Mckinley Family Theory Paper

Introduction There are several theories a social worker can utilize when analyzing the events within any of their cases. It is up to the social worker to apply the most appropriate theory and use the information outlined in that theory to help their client in the most effective, and personalized way possible. Many theories may be helpful within just on case. For the purpose of this paper, I will discuss two theories that appear to hold relevance to the McKinley family case discussed in the text. The theories discussed in the following paper will be the Developmental Perspective, and the Social Behavioral Perspective.

Theories Defined Firstly, the Developmental Perspective can be defined as the way human behavior unfolds over a life (Hutchison,

The Developmental Perspective tells us that there is a typical way in which a person develops. It tells us that there are biological, sociological and psychological processes that are at play that influence the development of a person (Hutchison, 2015). It suggests that all people will develop in a similar way, or at least experiencing a similar path of developmental events if given the chance to interact with their environment in a health way (Hutchison, 2015). Conversely, social behavioral theory suggests that development is the dependent of what the person learns from imitating what is defined as the norm in their surrounding environment (Hutchison, 2015). Developmental Perspective suggests that there is a universal developmental experience for all people, while social behavioral theory suggests that what is “typical” is defined by what and who is immediately surrounding you (Hutchison, 2015). The author of this paper believes that Social behavioral theory lends itself to a more diverse application because it does not have clearly defines norms, but instead allows for a person’s immediate environment to define what is typical. Both theories understand that the way a person interacts with their environment will impact their

The theory discusses Self Efficacy, or the sense of personal competence. Here a social worker should look to make sure that the family feels that they are personally equipped for the role they have taken on with their mother (Hutchison, 2015). Agency suggests that they can make things happen, and that they have the ability to impact their environment with their will (Hutchison, 2015). The family has been working so hard to handle all of the various struggles in their lives, and repeated attempts to succeed followed by further hardships may have left Marcia feeling like she no longer had personal agency, and may even affected her self efficacy. It would be the social workers role to, again, find the support the family needed to help take care of any one of the mounting issues with the mortgage, finances, and just the pain of facing the death of a beloved family member in the near future. Assistance in any of these areas may help improve the feeling of helplessness in the