Social Ecological Model
Social Ecological Model The Social Ecological Model is the network of interactions between an individual and the influences around them. According to Walsh (2003), resilience and risk are influenced by individuals, families, and social systems, which results in problems such as a family’s vulnerability to stressful experiences and social perspectives (p. 3). While in some instances, a family’s social ecological influences can have an adverse effect on resilience, Ungar (2013), argues that research shows that a family’s social ecology has the ability to provide resources that are culturally significant (p. 256). Social ecology is an important factor that not only helps to explain the phenomenon of homeless veterans, but also how service providers
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Veterans are built by stripping away prior worldviews to develop a common worldview among service members. This training can cause confusion among homeless veterans as they try to differentiate between their own beliefs and the beliefs they adopted in the service. In addition to the confusion between two worldviews, the attitudes and feelings of a homeless veteran are coupled with the attitudes and feelings brought about by mental and physical disabilities such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injuries. According to Ungar (2013), social ecology is responsible for limiting or redeeming an individual’s choice regarding coping strategies that can result in either prosocial performance or obsessive adaptation (p. 256). For service providers, it is important to understand the social ecology of homeless veterans in order to define the interactions that lead to positive change and the interactions that have led to negative outcomes. For example, if a service provider identifies a homeless veteran’s negative outcomes is a direct result to a mental illness, the service provider may develop a strategic stability plan with the veteran to overcome that limiting mental interaction. While this intervention alone will not lead to housing stability in permanent supportive housing, it will set the foundation for other, equally effective interventions in the
Veterans are built by stripping away prior worldviews to develop a common worldview among service members. This training can cause confusion among homeless veterans as they try to differentiate between their own beliefs and the beliefs they adopted in the service. In addition to the confusion between two worldviews, the attitudes and feelings of a homeless veteran are coupled with the attitudes and feelings brought about by mental and physical disabilities such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injuries. According to Ungar (2013), social ecology is responsible for limiting or redeeming an individual’s choice regarding coping strategies that can result in either prosocial performance or obsessive adaptation (p. 256). For service providers, it is important to understand the social ecology of homeless veterans in order to define the interactions that lead to positive change and the interactions that have led to negative outcomes. For example, if a service provider identifies a homeless veteran’s negative outcomes is a direct result to a mental illness, the service provider may develop a strategic stability plan with the veteran to overcome that limiting mental interaction. While this intervention alone will not lead to housing stability in permanent supportive housing, it will set the foundation for other, equally effective interventions in the