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20141.pptxFamilies and Society : Risk & Protective Factors
Ecological Systems Theory (AKA Ecosystemic Perspective)
“The ecosystemic perspective is a way of thinking and organizing knowledge that emphasizes the interrelatedness and interdependency between individuals and social systems.” (Queralt in Waller, 2001, p. 290)
Development=adaptation between individual and environment
Ecological Systems Theory
Introduced by Urie Bronfenbrenner in 1979
Ecological systems cont.
Microsystem: immediate interactions between individual and environment
Face-to-face interactions—family, peers, neighbors, etc.
Mesosystem: interrelationships among two or more settings in which the person actively participates
Relationships between systems—parents and school
Exosystem: settings in which individual is not actively involved (at present) but affects the individual
Indirect setting—state economy
Macrosystem: the culture in which the individual lives. Ideology or belief system inherent in social institutions (ethnic, cultural, religious influences, economic and political systems as well)
Political party majority
Chronosystem: The time dimension, both life course and sociocultural history
Changing gender roles, marriage and divorce patterns, shifting ideas of family over time
Risk and Protective Factors
Risk factors: “influences occurring at any systemic level, that threaten positive adaptational outcomes.” (Waller, p. 292)
Challenging life circumstances (racism, addiction)
Trauma (violence, death of parent)
What are other risk factors you are familiar with?
Protective factors: facilitate positive outcomes by operating as buffers between individuals and potential risk factors
What are protective factors you are familiar with?
Risk/Protective Factors
Individual level:
Temperament
Intelligence
Social skills
Self confidence
Microsystem level:
Parental competency
Marital harmony
Educational attainment
Socioeconomic status
Neighborhood safety
Mesosystem level:
Parental involvement in school
Quality of schools
Workplace accommodations
Exosystem level:
Employment opportunities
Social and political equity of community
Educational equity
Legal representation
Macrosystem level:
Racial/ethnic identity
Oppression/discrimination
Media representation
Religious tolerance
Chronosystem level (individual and sociohistorical):
Lifespan development and events
Historical representation
Immigration history
Derived from Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and Margaret A. Waller’s Resilience in Ecosystemic Context (2001)
Resilience
“Positive adaptation in the face of adversity” (Waller, p. 292)
Resilience research and theory traditionally focused on within-person factors (biological, psychological, emotional), “personality traits or coping styles”
The “right stuff” to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and overcome adversity-have it or don’t
Blames the victim
Expanding to consider environmental factors and influences, interactions.
Resilience (cont.)
An individual may be resilient or vulnerable depending on time and context
Resilience ------ Vulnerability continuum, rather than binary categories
Risk chains and protective chains
Poverty, unemployment, single-parent household, stress, low education, etc.
Wealth, safe neighborhood, extra curricular involvement, lower stress, high quality schools, etc.
Cumulative “pile-up” effect of risk factors
Risk can be counterbalanced by protective influences and interventions (organic or targeted)
Example: Big Brothers, Big Sisters Project)
A given event can be risk and protective concurrently
Example: divorce—reduced parental time and supervision, increased positive relationships with parents (no longer in constant stress, violence)
