Social ecological model
The Social Ecological Model (SEM) is a framework designed to understand human development and the interplay between individuals and their social environments. Developed by American psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner, the SEM outlines various levels of social systems that influence behavior, including the individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and policy/enabling environment. This model emphasizes that individuals develop within a network of relationships, such as family, friends, and broader societal influences.
Bronfenbrenner's approach illustrates how development is shaped by interactions across different contexts, ranging from immediate family dynamics to overarching cultural values. The SEM is particularly useful for designing interventions aimed at promoting healthier behaviors, as it recognizes the need to address not only individual factors but also community and policy-level influences. For instance, efforts to combat obesity may include workplace wellness programs and community fitness initiatives, rather than focusing solely on personal dietary changes. Additionally, the SEM can be customized for various applications, such as violence prevention, by assessing multiple levels of influence on behavior, including the roles of both victims and perpetrators in the community.
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Social ecological model
The social ecological model, or socio-ecological model (SEM), was developed to help in understanding human development. It is meant to be used as an aid to organize the relationships between multiple levels of social systems and interactions between beings and the environment in the system. A SEM may be developed in many categories of study to fit many situations. Levels that may be included in a SEM include the individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and policy/enabling environment.
Background
American psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner developed the SEM. His father, a neuropathologist, liked to show the young Bronfenbrenner how organisms and their environments relied on each other. Bronfenbrenner was born in Russia, but the family moved to the United States when he was six, and Bronfenbrenner later studied psychology and music. He earned a master’s degree in education at Harvard University in 1942 and a PhD in developmental psychology in 1942 from the University of Michigan. He worked as a professor and military psychologist and, in 1965, was a founder of the federal Head Start program. Head Start was developed to help economically disadvantaged children by supporting them with health and education services.
Bronfenbrenner drew on his father’s early lessons about interdependence in forming his program and theories. He developed the ecological systems theory, or human ecology theory, during the 1970s and 1980s. In his theory, he saw individuals developing within relationships rather than developing independently of outside influences. These relationships include family as well as friends, neighborhoods, organizations, and society. Bronfenbrenner saw human development as a persistent change in how a person understands and interacts with their environment. The individual affects the environment, and the environment, in turn, influences the individual. He also saw that public policies have an effect on the environment, which in turn affects individuals.
Bronfenbrenner’s original theory model is of nesting circles. His human growth system includes five socially organized subsystems: the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. The individual is at the center. The microsystem that has the strongest influence on the individual and on which the individual has the greatest impact is closest to the individual. This is typically one’s family. The mesosystem, which is the second circle, includes systems with which the individual has direct contact, such as school, work, faith community, and neighborhood. The third circle, exosystem, has positive and negative interactive forces on the individual but does not exert direct impact. This includes social networks and contacts in the community. The macrosystem, the fourth circle, includes values and influences. These are related to one’s culture, religion, and society, among other influences. The fifth circle is the chronosystem. This includes time and historical context, and, in some models, may examine the impact that public policy has on individuals.
Overview
The SEM is useful in both understanding what affects behavior and in developing programs with these effects in mind. This use is consistent with social cognitive theory ideas about making changes in one’s environment to help individuals choose and stay with healthier actions. For example, traditional approaches to affecting obesity levels in society have been focused on the individual. Information about diet and exercise is provided to the person, who may make lifestyle changes based on this information. These changes could be long-lasting or temporary. However, by creating and evaluating a SEM, a medical team could identify other strategies to help an obese patient. These could include workplace support groups or community-based fitness centers. Public policies may support the development of walking trails in the neighborhood. Private community organizations, such as churches, may offer healthy cooking classes or nutrition support, such as food co-ops that provide fresh produce.
Professionals need not develop SEMs from the ground up. A number of popular models have been developed and can be used as-is or modified if necessary. The Health Belief Model, for example, looks at an individual’s beliefs regarding health conditions. These beliefs help predict the individual’s behaviors. The key factors that influence behaviors regarding health are the person’s belief that illness is a likely threat; belief of consequence or severity; perceived benefits of taking action; perceived obstacles to action, exposure to factors that inspire action, such as being unable to climb stairs without pausing to rest; and confidence that one can achieve success. The Health Belief Model can be used to design plans to achieve short- and long-term goals. To do so, one first conducts a needs assessment to find the target at-risk population and then shares the dangers of the behaviors the model is meant to target. Next, the steps to be taken to achieve success should be shared with the target population. Obstacles to success are identified, and means to reduce their effect are devised and shared. The cue to action is something that prompts the individual to take action; it could be internal, such as a health scare caused by chest pains, or external, such as a family member’s illness or concerns expressed by family or friends. Finally, the target population receives support in making changes, which consists of developing skills and changing behavior. This may include assistance in setting small goals that are achievable and incremental, establishing a contract with goals and rewards, or using self-monitoring by the client to record actions. While the Health Belief Model is widely used and has recognized value, it does not account for all factors in behavior. For example, an individual may be addicted to nicotine or other substances, which makes changing habitual behavior more complicated.
Because the SEM is so customizable, it may contain more or fewer levels. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses a four-level Violence Prevention SEM. It includes the individual, the relationship, the community, and societal levels. In exploring ways to prevent violence, the CDC looks at both the victims and perpetrators of violence.
Bibliography
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“Urie Bronfenbrenner.” Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, Cornell University College of Human Ecology, www.bctr.cornell.edu/about-us/urie-bronfenbrenner. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.