On February 10, 2016 the FSU College of Social Work hosted a presentation by Robert Walker, MSW, LCSW, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Kentucky Center on Drug and Alcohol Research. Walker’s joint appointment in social work and psychiatry gives him a unique perspective on the intersection of the “hard” sciences like neuroscience and the “soft” approaches of social work and the human behavioral sciences.

The central focus of his presentation was to show just how complementary, rather than dichotomous, these two fields can be. The measurements in each field might be different, but Walker argued that the evidence that neuroscience points to is central to what social workers already know. “People’s social context is absolutely central to understanding human development, the brain, and what we call the mind.” Walker went on to describe how neurophysiology can productively be informed by research centered around social rank, health, and well-being with the ultimate focus on the “social gradient effect.”

The social gradient effect concerns the linear relationship that is found between someone’s social status, and his or her health and well-being. The higher your social rank, the better your health or well-being outcomes. And conversely, the lower your social rank the lower your health or well-being outcomes (including life expectancy). Walker also noted that social gradient research also relies on measuring the effects of stress to explain how large-scale organizations affect our personal lives. Excessive demands “stress” people with low control or those with limited resources to moderate those demands.

“Neuroscience shows how powerlessness works through neural systems to affect human physiology,” Walker explained in his presentation. “But it also shows the great importance of implementing protective factors through the life cycle.”

Findings on stress point to an association between lower social rank and higher levels of chronic stress that are also associated with a higher number of behavioral disorders that affect people across the life span. The negative effects of lower social rank even hold strong among those who might later mange to achieve higher social rank in adulthood.

Walker emphasized the need for protective interventions, which are especially critical during early childhood development. But the same goes for adolescents and adults, who might need interventions specifically targeted to moderate the effects of lower social rank. He also pointed out the problems at the institutional level, with many well-intentioned human service organizations operating under procedures that intensify rather than moderate the negative effects of social rank.  Effective interventions will need to be based on the uniqueness of the individual, rather than disorders, classes, or types of people. “When people are treated as unique, brains are activated in positive, growth-stimulating ways,” Walker said.

A lack of healthy stimulation is of great concern as the brain continually adapts and changes based on every interaction. Walker called for a major rethinking of interventions that call for “expert-driven” medical models instead, the field should promote models that are mindful of social gradient effects and that consider the unique needs of the person.

“Social workers should not feel threatened by emerging neuroscience, but should accept it as a bedrock of profound endorsement of principles that have been a part of social work since its inception.”