Instructions for this assignment

By now, you should have read the assigned chapter from the text, while referring the chapter lecture notes (.pdf). Please refer to the course schedule for specific assigned readings. You will now complete the following assignments and participate in the discussion activities. Specific instructions for this assignment are on the following page.

Chapter 3 NOTES

(Refer to these notes to complete the assignment on the following page)

Six principles of Multicausality:

1. In dealing with social problems, we can never establish causality with any solid degree of certainty

a. For example, a child who does poorly in class could be because of a genuine inability to understand the work and the child needs more instruction, or it is because the work is too easy and the child is bored and ready to move on

1. There is rarely one simple cause of a problem

a. Pop culture encourages people to blame their problems on a single event in their lives-the "one cataclysmic event" theory of social causation

b. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

1. Human service problems are the result of many intertwined personal pressure and social forces

a. Personal pressure/ Internal pressure

i. Inner psychological pressures

b. Social forces/ External pressure

i. Exerted by social institutions and world events

c. Figure 3.1: Possible causes of child abuse

1. Some causes of social problems are deeply rooted, and others are secondary problems or symptoms of a deeper problem

a. After we look at the many causes that lie behind a human service problem, we must try to rank them in some order of priority

b. We focus our efforts for change on the causes that might have the most powerful impact

c. Root causes-the reasons behind the reasons

1. Although many people appear to have same problem, they may have it for a different set of reasons

a. Each of the causal factors is filtered through the screen of the person's unique personality and habitual way of coping

b. There are NO two identical psychological profiles

c. The impact that sex, race, and physical abilities and disabilities will have on a specific child's future life will be mediated by his or her family, culture, neighborhood, and other significant events and groups

d. Figure 3.2 shows a multilayered maze that illustrates the many forces shaping our attitudes and actions

1. Even when people encounter similar experiences, they do not necessarily react in similar ways

a. Example of siblings who are so different

b. Example of siblings who are so similar

Figure 3.1 Multiple Causes of Child Abuse

INTRO TO SOCIAL SERVICES

SOCI 2232

Chapter 3

ASSIGNMENT

Understanding Multicausality

1. Choose one human service problem. It might be the lack of affordable housing, poor schools, date rape, divorce, discrimination based on race, religion, disability, or sexual orientation.

2. This pie is divided into approximately eight wedges. Fill each in with a possible cause for the social problem that has been chosen (use the numbered list on the following page to identify each possible cause).

a. Make sure to include both internal (psychological) pressures and external (exerted by social institutions and world events) pressures.

b. Always leave one or more wedges of the circle empty to represent, for now, unknown causes

1. Be prepared to discuss in Wimba: the reasons cited for the problem.

a. Can the other students think of causes that have been overlooked?

b. To what extent do the students agree or disagree with the causal factors chosen?