Application of psychological approaches in community social work to strengthen decision-making and psychosocial interventions in families in marginal urban areas of Guayaquil, Ecuador

This study analyzed the application of psychological approaches in community social work to strengthen decision-making and psychosocial interventions in families from marginalized urban areas of Guayaquil, Ecuador. A mixed-methods design was used, incorporating in-depth interviews with social workers and focus groups with families (qualitative component), and a pre-test/post-test quasi-experiment with a pilot workshop (quantitative component). The results revealed that the context of scarcity generates chronic stress and "mental bandwidth" depletion, limiting autonomous decision-making. The integration of cognitive-behavioral and positive psychology frameworks in a pilot workshop demonstrated a significant positive impact, with quantitative data showing large effect size improvements in decision-making self-efficacy, family resilience, and coping strategies. Qualitative narratives corroborated these findings, highlighting a transition from reactive to reflective decision-making and the rediscovery of family strengths. The study concludes that the synergy between social work and psychology is essential to move from an assistance-based model to a psycho-socio-educational empowerment model, addressing the psychological underpinnings of poverty and fostering sustainable change.