Introducing the Theory of Neurosocial Interdependence

Abstract

Thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are linked fundamentally to the environments one inhabits. The person-in-environment perspective effectively captures these three aspects of the human experience and serves as a central fixture within social work research and practice. Many social workers use this perspective to guide every facet of the work they undertake, from case conceptualization to ethics of human subject research. At the same time, recent advancements in human neuroscience research and neuroimaging technologies have inspired social workers to embrace how the nervous system is integrally interconnected with one’s environments. In turn, human neuroscience has catalyzed more biologically-informed practice and research in the field of social work, centered on elucidating social and psychological developmental domains within systems. The popularity of the person-in-environment perspective and the integration of human neuroscience in the field of social work has created a nexus that heretofore has not been adequately integrated into the literature. The present paper addresses this gap with a novel theory known as neurosocial interdependence, which integrates insights from human neuroscience into the framework of the person-in-environment perspective. This paper also bolsters the development of the theory of neurosocial interdependence by introducing a novel testing instrument and measurement scale, exploring how these tools might be used to implement the theory of neurosocial interdependence within social work research and clinical settings.