Social functioning

For individuals, social functioning encompasses striving toward a life style that meets basic needs, establishing positive relationships, and accentuating personal growth and adjustment.
Other human system, such as group, organizations, and communities, enhance their capacity for social functioning by developing resource, promoting harmony among members, and creating dynamic opportunities for growth and change.
For all human system, the source of improvement of social functioning may be within the system itself, or it may lie in creating change in other social structures.

There are three type of social functioning.

1. Effective functioning- social understandably, competent system personal interpersonal and institutional resource to deal with problem, issues and, needs. Also, these resources are relatively available and accessible to these systems in the social structure. Adaptive systems recognize their problems and take the necessary steps to resolve them. For example, individuals who are able to adjust successfully to stresses resulting from life transitions such as marriage and divorce, parenting, the death of a loved one, or retirement. When concerns arise, these people are able to cope with the stresses associated with the problem, adapt to change, and make adjustments in their immediate environment. They may or may not access social work services, depending on they identify a need and whether resources are available.
2. At-risk social functioning- some populations or social system are at risk of difficulties in social functioning. This means that they are vulnerable to specific problems, although such as problems have yet to surface. In other words, identifiable condition exist that could have a negative impact on social functioning. For example, research indicates that certain conditions, such as unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse, and illness, place children at risk for abuse and neglect. People with disabilities are at risk of underemployment. The elderly are vulnerable to early and unnecessary institutionalization. Some inner city neighbourhoods may be at risk of declining educational and economic opportunities.
3. Difficulties in social functioning- in some human system, problems become so exacerbated that the ability to cope is diminished or the system is immobilized and unable to initiate a change process. In some situation, systems may themselves recognize serious problems that inhibit their ability to function. Individuals may experience depression and loneliness; families may identify communication problems or intrafamilial conflict, or an industry may recognize high levels of worker stress that threaten productivity.