Читать книгу Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology - Robert Weis - Страница 106

Perhaps the most influential and comprehensive explanation for the way social–cultural factors affect children has been offered by the developmental psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner. According to Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 2005) ecological systems theory, children’s environment can be viewed as a hierarchy of concentric systems with each smaller system nested inside the others like stacked cups (Figure 2.4).

The microsystem reflects children’s immediate surroundings and proximal influences on their development. Factors within the microsystem include children’s genetic inheritance, biological functioning, psychological processes, and interactions with parents and family. The microsystem also includes children’s relationships with teachers, coaches, and peers as well the various social roles they adopt (e.g., student, athlete, friend). The microsystem is the “primary engine of development,” and children’s interactions with caregivers and friends are believed to be the most important proximal determinants of their developmental outcomes (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998).

Description

Figure 2.4 ■ Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

Note: Development is shaped by proximal and distal factors over time. Adapted from Bronfenbrenner (1979, 2005).

The mesosystem refers to the connections between microsystems. For example, children’s relationships at home and school are important determinants of their overall functioning. However, the quality of interactions between home and school also influences children’s well-being. Children whose parents take an active role in their education, clubs, and sports will likely show different outcomes than children whose parents show less interest in their activities.

The exosystem reflects contextual influences that affect microsystems but do not affect children directly. For example, a father might be required to change work schedules or to work longer hours to keep his job. These work-related changes might influence the amount of time he is able to spend with his child. Similarly, the school board might decide to reduce funding for certain extracurricular activities, causing a child to give up a favorite sport or club. The parent’s change in work schedule and the school board’s change in funding can alter children’s daily experiences and, consequently, indirectly affect their development.

The macrosystem refers to broad social, economic, and cultural influences on children’s development. Chief among these factors are socioeconomic disadvantage, neighborhood quality, and media exposure. Other broad influences can include the family’s religious beliefs, cultural values, and history (Tolan, 2016).

Bronfenbrenner recognized that the effects of all four systems on development change over time. In fact, he considered time to be a fifth system in his model—the chronosystem. Time shapes development in two ways. First, the importance of various systems depends on children’s age and developmental level. For example, peers are more important to children’s developmental outcomes in later childhood and adolescence than they are during the preschool years. Second, different generations of children are exposed to different risks. For example, children born in the first half of the 20th century faced the dual threats of the Great Depression and World War II. Their children and grandchildren, in turn, lived through the Vietnam era and Cold War. Children today face new risks: domestic and international terrorism, environmental catastrophes, and serious illnesses like COVID-19. Each generation of children and adolescents must find ways to respond to stressors like these. A full understanding of child development depends on an appreciation for children’s interactions with these environmental systems and how these interactions vary across time (Shelton, 2019).

Review

 Proximal risk factors directly affect children’s development. Distal risk factors include broader social and cultural influences that affect children indirectly through family, schools, neighborhoods, or society.

 Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory views child development as occurring within a series of nested social systems ranging from the microsystem (e.g., immediate influences) to the macrosystem (e.g., indirect influences). Development must also be understood in the context of time.