Marci's Case Study: Working At Home

When a person becomes a parent, their role in life undoubtedly changes. The person must become a teacher, a guide, and a helping hand in the life of the child. Research has shown that there is a distinct connection between how a child is raised and their overall developmental outcome. John Bowlby’s attachment theory emphasizes the importance of the regular and sustained contact between the parent-infant or parent-child relationship (Travis & Waul 2003). Yet, what happens when the only physical contact a child can share with their parent is a hand pressed on the shield of glass that separates the two? What happens when the last memory of their mother or father was from the corner of their own living room as they watched their parent

In the professional field of Social Work, there are many terminologies that individuals outside of this group may not understand. During the process of assessing a problem in a family, there are different theoretical perspectives that helps social workers understand different aspects of family situations. There are eight theoretical perspectives that helps social workers understand family’s dynamic and situations. These theoretical perspectives are; system perspective, conflict perspective, exchange and choice perspective, social constructionist perspective, psychodynamic perspective, developmental perspective, social behavior perspective and humanistic perspective.

' (Haith, 2014b, p. 466) Although a secure attachment does not occur from birth, ‘babies show signs of attachment through smiling, eye contact and crying. ' (Brandon et al., 2015) This shows the child 's main caregiver needs to begin to bond with their child for them to form a secure attachment. Bowlby believed ‘caregivers who neglect their children, bring up avoidant children. ' (Larose, & Bernier, 2001, p. 96-120). ‘Ambivalent/resistant children show negative behaviours to gain attention from others. ' (Kobak et al., 1993, p. 231-245) These statements show children who have an insecure attachment with their caregiver have a risk in behaviour problems. They will also have a less chance of developing their social and emotional skills effectively.

Bowlby’s attachment theory, as well as Erikson’s psychosocial theory, indicates that a child’s overall development is dependent on the care that they receive from their caregiver, more specifically their mother. Meeting the needs of the child and providing a

Social worker in a Family service is essential they understand the important of family, culture diversity and their needs. Social worker goals is to maintain family together, provide additional support if is need it, use problem-solving strategy to help families to resolve their problems, provide parents with parenting skills that will help them become better parents. In addition to that Child welfare information Gateway explain, the role of a child welfare in which consist of “… child protection consists of several key functions, many of which may occur continuously throughout the life of a case. Various assessments of risk, safety, child and family functioning, and trauma occur at screening, intake, investigation/assessment, ongoing child protection, and case closure” (web). Social worker make face with difficult situation and decision but they have to ensure the safety of a children who is in need of their services. They will be cases where the children did not want to participate however, a social worker job is to encourage the child to participate and express his or her

Prior to engaging with Ms X for the commencement of work, it is necessary to 'tune in ' to the case circumstances applying a holistic approach to gain as much insight to the service user(s) as possible before contact is made. Douglas (2008) states that "the pre-contact phase which helps to prepare the social work student for face-to face intervention, is a prerequisite for effective practice". With this in mind, I took the opportunity to contact the designated social worker assigned to this family to arrange a one-to-one meeting to allow for more information sharing. This meeting proved to be positive and it allowed me to gather more insight to this case from the observations and findings from another individual. However I must be sceptic in these circumstances and not take all information as face value. Referring to the conceptual model (...), each

They are also more likely to have inadequate social skills, more hostile behavior, and trouble following the rules. Research suggests this occurs because children are stressed from the long hours, and because of the low quality of the daycare. (Berk, 2012) An important factor in preventing insecure attachment is attending a high quality daycare and good communication between the family and the daycare. Family circumstances play a huge role in attachment security. Parents must find a good balance between children, work, and stress to ensure their child has a healthy attachment. Families with excessive stress are more prone to attachment insecurity. Exposure to an insensitive or uncaring environment at home and in a daycare setting magnifies the chances of having an insecure attachment. (Berk, 2012) Children may have emotional issues when there is no attachment to one or more adults. Neglect and child abuse both contribute to insecure attachment. (Berk, 2012)

Although secure attachment during infancy is the foundation for continued healthy positive development during the lifespan, it is important to understand that other factors can have a significant effect on development later in life (i.e. illness, loss, and trauma). However, research has shown the importance of consistent care giving that is responsive and nurturing and the caregivers’ ability to effectively accommodate more difficult temperament characteristics ,as well as other factors, influence the development of healthy attachment{{64 Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian 2003}}. Research has also shown that infancy and early childhood is the period of development where scaffolding begins and continues (Vygotsky, 1978; Zhao & Orey,1999).

The majority of developmental theories say that children must develop a secure primary attachment in order to develop in a healthy manner. A secure and strong attachment is clearly essential for healthy future relationships. John Bowlby’s studies in childhood development led him to the conclusion that a strong attachment to a caregiver provides a necessary sense of security and foundation. Without such a relationship in place, Bowlby found that a great deal of developmental energy is expended in the search for stability and security. In general, those without such attachments are fearful and are less willing to seek out and learn from new

Attachment theory states that a positive emotional bond with a caregiver provides a secure base for a child that allows a child to feel safe enough to explore their worlds and allows a strong foundation for development (Nichols, 2014). Winnicott believed a key aspect in healthy development for children were rooted in relationships and routine interactions with their mothers or primary caregivers (Borden, 2009). Winnicott proposed several thorectical concepts which he believed contributed to a child’s healthy development. First, he saw the key role of the “good enough mother” as being an adaptation to the infant giving it a sense of control and comfort of being connected with the mother or primary caregiver (Borden, 2009). Winnicott believed

In the future, a child with a secure attachment is empathetic and eager to try new things in life (Perry; Romero). A typical child has an optimistic attitude and they enjoy interacting with other people (Perry). Also, “Kids who were secure as infants

Their adeptness and discipline in multiple systems help direct team efforts more efficiently. Other than coordination, social workers serve as a “liaison to families and outside agencies, [provide] psychosocial assessment, and ongoing family support” (Van Pelt 26). Social workers have proficiency in approaching the family and children and talking with them. The communication is extremely important in the process of diagnosis and treatment of child abuse cases. The ability of social workers’ to interact with victims and families is therefore a huge help for the team. In fact, physicians heavily rely on their expertise in family interaction, for the physicians “don’t always have enough time to build trust with families” (Van Pelt 26). Social workers thus fill up the deficiency of the team with their ability in communication. Considering the trust between agencies and victims is essential to handle cases, the communicating role of social workers is vital to deal with problems. In addition to this, social workers “field calls from outside entities, arrange visits from child welfare and law enforcement, interface with citywide and countywide child abuse programs, and coordinate with prosecuting attorneys” (Van Pelt 26). The hospital-based teams have limitations to handle child abuse crimes. Although they can provide physical or psychological treatments to the victimized children and help recover the deteriorated relationships between

Coohey, and Braun (1997) notes that there are three factors that increase the chances of child physical abuse, and they are exposure to aggression, exposure to stressors, and access to resources (p.1082). These three factors can contribute to the increase of child abuse within a family. For a Social Worker these areas are a great place to look at to determine child abuse. However, it is important to understand what the three terms mean. According to Coohey and Braun (1997) they stated that “exposure to aggression occurs when an individual views or is the object of another individual’s use of physical force” (p.1082).

Myers (2014) explains that attachment is the bond between a child and a caregiver: it can be secure or insecure. In order to foster attachment there needs to be not only nourishment, but comfort and familiarity with the caregiver. When children are insecurely attached they are less likely to explore their environment freely. Securely attached children have very attentive mothers who respond well to their needs. Inattentive mothers tend to foster insecure attachment in their children by not attending well to their needs. Our genes also help to form our personality, but programs used to train parents to be sensitive to their child 's needs can slightly affect attachment in infants. Children can suffer from health issues, psychological problems, and even have lowered IQ because of deprivation of attachment (Karen, 1994).

Unfortunately, inadequate parenting can lead to insecure parent-infant attachments. John Bowlby’s (1969) attachment theory explains how the intergenerational transmission of relationship patterns across generations impacts a child’s ability to develop into a healthy adult. Bowlby believed that the parent’s mental representation of attachment influences the outcome of the infant-parent relationship. (Fonagy, Steele & Steele, 1991). Bowlby believed infants