Social work theories provide practitioners with structured frameworks for interpreting complex family dynamics, assessing risk, and designing interventions that are grounded in evidence rather than intuition alone — and understanding which theory to apply in a given context is among the most demanding intellectual tasks a qualified social worker faces. The profession’s regulatory landscape shapes how these theories are selected and applied across different national settings. Social work as a practice was not defined as a profession until the early 20th century; even in other countries there are different ideas as to what a social worker is, for example in some developing countries what the United Kingdom classifies as a youth worker is regarded as a social worker. In England a probation officer does not need to be a qualified social worker whereas in Scotland it is necessary for the individual to be qualified. In Scotland social workers are registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and must abide by their professional code of conduct, which is important as a national guideline due to social work being such a diverse area. It is important for social work to abide by these guidelines but also to use theories that are of relevance to inform their practice.
Social work theory throughout the years has continued to be an important part of social work practice. The purpose of this assignment is to critically discuss and analyse the relevance of two of these theories in practice using the O’Donnell family. The two theories this assignment will examine are the attachment theory and Erikson’s eight stages of man, alongside anti-oppressive practice. It is important to look at these different types of theories as they are all important dynamics that are necessary for social workers to understand the society, individuals and the politically and socially influenced world in which they have to work. Selecting two or more complementary theories rather than relying on a single framework allows the practitioner to approach assessment from multiple perspectives, reducing the risk of overlooking critical factors in a family’s situation.
An example of a mid-range theory is the theory of attachment; the first comprehensive account of attachment was written by John Bowlby, who believed that the attachment between mother and infant was foundational to the child’s future emotional and social development. Bowlby also identified four characteristics of attachment: proximity management, safe haven, secure base and separation distress. If a child suffers separation from their primary carer then this may manifest into social problems later in life; however, if the child has unpredictable contact with their mother, insecure attachment is likely to develop. Bowlby later examined attachment across different ages and stages of development, exploring how loss of or separation from a significant attachment figure affects the individual throughout life. It has been identified that attachment behaviour is biologically inbuilt, in that it can be triggered when a child feels scared or frightened. If a child feels loved and valued by their primary caregiver, it is highly likely that the child will develop a good level of self-esteem and may become more confident and independent in later life due to a feeling of belonging and acceptance. However, should a child feel rejected or neglected by their primary caregiver, they are likely to feel unwanted and unlovable. The positive example of attachment would allow the child to develop a trusting bond which would not be the case with the negative attachment example. This connects to Erikson’s eight stages of man; during the infant stage of psychosocial development, the child takes one of two paths depending on the care they receive — trust versus mistrust is established. Hoffman et al. (2019) found in a longitudinal study of 125 families that the quality of early caregiver-child attachment significantly predicted adolescent emotional regulation capacity, reinforcing why attachment theory remains central to contemporary child protection assessment frameworks.
This theory of attachment was developed further by Mary Ainsworth in the 1970s in her study “Strange Situations,” based on observing children aged twelve to eighteen months; she described three types of attachment that she discovered during her studies: secure, ambivalent and avoidant attachment. Secure attachment is seen as the most preferred and beneficial to a child’s positive development; the care given by the primary caregiver would be attentive and provide a solid base for the child to progress emotionally, socially and intellectually. Ambivalent attachment tends to occur when the primary carer is unreliable and unstable, which would be classed as emotional neglect that may leave the child unsure of their place within the family, potentially resulting in distressing or anxious behaviour. Children who experience this form of insecure attachment may become highly attention-seeking as they attempt to gain a level of focus from those around them that they do not receive at home. A child who is a victim of avoidant attachment would perhaps be less likely to show their true feelings or discuss them, as they are afraid of being abandoned by those they are close to. The child’s muted emotional response would possibly be because the primary caregiver in these cases tends to show more care and attention when the child is content but withdraws when the child shows visible signs of distress or need. In some cases, children exposed to avoidant caregivers may turn to substances such as drugs or alcohol as maladaptive coping mechanisms for managing their fear of rejection.
This attachment framework was extended further by Main and Solomon in the 1980s; they outlined a fourth attachment type called disorganised or insecure attachment, in which the child’s primary caregiver is a source of both fear and comfort, creating contradictory signals that the child cannot resolve. Children subject to these inconsistent behavioural patterns tend to fear the loss of attention even as they experience the distress of unpredictable care, making stable self-regulation particularly difficult to develop. The identification of disorganised attachment has proven especially relevant to child protection social workers, as it correlates more strongly than other attachment types with later emotional and behavioural difficulties.
A child who has been unable to develop a secure attachment, for example through abuse, fostering or adoption, is more likely to experience difficulties in future relationships with others or suffer emotional dysregulation across the life course.
Attachment theory has been used in social work to support children and families and has more recently become part of mental health practice. It is important to acknowledge in social work how a person’s past in terms of the family unit they were brought up in and the level of care they received can affect them in the present; it is also important to consider how an individual’s past experiences can affect their own parenting capacity. However, it is equally important for social workers to draw on additional theories to help inform their practice rather than focusing exclusively on a single framework. Attachment theory is also a past-orientated theory, in that it looks at how the past shapes the present, which means it should be complemented with forward-looking approaches that identify protective factors and future-oriented goals.
In relation to the O’Donnell family, Kate would appear to have been a victim of avoidant attachment due to being left by her mother and taken into care at an early age. Because of her past she may be fearful of her children rejecting her, as her self-esteem would have been affected by repeated experiences of being in and out of care homes. This difficulty in forming meaningful attachments may also have contributed to her being a lone parent; and Kate appears to be repeating a pattern with her own children, as they are developing a meaningful attachment with her friend Frances. It is also significantly appropriate to examine how this is affecting Kate’s children and how this may manifest later if intervention is not made by social workers to bring a closer bond to the primary carer.
A further mid-range theory that was touched upon in a previous passage was established by psychosocial psychologist Erik Erikson. Erikson’s theory was loosely grounded in Freud’s earlier works; however, it was developed into what is called Erikson’s Eight Stages of Man. According to Erikson, at certain ages throughout a person’s life they will follow one of two developmental paths, though it is necessary for those using this theory to recognise that it is not simply a binary outcome. The eight stages are: Trust versus Mistrust; Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt; Initiative versus Guilt; Industry versus Inferiority; Identity versus Identity Confusion; Intimacy versus Isolation; Generativity versus Self-Absorption; and finally Integrity versus Despair. The first stage takes place in infancy, when a child is most vulnerable as they rely entirely on their caregivers. If the child comes to know that they can rely on their primary caregiver, they will develop trust; if the caregiver is ignored or unreliable, the child develops mistrust. Each of these stages has an impact on the next stage of development, making it important that the child passes through each stage with more positive than negative emotional experiences. Luyckx et al. (2020) observed in a longitudinal study spanning early adolescence to emerging adulthood that Erikson’s stage of identity versus role confusion remains empirically robust, with identity consolidation in adolescence predicting psychological well-being and relational competence in adulthood.
In stage five, identity versus role confusion, which takes place in adolescence generally between the ages of twelve and twenty, an up-and-coming adult is most likely to be at the peak of peer pressure and will be discovering who they are both as a person and in terms of sexual identity. This can be a very hard time for individuals, but with a good developmental base they will be likely to find who they are with greater ease. Erikson’s eight stages of man have been criticised on the grounds that the theory was based predominantly on studies of men, that it can be seen as a rigid framework, and that it does not adequately account for individual factors such as learning disability, neurodevelopmental conditions, or the impact of systemic social inequalities. Although this criticism should be kept in mind, Erikson’s stages can nonetheless serve as a useful indicative guideline for social work assessment.
Although Erikson’s model may appear very black and white, it is important to remember that during each stage of development a degree of negative experience is actually healthy. For example, a small measure of mistrust is necessary, as completely naive trust would eventually result in an individual placing themselves in danger. Trust versus Mistrust takes place during infancy; the developmental route the infant’s personality takes depends on the parent providing those needs the infant cannot satisfy itself. If a mother neglects her child, the infant will not develop basic trust and will take a negative step on the psychosocial scale. Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt takes place during early childhood, starting in a child’s second year of life; this is when a toddler tries to become an individual. If the child’s vulnerability does not receive the necessary support from caregivers, they will develop a sense of shame and doubt. Initiative versus Guilt takes place during childhood, normally between the ages of four and five, where a child tries to establish their own boundaries as they attempt to form their identity.
In stage four, Industry versus Inferiority, taking place up until puberty, this is when a child seeks recognition for their achievements, for example at school for completing a project. If they do not receive this desired recognition and sense of achievement, they may develop feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. Parents still play an important role at this stage, though as it takes place primarily in school, teachers are also significant. Stage five, identity versus identity confusion, takes place during adolescence as the individual attempts to find a sense of self. Stage six, intimacy versus isolation, is the first stage to take place during adulthood; intimacy with other human beings can only be achieved when identity has been established. The intimacy can be with a friend or a romantic partner and involves the merging of self with others. Without this intimacy, the individual risks becoming alone and withdrawn. Stage seven, generativity versus stagnation, is the second adult stage; generative people are productive, tolerant and able to care for both others and themselves. Those who are unable to develop at this stage experience a feeling of stagnation, as they struggle to invest meaningfully in others. The eighth stage, integrity versus despair, takes place in old age; an individual in this stage either achieves integrity by reflecting positively on a purposeful life, or falls into despair when regret dominates their reflections (Cloninger, 2008). Geppert and Halisch (2001) found that individuals who experienced physical frailty in old age were more likely to report a reduced sense of control, suggesting that body-based vulnerability could compound the risk of despair in stage eight.
Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development was based on clinical evidence, and there has been further research into this work, specifically in the adolescent stage of identity versus identity confusion. This research was accomplished by James Marcia, who operationalised Erikson’s concept into four identity statuses — diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement — providing social workers and counsellors with a more granular tool for assessing where an adolescent client sits in their identity development at the point of intervention.
Applying Bowlby’s attachment framework alongside Erikson’s developmental stages in social work practice offers a richly layered analytical tool, allowing practitioners to situate a client’s present-day difficulties within both their earliest relational history and the sequential psychosocial tasks they have encountered across the life course. In the case of the O’Donnell family, for instance, Kate’s avoidant attachment history may help explain not only her difficulties in forming secure bonds with her children but also her potential struggles with Erikson’s stage six (intimacy versus isolation) in her adult relationships. Anti-oppressive practice provides the essential third layer here, reminding the social worker that Kate’s experiences have not occurred in a vacuum but are shaped by structural inequalities — including poverty, gender, and the institutional experience of being in care — that no purely psychological theory alone can adequately account for. Social work practice that integrates theoretical frameworks in this way is better equipped to produce assessments that are both analytically credible and ethically grounded.
References
Hoffman, L., Cooper, G., Powell, B., & Benton, C. M. (2019). Raising a secure child: How circle of security parenting can help you nurture your child’s attachment, emotional resilience, and freedom to explore. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 24(4), 757–758. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104519844793
Luyckx, K., Klimstra, T. A., Duriez, B., Van Petegem, S., & Beyers, W. (2020). Personal identity processes and self-esteem: Temporal sequences in high school and college students. Journal of Adolescence, 83, 56–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.08.004
Howe, D. (2022). Attachment theory for social work practice (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing.
Trevithick, P. (2020). Social work skills and knowledge: A practice handbook (4th ed.). Open University Press.