Assessing Bioecological Influences

Abstract

Within ecologically based approaches to human development the environment is viewed as a multidimensional and structurally organized system, with person and environment contributions functionally linked and probabilistic in nature. Bronfenbrenner's PPCT (process × person × context × time) theory is used as a conceptual framework to illustrate the implications of an ecological perspective, both for understanding and studying development. Within this framework five major issues are reviewed in this chapter: (1) the structure of the human ecosystem, which encompasses the micro‐, meso‐, exo‐ and macrosystems as well as the bioecological and subjective environments; (2) major methodological implications of an ecological perspective for studying development, such as the need to study children in real world situations and to consider both environment and experience; (3) how linkages between the bioecological dimensions of process, person, context and time both structure and moderate ecosystem influences upon development; (4) statistical and measurement issues when integrating across process, person, context and temporal influences, such the need to utilize cost‐efficient ecological assessments; (5) applications of the linked PPCT dimensions to the design and implementation of intervention strategies to promote development.

Observed Normativity and Deviance in Friendship Dyads’ Conversations About Sex and the Relations With Youths’ Perceived Sexual Peer Norms

“…Although the relation between youths’ perceptions of existing sexual norms among peers and their own sexual behaviors has been well established (e.g., van de Bongardt et al, 2015 ), the micro-time processes (e.g., dyadic interactions over the course of seconds, minutes, or hours) (Patterson et al, 2000 ; Wachs, 2015 ) through which youth and their peers might interactively construct such norms remain less well understood. The current study was the first to examine how conversations about sex (and specifically—normativity and deviance) during observed dyadic interactions with same-sex friends were related to adolescents’ and young adults’ individual perceptions of sexual peer norms.…”

“…Evidence for the importance of distinguishing between a more normative versus a more deviant character of communication between peers comes from a significant body of research on processes of deviancy training (i.e., rule-breaking talk and reinforcement thereof) during peer interactions in micro-time (i.e., over the course of seconds, minutes, or hours) and the link with the development of problem behaviors in macro-time (i.e., across years; Patterson, Dishion, & Yoerger, 2000 ; Wachs, 2015 ). Various studies have shown that the amounts of observed rule-breaking versus normative talk, and the reinforcement thereof, during videotaped interactions between adolescents and their friends was associated with the development of problem behaviors, including antisocial tendencies, aggression and violence, substance use, and risk-taking (e.g., Dishion, Capaldi, Spracklen, & Li, 1995 ; Dishion, Eddy, Haas, Li, & Spracklen, 1997 ; Patterson et al, 2000 ; Piehler & Dishion, 2007 ).…”

Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context1

“…It addresses key questions about the moderating influence of practices and/or interventions -including the character of a specific effect, on a specific child, at a specific time, under a specific set of contextual conditions-to produce a specific set of competencies, behaviors, performance activities, or growth (Fischer & Rose, 2001;Rose et al, 2013). In a complementary manner, structural analyses and dynamic growth modeling enable the precise examination of source(s) of variation within nonlinear systems of hierarchical complexity, particularly when such methods address intersectionality (Fischer & Kennedy, 1997;Hartelman, van der Maas, & Molenaar, 1998;Singer & Willett, 2003;van Geert, 1991van Geert, , 2003 and do not generalize findings to all human beings or all members of a group (M. Cole, 1996, Fischer & Bidell, 2006Ghavami, Katsiaficas, & Rogers, 2016;Spencer, 2017;Wachs, 2015).…”

I. Gender in Low‐ and Middle‐income Countries: Introduction

“…The microsystem is heterogeneous, and various dimensions of the microsystem are functionally linked. Thus, the child’s home environment has both social and physical components (Wachs, 2015) and the nature of proximal parent-child interactions can vary depending on characteristics of the physical microsystem, such as resources (Bradley, 2015). Distinct microsystems afford children opportunities to experience different activities that alone and in combination foster their development.…”