Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Approach

QUESTION

ANSWER

Human Development

Urie Bronfenbrenner believed that environmental and social factors play a crucial role in a child’s development. The theorist identified various “layers” in the environment, each of which impacts a child’s development. The interaction between the child’s immediate family, community environments, and the societal landscape influence the outcomes of a child’s development. Changes in one layer will affect the other layers. Therefore, Bronfenbrenner emphasized that we should look beyond the child’s immediate environment and focus on the larger one as well. This paper examines my life as a 7-year-old from Bronfenbrenner’s perspective. It describes life within each of the five layers or systems.

Microsystem

The microsystem refers to the child’s immediate setting and people who have direct contact with them, e.g., parents or siblings. I was living with my parents and my thirteen-year-old sister. My father had just lost his job, meaning we all depended on our mother’s income. The family atmosphere or emotional tone was always tense due to the financial stress, credit constraints, my father’s drinking problem, and the constant fighting between our parents. My mother was supportive, warm, reassuring, and gentle, but she worked three jobs, and we rarely saw her. We spent most of the time with our father, but his relationship with my older sister was also strained. My sister was my source of comfort and security because she was the one who cared for me in my mother’s absence.

I had just been moved to a new school, meaning I had no friends or a peer group to which I belonged. I had no emotional interest in outdoor activities and preferred playing alone. My relationship with peers was always strained because I got into frequent fights and would not play with them. I also got into a lot of trouble for disruptive behaviors. However, my teacher was warm and kind and played a pivotal role in my gradual school adjustment. Demirtaş-Zorbaz and Ergene (2019) report that student-teacher and student-peer relationships significantly influence a child’s school adjustment. Although it took time, my teacher helped me fit in into the new culture, enhancing my school experiences.

We had moved to a new neighborhood; thus, we did not know most of our neighbors or their families. The community was a low-income area, but the people were communal and very friendly. We got many invites to family gatherings and events, but we rarely attended them. Our former residential area was individualistic, while the new neighborhood was communal.

Mesosystem

My parents did not interact with my peers at the time. As mentioned, my mother worked three jobs and was rarely at home. I spent most of my time with our father, but he was emotionally unavailable due to his drinking problem. My sister helped with most of my homework. Parent interaction with the school and teachers was positive. Even though my mother was busy, she always made time to come to school whenever she was summoned. She also attended school concerts, music events, sports events, etc. However, she delegated all behavior-related issues or school problems to my father to manage as she worked.

My community was very supportive of the school and school activities. We had volunteers from local organizations, businesses, civic organizations, etc., who came to help during inter-district or inter-state sports activities. Our sports teams would receive donations, free coaching, and sponsorships from various local organizations.

Exosystem

The exosystem refers to the community context of the child’s environment. My father was unemployed, while my mother worked clerical jobs. She worked for more than forty hours weekly. A study by Williams and Smyth (2019) revealed that children in households where women worked long hours and in out-of-home jobs have worse outcomes than their counterparts. The authors attributed this to a reduction in quality time and parental supervision. My childhood experiences give credence to this study. We had no vacations, trips, or family-related activities. My mother was the one who initiated most of these activities, but her new obligations prevented her from continuing the tradition. There was no divorce in my family.

Macrosystem

Macrosystem refers to a child’s cultural environment, including global economic conditions, technological trends, philosophies, values, etc. My ethnic heritage is African American, and my religious affiliation is Christianity. My mother was a devout Christian but never forced us to practice the religion. Before the economic recession, we would be categorized as a middle-class family. My father worked as a banker with an annual income of approximately $50,000. When he lost his job and some of his assets, we lost a significant household income.

This loss forced us to depend on our mother, who worked a clerical job at a local firm. Because my mother was the primary provider, I would describe my family’s social class as the working class during this period. The significant events that happened at the time include: Barack Obama was elected as the president of the United States, the prices of crude oil, the Lehman Brothers going bankrupt, Cyclone Nargis killing hundreds of thousands of people, and the Sichuan earthquake that happened in China.

Chronosystem: Historical event

Chronosystem entails the time dimension of a child’s experiences or the timing of major events in a child’s life. An example of a historical event that impacted my life at this age was the recession. I spent my first few years in economic buoyancy, but the recession took effect when I was seven. The recession was accompanied by reduced household income and unemployment. My family had to adjust to cope with the new economic conditions, including moving me to a nearby public school. Social activities, such as movies, parks, vacations, trips, etc., stopped. My parents also stopped buying me new toys, which I believe changed my socio-emotional behavior. Gassman-Pines et al. (2015) revealed that younger children are more affected by economic shocks than older children and adolescents. This study provides a plausible explanation why the lifestyle changes affected me more than my sister. My parents describe me as difficult and temperamental, but I attribute my behavior to the significant life changes and inadequate parental support.

Using another developmental theory besides Bronfenbrenner’s, explain how the idea applies to you at that time in your childhood. 

Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development places me in the industry versus inferiority stage. According to Erikson, children between 6 and 12 years are ready to become workers and make meaningful contributions to their social circle or family (McHenry & Brooks, 2015, p.156). Erikson postulated that a child at this stage has an internalized need to feel successful based on standards established by other people. Therefore, the child’s performance in social activities strongly influences their development.

McHenry and Brooks (2015) indicate that peer groups matter more than family at this stage because the child’s goal is to measure up to their peers, especially in school (p.156). In my case, I did have any interest in engaging in extra-curricular activities with peers. I was reluctant to engage in class or outdoor activities; hence, my performance was poor. Erikson argued that children could develop inferiority feelings or inadequacy if they fail to meet expectations or perform poorly compared to their mates (Lally & Valentine-French, 2019, p. 182). Comparatively, if the child succeeds in their endeavors at this stage, their confidence and self-esteem will be enhanced. Based on this theory, my attitude toward peers and my reluctance to engage in social activities put me at risk of developing feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem.

References

Demirtaş-Zorbaz, S., & Ergene, T. (2019). School adjustment of first-grade primary school students: Effects of family involvement, externalizing behavior, teacher and peer relations. Children and Youth Services Review, 101, 307–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.04.019

Gassman-Pines, A., Gibson-Davis, C. M., & Ananat, E. O. (2015). How economic downturns affect children’s development: An interdisciplinary perspective on pathways of influence. Child Development Perspectives, 9(4), 233–238. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12137

Lally, M., & Valentine-French, S. (2019). Lifespan development: A psychological perspective. Marth Lally & Valentine-French, Suzanne.

McHenry, B., & Brooks, F. (2015). A contemporary approach to substance use disorders and addiction counseling. John Wiley & Sons.

William, J., & Smyth, E. (2019). Growing up in Ireland: The lives of 5-year olds. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emer-Smyth-3/publication/331347055_Growing_Up_in_Ireland_The_Lives_of_5-Year-Olds/links/5c752ff5a6fdcc47159d064f/Growing-Up-in-Ireland-The-Lives-of-5-Year-Olds.pdf

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