Editorial

The ecosystems orientation and the person-in-environment perspective has been the defining professional stance of social work practice since the 1970ʹs (Green & McDermott, 2010; Ungar, 2002). Acknowledging embeddedness of the persons in the micro, meso and macro systems, the ecosystems perspective calls for context sensitivity in social work practice in realising the profession’s commitment to human well-being. The articles included in this issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work & Development unequivocally illustrate this ecosystems orientation.

Employing an ecological framework for analysing the trajectories of depressive symptoms among adolescents from multicultural families in South Korea, Choe and Yu (2022) advocate for comprehensive assessment and intervention in different ecosystems, such as family, school, community and culture, in order to support mental health of Korean young people in the critical adolescence period. In a longitudinal study conducted in China, Pan (2022) examines the pathways from psychological stress and environmental factors in adolescence to depression in adulthood, and identifies that school satisfaction in adolescence is the most salient environmental factor that indirectly impacts on depression in adulthood. Sharing the same concern for psychological well-being of young people, Oh et al. (2022) look into the relationship between domestic violence experience and academic stress among Korean school children, and call for a continuous community support system to alleviate academic stress and prevent domestic violence, against the influence of Confucian values in Korean society. The Confucian context and the ensuing patriarchic power in Taiwan is identified by Lai (2022) as a social environment that aggravates the stigmatised experiences of unwed single mothers. As these mothers faced challenges not only from their families, but also from their neighbours, social workers as well as government staff, Lai (2022) calls for un-prejudicial discussion of traditional familial norms regarding relationships and motherhood in order to support the unwed mothers to manage the stigma they experienced. The ecosystems perspective also stimulates Kang (2022) to look beyond individual case factors in predicting child maltreatment substantiation in Korean child protective services. Using data from multiple sources, Kang (2022) identifies that child maltreatment substantiation in Korea is predicted not only by risk factors associated with case characteristics, but also by organisation and community factors, to the effect that different organisations in different locations can make varying decisions for the same alleged child maltreatment cases. Highlighting impacts of the organisational and community contexts on child maltreatment substantiation, the study has significant practice implications in enhancing child protective services.

To take an ecological stance obligates social workers to put into practice their commitment to broad social change through participation in politicized community initiatives and organizations. (Ungar 2002, p. 493)

Building on knowledge from research with an ecosystems perspective, the Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work & Development invites continual dialogues among social work and social development practitioners on how the ecological stance is realised in direct social work and social development practices.