1

Case Study

Marlyse Edwards

University of Central
2

What ethical considerations might arise for a social worker practicing in a small

community or within the social worker's own hometown?

Some ethical considerations that may arise for a social worker working in a small

community or their hometown would be human relationships. According to the

NASW Code of Ethics one ethical principle is “Social workers recognize the central

importance of human relationships.” This is important because doing social work in

a small community, allows a greater chance of knowing your client personally. To

work with a client that you already know, you must consider if it’s their best interest

to be working with you. You have to be able to set aside your previous biases about

that person, but it would probably be best to refer that client to someone that could

better assist them.

How might various developmental issues of adolescence interplay with an

adolescent's relationship with alcohol and other drugs?

In the article by Weiler (2003) it mentions, “Any use of alcohol on Gary’s part

carried a potential for dire consequences, including legal problems, risks for

physical and psychological harm, and increasingly strained family relationships.”

Similarly, this may affect other adolescents who partake in drugs or alcohol.

Adolescents choosing to take drugs and alcohol will experience cognitive

disfunction which will affect their motor skills causing them to have a slower

thinking process. A slower thinking process will put them behind in school
3

causing their grades to slip which will affect their mental and emotional health.

This will also affect their social development because instead of socializing with

peers they turn to alcohol and drugs in their spare time. Drugs and alcohol will

also affect developmental issues in regard to bodily functions because it will

cause issues with the liver and heart well before the adolescent has begun to age.

Which has more impact on an individual's self-concept and behavior: the

circumstances surrounding the individual's adoption or the family into which the

individual is adopted?  Explain your answer.

The circumstances that has more of an impact on an individual’s self- concept and

behavior are those circumstances surrounding the individual’s adoption because their

sense of self concept has been altered after they have been uprooted from their home

and placed in adoption. Children gain a sense of self concept and behavior through

their environment and when their environment changes, they no longer feel

comfortable expressing their sense of self. According to A Very Well Mind, self-

concept consists of personal and social identity. “Personal identity includes the traits

and other characteristics that make each person unique. Social identity refers to how

we identify with a collective, such as a community, religion, or political movement.”

When children can’t identify with their community by being taken from their

environments it effects their self-concept. However, their original can also affect their
4

self-concept if their environment is not safe or stable, which makes it difficult for a

child to trust a new environment.

References

Cherry, K. (2020, January 8). What is self-concept and how does it form? Verywell

Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-concept-2795865

Case Studies in Generalist Practice Paperback – 16 Jul 2003 by Robert F. Rivas and Grafton H.
Hull Jr.

National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (n.d.). NASW - National Associacion of Social
Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English