Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, also called development in context or human ecology theory, identifies five environmental systems with which an individual interacts. The Microsystem is the innermost level of the environment and consists of activities and interaction patterns in the person’s life. The mesosystem is the second level of Bronfenbrenner’s model and encompasses connections between microsystems. The exosystem consists of social settings that do not contain the developing person but nevertheless affect in immediate settings. The macrosystem consists of cultural values, laws customs, and resources. And finally the chronosystem. The chronosystem refers to the dynamic ever changing nature of the person’s environment. Each of these systems are characterized by roles, norms (expected behavior) and relationships. This complex system of relationships are affected by multiple levels of surrounding environment and influences a child’s development. Each one of Bronfenrenner’s systems of ecological theories has drastically played major roles in my child and adult development.
I experienced many Microsystems in my lifetime. Because my parents divorced when I was two, I had two separate homes with my mother and father. I was not effected by their divorce per say. However, this was the beginning of my gypsy lifestyle. I was never grounded resulting the lack of security I felt leading up to now. I guess I skipped Erik Erikson’s first stage of development; Basic trust vs. Mistrust. By the time I started kindergarten, I had lived in five or more places. I guess I was a drug addict. To make light of the situation, I was used to being drug from house to house.
I can remember my first day of school and how exciting it was. I was not nervous at all. I loved my teacher and started developing relationships with other children. Since my mother and I lived with my grandparents, my grandfather made sure my cousins and I were involved in several curricular actives. Some of the activities included, dance, gymnastics, girl scouts, karate, and music lessons. I was around family a lot. I frequently played with my next door neighbor and cousins. I can vividly remember my mother not doing anything about my older cousin picking on me. I believe these were the events that influenced my lack of self-esteem. Because I was the only one who was picked on and made fun of, I was hurt and had no clue why I was singled out. Maybe this was the reason I was mean to other kids. These are just a few that took a big part in molding my childhood and contributed to my life.
These events developed insecurities that affected my adolescent years. If a psychiatrist were to diagnose me, they would probably say I was histrionic. I did everything that was not the norm for a teenage girl. For example, I craved a lot of attention. Because I felt like I was not loved or accepted, I tried my best to fit in. I went about that to the extreme. I wore a ton of makeup and had a provocative way of dressing. I dated much older guys. I went to a lot of parties irresponsibly. Because I tried so hard to fit in, I did the opposite and everything backfired. People hated me and called me very nasty name. Therefor was the beginning of my darkened depression. I did end up taking my driver’s test and failed. I will explain how all of this relates towards the Mesosystem relationship.
The first Mesosystem that dramatically affected my life was my mother using the “Boogie Monster” to get me to fall asleep. Ever since I was a child I have had a major fear of darkness and being alone. This was probably where my anxiety and phobias started developing. Another Mesosystem was my mother’s boyfriend’s pool. I can vividly remember my mother’s boyfriend holding me under the water to teach me how to swim. I can still feel him pushing my head down in the water and not letting up to the point of almost passing out. The worst part that probably had the most impact and placed a ton of fear in me was seeing my mother crying. I was screaming for her to save me and she just walked inside crying. Another factor to add to my fear of abandonment. An additional Mesosystem was the violence between my mother and her boyfriend. I specifically remember him kicking her and me jumping on her screaming for him to stop did not have as many Mesosystems with my father as I did with my mother.
After all of the chaos with my mother, I went to live with my father and his new family. This too added to my feeling of low self-worth. My father and I had such a bond. A bond that could not be broken. A bond his finance and step children desperately tried to ruin. Because of the love my father and I shared, his soon to be wife developed a deep hatred for me and was consumed with jealousy. Her children started calling my father Daddy. That hurt so much. Because my father had to switch jobs, we had to move to a new city where life was so different. I was the new girl. Developing too fast did not sit well with the girls and even teachers. This carried over to the older neighborhood kids because of all the attention received from the boys. I was a slut in their eyes. They hated me and constantly threatened to beat me up. The good thing about this was I found a friend through this torture. Fifteen years later we are still great friends. All of the stress from the bullying scared me so much that I skipped school or my father would check me out. Tragically when I needed my father the most he ended up dying in a car accident. My mother then came up from Miami to stay with me in Orange Park.
All of the Mesosystems that happened to me as a child, caused my painful teen years. Like I previously stated I was depressed and tried to fit in. I did very impulsive things and had risky behaviors. My depression and anxiety resulted in my numerous absences from school. I later had to go to truancy court where I was eventually locked up. After getting out of the program I went back to the same school. I can remember walking to class and a black boy chased me down, pushed me and started wailing on me. This gave me permanent anxiety that I am still struggling with today.
The exosystem was an environment I was in that I was not involved in but dramatically affected by. My father always worked leaving me with my wicked step mother. I believe because of my mother and fathers excessive partying contributed to a reason for my substance abuse. They did not cover it up very well making me immune to their lifestyle. For example I feel that because my mother smoked cigarettes so much may have caused me to take up smoking. Not everything was bad. My mother involved in all of my curricular activities. She was my Girl Scout leader and homeroom mother. The problem was my mother was not stable so we had to move a lot.
One thing that contributed to my low self-esteem was my horrible acne. As a child, my father had terrible acne which he nor I had any control over. Nothing could cover up or cure the outbreaks on my face and body. This and my early development caused me to cultivate my much distorted self-image. I took fourth and major eating disorder that will forever interfere with my lifestyle. To make matters worse, my mother was always working to keep up with the bills. She was never there for me when I needed her. It seemed like things kept getting worse.
I was raised in an environment that enforced free love and happiness. This had its ups and downs. If taught correctly, this culture could equip you with ways to live a happy and prosperous live. No worries. However that did not happen in my life. Everyone was still sad and continued partying to mask and numb their feelings. They were unaware of the impact their lifestyle would have on mine. I basically was taught self-destructive behaviors. I valued all of the wrong things. I believed that the only way to suppress your emotions was to self-destruct. This contributed to so many problems in my teenage experience. My mother and father were not poor but had very little money. Because I never knew any other way to live, this did not affect me as much. My mother always gave me the best of the best. I was always dressed to the nine. Again, I drew too much attention to myself. During high school, I drank and partied way too much. When I was not ruining my life, I was constantly being bullied. This caused a lot of hatred and anger leading me to become explosive. The effect from all of this caused me to act out in ways that would get me in trouble or suspended. I did have a lot of friends however. Just like my parents, they too believed in the Rastafarian lifestyle.
I believe the significance of my childhood and teenage years were built on a ton of little events. There was one major incident that would change my life forever. When I was thirteen, my father decided to disappear for a while. He did not leave a note or any indications as to where he was going. I later found out he was on his way home when his best friend crossed over in the wrong lane and caused and accident that took my father’s life. They had been heavily drinking.
I felt like the world I knew was destroyed. My mother was now the sole provider. As a teenager, my mother and I did not get along. I had erratic behaviors and my mother was negligent. My father’s death shaped every single event in my life. I often think what my life would have been like if he stayed around. It took me thirteen years to finally accept his death. I now believe there is a God and a Heaven and someone is watching over me.
Dissecting my life using Bronfenbrenner ecological systems theory allowed me to reflect on my life. I never realized what a strong influence my childhood would have in my future interaction. I strongly believe that when you become aware of your issues and accept your truth, you now have the control to fix it.