrated in a variety of other ways as well. Examples can be pulling
out hair, often seen with eyebrows, scratching, or burning. For individuals with spinal cord
injury, it can be exhibited by creating, picking or keeping wounds from healing, refusal to
follow needed activities such as catheterization, bowel program, or pressure releases. Self-
harm is caused by overwhelming stress, anxiety or depression. It is a coping mechanism as
opposed to compulsion. Self-harm can be a one-time event or a pattern. It is caused by inner
turmoil and can be self-punishing.

Eating disorders are a form of maladaptive behaviour that cause self-harm. They can result in
under or overweight issues which are particularly disastrous for individuals with spinal cord
injury as both affect skin integrity, mobility, catheterization and bowel issues, body image
and general health. Eating disorders can become diseases such as binge-eating, excessive
dieting, bulimia, and attachment of well being to body image. A person can use eating
disorders as a method of gaining control in their life. If a person requires assistance for daily
activities, using food can become a measure of control over their body. It can also be a
temporary moment of taste pleasure when there is not much other perceived pleasure in life.
Substance abuse is the use of alcohol, prescribed or non-prescribed drugs or a combination to
achieve a specific effect. Some people use these substances to numb the anxiety and stress
perceived in their lives, others might use the substances for a complete blackout of life. As
with other maladaptive behaviours, the goal is to create a false view of life where their
problems and issues do not exist. Substance abuse can lead to addiction which has been
described as when the substance reaches a level where everyday life is affected. For some,
this can be a dependence on alcohol to dependence on addictive medication. Some addictive
substances, especially alcohol have been associated with suicide.

Substance abuse is a growing problem around the world. Substance abuse can be one of the
most difficult problems to detect, as clients are often ashamed or secretive about their drug
use. As a social worker, it's important to be aware of the potential for substance abuse in any
client who seeks help. For example, a client may seek help for depression but conceal an
underlying alcohol or substance abuse addiction. The role of the social worker is to tease out
these possible underlying issues and help the client obtain proper assistance in whatever way
necessary.

Social workers are trained to identify and assess the needs of their clients beyond the scope of
their initial presenting problem. One of the initial tasks of a social worker in a school,
hospital, mental health clinic or private practice is to perform a comprehensive assessment on
a client, taking into account potential substance and alcohol abuse issues, even if the client
does not self-report the problem. As a social worker one has to be alert to the client’s overt
and invert behaviour to identify the problem. According to the National Association of Social
Workers (2013), you will work with your clients to "complete a comprehensive assessment
toward the development of a service plan for recommended placement into an appropriate
treatment program." You may not be required to provide direct care, but you are required to
recognize the warning signs and suggest a course of treatment to your client during or
directly after your assessment.

Social workers act as substance abuse counsellors in a variety of settings, including hospitals,
drug treatment facilities and mental health clinics. Social workers will then not only provide
identification and assessment services, but they will also work directly with clients suffering
from substance abuse disorders, such as providing individual and group counselling,
collecting urine samples if they work in a substance abuse facility or linking the client with
other services, such as food and housing. A broker helps link clients (individuals, groups,
organizations, or communities) with community resources and services. A broker also helps
put "various segments of the community in touch with one another "to enhance their mutual
interests (Barker, 1995, p.43). In micro and mezzo systems, this requires that the worker be
familiar with community services, have general knowledge about eligibility requirements,
and be sensitive to client needs. A broker may help a client obtain emergency food or
housing, legal aid, or other needed resources. (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 1997). The social
worker is involved in the process of making referrals to link a family or person to needed
resources. Social work professionals do not simply provide information. They also follow up
to be sure the needed resources are attained. This requires knowing resources, eligibility
requirements, fees and the location of services.

Social Workers are often involved in teaching people about resources and how to develop
particular skills such as budgeting, the caring discipline of children, effective communication,
the meaning of a medical diagnosis, and the prevention of violence. The educator role
involves giving information and teaching skills to clients and other systems. To be an
effective educator, the worker must first be knowledgeable. Additionally, the worker must be
a good communicator so that information is conveyed clearly and is understood by the client
or macrosystem (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 1997). Social workers may act as substance
abuse educators in a variety of settings, such as schools, community outreach centres and
shelters. For example, you may be expected to give presentations on substance abuse
prevention at a school if you work in a community organization that provides this service. Or,
you may have a job where you have to reach out to at-risk individuals on the street, in
community organizations or at recreation centres. You may help them connect with treatment
centres or assist them with obtaining basic needs like food and shelter.

Social workers also often participate in academic research on the university level. So, you
may decide to participate in substance abuse prevention research, such as helping with the
development of empirically-validated intervention and treatment strategies. According to the
Social Work Policy Institute (2009), social work researchers have conducted substance abuse
research in recent years with support from a variety of governmental agencies, including the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Institute on Drug
Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute of
Mental Health. The research will help social workers help their clients more effectively. This
will also help the social worker to understand the situation which is being dealt with. Not
only do they research on the statistics and methods to improve but they also research on the
background or history of the individuals to be able to know the cause of the maladaptive
behaviour and how best to tackle it.

Advocacy involves “the act of directly representing a course of action on behalf on one or
more individuals, groups, or communities, to secure or retain social justice” (Mickelson,
1995, p. 95). The advocate role involves stepping forward and speaking on behalf of the
client system. The advocate role is one of the most important roles a generalist social worker
can assume, despite its potential difficulties (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 1997).

In this role, social workers fight for the rights of others and work to obtain needed resources
by convincing others of the legitimate needs and rights of members of society. Social workers
are particularly concerned for those who are vulnerable or are unable to speak up for
themselves. Advocacy can occur on the local, county, state or national level. Some social
workers are involved in international human rights and advocacy for those in need. In
advocating social workers can advocate for the rights of substance abusers because everyone
has the right to good help. Hence the social worker can advocate for the individuals to have
better health thru the government and other local authorities help.

A facilitator is "one who serves as a leader for some group experience" (Barker, 1995, p.
129). The group may be a family therapy group, a task group, a sensitivity group, an
educational group, a self-help group, or a group with some other focus. The facilitator role
may also apply to macro practice. In this context, a facilitator assumes "the responsibility to
expedite the change effort by bringing together people and lines of communication,
channelling their activities and resources, and providing them with access to expertise" (p.
129). In this role, social workers are involved in gathering groups of people together for a
variety of purposes including community development, self-advocacy, political organization,
and policy change. Social workers are involved as group therapists and task group leaders.
When they are group therapist they help those who have the same problem such as substance
abuse to come together and form a group and be able to talk about their substance abuse
addiction in a safe space and where no one will judge them in order for them to be able to
overcome the problem.

In conclusion, every individual in society aspires to live a healthy, tolerant, safe, inclusive
and fair life. Social workers, therefore, have an essential contribution to make in achieving
that goal. These contributions include advocating, facilitating, researching, linking and
educating the victims of maladaptive behaviour.

References
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NASW Press

Gibelman, M. and Kraft, S., 1995. Advocacy as a core agency program: Planning
considerations for voluntary human service agencies. Administration in Social Work, 20(4),
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McGrew, K., & Bruininks, R. H. (1989). The factor structure of adaptive behavior. School
Psychology Review, 18(1), 64–81.

National association of social work., 2013. Social work case management. Complete
comprehensive assesement, p41

Socialworkpolicy.org. 2009. Partnerships To Promote Evidence-Based Practice | Social Work

Policy Institute. [online] Available at: <http://www.socialworkpolicy.org/partnerships-to-
promote-evidence-based-practice>

Strecher, V.J., McEvoy DeVellis, B., Becker, M.H. and Rosenstock, I.M., 1986. The role of
self-efficacy in achieving health behavior change. Health education quarterly, 13(1), pp.73-
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Yessian, M.R., & Broskowski, A. (1983). Generalists in human-service systems: Their

problems and prospects. Prentice-Hall. Zastrow, C., & Kirst-Ashman, K. (1997).
Understanding human behavior and the social environment (4th ed.). Wadsworth Publishing
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