Unit 3 Assignment 1 Bronfenbrenner Framework (1989)
Background and Significance: Substance use disorders are gaining more attention as the opioid epidemic is growing more widespread, and research is increasing within the addiction medicine field. Substance use, for both men and women, is triggered by many factors and characterized socially by stigma and fear. For women, this stigma often manifests in fear of seeking treatment, particularly if involving children or pregnancy. This paper is inspired by baseline data analyzed from a prospective cohort study within the Uganda Russia Boston Alcohol Network for Alcohol Research Collaboration on HIV/AIDS (URBAN ARCH) consortium. I am a Research Assistant on the Administrative CORE for the URBAN ARCH consortium, which provides support to ensure that
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Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model serves as a suitable framework to contextualize the multitude of factors that influence women’s substance use behavior. This framework (1989) concentrates on the factors at multiple levels that impacts an individual and shows how factors at each level both impacts and is impacted by the individual.1 Bronfenbrenner’s model is based on the bidirectional interactions between five different systems: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.1 Family/children and available services are examples of factors in the microsystem that comprises the most immediate relationships. X is an example of a factor that can significantly impact substance use. Women are more likely to initiate substance use if her partner does. The mesosystem is the link between those immediate relationships and other systems, such as counselors or social services that can connect them to the bigger exosystem. Factors in the exosystem impact a woman’s life but a woman has no direct impact on those factors, such as the health care system: a woman cannot change the healthcare system, but it can significantly impact the her health outcomes. Finally the macrosystem, which includes the social ideologies, gender constructs, and political systems, essentially silently dictates behavior and choices.2 Each of these bidirectional systems affects initiation, continuation, and treatment of substance use. All of these systems do not occur in isolation and each must be considered when supporting women with substance use
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model serves as a suitable framework to contextualize the multitude of factors that influence women’s substance use behavior. This framework (1989) concentrates on the factors at multiple levels that impacts an individual and shows how factors at each level both impacts and is impacted by the individual.1 Bronfenbrenner’s model is based on the bidirectional interactions between five different systems: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.1 Family/children and available services are examples of factors in the microsystem that comprises the most immediate relationships. X is an example of a factor that can significantly impact substance use. Women are more likely to initiate substance use if her partner does. The mesosystem is the link between those immediate relationships and other systems, such as counselors or social services that can connect them to the bigger exosystem. Factors in the exosystem impact a woman’s life but a woman has no direct impact on those factors, such as the health care system: a woman cannot change the healthcare system, but it can significantly impact the her health outcomes. Finally the macrosystem, which includes the social ideologies, gender constructs, and political systems, essentially silently dictates behavior and choices.2 Each of these bidirectional systems affects initiation, continuation, and treatment of substance use. All of these systems do not occur in isolation and each must be considered when supporting women with substance use