Bioecological Model and the Factors Resulting to Poverty

Bio-Psychology in Social Work Practice
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Bio-Psychology in Social Work Practice
Introduction
The bioecological model seeks to explain how the relationship between children and their parents and caregivers influences their development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007). It mainly says that the model connects children's development with the entire environment they are in and the people they get to interact with the child. The paper gives a report that uses the bioecological model to demonstrate that poverty results from multiple factors. It will have an overview of the bioecological model, explaining how it works. The reports will also use the bioecological Model subsystem to clarify how the biological abnormalities lead to a mental and genetic disorder. The paper's other use shows how the model and other social conditions predispose individuals to poverty. It will also inspect all the five subsystems of a bioecological model with two examples for each. Finally, it examines four ways that social workers can support persons experiencing poverty in Singapore.
Overview
Bronfenbrenner and Stephen Ceci, in 1994, proposed the bioecological model. According to Bronfenbrenner and Morris ( 2007), the model explores the multiple aspects that affect the development of a child's life. The factors include the child's environment, including the relationship between the child and the parents, caregivers, and friends. The different relationships connect further with the community setting, work, and school the children associate with as they grow. Moreover, the environment gets affected by social factors, policy conditions, and cultural factors (Wooten, 2013). The combination of the different life factors is what determines the future resilience of a child.
Bronfenbrenner's theory assumes that children who lack a positive and robust ecological system cannot develop well. The factor may be genuine in some cases, but in others, the children still grow into successful individuals with negative influences from their ecological system (Wooten, 2013). Additionally, saying that all people that grow in a poor environment develop negatively is not entirely true. Some individuals decide to be optimistic despite their factors ending up outgrowing the negativity their childhood presented. Similarly, if two ecological factors disagree, like the child's parents with the teacher, it does not guarantee negative results in a child's growth (Hoffman & Kruczek, 2011). As long as the disagreement does not involve the child, he will grow up normally without noticing the discord. As a result, the exceptions call people to avoid making wide speculations using the model.
The introduction of technological development, in theory, determines a change to the world. Hoffman and Kruczek( 2011) believe that in the 21st century, the approach expands to cover other technological factor-like video games, social media, television programs, and modern-day interactions in the ecological system. The technical factor proposes that the theory will remain relevant for a long, but it still can change. The upgrading of the view enables the increase in the model's realism (Wooten, 2013). It ensures the model remains relevant for a long.
Bioecological Model concerning Biological Abnormalities
Most people believe that health is a state of someone lacking any illness in their body. Similarly, mental health is defined as missing psychological disease or disorder. The two assumptions seem to be full of limitation because it does not cover the person's social wellbeing. A clear definition of health is a state of a person being stable mentally, physically, and socially wellbeing (Logsdon & Hertweck, 2008). The bioecological system is essential in determining biological abnormalities. The model determines the direction of a person’s genetic and mental disorder.
Mental health is the ability for a person to think, feel and act in a way that makes them deal with challenges well and enjoy life (Mistry & Wadsworth, 2011). The bioecological model plays a significant role in determining the mental stability of a person. Most people that end up with mental illnesses like depression and anxiety relate them with their past. The bioecological model's first way determines the future mental health, for it depends on the environment's capability to give them self-confidence. A person with full realization of their potential has a better chance of managing everyday stress than those who do not understand their capabilities (Maynard & Beaver, 2014). Someone needs to understand their potential to avoid placing a lot of pressure on their brain. A relaxed brain has a lower risk of getting a mental disorder.
Additionally, the environment of the child determines their mental health. A child who grows up in a positive environment has a higher chance of mental stability than those who live in a hostile environment (Maynard & Beaver, 2014). For instance, a child who has constantly been receiving appreciation from parents and caregivers can grow in self-confidence, thus reducing mental distractions. A person with high self-esteem lacks the need to please other people reducing the stress keeping their mental health in a good place.
Finally, the bioecological theory can model the belief of a person. Whatever a person grows, knowing models their future decisions. The thoughts of a person model the kind of life they live. For example, a child who thrives in an environment that expects them to be consistently strong despite the pressure will hardly ask for help despite the task's toughness. Such people grow up with the risk of facing mental disorders. In the quest of always finding to succeed, they might forget to take care of themselves. The incapability for them to speak out when under pressure might drain them to the point of depression.
The different mental and genetic disorders might lead to high chances of poverty. A mentally unstable person has the possibility of making wrong decisions (Logsdon & Hertweck, 2008). A mentally healthy person makes rational decisions which in turn contribute to their success. Wise decisions enable the person to achieve their final goal, reducing the chances of being poor. A person that sets goals is patient enough to find the right decision is at a better place to be successful (Maynard & Beaver, 2014). The mentally stable people are ready to face the pressures of life without giving up. Working towards success is an indication of a success story.
On the other hand, the bioecological factors affect the impact of a genetic disorder in a child. For instance, a child born with sickle cell anemia can live a better life depending on their medication and support system. The one from a wealthy family can get the best medical support and even have a chance of healing through options like the bone marrow transplant that is very expensive. The poor child with the same condition might end up suffering for the rest of their life hence less productive. The situation might drain the family finances, increasing the children's chances of living in poverty forever.
Subsystems of Bioecological Model
The bioecological theory suggests that the child’s environment factors can be subdivided into five different subsystems. Bronfenbrenner categorizes the elements according to their impact on the children (Maynard & Beaver, 2014). The more the factor interacts with the child, the much it will affect the child's wellbeing. The five subsystems include the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.
* Microsystem
The microsystem is the first level of the bioecological system, including only the people and things that interact with the child in their immediate environment (Logsdon & Hertweck, 2008). They are the teachers, parents, siblings, playmates, and classmates in school. The relationship at the microsystem level is bi-directional. The relationship a child gains influence from other people in their environment and creates a capability of causing a change of action and belief of people around them. The treatment of the people in the background to the child depends on the reaction of the child. The Microsystems level interactions are more personal and essential in molding the child's character ((Mistry & Wadsworth, 2011). A solid nurturing relationship between the child and caregiver has a positive impact on the child's development.
Examples
* A child with parents who show them an appreciation for every good thing they do grows up with self-confidence, increasing their ability to explore their potential, reducing the child's chances of growing up to be poor.
* A child who interacts with playmates who lack the importance of working hard ca...