Use developmental/ecological theory to address a psychosocial problem.

1. Problem description: Identify a psychosocial problem, e.g., a phenomenon of psychosocial pain or distress, experienced in a particular population group, in particular individuals, or in families. Based on 5-10 background readings, articles, interviews, etc., discuss the problem's scope, severity, ramifications, and current intervention strategies. As you do research you may well find yourselves needing to narrow your problem down to a specific population, age group, individual, or community. This is, you may find yourself narrowing down to a "case group" from a very broad swath of the population (e.g., "early teen mothers raising children" narrowed down from "teen parents").

2. Mastery of theory: Identify either Erikson's life-cycle theory of psychosocial development or Bronfenbrenner's theory of ecological development as your primary basis for understanding your chosen problem. Demonstrate mastery of this theory's principles and premises. Describe the theory in your own words, showing the instructor that you understand what it says, what it attempts to explain, what its central elements are (as discussed in class and in assigned readings), and what it tells us about human behavior and the social environment.

3. Theory-based problem analysis: Discuss the psychosocial problem in terms of your chosen primary theory. Look at your chosen problem through the unique lens provided by your chosen theory, integrating Sections 1) and 2), above. This integration is the essential foundation on which the group will build your intervention. Toward what issues about your problem does the theory direct your attention? How does this theory help you understand or explain the problem? Its development? Its perpetuation? Its impact and ramifications?

4. Theory-based intervention: Use your theory-based problem analysis (the section 3)) to design a theory-based intervention that will help address your identified problem. Make sure that your intervention is in keeping with social work values. Make clear the developmental/ecological rationale for the intervention as a whole. Describe the intervention in terms of target clients, goals of the intervention, specific details of intervention and its implementation strategy, and theoretical underpinnings of all details. Based on theory, what is each element of the intervention designed to accomplish? This section is the heart of your paper. It should be the weightiest section, both in terms of substance and (probably) also in terms of length.

5. Discuss, in writing, the process of doing this project. This section should include discussion of project progress over the course of intermediate assignments. Include in your process discussion a description of the technologies (both high and low) you used, and the strengths and weaknesses, for you, of these technologies. Also include in your own strengths and weaknesses in writing this paper.