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Families and Society : Risk & Protective Factors

Families and Society : Risk & Protective Factors. Ecological Systems Theory (AKA Ecosystemic Perspective).

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Families and Society : Risk & Protective Factors

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  1. Families and Society : Risk & Protective Factors

  2. 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

  3. Introduced by UrieBronfenbrenner in 1979 Ecological Systems Theory

  4. 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

  5. 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?

  6. 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 UrieBronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and Margaret A. Waller’s Resilience in Ecosystemic Context (2001)

  7. 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.

  8. 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)

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