1. Foundational Theories
H607: Ethnicity, Context, & Family Dynamics

2. Overview Religious Holidays Theories and frameworks Email me or Ross
Class is recorded for your review
Share notes
Come see me with questions
Theories and frameworks
Integrative Model for minority child development
Ecological Models
Dynamic Interaction Models

3. Challenges for Research on Diverse Families
Absence of longitudinal, normative research
Emphasis on outcomes instead of processes
Lack of attention to within group variations
Emphasis of the effects of social stratification
Lack of attention to migration histories
Cultural influences have not been specified

4. Integrative model for the study of developmental competencies in minority children
In the Integrative theory for the study of minority children, culture is right in the center of the model. It is proximal, effecting children’s developmental outcomes directly and indirectly, through their influence on family.
This model also shows that culture is adaptive and responsive to social stratification. Because this model is based on minority children, it shows a culture as mediator or lens through which social stratification and even discriminatory experiences are interpreted.
A strength of this model is also that it focuses on developmental competencies among minority children. In stark contrast to much of the literature that has focused on pathology among ethnic minority children.
Between these two theories, one can see how culture is distal, and also how it is shaped by experiences within society and more proximal.
Which is what Garcia Coll et al. describe—a normative developmental theory for ethnic minorities.
It is the proximal aspects of culture that are often studied with minority families.
But what about everyone else? Everyone does have a culture. How do we consider its effects? How do we examine culture more broadly?
Garcia Coll, et al, 1996

5. How can it be applied to how we work with and understand families?
Encourages the examination of processes
Accounts for factors that are uniquely salient for ethnic minority children
Places culture at the center of the model
More direct influence
In a reactive position

6. Ecological Models of Human Development-Bronfenbrenner
Micro-system
Meso-system
Exo-system
Macro-system
Chrono-system

7. Microsystems
Any context that directly influences the child

8. Meso-system Relations between micro systems
Setting transition and feedback
Dissonance and complementarity
Linkages between settings
Changes in one setting effect another
Diversity in roles and role models

9. Exo-system
Relations between 2 or more settings—one of which does not include the child
Workplace & Society
Family’s social world
Parents of children’s friends
Agreement among neighbors
Social Policies

10. Macro-system Social and historical influences Zeitgeist of the time
Cohort differences
Macro-Time
Zeitgeist of the time

11. Ecological Models of Human Development-Bronfenbrenner
Micro-system
Meso-system
Exo-system
Macro-system
Chrono-system

12. 4 Defining Properties for Understanding Development
Process—primacy of proximal processes
Person
Force/Dispositions—set proximal processes in motion (internal dispositions—e.g., curiosity, apathy)
Resources—ability, experience, knowledge skill
Demand Characteristics—invite or discourage interactions
Context
Time
Micro-time—regularity & stability in the environment, ongoing episodes of proximal processes
Meso-time—regularity across broader periods of time—days weeks, life periods
Macro-time—historic time and place

13. Dynamic Interaction Models
The draw of this theory is obviously its inclusiveness. The linking of internal characteristics such as temperament health characteristics with interactions with others, the community, and society.
Moreover, for research on parenting and parent-child relations, I appreciate the fact that this theory accounts for both the developmental stage of the parent as it relates to the developmental stages of the child & the intersection of multiple developmental pathways.
As it pertains to the influence of culture, like other ecological theories, culture is in the outer ring. Its influence on child development seemingly only indirect through its influences on society as a whole including policies expectations, media etc.
Culture is broad and all encompassing and even distal. But, at the same time it is also personal, up close, and proximal factor.
Ecological theories say much less about culture as a proximal construct that more directly influences the day to day lives and development of children
However, drawing on the fields of psychology, African American studies, and anthropology, there are 3 theories that are useful in thinking about culture as a more proximal influence.
e.g., Developmental Contextualism
e.g., Lerner, 1986; 1991

14. Summary of ecological and dynamic models
What is similar in their models?
What’s distinguishes them?
What are their strengths?
How do they conceptualize culture?

15. Usefulness of the model…
View of child
Child and context are fused and interactive
Child effects on parent
“Goodness of fit” with context
Challenges: Dispersive
Cannot test the entire model
Generalizability beyond the individual
Cannot make testable hypotheses or predictions
Advantages to research:
Developmental Science in Discovery Mode
Broaden your thinking
Conceptualization of the nature of the attributes of population studied
Conceptualization of the context—why and how it is salient
Conceptualization of the fusion between the individual and the context.

16. Application to Prevention & Intervention?
Context for Sustainability
Context for Community “Buy In”
Context for Program Evaluation

17. “I believe that a developmental systems view of the historical and developmental ecology of individual and family life helps reduce the incidence of “blindness to social history and context”.”
--Lerner (1998)

18. Coming up next…
Conceptualizations of Race, Ethnicity and Culture