Mesosystem Level Research Articles

Students’ Perceptions of Unsafe Schools: An Ecological Systems Analysis

In the aftermath of several school shooting incidents in recent years, students’ perceptions of unsafe schools has been a major concern for parents, teachers, school officials, school practitioners, and policy-makers. Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems framework, we examined the micro-, meso-, and exosystem level factors associated with perceptions of unsafe school environments in a nationally representative sample of 10- to 15-year-old youth in the United States. We found that for the socio-demographic characteristics, students who were older, male, and poor had increased risks of perceiving higher levels of unsafe school environments. Within the microsystem of the family, our results indicate that parent-youth discussions of school activities/events decreased the risk of students perceiving unsafe schools. All of the school environment variables—ease of making friends, teachers’ involvement, observed weapon carrying, and school rule enforcement—were related in the expected direction to students’ perceiving their schools as unsafe. At the mesosystem level, findings from our study demonstrate that variables measuring parental school involvement were unrelated to perceptions of school safety. Finally, at the exosystem level, we found that students’ perceptions of residing in a safer neighborhood and residence in a non-central city metropolitan area, compared with a central city, decreased the odds of perceiving school environments as unsafe. School policy and practice implications are discussed.

Applying an ecological framework to education needs of communication partners of individuals with aphasia

Background: Education provided to communication partners of individuals with aphasia can be crucial in coping with resulting changes in communication. Research is limited regarding the viewpoint of communication partners in the process of receiving education. Aims: The aim of the study was to explore education experiences and needs of communication partners of individuals with aphasia in the current climate of healthcare. Methods & Procedures: A qualitative research design was implemented. Participants included nine communication partners of individuals with aphasia with onset within 2 years. Mean age of participants was 58 years; mean age of aphasic individuals was 71 years. Outcomes & Results: Bronfenbrenner's ecological model (1979, 2005) provided a framework for discussing the participants' perception of the education received about aphasia and the specific communication problems of the individuals with aphasia. Barriers and facilitators to education were identified at the microsystem, mesosystem, and exosystem levels. The mesosystem level was the most prevalent focus and prominent mesosystem themes included: education provided must be tailored to the needs of each dyad, transitions require more education, and barriers from both the healthcare system and healthcare workers' misperceptions about education needs negatively affected transmission of education. Conclusions: Interventions to improve education of communication partners of individuals with aphasia should be provided at a variety of levels. Intervention is needed for the surrounding environment and for the person with aphasia/communication partner dyad. Future research could build on this study, and ultimately lead to development and testing of intervention measures in the area of education needs.

Familismo e capitale sociale: il posto della donna nel pensiero mafioso

In this research the representations of feminine and masculine roles in the mafia thought have been studied using a qualitative analysis of the texts collected during clinical interviews with five collaborators of justice. The relation between the intimate and the social relationships is addressed as well as the problem of amoral familism that is at the roof of the mafia sub-culture. Data show that the mesosystem and macrosystem levels are not present at all, while the microsystem includes totally the mesosystem.

Work, Family, and Community: Exploring Interconnections ‐ by Patricia Voydanoff

Work, Family, and Community: Exploring Interconnections. Patricia Voydanoff. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 2007. 196 pp. ISBN 0-8058-5620-X. $59.95 (hardback). ISBN 0-8058-5621-8. $29.95 (paperback). In 1987, when Patricia Voydanoff wrote Work and Family Life, the worlds of work and famUy looked different than diey do today. With more women working outside die home, the ending of welfare as we know it, the increasing diversity of family structures, and other changes in family and work life, researchers have increasingly focused on the interaction between work and family. Twenty years after publishing Work and Family Life, Voydanoff adds to this effort with Work, Family, and Community: Exploring Interconnections. In this latest book, Voydanoff builds on the earlier book and adds community as a new dimension to a model of how work and family affect individuals. By integrating community into the model, Voydanoff provides readers with a more complete portrait of how work, family, and community can intersect to affect how people fare in their roles in the workplace, home, and community. The book is organized into eight chapters. Voydanoff first presents a conceptual model of the interconnections between work, family, and community using an ecological systems approach. This approach demonstrates the interconnections by examining how the environment affects people at different levels of interaction. Attention focuses primarily on the interactions at the mesosystem level, which is the level that links together the experiences a person has across domains, such as work and family or work and community. The author then discusses problems with the worker-earner role, which center around the difficulties of maintaining stable employment and earning sufficient income. This discussion is followed by an examination of the demands and resources both within and across the work, family, and community domains. The author shows how demands and resources affect the work-family fit, which in turn affects the balance between work and family and has consequences for role performance and quality and well-being. A discussion of aspects of the model that need additional research and the implications of the model for policies and programs conclude the book. One of the strengths of this book is its recognition of the role played by communities in work and family life. Oftentimes, the study of community is distinct and separate from that of work and family. Instead of being studied independently from work and family, community warrants inclusion as a context that affects how well people function within the workplace and home. Community includes the local community, the smaller geographic neighborhood, and friends who provide nonfamily interaction. The community can drain resources through the time spent volunteering in organizations and associations and helping friends and neighbors, as well as produce strains from neighborhood problems and excessive requests from friends for help. …

A NOVEL MULTIFACTORIAL/MULTISYSTEMIC APPROACH TO THE MANAGEMENT OF CHILDHOOD FEEDING DISORDERS

Introduction: The transition from being fed to self feeding (eating) is a crucial learned behaviour in infancy and childhood. Restoring normal eating behaviour in children who have feeding disorders is a major challenge and these children remain dependent on prolonged enteral tube feeding. We have successfully used the Multi-factorial/Multisystemic approach in the assessment and treatment of several children in an in-patient setting and restored adequate eating within seven days. Methods: The case of a typical two year old girl with a severe feeding disorder, weight loss and dependent on nasogastric tube feeds is described. At assessment, family and ward staff interviews, video observations and quantitative measures were carried out. Causal and maintaining factors were identified and the subsequent intervention used Multisystemic Therapy principles (MST). The Oral Feeding Programme consisted of a multi-component package of treatment: (i) Bio-Behavioural approaches, (ii) Parent Training Procedures, (iii) Play Therapy, (iv) Health Education related to psychosocial aspects of paediatric care and (v) Systemic intervention at Mesosystem level. Results: At admission, the only feeding behaviour observed was finger licking. Over the next seven days, the number and variety of feeding behaviours displayed and the amount of foods taken increased significantly. The nasogastric tube was removed because she started eating adequately. Behaviours learned were maintained during the follow up and generalised into the home environment. An increase in her capacity for emotional expression was also observed. Follow-up at community setting confirmed the maintenance of the new feeding dynamic by the child and the family. No further readmissions were required and adequate growth was achieved. Conclusions: The multi-factorial/Multisystemic approach is successful in resolving complex childhood feeding disorders. This is due to effective trandisciplinary collaboration and the inclusion of the family in all stages of the process.

Ecodevelopmental Correlates of Behavior Problemsin Young Hispanic Females

Guided by ecodevelopmental theory (Szapocznik & Coatsworth, 1999), this study investigated the influence of multiple social ecological levels (microsystem, mesosystem, macrosystem), domains (family, school, peers), and processes (support, conflict) on the development of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in a sample of 150 middle-school age Hispanic females. Support and conflict in the family microsystem showed the strongest and most consistent bivariate and unique relations with behavior problems. Two mesosystem level variables, conflict between parents and daughters' peers and support between parent and school personnel, were also significantly related to mother and daughter reports of externalizing behavior, respectively. Acculturation interacted with family conflict to predict both internalizing and externalizing behavior, and with support between family and school to predict externalizing behavior. These results highlight the importance of accounting for multiple dimensions and levels of social context when investigating the development of psychopathology. Implications for interventions are discussed.

Leisure in the Lives of Old Lesbians: Experiences with and Responses to Discrimination

Contemporary leisure theorists have emphasized ways that leisure can enhance or reaffirm one's sense of self, but they have not effectively acknowledged that leisure can be a context for negative messages about self. The ways that stigma and discrimination influence the leisure of one disempowered group, old lesbians, is the focus of this study. Sixteen lesbians over the age of 60 wrote responses discussing aspects of their leisure; eight of these women provided additional insights during a series of in-depth interviews. Their awareness of discrimination and their responses to it, with particular focus upon responses within their leisure, are discussed in this paper. Use of an ecological perspective provided a framework for understanding the sources of stigma and discrimination. These women's stories suggested that discrimination was most evident at the macrosystem level but most painful at the exo- and mesosystem levels. The mesosystem and microsystem provided active, viable resources through which these women were able to resist discrimination and establish a supportive community. Leisure played a significant role in this resistance.

Inclusion of young children with special needs in early childhood education: The research base

Increasingly, early childhood programs include children with disabilities and typically developing children. The purpose of this paper is to review the recent empirical literature that underlies the practice of inclusion at the early childhood level in order to provide a context for the research articles appearing in this issue of ECRQ. We first describe the definitions of inclusion, rationales for inclusive classes, and demographics of inclusive programs and staff. Using Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory as a conceptual framework, we review research related to variables proximal to the program (i.e., microsystem and mesosystem levels) such as classroom practices, children's social interactions, teacher beliefs, and professional collaboration. Next, we examine research associated with variables occurring more distally from the classroom program (i.e., exosystem and macrosystem levels): families' perspectives, social policy, community and culture. We conclude this review with an examination of research that illustrates the influence of variables a one level of the ecological system on those occurring at a different levels and recommend directions for future research.

An Ecological Perspective on Adolescent Sexual Offending

ABSTRACT This paper proposes an ecological perspective for understanding the complex phenomenon of adolescent sexual offending. Pertinent research findings are incorporated within the individual, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystemic levels as suggested by this model. This perspective is capable of integrating research and treatment approaches from divergent disciplines and varying theoretical perspectives. An ecological perspective suggests consideration of variables and interactions not previously examined that may play a role in the etiology of sexual offenses by adolescents. Implications of this ecological perspective for prevention, treatment and further research are offered.