Delivery date
Bronfenbenner’s Ecological model was invented by a man known as Urie Bronfenbenner. The model talks about how the environment around the children as they develop affects them in one way or the other. According to the theory, as children develop, they pick up certain characteristics and traits from the external environment which they find themselves in. The theory acts as an advice to nurses and medical practitioners or professional. Whenever faced with a case that needs psychological attention, they should first try to analyze the situation of the child’s environment, according to the phases of the model.
The model explains that a person’s environment is divided into four layers. The first is the microsystem, then the mesosystem. These two are followed by the Exosystem and then the macro system. The microsystem describes the child immediate environment and is thus small as compared to other environments. It concentrates on personal relationships the child makes with those close to them. A good example is the family members, classmates, peers, neighborhood friends, and teachers. Mesosystem is the next environment and it is larger compared to the first layer. It focuses on the interaction of the different microsystem and how they influence the developing child. For instance, it may be the link between school and the family, neighborhood and the family, peers and the family, or family and church. The exosystem, on the other hand, focuses on some linkages between two or, even more, settings. The exosystem does not affect the child directly, but rather indirectly. For example, the parents’ workplaces. The macro system composes of institutions which affect the child though indirectly. For instance the school policies, cultural values, and beliefs.
The first encounter with the patient, Brian a teenager aged fifteen years, was after an overdose of cocaine. He said that he had taken the drugs at a friend’s place, and after he was affected, the friends brought him to the hospital. However, they just dropped him and ran away for fear of being arrested as they were also high on this dangerous illegal drug. He needed immediate medical attention and after performing the necessary medical procedure, the family agreed to commit him to therapy with me till he recovered fully. Brian’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Brown had a loving family. They lived in the ghetto in an area filled with drug users and peddlers. Rumor has it that the family was also involved in drug sale, although they did not admit that fact. Brian had been brought up just like any ghetto kid, undergoing difficulties though he lacked nothing. The parents provided finances as needed. He participated in helping his parents with any chores as they demanded. However, he did not attend church as the parents did not go to church as well.
It was a family tradition that the female children worked with their mothers while the male children worked with their fathers. Brian’s father owned a workshop in their neighborhood. He used to tag along sometimes as his father went to work and he was not at school. His father would teach him how to work on the cars. He would also be taught by other people who worked there from the neighborhood. However, his father used the workshop for other businesses which related to drugs. Sometimes, he would send Brian to deliver packages to some places. As Brian confessed, he was aware that his father made him a drug peddler against his wish. He attended school in the neighborhood and thus developed friends from the same locality some of whom were also engaged in the drug trade or their family members were.
As is the situation in most of the drug dealers neighborhoods, most of the parents are not so concerned with education mainly because they are not educated themselves. They want their children to engage in the same trade and maintain family history as it is a cheap way of being rich and staying rich. However, Brain’s, mum was a bit concerned with his education. He wanted him to do better than he did, despite his father’s wishes and the family tradition. Drug overdose was not a rare case in the neighborhood, and neither was it a new case in the family. However, the mother was concerned and so was the patient. They wanted something good and better for Brian, and that is why he was brought to medical attention.
Brian was subjected to a neighborhood full of drug dealers and peddlers right from the time he was born. His father and the neighbors engaged in this trade. He also did not go to a church where he could be taught more about drugs and their impacts. He went to school, but in the same neighborhood. He also had friends who were either involved in drugs, or their family members were. All this affected him in one way or the other. He was bound to engage himself in drugs as the environment he grew up in related to drugs. As he explained, the first time he took the drug was through his peers who said he was an odd one out. Since he wanted to fit in, he started taking cocaine. From there he became addicted, although he was willing to get clean and change his lifestyle for the better.
The first thing every nurse and medical professional should do in such a case encourages the patient to talk which was done in this case. They should also not criticize their actions, but rather try and understand their situation and relate. They should also avoid telling the patients that they did the wrong thing directly, but rather help the patient relies upon, that what they did was wrong and help them decide the way forward. All these interview techniques were employed, and they worked very well. The only thing that did not work was calling the father to come so that together with other family members, we could work out a way to help Brian. He failed to show up for therapy sessions even when requested. The only thing that would be done differently was the failure to involve the father who was uncooperative. Rather, focusing on the patient and willing family members would be the best way to help the patient.
References
Härkönen, U. (2011, October 17). The Bronfenbrenner ecological systems theory of human development. Scientific Articles of V International Conference PERSON.COLOR.NATURE.MUSIC.
Krishnan, V. (2010). Early Child Development: A Conceptual Model. Early Childhood Council Annual Conference, (pp. 1-17). Christchurch, New Zealand.
Lewthwaite, B. (2011). Applications and Utility of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological Theory. Manitoba Education Research Network (MERN).
