An Eco Map Is A Visual Graphic That Illustrates The Systems

An Eco Map Is A Visual Graphic That Illustrates The Systems In A Perso

Re-read the Family System Assessment: The Ecomap section of your text from pages 557–559 for information on ecomaps, including a sample. Using the story of LeRoy Karas from pages 613–615, create an ecomap that depicts all systems and influences affecting his behavior. Include all relevant systems, and draw lines indicating the strength of relationships. Use arrows to show give-and-take relationships with arrows pointing both ways, and one-way arrows for relationships benefiting only one side, following the sample on page 560.

Paper For Above instruction

Creating an eco-map based on LeRoy Karas's life provides a comprehensive visual understanding of the various systems influencing his behavior. This process involves identifying significant environmental, social, and personal systems and illustrating how they interact with LeRoy's life. Given his complex history, the eco-map will help elucidate critical influences such as family, peer groups, healthcare providers, societal institutions, and personal habits, notably his substance use behaviors.

LeRoy's story begins with his early years, characterized by a muscular and outgoing nature. His participation in sports like football, basketball, and baseball indicates strong peer and school influences. His athletic success and popularity in school fostered a positive self-image and social interactions that reinforced his athletic identity. These relationships likely show a give-and-take dynamic where his self-esteem and social standing benefited mutually through recognition and camaraderie. These relationships would be depicted as strong, reciprocal bonds on the eco-map, with lines of significant strength and bidirectional arrows.

However, LeRoy's initiation into alcohol and smoking during adolescence marks the onset of negative influences, primarily peer groups involved in drinking and partying. These peer relationships are characterized by give-and-take relationships, as both LeRoy and his friends benefit from social acceptance, shared activities, and a macho image. The influence of these peer groups, especially around substance use, can be illustrated with strong, reciprocal arrows, emphasizing mutual reinforcement of risky behaviors.

Family relationships significantly shape LeRoy's behaviors, especially his marriage and familial interactions. His marriage to Rachel Rudow and subsequent relationships reveal strained dynamics, marked by physical and verbal abuse, frequent drinking, and neglect. These are one-sided, potentially exploitative relationships, where LeRoy benefits from the companionship or status at the expense of his family's well-being. The lines to his wife and children from LeRoy on the eco-map would be marked with narrow or broken lines, with arrows indicating the imbalance—one-way, with LeRoy's influence outweighing emotional support from others.

LeRoy's employment history reflects another system impacting his behavior and health. His move from sports to construction work signifies a shift in social environments, with peer influence continuing through work colleagues who share similar macho and substance-using lifestyles. The relationship with coworkers and bosses may show moderate to strong relationships benefitting LeRoy’s need for camaraderie and social validation, depicted with solid bidirectional arrows.

His health deteriorates markedly due to substance abuse and poor lifestyle choices. The medical system becomes relevant when LeRoy is diagnosed with cirrhosis and emphysema. These medical relationships are characterized as one-sided, where healthcare providers influence his health decisions—though LeRoy's continued substance use diminishes the benefit of these relationships for his health, resulting in weak or broken lines with one-way arrows pointing from medical advice to his personal behavior.

LeRoy’s mental health, expressed through frustration, anger, and suicidal ideation, is influenced by his physical health decline and social isolation. His limited social network, as he no longer maintains friendships and is disliked by staff, indicates weak or broken relationships in the eco-map, with lines showing minimal reciprocal influence. The absence of community or social support exacerbates his deterioration, emphasizing the importance of social systems that could aid recovery or stabilization.

In contrast, his brother Elroy's story in the eco-map illustrates strong, positive relationships rooted in shared interests and mutual respect, such as familial bonds with his adopted children, professional associations with his employer, and personal activities like photography and hobbies. These relationships are marked by reciprocal benefits, shown through bidirectional arrows of substantial strength, supporting Elroy's positive outlook and health.

Overall, the eco-map of LeRoy's life highlights a web of interconnected systems heavily skewed toward negative influences, with a few supportive relationships possibly offering moments of relief or motivation. The visual depiction serves as a diagnostic tool for understanding how these systems interact and influence behavior patterns, guiding interventions aimed at enhancing protective systems—such as medical and social support—and mitigating risk systems like substance-using peer groups and dysfunctional family dynamics.

References

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