Running Head: ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE1

Lab Assignment #2: Ecological Perspective

Carmen Ambriz

SOWK 214: Generalist Practice I

La Sierra University

November 19, 2019

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Overview and Social Environment

The purpose of the ecological perspective is to focus on the dynamic of external

interactions among many levels. The ecological perspective is one of the two conceptual

frameworks that are intended to “guide the process of assessment, intervention, and evaluation.”

With that being said, the social work profession considers it necessary that you assimilate the

knowledge and develop competencies related to certain areas (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2015). In

simpler terms, the ecological perspective has a “person-in-environment” approach, this involves

conditions, circumstances, and human interactions which encompass human beings. This

perspective is important to the social work field because it is what defines human beings, it is

what makes each and every being unique. Humans are social creatures, in order to survive and

thrive, humans need to effectively interact in their environment. The effectiveness of

successfully being able to interact in your environment is established in the beginning stages in

life, which is why parents are encouraged to talk or sing to their children in their first five years

of life.

Social environment involves the conditions, circumstances, and human interactions that

encompass human beings. The social environment includes the types of homes people live in, the

type of work they do, the amount of money available, and the laws and social rules they live by.

The social environment also includes all the individuals, groups, organizations, and systems

which a person comes into contact (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2015). Like anything in the social

work profession, practitioners must have a sound knowledge base about human behavior in the

social environment to be effective. In Carl’s case, he has a range of environments, such as his

interactions at home with his parents, his interactions at school with teachers and peers, and the
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interaction with himself. To begin with, the interaction between specifically his parents is

unclear, but based on the reason why Carl has been brought to my agency can give insight on the

relationship between him and his father. The mother claims her ex-husband has used marijuana,

and Carl has been caught using marijuana, therefore that might of been an interaction point

between father and son. The mother on the other hand has been disabled by multiple sclerosis,

which after some time, she might not be able to care for herself nor Carl, in that case her son

might have taken a parent role. Taking a parent role at a young age and assisting his mother with

daily activities might have enhanced their interaction. Now that the situation has progressed on a

greater scale, Carl’s father wishes to place a restraining order on his ex-wife, which might result

in the loss of interaction with his son, or possibly enhance it.

When it comes to school interactions, not much was provided. Based on the vignette,

Carl was caught smoking marijuana with a friend, this might be a school friend or a friend in the

neighborhood, yet many factors can take place here, meaning what if this was an act of peer

pressure? What if this was his friend’s idea? Who’s marijuana was it?

Transactions and Energy

Transaction is described as people communicating and interacting with others in their

environment. Each of these interactions or transactions is both active and dynamic. There may be

a positive or negative transaction (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2015). In other terms, transaction is the

positive or negative response to the environment. In Carl’s case, it seems to be on the negative

side. Dealing with a complicated divorce at a young age can be difficult, afterall he might

potentially blame himself. There is also the possibility of Carl taking a parent-like role in

assisting his mother, which might affect him. With that being said, children who are affected by
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their parents divorce can lead to many issues, such as withdrawal, poor performance at school,

poor social skills and possibly adapt to violent behaviour. Carl being a young adolescent, and

with the divorce of his parents might have disrupted his ability to possibly start and maintain a

relationship.

Energy is the natural power of active involvement among people and their environments.

Energy can take the form of input or output. Input is a form of energy coming into a person’s life

and adding to that life. Output is a form of energy going out of a person’s life or taking

something away from it (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2015). The way I view energy is in two

subcategories, input and output. Input is the action of receiving or adding something to your life,

either positive or negative, or in other terms the cause. Output, on the other hand, is the outcome

or the effect, this is mostly based on the vitality put in the first time. Based on the vignette, there

are various inputs, to begin with, the divorce has added something detrimental to Carl’s life.

Another input was the act of Carl smoking marijuana. The output of Carl smoking would be

either becoming addicted to the drug or possibly enhancing the father-son relationship. Another

output in this case would be if the father decides to pull through with the restraining order on his

ex-wife, as a result of that action, Carl’s relationship with his mother may be jeopardized, on the

other side, the relationship his father has with his son may or may not be affected.

Interface and Adaptation & Coping

Interface is the exact point at which the interaction between an individual and the

environment takes place. Interface must be clearly in focus in order to target the appropriate

interactions for change (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2015). There is a bit of caution, if interface is

inaccurately targeted, much time and energy will be wasted before getting to the real problem.
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Based on the vignette, I would say the turning point was when Carl was caught smoking

marijuana. With the environment he has to adapt to, young adolescents tend to seek outside

sources to help cope with stress. As a 12 year old, he might have experimented with an outside

source to destress himself. Unfortunately, he might have found a method not suitable for his age.

Carl might have a different opinion, but lucky for him, he was caught before the situation got out

of hand.

Adaptation is the capacity to adjust to surrounding environmental conditions. A person

must change or adapt to new conditions and circumstances in order to continue functioning

effectively. As people are constantly exposed to changes and stressful life events, they need to be

flexible and capable of adaptation. Therefore adaptation often implies a two-way process

involving both the individual and the environment. Coping is a form of human adaptation and

implies a struggle to overcome problems. Although adaptation may involve responses to new

positive or negative conditions, coping refers to the way we deal with the problems we

experience (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2015). In simpler terms, coping is the action taken upon the

individual to help relieve or reduce the stress brought along the change of environment. For each

family member, their escape from reality, or method of coping will differentiate from each other.

The family had to adapt to various circumstances such as: a divorce, a health condition that will

forever change you, arguing parents, Carl living and adapting to two different households, and

living without his mother with possible limitations. With everything occurring at the same time,

it is quite overwhelming for a 12 year old, which might explain why Carl was using marijuana.

Children tend to imitate what they see and witness and integrate it somehow in their own lives

(cde.ca.gov). The father’s usage of marijuana is unclear, meaning no information has been
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provided if the father uses marijuana in front of his son, how often the substance is used, or the

emotional/mental state in which Carl’s father uses the substance. As mentioned earlier, children

tend to mirror what their parents do, if the father does smoke in front of his son while stressed

out, there is a high chance Carl will imitate his father’s behaviour.

Interdependence and Bringing it Together

Interdependence is the mutual reliance of each person on each other person. Individuals

are interdependent as they rely on other individuals and groups of individuals in the social

environment. As mentioned, humans are social creatures, therefore interaction is crucial, people

cannot exist without each other. Just like human interaction is important to survive, in a highly

industrialized society, people are interdependent and need each other to survive (Kirst-Ashman

& Hull, 2015). As like all families, all members somehow intricately rely on each other. To begin

with, before the divorce occurred, if the mother has already suffered from multiple sclerosis she

might of already depended on her husband or son to assist her with daily activities. Moving on to

the son, clearly he is not in the working age, therefore he relies on both his parents for financial

and moral support support. Moving along to the divorce, since Carl will be living under the

supervision of one parent, he will have to rely on that parent financially. Another aspect to this

case would be who determines full or part custody of the child? Child support comes into play

after deciding who receives custody. Depending on who is granted custody of the child, the

parent receiving pension might rely on the non-custodial parent paying as another source of

income, that is if the parent with custody does not have a steady income.

As a crucial structure, it is important to a social worker because it helps clarify the

worker’s implicit theory in an orderly manner. This also considers many outside factors into the
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problem, which reduces any initial biases that may influence your interpretation. By first

determining your biases, you determine with what is suitable to you, this is appropriate in order

to work in your favor which leads you to better assist those in need of help.
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References

“Ages and Stages of Development” Ages and Stages of Development - Child Development

(CA Dept. of Education). N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2019

Kirst-Ashman, Karen Kay, and Grafton H. Hull. “Practice for Working with Individuals.”

Understanding Generalist Practice. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2015. Print.