SOCW6210
Assignment: Life Span Interview
Throughout the HSBE I and II courses, you have explored the biological, psychological, and sociological aspects of different phases of the human life span. You have explored life-span development theories that help to explain human behavior. You also have considered how the social environment influences individuals and their behavior.
Gathering facts about a client’s life span through the interview process is an important social work skill. This week, you practice this skill by interviewing an older adult using the questions in the Life Span Interview document available in this week’s resources. For this week’s Assignment you transform your interview notes into a narrative—that is, a life story—of the older adult you interviewed. You interweave within this narrative an analysis of the life story by applying person and the environment concepts to your understanding and interpretation of that story.
By Day 7
Submit a 3- to 5-page paper in which you provide a narrative analysis of the Life Span Interview you completed. The paper should:
- Provide a chronological history of the individual’s major life experiences.
Identify specific biological, psychological and sociological influences that shaped the individual’s experience.
- Analyze the individual’s experiences by applying theory and concepts learned throughout both HBSE courses.
- Provide your reflection of the experience, both in interviewing the individual and analyzing their narrative.
- Explain what you learned and how you will apply this to future social work practice.
Support your Assignment with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
Learning Resources
Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.
Required Readings
Dybicz, P. (2012). The hero(ine) on a journey: A postmodern conceptual framework for social work practice. Journal of Social Work Education, 48(2), 267–283.
Villadsen, K. (2008). ‘Polyphonic’ welfare: Luhmann’s systems theory applied to modern social work. International Journal of Social Welfare, 17(1), 65–73.
Document: Life Span Interview (PDF)
You will use this document for your Life Span Interview Assignment.
Optional Resources
Use the link below to access the MSW home page, which provides resources for your social work program.
MSW home page
© 2017 Laureate Education, Inc. 1
SOCW 6210: Human Behavior and the Social Environment II
Week 10 LIFE SPAN INTERVIEW
Below are some questions to start the conversation with your interviewee. Do not hesitate to add
additional questions as needed. You are encouraged to reach out to a senior center, adult living
facility, or nursing home to locate an interviewee. When interviewing an individual, please
consider how to show respect to an individual of this age within their cultural values.
Begin your interview with demographics…………….
How do you prefer to be addressed?
What is your age?
Where were you born?
How do you identify your ethnicity?
How do you identify your gender?
Remembering the Past…………………….
What is your earliest memory?
Who were your friends when you were growing up? Did you maintain those friendships
throughout life? Any reason why or why not?
What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.) growing up? In your
young/middle adult years? As an older adult?
What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects?
Over the years……………
What was the happiest moment of your life?
© 2017 Laureate Education, Inc. 2
What world events had the most impact on you?
Do you have military experience? If so, how did it mold you as a person?
Was religion/spirituality a part of your youth? Adulthood? Currently?
Who is the person who influenced your life the most?
Have you lost a loved one? If so, how has that loss affected your life?
What are some of the most important lessons you feel you have learned over the course of
your life?
As you look back over your life, do you see any “turning points”; that is, a key event or
experience that changed the course of your life or set you on a different track?
What are some of the important choices or decisions you made that you have learned from?
What are you most proud of?
How would you like to be remembered?
Currently Experiencing………………………….
What has been your experience with aging? (physically, socially, environmentally)
How would you define successful aging?
Do you have any challenges to access to healthcare?
How do you see yourself today? [elder, senior, older adult; use this term in the following
questions]
How are your friendships as a [use term identified by individual]?
Are you involved with [use term identified by individual] activities or social clubs? What
does this mean for you?
Have you had any experiences with services not being available to you as a [use term
identified by individual]?
Have you experienced discrimination as a [use term identified by individual]? Other types of
discrimination?