The annual interest rate of belinda's savings account is 8.6

Case Study Paper

Choose and discuss a case presented in the course textbook.
Examine and describe any differences/diversity between you and your client (i.e. race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, religious domination, social class, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, life experiences, etc.).
What potential dilemmas could you experience from having a person that is different from you that you will be helping? How can you relate to this person? How it hinder or help your practice?
Based off what these dilemmas are, how will you resolve each dilemma? Discuss how you are going to apply the NASW code of ethics and values to your practice with this person who is different from you.
This paper should be a maximum of 3-5 double-spaced pages in length and follow APA format. Include and cite the case study and the value/ethics from NASW that you are applying as well as any information from journal articles/academic research on best practices on how to deal with certain differences. General grading criteria for written work include logical development of concepts, thoroughness, and clarity of written expression, application of content from the course and independent research, and appropriateness of the product to the assignment given. Your grade will be determined based on the following rubric.

Diversity and Ethics Rubric:

Item

Points Possible

Case study

5

Discussion of diversity

5

Potential dilemmas

5

Apply NASW code of ethics as it relates to human diversity

5

APA style 3-5

5

Total points possible

25

NASW Code of Ethics

Competency 7—Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities. Social workers

collect and organize data, and apply critical thinking to interpret information from clients and constituencies; apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in the analysis of assessment data from clients and constituencies; develop mutually agreed-on intervention goals and objectives based on the critical assessment of strengths, needs, and challenges within clients and constituencies; and select appropriate intervention strategies based on the assessment, research knowledge, and values and preferences of clients and constituencies.

Competency 8—Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities. Social workers

critically choose and implement interventions to achieve practice goals and enhance capacities of clients and constituencies; apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in interventions with clients and constituencies; use interprofessional collaboration as appropriate to achieve beneficial practice outcomes; negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of diverse clients and constituencies; and facilitate effective transitions and endings that advance mutually agreed-on goals.

Competency 9—Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities. Social workers

select and use appropriate methods for evaluation of outcomes; apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in the evaluation of outcomes; critically analyze, monitor, and evaluate intervention and program processes and outcomes; and

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apply evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Dimensions of Human Behavior: Person and Environment and Social Work Core Competencies

Dimensions of Human Behavior: Person and Environment and Social Work Core Competencies

Chapter Ethical and Professional Behavior

Engage Diversity and Difference

Human Rights and Justice

Research and Practice

Policy Practice

Social Work Engagement

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Total Chapters 14 14 14 14 11 14

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Dimensions of Human Behavior Sixth Edition

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To all the advocates working for economic, social, and environmental justice in the United States and around the world. You are a constant inspiration for me, and your stories have warmed my heart and given me hope as I worked on this book in times when hope often seemed fragile.

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Dimensions of Human Behavior Person and Environment

Sixth Edition

Elizabeth D. Hutchison Emeritus Virginia Commonwealth University

and contributing authors

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Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hutchison, Elizabeth D., author.

Title: Dimensions of human behavior : person and environment / Elizabeth D. Hutchison, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA.

Description: Sixth Edition. | Thousand Oaks : SAGE Publications, [2018] |Revised edition of the author’s Dimensions of human behavior, [2015] |

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018015527 | ISBN 9781544339290 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Social psychology. | Human behavior. | Social structure. | Social service.

Classification: LCC HM1033 .D56 2018 | DDC 302—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018015527

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Acquisitions Editor: Joshua Perigo

Content Development Editor: Sarah Dillard

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Copy Editor: Mark Bast

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https://lccn.loc.gov/2018015527
Brief Contents 1. Case Studies 2. Preface 3. Acknowledgments 4. PART I A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH FOR

MULTIFACETED SOCIAL WORK 1. • Chapter 1 Human Behavior: A Multidimensional Approach 2. • Chapter 2 Theoretical Perspectives on Human Behavior

5. PART II THE MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF PERSON 1. • Chapter 3 The Biological Person 2. • Chapter 4 The Psychological Person: Cognition, Emotion, and

Self 3. • Chapter 5 The Psychosocial Person: Relationships, Stress, and

Coping 4. • Chapter 6 The Spiritual Person

6. PART III THE MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF ENVIRONMENT 1. • Chapter 7 The Physical Environment 2. • Chapter 8 Cultures 3. • Chapter 9 Social Structure and Social Institutions: Global and

National 4. • Chapter 10 Families 5. • Chapter 11 Small Groups 6. • Chapter 12 Formal Organizations 7. • Chapter 13 Communities 8. • Chapter 14 Social Movements

7. Glossary 8. References 9. Index

10. About the Author 11. About the Contributors

11

Detailed Contents Case Studies Preface Acknowledgments PART I A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH FOR MULTIFACETED SOCIAL WORK

Chapter 1 Human Behavior: A Multidimensional Approach Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 1.1: Joshua, Making a New Life Human Behavior: Individual and Collective A Multidimensional Approach

Personal Dimensions Environmental Dimensions Time Dimensions

Diversity, Inequality, and the Pursuit of Social Justice: A Global Perspective

Diversity Inequality Advancing Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice

Knowing and Doing Knowledge About the Case Knowledge About the Self Values and Ethics

Scientific Knowledge: Theory and Research Theory Empirical Research Critical Use of Theory and Research

Organization of the Book Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Chapter 2 Theoretical Perspectives on Human Behavior Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

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• Case Study 2.1: End of Life Care for Maria Chavez Multiple Perspectives for a Multidimensional Approach Systems Perspective Conflict Perspective Exchange and Choice Perspective Social Constructionist Perspective Psychodynamic Perspective Developmental Perspective Behavioral Perspective Humanistic Perspective The Merits of Multiple Perspectives Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

PART II THE MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF PERSON Chapter 3 The Biological Person

Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 3.1: Cheryl’s Legs and Head • Case Study 3.2: A Diabetes Diagnosis for Jenna • Case Study 3.3: Melissa’s HIV Diagnosis • Case Study 3.4: HIV, Thomas’s Hero • Case Study 3.5: Louise and Stewart, Huntington’s, Obesity, and Cardiovascular Disease • Case Study 3.6: Juan and Belinda’s Sexual Life in Retirement

An Integrative Approach for Understanding the Intersection of Interior Biological Health and Illness and Exterior Environmental Factors Systems Taxonomy: Six Interior Environment Systems

Nervous System Endocrine System Immune System Cardiovascular System Musculoskeletal System Reproductive System

Heredity, Genetics, and the Reproductive System Ecobiodevelopmental Framework to Understand the Relationship Between Interior Health and Exterior

13

Environments Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Chapter 4 The Psychological Person: Cognition, Emotion, and Self

Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 4.1: The Premed Student Cognition and Emotion Theories of Cognition

Cognitive Theory Information Processing Theory Social Learning Theory Theory of Multiple Intelligences Theories of Moral Reasoning Theories of Cognition in Social Work Practice

Theories of Emotion Physiological Theories of Emotion Psychological Theories of Emotion

Psychoanalytic Theory Ego Psychology Attribution Theory: A Cognitive Perspective Theory of Emotional Intelligence

Social Theories of Emotion Theories of Emotion in Social Work Practice

Cognitive/Emotional “Disorders” The Self

The Self as a Soul The Self as Unfolding Potentials The Self as Organizing Activity The Self as Cognitive Structure The Self as Shared Symbolic Experience The Self as a Flow of Experience

Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Chapter 5 The Psychosocial Person: Relationships, Stress, and

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Coping Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 5.1: Dan’s Coping Strategies The Self in Relationships

Relational Theory Attachment Theory Impact of Early Nurturing on Development Feminist Theories of Relationships Social Identity Theory

The Concept of Stress Categories of Stress Stress and Crisis Traumatic Stress Vulnerability to Stress

Coping and Adaptation Biological Coping Psychological Coping Coping Styles Coping and Traumatic Stress Social Support

Virtual Support How Social Support Aids Coping How Social Workers Evaluate Social Support

Normal and Abnormal Coping The Medical (Psychiatric) Perspective Psychological Perspectives The Sociological Approach: Deviance The Social Work Perspective: Social Functioning

Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Chapter 6 The Spiritual Person Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 6.1: Caroline’s Challenging Questions • Case Study 6.2: Naomi’s Health Crisis • Case Study 6.3: Matthew’s Faith Journey • Case Study 6.4: Trudy’s Search for the Sacred

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• Case Study 6.5: Leon’s Two Worlds • Case Study 6.6: Jean-Joseph’s Serving the Spirits • Case Study 6.7: Amira’s Quest for Self • Case Study 6.8: Beth’s Framework for Living

The Spiritual Dimension The Meaning of Spirituality Spirituality in the United States and Globally

Theories of Spiritual Development Fowler’s Stages of Faith Development Transpersonal Theory Wilber’s Integral Theory of Consciousness Summary and Critique of Fowler’s and Wilber’s Theories

The Role of Spirituality in Social Work Spirituality and Human Diversity

Race and Ethnicity Sex and Gender Sexual Orientation Other Aspects of Diversity

Spirituality and the Human Experience Problems in Living Individual and Collective Well-Being

Spiritual Assessment Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

PART III THE MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF ENVIRONMENT Chapter 7 The Physical Environment

Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 7.1: Ben Watson’s Changing Experience With the Physical Environment

Theories of Human Behavior and the Physical Environment Stimulation Theories Control Theories

Privacy Personal Space Territoriality Crowding

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Behavior Settings Theories Ecocritical Theories

The Natural Environment Benefits and Costs of Human Interaction With the Natural Environment Environmental and Ecological Justice

The Built Environment Technology Healing Environments Urban Design and Health

Place Attachment Homelessness Accessible Environments for Persons With Disabilities Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Chapter 8 Cultures Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 8.1: Rubina Living Across Cultures What Is Culture? Theories of Culture

Materialistic Perspective Mentalist Perspective Other Theoretical Perspectives

Major Concepts in the Study of Culture Values Ideology Symbols Language Norms Subcultures and Countercultures Ideal Culture Versus Real Culture

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism Culture and Power

Race Ethnicity Gender Sexuality

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Social Class Disability

Genes and Culture Digital Culture How Culture Changes Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Chapter 9 Social Structure and Social Institutions: Global and National

Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 9.1: Leticia Renteria’s Struggle to Make It in the United States

Patterns of Social Life Contemporary Trends in Global and U.S. Social Institutions

Trends in the Government and Political Institution Trends in the Economic Institution Trends in the Educational Institution Trends in the Health Care Institution Trends in the Social Welfare Institution Trends in the Religious Institution Trends in the Mass Media Institution Trends in the Family and Kinship Institution

Theories of Social Inequality Classical Sociological Theories of Social Inequality The Contemporary Debate Structural Determinism Versus Human Agency

Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Chapter 10 Families Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 10.1: The Sharpe Family’s Deployment Adjustments

Family Defined The Family in Historical Perspective

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Theoretical Perspectives for Understanding Families Family Systems Perspective Exchange and Choice Perspective on Families Symbolic Interaction Perspective on Families Feminist Perspective on Families Life Course Developmental Perspective on Families Family Stress, Coping, and Resilience Perspective

Diversity in Family Life Diversity in Family Structures

Nuclear Families Extended Families Cohabiting Opposite-Sex Couples Couples With No Children Lone-Parent Families Stepfamilies Same-Sex Partner Families Military Families

Economic and Cultural Diversity Economic Diversity Cultural Diversity Immigrant Families

Challenges to Family Life Family Violence Divorce and Relationship Dissolution Substance Abuse

Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Chapter 11 Small Groups Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 11.1: The Sexuality and Gender Group at a Women’s Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Facility

Small Groups in Social Work Therapy Groups Mutual Aid Groups Psychoeducational Groups Self-Help Groups

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Task Groups Virtual Groups

Dimensions of Group Structure Group Composition

Heterogeneity Versus Homogeneity Homogeneity/Heterogeneity in Group Composition: Social Justice Issues

Basic Group Processes Theories of Group Processes

Psychodynamic Theory Symbolic Interaction Theory Status Characteristics and Expectation States Theory Exchange Theory Self-Categorization Theory

Group Development Stage Theories and Models Process Models

Group Dynamics Formal and Informal Leadership Formal and Informal Roles Communication Networks Group Cohesiveness

Interdisciplinary Teams and Leadership Interdisciplinary Teams and Social Work The Social Worker’s Role on Interdisciplinary Teams Social Workers and Leadership

Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Chapter 12 Formal Organizations Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 12.1: Changing Leadership, Changing Times at Beacon Center

A Definition of Formal Organizations Perspectives on Formal Organizations

Rational Perspective The Ideal-Type Bureaucracy

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Scientific Management Human Relations Theory Management by Objectives (MBO) Decision-Making Theory

Systems Perspective Political Economy Model Institutional Theory of Organizations Learning Organization Theory

Interactional/Interpretive Perspective Organizational Culture Model Managing Diversity Model Appreciative Inquiry Model of Organizational Change

Critical Perspective Theory of Gendered Organizations Organizations as Multiple Oppressions Nonhierarchical Organizations

Burnout: A Negative Organizational Outcome Social Work and Formal Organizations

Technology and Social Service Organizations Social Work Leadership in Formal Organizations Culturally Sensitive Care Systems Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Chapter 13 Communities Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 13.1: A Rural West Virginia Community Struggles to Recover • Case Study 13.2: An Evolving Online Support Community

A Definition of Community Territorial Community and Relational Community Social Workers and Communities: Our History Theoretical Approaches to Community

Contrasting Types Approach Spatial Arrangements Approach Social Systems Approach

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Social Capital Approach Conflict Approach

Social Workers and Communities: Contemporary Issues Community as Context for Practice Versus Target of Practice Agency Orientation Versus Social Action Conflict Model of Practice Versus Collaborative Model Expert Versus Partner in the Social Change Process

Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Chapter 14 Social Movements Chapter Outline Learning Objectives

• Case Study 14.1: Fighting for Our Water, Land, and Air

A Definition of Social Movements Social Movements and the History of Social Work Perspectives on Social Movements

Political Process Perspective Openness of the Political System Stability of Political Alignments Availability of Elite Allies International Relations

Mobilizing Structures Perspective Informal and Formal Structures Information and Communication Technology (ICT) The Life Course of Social Movements

Cultural Framing Perspective Frames for Understanding That a Problem Exists Frames for Recognizing a Window of Opportunity Frames for Establishing Goals Frames for Identifying Pathways for Action

Emerging Perspectives Social Movement Outcomes Social Movement Trends

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Social Movements and Contemporary Social Work Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Glossary References Index About the Author About the Contributors

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Case Studies

Chapter Case Case Information Page

1. Human Behavior: A Multidimensional Approach

1.1 Joshua, Making a New Life

20-something male refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo

4

2. Theoretical Perspectives on Human Behavior

2.1 End of Life Care for Maria Chavez

92-year-old female in hospice care, living with 65-year-old daughter in midsize southwestern city, some family conflict

32

3. The Biological Person

3.1 Cheryl’s Legs and Head

20-something female, rural Idaho, military, leg amputation, brain injury

77

3.2 A Diabetes Diagnosis for Jenna

12-year-old Franco American girl, rural Maine, type 1 diabetes

77

3.3 Melissa’s HIV Diagnosis

Young-adult female, urban professional, HIV diagnosis, reproductive issues

78

3.4 HIV, Thomas’s Hero

6-year-old boy, diagnosed with leukemia at age 3, experimental treatment with HIV virus

78

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3.5 Louise and Stewart, Huntington’s, Obesity, and Cardiovascular Disease

81-year-old Jewish woman with Huntington’s disease, Haitian caregiver, sudden death of husband, caregiving decisions

78

3.6 Juan and Belinda’s Sexual Life in Retirement

67-year-old Mexican American couple, both widowed in former relationships, getting reacquainted and considering a sexual relationship

79

4. The Psychological Person

4.1 The Premed Student

24-year-old Chinese American male undergraduate student working toward admission to medical school; comes to university counseling center reporting anxiety, sadness, and anger

108

5. The Psychosocial Person

5.1 Dan’s Coping Strategies

24-year-old Chinese American male undergraduate student working toward admission to medical school; comes to university counseling center reporting anxiety, sadness, and anger

131

Late-adolescent female,

25

6. The Spiritual Person

6.1 Caroline’s Challenging Questions

Baptist, from North Carolina, first year in university, first time encountering people from faiths other than Christianity

160

6.2 Naomi’s Health Crisis

42-year-old female, member of Reform Jewish congregation, breast cancer

160

6.3 Matthew’s Faith Journey

70-year-old male, widower, Catholic, active in outreach and interfaith dialogue

161

6.4 Trudy’s Search for the Sacred

35-year-old female, geographical relocation from small town in Arkansas to urban California, Buddhist

161

6.5 Leon’s Two Worlds

23-year-old male, gay, African Methodist Episcopal Church

162

6.6 Jean- Joseph’s Serving the Spirits

50-year-old male, originally from Haiti, Catholic and believer in Vodoun

162

6.7 Amira’s Quest for Self

22-year-old Pakistani American female, intergenerational struggles over culture and religion

163

20-something female

26

6.8 Beth’s Framework for Living

20-something female union organizer, raised with a strong code of ethics not based in religion

164

7. The Physical Environment

7.1 Ben Watson’s Changing Experience With the Physical Environment

20-something male, spinal cord injury 197

8. Cultures 8.1 Rubina Living Across Cultures

22-year-old Pakistani American female, mental health issues, intergenerational struggles over gender roles and religion

229

9. Social Structure and Social Institutions

9.1 Leticia Renteria’s Struggle to Make It in the United States

30-year-old married mother of three young children, living in Coachella Valley of California, undocumented immigrant from Mexicali, Mexico, impoverished seasonal laborer

262

10. Families

10.1 The Sharpe Family’s Deployment Adjustments

Four-generation African American family, small southwestern town, father deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan in past decade, issues of deployment adjustment

300

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11. Small Groups

11.1 The Sexuality and Gender Group at a Women’s Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Facility

Support group for lesbian, bisexual, questioning, and transgender women in a residential substance abuse treatment facility

344

12. Formal Organizations

12.1 Changing Leadership, Changing Times at Beacon Center

Different styles of leadership over time in a homeless advocacy and service organization in a midsize midwestern city

372

13.  Communities

13.1 A Rural West Virginia Community Struggles to Recover

A community in rural West Virginia struggles to recover from economic, natural disaster, and opioid addiction crises

402

13.2 An Evolving Online Support Community

Online support community Parents of Suicide (POS) evolves

403

14. Social Movements

14.1 Fighting for Our Water, Land, and Air

Evolving story of the environmental justice movement

428

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Preface

In the preface to the first edition of this book, I noted that I have always been intrigued with human behavior. I didn’t know any social workers when I was growing up—or even that there was a social work profession —but I felt an immediate connection to social work and social workers during my junior year in college when I enrolled in an elective titled Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare. What attracted me most was the approach social workers take to understanding human behavior. I was a sociology major, minoring in psychology, and it seemed that each of these disciplines—as well as disciplines such as economics, political science, and ethics—added pieces to the puzzle of human behavior; that is, they each provided new ways to think about the complexities of human behavior. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until several years later when I was a hospital social worker that I began to wish I had been a bit more attentive to my coursework in biology, because that discipline increasingly holds other pieces of the puzzle of human behavior. But when I sat in that Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare course, it seemed that the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. I was inspired by the optimism about creating a more humane world, and I was impressed with an approach to human behavior that clearly cut across disciplinary lines.

Just out of college, amid the tumultuous societal changes of the late 1960s, I became an MSW student. I began to recognize the challenge of developing the holistic understanding of human behavior that has been the enduring signature of social work. I also was introduced to the tensions in social work education, contrasting breadth of knowledge versus depth of knowledge. I found that I was unprepared for the intensity of the struggle to apply what I was learning about general patterns of human behavior to the complex, unique situations that I encountered in the field. I was surprised to find that being a social worker meant learning to understand my own behavior, as well as the behavior of others.

Since completing my MSW, I have provided services in a variety of social work settings, including a hospital, nursing homes, state mental health and mental retardation institutions, a community mental health center, a school-based program, public child welfare programs, and a city jail. Sometimes the target of change was an individual, and other times the

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focus was on bringing about changes in dyadic or family relationships, communities, organizations, or social institutions. I have also performed a variety of social work roles, including case manager, therapist, teacher, advocate, group facilitator, consultant, collaborator, program planner, administrator, and researcher. I love the diversity of social work settings and the multiple roles of practice. My varied experiences strengthened my commitment to the pursuit of social justice, enhanced my fascination with human behavior, and reinforced my belief in the need to understand human behavior holistically.

For almost 30 years, I taught courses such as Human Behavior in the Social Environment to undergraduate students, MSW students, and doctoral students. The students and I struggled with the same challenges I encountered as a social work student in the late 1960s: the daunting task of developing a holistic understanding of human behavior, the issue of breadth versus depth of knowledge, and discovering how to use general knowledge about human behavior in unique practice situations. Increasingly, over time, my students and I also recognized a need to learn more about human and social diversity, and to build a knowledge base that provided tools for promoting social justice. My experiences as student, practitioner, and teacher of human behavior led me to write this book.

Multidimensional Understanding of Human Behavior Social work has historically used the idea of person-in-environment, or person and environment, to develop a multidimensional understanding of human behavior. The idea that human behavior is multidimensional has become popular with most social and behavioral science disciplines. Recently, we have recognized the need to add the aspect of time to the person–environment construct, to capture the dynamic, changing nature of person-in-environment.

The purpose of this book is to help you to breathe life into the abstract idea of person-in-environment. As I did in the first five editions, I identify relevant dimensions of both person and environment, and my colleagues and I present up-to-date reports on theory and research about each of these dimensions. All the while, we encourage you to link the micro world of personal experience with the macro world of social trends—to recognize

30

the unity of person and environment. We help you make this connection by showing how several of the same theories have been used to understand dimensions of both person and environment. A companion volume to this book, The Changing Life Course, builds on the multiple dimensions of person and environment analyzed in this book and demonstrates how they work together with the dimension of time to produce patterns in unique life course journeys.

Breadth Versus Depth The most difficult challenge I have faced as a student and teacher of human behavior is to develop a broad, multidimensional approach to human behavior without an unacceptable sacrifice of depth. It is indeed a formidable task to build a knowledge base both wide and deep. After years of struggle, I have reluctantly concluded that although both breadth and depth are necessary, it is better for social work to err on the side of breadth. Let me tell you why.

Social workers are doers; we use what we know to tell us what to do. If we have a narrow band of knowledge, no matter how impressive it is in its depth, we will “understand” the practice situations we encounter from this perspective. This can lead us to use the same solutions for all situations, rather than to tailor solutions to the unique situations we encounter. The risk and resilience literature suggests that human behavior is influenced by the many risk factors and protective factors that exist in the multiple dimensions of contemporary social arrangements. What we need is a multidimensional knowledge base that allows us to scan widely for, and think critically about, risk factors and protective factors and to craft multipronged intervention programs to reduce risks and strengthen protective factors.

To reflect recent developments in the social and behavioral sciences, this book introduces dimensions of human behavior not covered in similar texts. Chapters on the biological and spiritual dimensions of person, the physical environment, social institutions, and social movements provide important insights into human behavior not usually covered in social work texts. In addition, we provide up-to-date information on the typically identified dimensions of human behavior.

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General Knowledge and Unique Situations The purpose of the social and behavioral sciences is to help us understand general patterns in person–environment transactions. The purpose of social work assessment is to understand unique configurations of person and environment dimensions. Those who practice social work must interweave what they know about unique situations with general knowledge. To assist you in this process, as we did in the first five editions, we begin each chapter with one or more case studies, which we then interweave with contemporary theory and research. Most of the stories are composite cases and do not correspond to actual people and social groups known to the authors. In this sixth edition, we continue to expand on our efforts in the last five editions to call more attention to the successes and failures of theory and research to accommodate human diversity related to gender and gender identity, class, race and ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, and disability. More important, we have extended our attention to diversity by being very intentional in our effort to provide a global context for understanding person–environment transactions. The attention to the global world continues to be expanded in this edition. The most significant changes in this sixth edition are the greatly increased content on the impact of new technologies on all dimensions of the person and environment, increased content on neurobiology, and increased content on environmental justice. New technologies are driving change at all levels, neurobiological research is filling in missing details in our understanding of human behavior, and social justice cannot be advanced without environmental justice.

About This Book The task of developing a solid knowledge base for doing social work can seem overwhelming. For me, it is an exciting journey, because I am learning about my own behavior as well as the behavior of others. I love it that knowledge development and cultural change are happening at such a fast clip that I learn something new every day about the influences on human behavior. What I learn enriches my personal life as well as my professional life. My colleagues and I wanted to write a book that gives you a state-of-the-art knowledge base, but we also wanted to make learning an exciting adventure for you. We have tried to write as we teach, with enthusiasm for the content and a desire to connect with your process

32

of learning. We continue to use some special features that we hope will aid your learning process. As in the first five editions, key terms are presented in bold type in the chapters and defined in the Glossary. Critical thinking questions are presented throughout all chapters. Active learning exercises are presented at the end of each chapter. Learning objectives are new to this edition.

The bulk of this sixth edition will be familiar to instructors who used earlier editions of Dimensions of Human Behavior: Person and Environment. Many of the changes that are included came at the suggestion of instructors and students who have been using the fifth edition. To respond to the rapidity of changes in complex societies, all chapters have been comprehensively updated. As the contributing authors and I worked to revise the book, we were once again surprised to learn how much the knowledge base had changed since we worked on the previous edition. We did not experience such major change between the first four editions, and this led us to agree with the futurists who say that we are at a point where the rate of cultural change will continue to accelerate rapidly. You will want to use the many wonders of the World Wide Web to update information you suspect is outdated.

New in This Edition The more substantial revisions for this edition include the following:

Learning objectives have been added to each chapter. Even more content has been added on human diversity in all its forms. Content on the impact of the new information, communication, and medical technologies on person and environment continues to be updated and expanded. Consistency with Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) curriculum guidelines is explicated where appropriate. To assist visual learners grasp the abstract concepts of human behavior theories, new visual metaphors are used in Chapter 2 to represent the major theoretical perspectives used in the book. The chapter on the biological person takes a much more integrative approach to examine biological systems. Content on neuroscience continues to be expanded and updated. Content on trauma is expanded in several chapters.

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New content on the impact of the physical environment on human behavior has been added throughout. New content on environmental and ecological justice has been added to the chapters on the physical environment and social movements, and woven into other chapters as well. The chapter on cultures has been completely rewritten with greater emphasis on how the dynamics of power are embedded in culture. A new approach to organizing family theories is presented. New organizational theories are presented. Some new exhibits have been added and others updated. Twelve new case studies have been added to reflect contemporary issues. Web resources have been updated.

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SAGE edge offers a robust online environment featuring an impressive array of free tools and resources for review, study, and further exploration, keeping both instructors and students on the cutting edge of teaching and learning.

SAGE edge for Students provides a personalized approach to help you accomplish your coursework goals in an easy-to-use learning environment.

Mobile-friendly eFlashcards and quizzes strengthen your understanding of key terms and concepts Learning objectives reinforce the most important material Video and multimedia links that appeal to students with different learning styles. EXCLUSIVE! Access to full-text SAGE journal articles that have been carefully chosen to support and expand on the concepts presented in each chapter

SAGE edge for Instructors supports your teaching by making it easy to integrate quality content and create a rich learning environment for students. SAGE edge includes the following:

Test banks with a diverse range of pre-written and editable options,

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http://edge.sagepub.com/hutchisonpe6e
helping you assess students’ progress and understanding Sample course syllabi for semester and quarter courses assist in structuring your course Editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides offering you flexibility in creating multimedia presentations Case study-specific discussion questions help launch classroom interaction by prompting students to engage with the material and by reinforcing important content. EXCLUSIVE! Access to carefully selected SAGE journal articles that support and expand concepts presented in each chapter Lecture notes summarizing key concepts by chapter to aid in preparing lectures

One Last Word I imagine that you, like me, are intrigued with human behavior. That is probably a part of what attracted you to social work. I hope that reading this book reinforces your fascination with human behavior. I also hope that when you finish this book, and in the years to come, you will have new ideas about the possibilities for social work action.

Learning about human behavior is a lifelong process. You can help me in my learning process by letting me know what you liked or didn’t like about the book.

—Elizabeth D. Hutchison

Reno, Nevada

ehutch@vcu.edu

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Acknowledgments

A project like this book is never completed without the support and assistance of many people. A sixth edition stands on the back of the first five editions, and over the years since I started work on the first edition of this book in the mid-1990s, a large number of people have helped me keep this project going. I am grateful to all of them, some of them known to me and others working behind the scenes in a way not visible to me.

Steve Rutter, former publisher and president of Pine Forge Press, shepherded every step of the first edition and provided ideas for many of the best features of the second edition, which are carried forward in the third, fourth, fifth, and now this sixth edition. Along with Paul O’Connell, Becky Smith, and Maria Zuniga, he helped to refine the outline for the second edition, and that outline continues to be used in this book. I am especially grateful to Becky Smith, who worked with me as a developmental editor for the first two editions. She taught me so much about writing and readers, and I often find myself thinking How would Becky present this? Kassie Graves provided disciplined and creative editorial assistance from 2006 to 2016, for the third, fourth, and fifth editions of this book.

The contributing authors and I are grateful for the assistance Dr. Maria E. Zuniga offered during the drafting of the second edition. She provided many valuable suggestions for how to improve the coverage of cultural diversity in each chapter. Her suggestions improved the second edition immensely and have stayed with us as lasting lessons about human behavior in a multicultural society.

I am grateful once again to work with a fine group of contributing authors. They were gracious about timelines and incorporating feedback from reviewers. Most important, they were committed to providing a state-of- the-art knowledge base for understanding the multiple dimensions of human behavior for use in social work practice. I am also grateful for collaborators who have provided rich case studies for Chapters 1, 2, 8, 9, and 13.

We were lucky to be working again with the folks at SAGE. Joshua Perigo

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came aboard as I worked to turn months of research and writing into what you see in this book. He came with prior experience in working with professors who use the book and with an organized view of what is helpful to instructors and students. He has consistently been responsive to my questions and concerns. How lucky I am to be working with Mark Bast as copy editor again. He is a delight to work with, catches my errors, and makes the words flow better. I would work with him forever. I am grateful to have Tracy Buyan join the project as production editor; she is the person who turns words and ideas into a gorgeous book. Thanks also to Alexandra Randall who has provided editorial assistance with a number of tasks. Many more people have worked behind the scenes to help us complete this project. I wish I could thank them by name. I love the folks at SAGE!

I am grateful to my former faculty colleagues at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), who set a high standard for scientific inquiry and teaching excellence. They also provided love and encouragement through both good and hard times. My conversations about the human behavior curriculum with colleagues Rosemary Farmer, Stephen Gilson, Marcia Harrigan, Holly Matto, Mary Secret, and Joe Walsh over many years have stimulated much thinking and resulted in many ideas found in this book.

My students over 30 years also deserve a special note of gratitude. They taught me all the time, and many things that I have learned in interaction with them show up in the pages of this book. They also provided a great deal of joy to my life journey, and I continue to enjoy keeping up with many of them on social media. Those moments when I learn of former students doing informed, creative, and humane social work are special moments, indeed, and I am happy to say there are many such moments. One former student is a chapter coauthor, and two former students have contributed case studies for this edition. I have also enjoyed receiving e- mails from students from other universities who are using the books, and I have found their insights to be very helpful.

As always, my deepest gratitude goes to my husband, Hutch. Since the first edition of this book was published, we have weathered several challenging years and experienced many celebratory moments. He is constantly patient and supportive and often technically useful. But, more important, he makes sure that I don’t forget that life can be great fun. He has now accompanied me through many changes for over three fourths of my life journey.

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Finally, I am enormously grateful to a host of reviewers who thoughtfully evaluated the fifth edition and provided very useful feedback about how to improve it. Their ideas were very helpful in framing our work on this sixth edition.

Alicia Borre Hampton University Cynthia Bott Siena College Gwendolyn D. Perry-Burney California University of Pennsylvania Leona Mickles-Burns Marygrove College Carmelita Dotson Middle Tennessee State University Heather Goltz University of Houston Johanna Slivinske Youngstown State University Debra Mowery University of South Florida Emeka Nwadiora Temple University Karl Johnson Northern Michigan University Lisa Richardson St. Catherine University Michele R. Braley St. Catherine University/University of St. Thomas Nicole Lee Virginia Commonwealth University Cheri Carter Temple University

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Part I A Multidimensional Approach for Multifaceted Social Work

Devyani Hakakian is beginning her workday at an international advocacy organization devoted to women’s rights. Sylvia Gomez and other members of her team at the rehabilitation hospital are meeting with the family of an 18-year-old male who is recovering from head injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. Mark Bernstein is on the way to the county jail to assess the suicide risk of an inmate. Caroline O’Malley is knocking at the door of a family reported to her agency for child abuse. Helen Moore is preparing a report on environmental justice for a legislative committee. Juanita Alvarez is talking with a homeless man about taking his psychotropic medications. Stan Weslowski is meeting with a couple who would like to adopt a child. Andrea Thomas is analyzing the results of a needs assessment recently conducted at the service center for older adults where she works. Anthony Pacino is wrapping up a meeting of a cancer support group. Sam Belick is writing a social history for tomorrow’s team meeting at the high school where he works. Sharlena Cook is preparing to meet with a group of Head Start parents to discuss parenting issues. Sarah Sahair has just begun a meeting of a recreational group of 9- and 10-year-old girls. Jane Kerr is facilitating the monthly meeting of an interagency coalition of service providers for substance-abusing women and their children. Ann Noles is planning a fund-raising project for the local Boys’ and Girls’ Club. Meg Hart is wrapping up her fourth counseling session with a lesbian couple. Chien Liu is meeting with a community group concerned about youth gang behavior in their neighborhood.

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Mary Wells is talking with one of her clients at the rape crisis center. Nagwa Nadi is evaluating treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder at a Veteran’s Administration hospital.

What do these people have in common? You have probably guessed that they all are social workers. They work in a variety of settings, and they are involved in a variety of activities, but they all are doing social work. They all are involved in activities to engage with, assess, and intervene in human behavior. Social work is a multifaceted profession, and because it is multifaceted, social workers need a multidimensional understanding of human behavior. This book provides such an understanding. The two chapters in Part I introduce you to a multidimensional way of thinking about human behavior and set the stage for subsequent discussion. In Chapter 1, you are introduced to the multiple dimensions of person, environment, and time that serve as the framework for the book, and you are introduced to social work’s emphasis on diversity, inequality, and social justice. You also are given some tools to think critically about the multiple theories and varieties of research that make up our general knowledge about these dimensions of human behavior. In Chapter 2, you encounter eight theoretical perspectives that contribute to multidimensional understanding. You learn about their central ideas and their scientific merits. Most important, you consider the usefulness of these eight theoretical perspectives for social work.

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1 Human Behavior A Multidimensional Approach

Elizabeth D. Hutchison

Chapter Outline Learning Objectives Case Study 1.1: Joshua, Making a New Life Human Behavior: Individual and Collective A Multidimensional Approach

Personal Dimensions Environmental Dimensions Time Dimensions

Diversity, Inequality, and the Pursuit of Justice: A Global Perspective Diversity Inequality Advancing Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice

Knowing and Doing Knowledge About the Case Knowledge About the Self Values and Ethics

Scientific Knowledge: Theory and Research Theory Empirical Research Critical Use of Theory and Research

Organization of the Book Implications for Social Work Practice Key Terms Active Learning Web Resources

Learning Objectives

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1.1 Recognize one’s own emotional and cognitive reactions to a case study. 1.2 Outline the elements of a multidimensional person-in-environment approach to human behavior. 1.3 Advocate for an emphasis on diversity; inequality; social, economic, and environmental justice; and a global perspective in social work’s approach to human behavior. 1.4 Summarize four ingredients of knowing how to do social work. 1.5 Analyze the roles of theory and research in guiding social work practice. 1.6 Apply knowledge of the multidimensional person-in-environment framework; diversity; inequality; and the pursuit of human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice to recommend guidelines for social work engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation.

Case Study 1.1 Joshua, Making a New Life Joshua spent the first 10 years of his life in the city of Uvira in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire. He is the fourth oldest child in a family that included 11 children. He is of the Banyamulenge ethnic group, and his family spoke Swahili, Kinyamulenge, and French while living in Uvira. He was raised Christian in the United Methodist Church. Joshua’s family lived comfortably in Uvira. His mother owned a boutique that sold clothes, shoes, lotions, accessories, and petroleum. His father bought cows, had them butchered, and then sold the meat.

Of his life in Uvira, Joshua recalls that a typical day included getting up for breakfast and spending the day at school. After school, he did chores and sometimes helped his mom in her boutique. Then he played soccer until dinner. It was a good life.

All of that changed sometime in 2003. The long-standing Congo civil war was getting closer to his family’s home in Uvira. Joshua recalls hearing gunshots about 15 miles away. His family left their home in Uvira in the middle of the night by foot and walked across the Burundi border to the nearby Gatumba Refugee Camp run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). They were joined on the walk and in the camp by a lot of other people from Uvira. Life was hard in the crowded camp where people slept in tents, with mosquitos buzzing around. Sometimes there was not enough water or food for the whole camp. The

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hygiene in the camp was not good, and a lot of people were sick. Joshua lost a lot of friends and family in the camp. He recalls that the children were not able to attend school in the camp.

A terrible thing happened on August 13, 2004. There was a heinous massacre at the Gatumba Refugee Camp, killing 166 refugees and seriously wounding over 100 more. News reports indicate that refugees who were members of the Banyamulenge ethnic group were the specific target of the massacre. Joshua’s mom died of gunshot wounds, and his 8-year-old sister’s body was never found. The whole camp was burned down, and Joshua’s family was separated. Joshua, who was 11 years old at the time, ran with his 7-month- old sister. They were first in the hospital and then taken in by a stranger with whom they stayed for several weeks before finding their father and other siblings. Their father had been shot during the massacre and was taken to the hospital. Two of Joshua’s siblings were also found in the hospital. Other siblings had found safety a few miles away at a makeshift camp. After finding his father and siblings, Joshua and his 7-month-old sister stayed with an extended family relative in Bujumbura, Burundi, for about 4 months. His father went to a hospital in Kenya, and some siblings were in an orphanage. At some point, Joshua and some older siblings went back to Uvira in the DRC. They stayed in the house where they had lived before they fled and were able to go to school again, but not right away.

In 2006, Joshua’s father was discharged from the hospital; came back to Uvira; and took all the family back to Bujumbura, Burundi, where he filed for refugee status. Joshua and his siblings went to a few interviews for the refugee status application, but mostly the process was handled by his father, and Joshua doesn’t know much about it.

In May 2007, Joshua’s family, consisting of a single father and 10 children, arrived in Boise, Idaho. Joshua was almost 14 years old, and he felt excited and eager to begin school. He was also struck by how cold the weather was. Joshua’s father received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) because of disability related to wounds from the massacre. His father also had to continue with treatment for his wounds, was hospitalized from time to time, and continues to receive periodic treatment. His father is now ordained as a pastor in a local African church and currently serves on a committee for the local African community. He received his citizenship in 2013.

The language issue was really hard at first for Joshua, but it was even harder for his older siblings and father. Joshua graduated from high school in 2011, from community college in 2013, and from university in May 2017. He received citizenship in September 2017 and was married in October 2017. He coaches local Nations United and Boys & Girls Club soccer teams and

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works as the employment specialist and donations manager at the Agency for New Americans, the refugee resettlement agency that sponsored his family during their resettlement. All of Joshua’s surviving siblings still live in Boise. Unfortunately, his oldest sister died in November 2016. She had been shot in the head during the massacre, and her injuries left her paralyzed on the left side of her body. She had gotten married after the family arrived in Boise and left six children behind when she died. Joshua says the family misses her very much.

Story provided by Agency for New Americans, Boise, Idaho

Human Behavior: Individual and Collective As eventful as it has been, Joshua’s story is still unfolding. As a social worker, you will become a part of many unfolding life stories, and you will want to have useful ways to think about those stories and effective ways to be helpful to people like Joshua, his family, and other refugees from the DRC, as well as the many other people you will encounter in your social work journey. This book and its companion volume, Dimensions of Human Behavior: The Changing Life Course, provide ways for you to think about the nature and complexities of human behavior—the people and situations at the center of social work practice. To begin to do that, we must first clarify the purpose of social work and the approach it takes to individual and collective human behavior. This is laid out in the 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE):

The purpose of the social work profession is to promote human and community well-being. Guided by a person-in-environment framework, a global perspective, respect for human diversity, and knowledge based on scientific inquiry, the purpose of social work is actualized through its quest for social and economic justice, the prevention of conditions that limit human rights, the elimination of poverty, and the enhancement of the quality of life for all persons. (p. 5)

The CSWE was formed in 1952 to bring the accreditation of social work education under a single body, bringing together separate accrediting bodies for medical social work, psychiatric social work, and generalist

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practice to accredit both undergraduate and graduate social work education programs. Three years later, in 1955, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) was formed by consolidating seven existing organizations, the American Association of Social Work plus specialized associations of psychiatric social workers, medical social workers, school social workers, group workers, community organizing social workers, and social work researchers. Both the newly formed CSWE and NASW were dedicated to identifying what was common to all social work practice. The CSWE immediately set to work to develop curriculum policy and accreditation standards for a social work education that could prepare students for all practice settings and social work roles.

In these early efforts to identify the common base of social work, presenters of one workshop at the 1952 meeting of the American Association of Schools of Social Work, a forerunner of CSWE, argued that “knowledge and understanding of human behavior is considered an indispensable base for social work education and for all social work activity” (Social Welfare History Archives, 1952, p. 1). I agree wholeheartedly with that statement. Whether we are concerned about

how an individual client can get better control of emotions and implicit cognitive biases; how a family can improve its communication patterns; how a group can become more cohesive; how to maximize the benefits of increasing diversity in an organization; how a community can become empowered to solve problems; or the most effective ways to organize for human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice;

we are concerned about human behavior.

In the first working definition of social work practice after the formation of CSWE and NASW, in 1958 Harriet Bartlett linked the person-in- environment perspective on human behavior to the definition of social work (Kondrat, 2008). That connection has endured for 6 decades. In discussion of social work competencies, the CSWE 2015 curriculum policy statement notes that social workers “apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks” to engage with, assess, intervene with, and evaluate practice with “individuals, families, groups,

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organizations, and communities” (CSWE, 2015, pp. 8–9).

As you think about Joshua’s story, you may be thinking, as I was, not only about Joshua but also about the different environments in which he has lived and the ways in which both Joshua and his environments have changed over time.

In this book, we use the language of “person and environment” rather than “person-in-environment” because the emphasis is not always on the individual person. Although the person-in-environment (person and environment) construct noted in the CSWE educational policy is an old idea in social work, it still is a very useful way to think about human behavior—a way that can accommodate such contemporary themes in human life as the emotional life of the brain, human–robot relationships, social media, human rights, economic globalization, and environmental justice. This book elaborates and updates the person and environment construct that has guided social work intervention since the earliest days of the profession. The element of time is added to the person and environment construct to call attention to the dynamic nature of both people and environments. This is important in rapidly changing societies around the world. Early social workers could not have imagined television and air travel, much less cell phones, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, or online courses. And, no doubt, the world 50 years from now would seem as “foreign” to us as the United States seemed to Joshua and his family when they first arrived here.

As they live their lives in the natural environment, humans join with other humans to develop physical landscapes and structures, technologies, and social systems that form the context of their lives. These landscapes, structures, technologies, and systems are developed by collective action, by humans interacting with each other. Once developed, they then come to shape the way humans interact with each other and their natural environments. Structures, technologies, and systems can support or deter individual and collective well-being. Usually, they benefit some individuals and groups while causing harm to others. Social workers are concerned about both individual and collective behavior and well-being. When I talk about human behavior, I am referring to both the individual and collective behavior of humans. Sometimes we focus on individual behavior, and other times we are more concerned about the social systems created by human interaction.

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This book identifies multiple dimensions of both person and environment and draws on ongoing scientific inquiry, both conceptual and empirical, to examine the dynamic understanding of each dimension. Special attention is paid to globalization; diversity; human rights; and social, economic, and environmental justice in examination of each dimension. In this chapter, a multidimensional approach to person and environment is presented, followed by discussion of diversity, inequality, and the pursuit of social justice from a global perspective. After a brief discussion of the process by which professionals such as social workers move from knowing to doing, the chapter ends with a discussion of how scientific knowledge from theory and research informs social work’s multidimensional understanding of human behavior.

A Multidimensional Approach Social work’s person and environment construct has historically recognized both person and environment as complex and multidimensional, that is, as having several identifiable dimensions. A dimension refers to a feature that can be focused on separately but that cannot be understood without also considering other features. This last piece is really important: Although we can focus on one dimension of a human story to help us think about that dimension more clearly, no one dimension can be understood without considering other dimensions as well. We are walking a treacherous path here by separating out the dimensions to explore each in some depth. The fear is that by doing so, we will reinforce the human tendency to think of these dimensions as things that are separate and unrelated rather than recognizing how they are all utterly intertwined. As neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky (2017, p. 5) warns “It’s human behavior. And, it is indeed a mess, a subject involving brain chemistry, hormones, sensory cues, prenatal environment, early experience, genes, both biological and cultural evolution, and ecological pressures, among other things.” In a similar vein, writing about child development, Arnold Sameroff (2010, P. 7) writes that “it is both child and parent, but it is also neurons and neighborhoods, synapses and schools, proteins and peers, and genes and governments.” Think about Joshua. What comes quickly to your mind as you think about the factors that influence his current behavior?

If we were writing a book focusing on only one type of behavior, such as

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aggression as Sapolsky (2017) writes about, we could demonstrate how all the elements of person and environment are intertwined to create that one type of behavior. Because, instead, we are writing a book that covers the wide range of human behaviors, both individual and collective behaviors, we organize the book around various dimensions of person and environment and do our best to illustrate how those dimensions are related to each other. For example, the chapter on cultures includes discussion of the neuroscience of prejudice as well as discussion of gene–culture co- evolution. We encourage you to pay particular attention to these discussions of the way in which different dimensions of person and environment are intertwined.

With an explosion of research across a number of disciplines in the past few decades, the trend has been to expand the range of dimensions of both person and environment folded into the person and environment construct. Time too can be thought of as multidimensional. Let’s look at some of the dimensions of person, environment, and time in Joshua’s story.

If we focus on the person in Joshua’s story, we think about the conditions in the refugee camp that threatened his biological systems. We think about how he survived while many others died in the camp, where hygiene was poor and water and food were scarce. We also think about the biological damage done to members of his family at the time of the massacre and are reminded how humans often carry biological reminders of physically and emotionally traumatic situations. Joshua appears to have emotional resilience and good problem-solving skills, having had the discernment to run from the massacre with his baby sister, the fortitude to survive the perilous days while the family waited to be resettled in the United States, and the flexibility to adapt to a new life once he arrived in the United States. He was able to learn a new language and culture and plan for the future. Their Christian faith has been a source of comfort for him and his family as they adapted to a new environment.

If we focus on the environment, we see many influences on Joshua’s story. Consider first the physical environment. Joshua lived a comfortable life in the city of Uvira, where he spent his days in school and was able to be outside playing soccer after chores were done. From there, he took a short walk across the Burundi border to a crowded and primitive refugee camp where he has memories of being attacked by mosquitoes. After the massacre, he, his father, and his siblings lived where they could—in

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camps, hospitals, and other people’s homes. They were finally resettled in a city about the size of his original city of Uvira but where the climate was much colder. They were surrounded by mountains as they had been in Uvira. Joshua is once again able to be outside playing soccer.

Culture is a dimension of environment that exerts a powerful influence in Joshua’s story. Ethnic culture clash was a large part of the Congo civil war, and Joshua and his family were of the Banyamulenge ethnic group that had been targets for ongoing discrimination and exclusion since the colonial period. Such cultural conflict is not new; historical analysis suggests that intercultural violence has actually declined in recent times (Pinker, 2011), but it continues to be a source of great international upheaval and the driving force behind refugee resettlement. As is true in many parts of the world, ethnic conflict is intertwined in the Congo with control over a natural resource, in this case coltan, a metallic ore used in electronics such as computers and cell phones (McMichael, 2017).

Joshua’s story has been powerfully influenced by the geopolitical unrest that marked his young life in Africa. His relationships with social institutions have changed over time, and he has had to learn new rules based on his changing place in the social structure. Even though his country was engaged in civil war during much of his young life, it did not reach his city until he was 10 years old. Before that, his family lived in relative comfort and peace. His family was relieved to get to the United Nations refugee camp, but life there was hard, and ultimately the war followed them there, even though the camp was supposed to be protected by the Burundi government. Once they arrived in the United States, Joshua and his siblings were able to go to school again, to make their way economically, and to work toward citizenship in their adopted country.

Another dimension of the environment, family, is paramount to Joshua. He has suffered family loss and endured time when members of his family were separated before resettling in the United States. He has been lucky, however, to have his father and surviving siblings living nearby. Many refugee families end up spread across several continents, and that may be true for Joshua’s extended family. Joshua now has a wife to count as family.

Small groups, organizations, and communities have been important forces in Joshua’s life, but he has had little direct contact with social movements. His soccer teams are important small groups in the life he has created in

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Boise. He participates in small groups at church and in the African community in Boise. He is a member of the small staff group at the refugee resettlement agency.

Several organizations have been helpful to Joshua and his family since they fled Uvira. The refugee camp was an organization that brought initial safety but ultimately trauma and loss. Joshua’s association with other organizations has been much more positive; he did well in several school organizations and has returned to work for the refugee resettlement agency that sponsored his family and assisted them to make a successful resettlement. The African Christian church where his father is a minister is a source of close relationships, spiritual connectedness, and continuity with life in Uvira.

Joshua and his family have needed to adapt their behavior to live in three different types of communities. In Uvira, they were surrounded by extended family, long-term friends and neighbors, and a church community. In the crowded refugee camp, disease and despair were common, and Joshua was not able to go to school. That community was split, with some being targeted for massacre while others were not. Now he lives in a city in southwestern Idaho in proximity to other refugees from the DRC and worships with many of them.

We don’t know if Joshua is aware that the Gatumba Refugees Survivors Foundation (2018) has spearheaded a social movement to undertake inquiry about the Gatumba massacre, to return the Banyamulenge refugees to the DRC, and to develop memorial services for those who were killed and maimed in the massacre in cities across North America where the Banyamulenge refugees have resettled. We don’t know how Joshua would feel about the goal to repatriate the Banyamulenge refugees, given that he has been living in Boise since he was 13 years old and seems to have put down deep roots there. The Boise community of Banyamulenge refugees might appreciate a memorial service in Boise, however, as they heal from the trauma of that massacre.

Time is also an important part of Joshua’s story. His story, like all human stories, is influenced by the human capacity to live not only in the present time but also in past and future times. Escape, crowded camps, massacre, family loss and separation, and resettlement are past events in his family’s life and can be vividly recalled. There were times in the family’s life when they needed to focus on future possibilities with such questions as “Will

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our father get better?” and “Will we be granted refugee status, and if so when and where will we go?” This future thinking has had an enormous impact on the current circumstances of the family’s lives. In the interview for this case study, Joshua engaged in thinking about his past life in Uvira and the refugee camp, as well as the massacre event, but for the most part, he lives largely in the present while imagining possibilities for the future with his wife, siblings, and father.

Joshua’s story is also influenced by the historical times in which he has lived and is living. He has lived in a time of violent ethnic discord in his home country, and the civil strife continues in the DRC (Human Rights Watch, 2017). He is lucky to have lived in an era of international support for refugees, but in his personal life as well as his work at the refugee resettlement organization, he has seen hostility to refugees grow in the last political cycle. The times in which we live shape our behaviors in many ways.

Another way to think about the role of time in human behavior is to consider the way in which age, or life stage, influences behavior. Joshua notes that although learning English was difficult for him, it was much easier for him at age 13 than it was for his father and his older siblings. He finds this stage of his life, with school behind him and a new marriage, to be an exciting time with a future stretching out before him.

As suggested, social work has historically recognized human behavior as an interaction of person with environment, although the relative emphasis on different dimensions of person and environment has changed over time (see Kondrat, 2008). Today, a vast multidisciplinary literature is available to help us in our social work efforts. The good news is that the multifaceted nature of this literature provides a broad knowledge base for the varied settings and roles involved in social work practice. The bad news is that this literature is highly fragmented, scattered across a large number of fields. What we need is a structure for organizing our thinking about this multifaceted, multidisciplinary, fragmented literature.

The multidimensional approach provided in this book should help. This approach is built on the person–environment–time model described earlier. Although in this book we analyze specific dimensions of person and environment separately, including information on how our understanding of these dimensions has changed over time, keep in mind the earlier caution that dimension refers to a feature that can be focused on separately

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but cannot be understood without considering other features. The dimensions identified in this book were traditionally studied as detached or semidetached realities, with one dimension characterized as causing or leading to another. In recent years, however, behavioral science scholars have collaborated across disciplines, leading to exciting new ways of thinking about human behavior, which the contributing authors and I share with you. I emphasize again that I do not see the dimensions analyzed in this book as detached realities, and I am not presenting a causal model. I want instead to show how these dimensions work together, how they are interwoven with each other, and how many possibilities are opened for social work practice when we think about human behavior in a multidimensional way. I am suggesting that humans engage in multidetermined behavior, that is, behavior that develops as a result of many causes. As Sapolsky (2017, p. 8) says, “It is impossible to conclude that behavior is caused by a gene, a hormone, a childhood trauma”— because all these factors and many others interact in one individual to produce unique results—“you have to think complexly about complex things” like human behavior. Exhibit 1.1 is a graphic overview of the dimensions of person, environment, and time discussed in this book. Exhibit 1.2 defines and gives examples of each dimension.

Critical Thinking Questions 1.1

What courses have you taken that added to your understanding of human behavior? How does content from any of these courses help you to understand Joshua’s story and how a social worker might have been helpful to Joshua and his family at any time during their resettlement? Do you agree that the person and environment construct is still useful for social work? Explain your answer.

Exhibit 1.1 ● Person, Environment, and Time Dimensions

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Personal Dimensions Any story could be told from the perspective of any person in the story. The story at the beginning of this chapter is told from Joshua’s perspective, but it could have been told from the perspectives of a variety of other persons such as a member of a different ethnic group in the DRC, Joshua’s father or one of his siblings, a staff member at the Gatumba refugee camp, the family in Burundi who took Joshua and his baby sister in, or the case manager at the refugee resettlement agency. You will want to recognize the multiple perspectives held by different persons involved in the stories of which you become a part in your social work activities.

You also will want tools for thinking about the various dimensions of the persons involved in these stories. In recent years, social work scholars, like contemporary scholars in other disciplines, have taken a biopsychosocial approach that recognizes human behavior as the result of interactions of integrated biological, psychological, and social systems (see Melchert, 2013; Sameroff, 2010; Sapolsky, 2017). In this approach, psychology— personality, emotion, cognition, and sense of self—is seen as inseparable from biology. Emotions and cognitions affect the health of the body and are affected by it (Smith, Fortin, Dwamena, & Frankel, 2013). Neurobiologists are identifying the brain circuitry involved in thoughts and emotions (Davidson & Begley, 2012; Sapolsky, 2017). They are finding evidence that the human brain is wired for social life (Lieberman, 2013). They are also finding that the social environment has an impact on brain structure and processes and environments actually turn genes on and off. Environments influence biology, but the same environment acts on diverse

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genetic material (Hutchison, 2014). This can help us understand how some people survived and some did not before the massacre in the Gatumba refugee camp. Two people with the same genetic makeup and biological characteristics can have very different behavioral outcomes, and two people with very different genetic makeup and biological characteristics can have the same or similar behavioral outcomes. In addition, two people with the same or similar experiences with the environment can have very different behavioral outcomes, and two people with very different experiences with the environment can have the same or similar behavioral outcomes (Sameroff, 2010).

Exhibit 1.2 ● Definitions and Examples of Dimensions of Person, Environment, and Time Exhibit 1.2 ● Definitions and Examples of Dimensions of Person,

Environment, and Time

Dimension Definition Examples

Person

Biological The body’s biochemical, cell, organ, and physiological systems

Nervous system, endocrine system, immune system, cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system, reproductive system

Psychological The mind and the mentalprocesses

Cognitions (conscious thinking processes), emotion (feelings), self (identity)

Themes of morality; ethics; justice;

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Spiritual The aspect of the person that searches for meaning and purpose in life

interconnectedness; creativity; mystical states; prayer, meditation, and contemplation; relationships with a higher power

Environment

Physical The natural and human-built material aspects of the environment

Water, sun, trees, buildings, landscapes

Culture

A system of knowledge, beliefs, values, language, symbols, patterns of behavior, material objects, and institutions that are created, learned, shared, and contested by a group of people

Values, ideology, symbols, language, norms, subcultures, countercultures

Social structure and social institutions

Social structure: a set of interrelated social institutions developed by human beings to provide stability to society and order to individual lives Social institutions: stable, organized, patterned sets of roles, statuses, groups, and organizations that provide a basis for behavior in particular areas of social life

Social structure: social class Social institutions: government, economy, education, health care, social welfare, religion, mass media, and family

Dyads Two persons bound togetherin some way

Parent and child, romantic couple, social worker and client

A social group of two or more

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Families persons, characterized by ongoing interdependence with long-term commitments that stem from blood, law, or affection

Nuclear family, extended family, chosen family

Small groups

Two or more people who interact with each other because of shared interests, goals, experiences, and needs

Friendship group, self-help group, therapy group, committee, task group, interdisciplinary team

Formal organizations

Collectivities of people, with a high degree of formality of structure, working together to meet a goal or goals

Civic and social service organizations, business organizations, professional associations

Communities

People bound either by geography or by network links (webs of communication), sharing common ties, and interacting with one another

Territorial communities such as neighborhoods; relational communities such as the social work community, the disability community, a faith community, a soccer league

Social movements

Consciously organized and sustained attempts by ordinary people working outside of established

Civil rights movement, poor people’s movements, disability

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institutions to change some aspect of society

movement, gay rights movement, environmental justice movement

Time

Linear time Time in terms of a straightline Past, present, future

Historical era A discrete block of time inhuman history

Progressive Era, the Great Depression, 1960s

Chronological age

Age of a person measured in years, months, and days from the date the person was born; may also be described in terms of a stage of the human life course

Six months old (infancy), 15 years old (adolescence), 80 years old (late adulthood)

In recent years, social work scholars and those in the social and behavioral sciences and medicine have argued for greater attention to the spiritual dimension of persons as well (Pandya, 2016). Beginning in the late 20th century, a group of U.S. medical faculty and practitioners initiated a movement to reclaim medicine’s earlier spiritual roots, and content on spirituality and health is now incorporated into the curricula of over 75% of U.S. medical schools (Puchalski, Blatt, Kogan, & Butler, 2014). Developments in neuroscience have generated new explorations of the unity of the biological, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of the person. For example, recent research has focused on the ways that emotions and thoughts, as well as spiritual states, influence the immune system and some aspects of mental health (Davidson & Begley, 2012). One national longitudinal study examined the role of spirituality in physical and mental health after the collective trauma of the 9/11 attacks and found that high levels of spirituality were associated with fewer infectious ailments, more positive emotions, and more immediate processing of the traumatic event in the 3 years following the attacks (McIntosh, Poulin, Silver, & Holman, 2011). Spirituality and religious

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affiliation appear to be a source of resilience for Joshua, his family, and the Boise African community. In this book, we give substantial coverage to all three of these personal dimensions: biological, psychological, and spiritual.

Environmental Dimensions Social workers have always thought about the environment as multidimensional. As early as 1901, Mary Richmond (1917) presented a model of social work case coordination that took into account not only personal dimensions but also family, neighborhood, civic organizations, private charitable organizations, and public relief organizations. Several models for classifying dimensions of the environment have been proposed since Mary Richmond’s time. Social workers (see, e.g., Ashford, LeCroy, & Williams, 2018) have been influenced by Uri Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) ecological perspective, which identifies the five interdependent, nested categories or levels of systems presented in Exhibit 1.3. You might notice some similarities between Bronfenbrenner’s model and the one presented in Exhibit 1.1. By adding chronosystems in his later work, Bronfenbrenner was acknowledging the importance of time in person–environment transactions, but this book presents a more fluid, less hierarchical model of person and environment than presented by Bronfenbrenner. Some social work models have included the physical environment (natural and built environments) as a separate dimension (see Norton, 2009). There is growing evidence of the impact of the physical environment on human well-being and growing concern about environmental justice issues in the physical environment.

To have an up-to-date understanding of the multidimensional environment, I recommend that social workers have knowledge about the eight dimensions of environment described in Exhibit 1.2 and presented as chapters in this book: the physical environment, cultures, social structure and social institutions, families, small groups, formal organizations, communities, and social movements. We also need knowledge about dyadic relationships—those between two people, the most basic social relationship. Dyadic relationships receive attention throughout the book and are emphasized in Chapter 5, which focuses on the psychosocial person. Simultaneous consideration of multiple environmental dimensions provides new possibilities for action, perhaps even new or revised approaches to social work practice.

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Exhibit 1.3 ● Five Categories or Levels of Systems as Presented by Uri Bronfenbrenner

Source: Adapted from Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 2006.

These dimensions are neither mutually exclusive nor hierarchically ordered. For example, family is sometimes referred to as a social institution, families can also be considered small groups or dyads, and family theorists write about family culture. Remember, dimensions are useful ways of thinking about person–environment configurations, but we should not think of them as detached realities.

Time Dimensions

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When I was a doctoral student in a social work practice course, Professor Max Siporin began his discussion of social work assessment with this comment: “The date is the most important information on a written social work assessment.” This was Siporin’s way of acknowledging the importance of time in human behavior, of recognizing the ever-changing nature of both person and environment. The importance of time in human behavior is reflected in the 2006 finding that time is the most commonly used noun in print in the English language; person is the second most common (BBC News, 2006).

There are many ways to think about time. Physics is generally seen as the lead discipline for studying time, and quantum physics has challenged much about the way we think about time. Various aspects of time are examined by other disciplines as well, and there are a number of different ways to think about time. In this book and the companion volume Dimensions of Human Behavior: The Changing Life Course, we examine three dimensions of time that have been studied by behavioral scientists as important to the understanding of human behavior: linear time, historical era, and chronological age.

Linear time—time ordered like a straight line from the past through the present and into the future—is the most common way that humans think about time. Although it is known that people in some cultures and groups think of time as stationary rather than moving (Boroditsky, Fuhrman, & McCormick, 2011), contemporary behavioral science researchers are interested in what they call “mental time travel,” the human ability to remember events from the past and to imagine and plan for the future (Eacott & Easton, 2012). The research on mental time travel has focused on the conscious processes of reminiscence and anticipation, but there is also considerable evidence that past events are stored as unconscious material in the brain and the body and show up in our thoughts and emotions (see Davidson & Begley, 2012; Sapolsky, 2017). Traces of past events also exist in the natural and built environments, for example, in centuries-old buildings or in piles of debris following a hurricane or tornado.

Sapolsky (2017) uses the perspective of linear time to demonstrate how different dimensions of person and environment influence a specific behavior. When a behavior occurs, we can think about the multiple influences on that behavior in the context of time:

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1. A second before the behavior: What went on in the person’s brain a second before the behavior?

2. Seconds to minutes before the behavior: What sensory input reached the brain?

3. Hours to days before the behavior: What hormones acted hours to days earlier to change how responsive the person was to particular sensory stimuli?

4. Days to months before the behavior: What features of the environment in the days and months before the behavior changed the structure and function of the person’s brain and thus changed how it responded to hormones and environmental stimuli?

5. Early development: What genetic codes were created at the time of conception, and what elements of the fetal and early childhood environment shaped the structure and function of the brain and body and affected gene expression?

6. Centuries to millennia before the behavior: How has culture shaped the behavior of people living in that individual’s group? What ecological factors, including the physical environment, helped shape that culture?

Linear time is measured by clocks and calendars. When I think of time, I tend to think of clocks, calendars, and appointments. And I often seem to be racing against time, allowing the clock to tell me when an event should begin and end. This is the way most people in affluent countries with market economies think of time. This approach to time has been called clock time (Zimbardo & Boyd, 2008). However, this approach to time is a relatively new invention, and many people in the contemporary world have a very different approach to time. In nonindustrialized countries, and in subcultures within industrialized countries, people operate on event time, allowing scheduling to be determined by events. For example, in agricultural societies, the most successful farmers are those who can be responsive to natural events—sunrise and sunset, rain, drought, temperature—rather than to scheduled events (Zimbardo & Boyd, 2008). That is the way my grandfather lived in rural Tennessee.

Photo 1.1 Three dimensions of human behavior are captured in this photo—person, environment, and time.

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© John Foxx/ Stockbyte/ Thinkstock

Clock time cultures often use the concept of time orientation to describe the extent to which individuals and collectivities are invested in the three temporal zones—past, present, and future. Research indicates that cultures differ in their time orientation. In most cultures, however, some situations call for us to be totally immersed in the present, others call for historical understanding of the past and its impact on the present, and still others call for attention to future consequences and possibilities. Psychologists Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd (2008) have been studying time orientation for more than 30 years and have identified the six most common time perspectives held in the Western world:

the past-positive: invested in the past, focused on its positive aspects past-negative: invested in the past, focused on its negative aspects present-hedonistic: invested in the present and getting as much pleasure as possible from it present-fatalistic: invested in the present, sees life as controlled by fate future: invested in the future, organizes life around goals transcendental-future: invested in the future, focuses on new time after death

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Zimbardo and Boyd’s research using the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) in a number of Western societies indicates that human well-being is maximized when people in these societies live with a balance of past-positive, present-hedonistic, and future perspectives. People with biases toward past-negative and present-fatalistic perspectives are at greater risk of developing physical and mental health problems. Zimbardo and Boyd’s (2008) book The Time Paradox suggests ways to become more past-positive, present, and future oriented to develop a more balanced time orientation. You might want to visit www.thetimeparadox.com and complete the ZTPI to investigate your own time orientation.

Photo 1.2 Time is one of the three elements outlined in this text for studying human behavior. It recognizes that people and environments are ever changing, dynamic, and flowing.

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http://www.thetimeparadox.com
© Comstock/Thinkstock

Zimbardo and Boyd have carried out their research in Western societies

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and acknowledge that the ZTPI may not accurately reflect time orientation in other societies. They make particular note that their description of present-hedonistic and present-fatalistic does not adequately capture the way Eastern religions think about the present. Recently, Western behavioral scientists have begun to incorporate Eastern mindfulness practices of being more fully present in the current moment (present orientation) to help people buffer the persistent stresses of clock time and goal monitoring (future orientation) (Davidson & Begley, 2012). Research also indicates age-related differences in time orientation, with older adults tending to be more past oriented than younger age groups (Yeung, Fung, & Kam, 2012). Women have been found to be more future oriented and men more present oriented (Zimbardo & Boyd, 2008). Researchers have found that trauma survivors who experienced the most severe loss are more likely than other trauma survivors to be highly oriented to the past (see Zimbardo, Sword, & Sword, 2012). Zimbardo and colleagues (Zimbardo & Boyd, 2008; Zimbardo et al., 2012) suggest that trauma survivors may need assistance to think in different ways about past trauma and to enhance their capacity for past-positive, present, and future thinking. With this goal in mind, they have developed what they call time perspective therapy for working with people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Sword, Sword, Brunskill, & Zimbardo, 2014). This approach might be useful to some members of the refugee community of which Joshua is a part. It is something to keep in mind when we interact with refugees, military men and women who have served in war zones, and other groups who have an increased likelihood of having a history of trauma. It is also important for social workers to be aware of the meaning of time for the individuals and communities they serve.

Two other dimensions of time have been identified as important to the understanding of human behavior. Both dimensions are aspects of linear time but have been separated out for special study by behavioral scientists. The first, historical era, refers to the specific block or period of time in which individual and collective lives are enacted. The historical era in which we live shapes our environments. The economies, physical environments, institutions, technologies, and geopolitical circumstances of a specific era provide both options for and constraints on human behavior. We can see what impact the historical era in which Joshua spent his childhood has had on his life trajectory. In an earlier time, he might have continued to live peacefully in Uvira. How would his life have been different or the same? The second time dimension, chronological age,

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seems to be an important variable in every society. How people change at different ages and life stages as they pass from birth to death has been one of the most enduring ways of studying both individual and collective behavior. Historical era is examined throughout this book and its companion book The Changing Life Course, and chronological age is the organizing framework for The Changing Life Course.

Critical Thinking Questions 1.2

How would our understanding of Joshua’s story change if we had no knowledge of his prior life experiences in the DRC and the Gatumba refugee camp—if we only assessed his situation based on his current functioning? What personal and environmental dimensions would we note in his current functioning?

Diversity, Inequality, and the Pursuit of Justice: A Global Perspective The Council on Social Work Education requires that social work educational programs provide a global perspective to their students. I think this is a great idea, but what exactly does it mean, and why is it valued? We are increasingly aware that we are part of an interconnected world, and Joshua’s story is one reminder of this. But just how connected are we? In her book Beyond Borders: Thinking About Global Issues, Paula Rothenberg (2006) wrote, “A not so funny, but perhaps sadly true, joke going around claims that people in the United States learn geography by going to war” (p. xv). Certainly, we learned something about the maps of Afghanistan and Iraq in the past 2 decades, but what do we know about the map of the DRC? A global perspective involves much more than geography, however. Here are some aspects of what it means to take a global perspective:

To be aware that my view of the world is not universally shared, and others may have a view of the world that is profoundly different from mine To have a growing awareness of the diversity of ideas and cultural practices found in human societies around the world To be curious about conditions in other parts of the world and how they relate to conditions in our own society

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To understand where I fit in the global social structure and social institutions To have a growing awareness of how people in other societies view my society To have a growing understanding of how the world works, with special attention to systems and mechanisms of inequality and oppression around the world

We have always been connected to other peoples of the world, but those connections are being intensified by globalization, a process by which the world’s people are becoming more interconnected economically, politically, environmentally, and culturally. It is a process of increased connectedness and interdependence that began at least 5 centuries ago but has intensified in recent times and is affecting people around the world (C. Mann, 2011). This increasing connectedness is, of course, aided by rapid advancements in communication technology. There is much debate about whether globalization is a good thing or a bad thing, a conversation that is picked up in Chapter 9 as we consider the globalization of social institutions. What is important to note here is that globalization is increasing our experiences with social diversity and raising new questions about inequality, human rights, and social justice.

Diversity In its statement of social work competencies, the CSWE (2015) identifies Competency 2: Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice. The description of this competency states that “social workers understand how diversity and difference characterize and shape the human experience and are critical to the formation of identity. The dimensions of diversity are understood as the intersectionality of multiple factors including but not limited to age, class, color, culture, disability and ability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigrant status, marital status, political ideology, race, religion/spirituality, sex, sexual orientation, and tribal sovereign status” (p. 7). To understand who Joshua is we would want to think of him in relation to many of these factors.

Diversity has always been a part of the social reality in the United States. Even before the Europeans came, the Indigenous people were divided into about 200 distinct societies with about 200 different languages (Parrillo, 2009). Since the inception of the United States of America, many waves of

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immigration have established the multiethnic, multicultural character of the country. We value our nation’s immigrant heritage and take pride in the ideals of equality of opportunity for all who come. However, there have always been tensions about how we as a nation handle diversity. Are we a melting pot where all are melted into one indistinguishable model of citizenship, or are we a pluralist society in which groups have separate identities, cultures, and ways of organizing but work together in mutual respect? Pioneer social worker Jane Addams (1910) was a prominent voice for pluralism during the early 20th century, and that stance is consistent with social work’s concern for human rights.

Even though diversity has always been present in the United States, it is accurate to say that some of the diversity in our national social life is new. Clearly, there is increasing racial, ethnic, and religious diversity in the United States, and the mix in the population stream has become much more complex in recent years (Parrillo, 2009). The United States was 87% White in 1925, 80% White in 1950, and 72% White in 2000; by 2050, it is projected that we will be about 47% White (Taylor & Cohn, 2012). It is important to note, as you will read in Chapter 8, Cultures, that the meaning of White has been and continues to be a moving target in the United States. But why is this demographic change happening at this time? A major driving force is the demographic reality that native-born people are no longer reproducing at replacement level in the wealthy postindustrial nations, which, if it continues, will lead to a declining population skewed toward advanced age. One solution used by some countries, including the United States, is to change immigration policy to allow new streams of immigration. The current rate of foreign-born persons in the United States is lower than it has been throughout most of the past 150 years, but foreign-born persons are less likely to be White than when immigration policy, prior to 1965, strictly limited entry for persons of color. With the recent influx of immigrants from around the globe, the United States has become one of many ethnically and racially diverse nations in the world today. In many wealthy postindustrial countries, including the United States, there is much anti-immigrant sentiment, even though the economies of these countries are dependent on such migration. Waves of immigration have historically been accompanied by anti-immigrant sentiment. There appear to be many reasons for anti-immigrant sentiment, including fear that new immigrants will dilute the “purity” of the native culture, racial and religious bias, and fear of economic competition. Like other diverse societies, we must find ways to embrace the diversity and seize the

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opportunity to demonstrate the human capacity for intergroup harmony.

On the other hand, some of the diversity in our social life is not new but simply newly recognized. In the contemporary era, we have been developing a heightened consciousness of human differences—gender and gender identity differences, racial and ethnic differences, cultural differences, religious differences, differences in sexual orientation, differences in abilities and disabilities, differences in family forms, and so on. This book intends to capture the diversity of human experience in a manner that is respectful of all groups, conveys the positive value of human diversity, and recognizes differences within groups as well as among groups.

As we seek to honor differences, we make a distinction between heterogeneity and diversity. We use heterogeneity to refer to individual- level variations—differences among individuals. For example, as a social worker who came in contact with Joshua’s family at the time they were resettled in Boise, you would want to recognize the ways in which they are different from you and from other clients you serve, including other clients of Banyamulenge heritage. An understanding of heterogeneity allows us to recognize the uniqueness of each person and situation. Diversity, on the other hand, is used to refer to patterns of group differences. Diversity recognizes social groups, groups of people who share a range of physical, cultural, or social characteristics within a category of social identity. As a social worker, besides recognizing individual differences, you will also want to be aware of the diversity in your community, such as the distribution of various ethnic groups, including those of Banyamulenge heritage. Knowledge of diversity helps us to provide culturally sensitive services.

I want to interject a word here about terminology and human diversity. As the contributing authors and I attempted to uncover what is known about human diversity, we struggled with terminology to define identity groups. We searched for consistent language to describe different groups, and we were dedicated to using language that identity groups would use to describe themselves. However, we ran into challenges endemic to our time related to the language of diversity. It is not the case, as you have probably observed, that all members of a given identity group at any given time embrace the same terminology for their group. As we reviewed literature from different historical moments, we recognized the shifting nature of

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terminology. In addition, even within a given historical era, we found that different researchers used different terms and had different decision rules about who composes the membership of identity groups. Add to this the changing way that the U.S. Census Bureau establishes official categories of people, and in the end, we did not settle on fixed terminology to consistently describe identity groups. Rather, we use the language of individual researchers when reporting their work, because we want to avoid distorting their work. We hope you will not find this too distracting. We also hope that you will recognize that the ever-changing language of diversity has both constructive potential to find creative ways to affirm diversity and destructive potential to dichotomize diversity into the norm and the other.

Inequality Attending to diversity involves recognition of the power relations and the patterns of opportunities and constraints for social groups. If we are interested in the Banyamulenge community in our city, for example, we will want to note, among other things, the neighborhoods where they live, the access to community resources and quality of the housing stock in those neighborhoods, the comparative educational attainment in the community, the occupational profile of the community, the comparative income levels, and so on. When we attend to diversity, we not only note the differences between groups but also how socially constructed hierarchies of power are superimposed on these differences.

Recent U.S. scholarship in the social sciences has emphasized the ways in which three types of categorizations—gender, race, and class—are used to develop hierarchical social structures that influence social identities and life chances (Rothenberg, 2016; Sernau, 2017). This literature suggests that these social categorizations create privilege, or unearned advantage, for some groups and disadvantage for other groups. In a much-cited article, Peggy McIntosh (2016) has pointed out the mundane daily advantages of White privilege that are not available to members of groups of color, such as assurances “that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race,” and “Whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.” We could also generate lists of advantages of male privilege, age privilege, economic privilege, heterosexual privilege, ability privilege, Christian privilege, and so on.

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McIntosh argues that members of privileged groups benefit from their privilege but have not been taught to think of themselves as privileged. They take for granted that their advantages are normal and universal and are often resistant to attempts to point out the privilege of their social locations. For survival, members of nonprivileged groups must learn a lot about the lives of groups with privilege, but groups with privileged status are not similarly compelled to learn about the lives of members of nonprivileged groups.

Michael Schwalbe (2006) argues that those of us who live in the United States also carry “American privilege,” which comes from our dominant position in the world. (I would prefer to call this “U.S. privilege,” because people living in Canada, Ecuador, and Brazil also live in America.) According to Schwalbe, among other things, American privilege means that we don’t have to bother to learn about other countries or about the impact of our foreign policy on people living in those countries. For example, we don’t have to learn about how our society’s romance with computers and cell phones helps to drive conflict over the natural resource of coltan in the Congo. Perhaps that is what Rothenberg (2006) was thinking of when she noted ignorance of world geography among people who live in the United States. American privilege also means that we have access to cheap goods that are produced by poorly paid workers in impoverished countries. As Chapter 9 shows, the income and wealth gap between nations is mind-boggling. Sernau (2017) reports that the combined income of the 25 richest Americans is almost equal to the combined income of the world’s poorest 2 billion people. In 2016, the average per capita income in the DRC was $6,700 in U.S. dollars, compared with $57,400 in the United States (Central Intelligence Agency, 2017a). Economic conditions in the DRC have been hurt by continuous war for many years. It is becoming increasingly difficult to deny the costs of exercising American privilege by remaining ignorant about the rest of the world and the impact our actions have on other nations.

As we strive to provide a global context, we encounter current controversies about appropriate language to describe different sectors of the world. Following World War II, a distinction was made between First World, Second World, and Third World nations, with First World referring to the Western capitalist nations, Second World referring to the countries belonging to the socialist bloc led by the Soviet Union, and Third World referring to a set of countries that were primarily former colonies of

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the First World. More recently, many scholars have used the language of First World, Second World, and Third World to define global sectors in a slightly different way. First World has been used to describe the nations that were the first to industrialize, urbanize, and modernize. Second World has been used to describe nations that have industrialized but have not yet become central to the world economy. Third World has been used to refer to nonindustrialized nations that are considered expendable in the global economy. This approach has lost favor in recent years because it is thought to suggest some ranking of the value of the world’s societies. Immanuel Wallerstein (1974, 1979) uses different language but makes a similar distinction; he refers to wealthy core countries, newly industrialized semiperiphery countries, and the poorest periphery countries. Wallerstein is looking not to rank the value of societies but to emphasize the ways that some societies (core) exploit other societies (periphery). Other writers divide the world into developed and developing countries (McMichael, 2017), referring to the level of industrialization, urbanization, and modernization. Although scholars who use those terms are not necessarily using them to rank the value of different societies, the terms are sometimes used that way. Still other scholars divide the world into the Global North and the Global South, calling attention to a history in which the Global North colonized and exploited the people and resources of the Global South. This system of categorization focuses specifically on how some societies exploit other societies. And, finally, some writers talk about the West versus the East, where the distinctions are largely cultural. We recognize that such categories carry great symbolic meaning and can either mask or expose systems of power and exploitation. As with diversity, we attempted to find a respectful language that could be used consistently throughout the book. Again, we found that different researchers have used different language and different characteristics to describe categories of nations, and when reporting on their findings, we have used their own language to avoid misrepresenting their findings.

It is important to note that privilege and disadvantage are multidimensional, not one-dimensional. One can be privileged in one dimension and disadvantaged in another; for example, I have White privilege but not gender privilege. As social workers, we need to be attuned to our own social locations—where we fit in a system of social identities, such as race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, social class, sexual orientation, religion, ability/disability, age, and citizenship. We must recognize how our own particular social locations shape how we see

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the world, what we notice, and how we interpret what we “see.”

It is important for social workers to acknowledge social inequalities because our interactions are constantly affected by inequalities of various types. In addition, there is clear evidence that social inequalities are on the rise in the United States. Although income inequality has been growing in all of the wealthy nations of the world over the past 2 decades, the United States gained the distinction as the most unequal wealthy nation in this period, and the gap has continued to widen since the deep economic crisis that began in 2008 (Sernau, 2017).

Advancing Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice There is another important reason why social workers must acknowledge social inequalities. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics identifies social justice as one of six core values of social work and mandates that “Social workers challenge social injustice” (NASW, 2017). The third social work competency identified by the CSWE (2015) is to “Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice” (p. 7). The statement of this competency specifies that every person has “fundamental rights such as freedom, safety, privacy, an adequate standard of living, health care, and education” (p. 7). To challenge injustice, we must first recognize it and understand the ways it is embedded in a number of societal institutions. That is the subject of Chapter 9 in this book.