1.1 Bron[enbrenner's Ecological Theorv or B = [(PE)
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According to Bronfenbrenner (1980), what is important in any understanding or interpretation
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(Kurt Lewin, 1935 as in Bronfenbrenner, 1980, p. 16. Translated: "Behaviour evolves as a function of the interplay between person and environment.")of a person's life history, is how heperceiveshis activities, roles and interpersonal relationships within such history.Itshould, therefore, be noted that throughout both interviews, and the diary, what was recalled was Rory's perception and intelpretatioll of his activities, roles and interpersonal relationships, and not how all three were in a hypothetical objective reality. This is significant not only across all five levels of systems, but also throughout the predisposing, precipitating and maintaining factors ofRory's drug-taking experiences.
The particular microsystem which has predominated in Rory' s account ofhis childhood and early adolescence is that of his nuclear family, and this will form the focus of the present discussion, even though other microsystems in operation at the time may also have predisposed Rory to start taking drugs.
According to Erikson (1980) one of the main agents of socialisation during early and late childhood is the family. It is, therefore, pertinent to suggest that the activities, roles and interpersonal relationships, including perceived closeness of its members, in a particular family during that time, may play a part in determining how a member or unit within that family will experience the ecological transition from childhood into adolescence (Brook, Whiteman, Finch
& Cohen, 2000; Macoby, 1992). Macoby (1992) states that
events that occur in the context of parent-child interaction affect children's social behaviour in other settings and at later times (p. 1015).
Parenting style, which in effect defines the roles of the parents in "relation to the child, is one aspect within a family which has been advanced as being a possible predisposing factor in
adolescent drug use and associated delinquent behaviour (Kimmel& Weiner, 1995; Simons et aI., 1991). Authoritarian parenting may be perceived by the child as being unfair, unduly strict and restrictive, and this authoritarianism may, in turn, precede discontentment and resentment on the part of the child. This style of parenting may also result in difficult interpersonal relationships between parents and child, and this difficulty may persist into adolescence and beyond, forming partofRory'schronosystemic level ofinterrelatedness.Rorystated that "I tend to think they were quite strict...I used to get hit when I was a child. I always felt like he was out to get me....put me down. Instead of trying to be such an authoritarian he could've been more a father."
A further factor that has been associated with the predisposition to start taking drugs is found within the microsystem, and is related to family functioning and structure (Brook et aI., 2000;
Hawkins, Catelano& Miller, 1992; Pandina& Schuele, 1983). Ifa family is seen as being a well- functioning unit, a child within that unit is at a reduced risk to start taking drugs. This is confirmed inRory'sinstance, as he stated that "I had big issues with my father...and my mother we used to fight, and my sister we always used to fight, so I realised I was on my own from a very young age."
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Rory also mentioned that he felt as though his father* never did enough with him as a child.
According toRory, his father was in pursuit of wealth, power and status. Itcould, therefore, be hypothesised that due to his father's pursuit of the above, which may have emanated from his place of employment, it wasRory'sperception that his father had less time to spend with him.
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All references in this report toRory'sfather, mother, sister, or family refer to his adoptive father, adoptive mother, adoptive sister and adoptive famiIy,unless specifically indicated to the contrary.Bronfenbrenner posits that
...whether parents can perform effectively in their child-rearing roles within the family depends on role demands, stresses, and supports emanating from other settings (p. 7).
Therefore, this exosystemic level of interconnectedness may have had a part to play in reducing father-son interaction, and accordingly may have increased the risk ofRory seeking meaningful interaction elsewhere, for example, in the peer group, which served to form part of his mesosystem (Kimmel& Weiner, 1995; Marcus, 2000). Baumrind& Moselle (1985) and Spooner, Mattick& Roward (1996) postulate that the peer group is an increasingly significant means of socialisation, and to this end, Rory mentioned that during his childhood years, and beyond, he
"had lots offriends. I've never had a problem with friends." Re also stated that "because I didn't find that security or comfort there (the family), maybe I did seek it elsewhere."
Bronfenbrenner's conception of the significance ofjoint activity dyads is relevant at this point.It was Rory's perception that there was a paucity ofjoint activity dyads, especially the father-son dyad, in his childhood. According to Bronfenbrenner (1980)
The developmental power of a joint activity dyad derives from the fact that it enhances, and thereby exhibits in more marked degree, certain properties that are characteristic of all dyads (p. 57).
The properties that are peculiar to all dyads, namely, reciprocity, balance of power and affection, will be discussed briefly in order to illustrate their significance as further possible predisposing
factors to Rory's drug-taking (Bronfenbrenner, 1980).
Firstly, reciprocity, according to Bronfenbrenner (1980), affords a young child the opportunity to acquire appropriate interactive and interdependency skills, both of which can positively influence present and future interpersonal relationships (Kimmel & Weiner, 1995; Macoby, 1992;
Scheier, Botvin, Gilbert, Griffin & Diaz, 2000). Secondly, balance of power is a further property of dyads which could be significant in this instance. Bronfenbrenner states that
...the optimal situation for learning and development is one in which the balance of power gradually shifts in favour of the developing person, when the latter is given increasing opportunity to exercise control over the situation (1980, p. 58).
Rory mentioned that his father was "always the boss" and that "you could never argue.Itwas just do it! And as soon as you asked 'why' that was World War Three. I could imagine him being the general and me being a soldier." Accordingly, it appears as though, from Rory's perspective, the balance of power was unequal- in favour of his father - and that Rory consequently felt that he was not in control ofthe situation, which, according to Bronfenbrenner (1980), is not conducive
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to learning and development. This is also in accordance with the concept of authoritarian parenting, where the parents are viewed as being unduly restrictive and uncompromising in their interaction with a child, and subsequently imparting a sense of powerlessness in the child (Baumrind& Moselle, 1985; Santrock, 1992). Macoby (1992) states that
simple unqualified power assertion seems effective for immediate behavioural control but appears to undermine children's progress toward becoming independently prosocial and
self-regulating (p.1015).
Finally, the third property of a dyad is that pertaining to affection. Bronfenbrenner (1980) states that
as participants engage in dyadic interaction, they are likely to develop more pronounced feelings toward one another, (which) may be mutually positive, negative, ambivalent, or
"asymmetrical (p. 58).
According to Rory, ifhis father had indeed interacted more with him as a child, he could've been
"more a father" which may have served to foster mutually positive feelings within the dyad.
However, in their negative interactions with each other, this only enhanced the negativity present in the dyad (Bronfenbrenner, 1980). Therefore, the interpersonal relationship of father and son appeared to be based on a negative reciprocity and unequal balance of power, which may have predisposed Rory to start taking drugs.
Lo (2000) sta~esthat if a child is allowed to drink in the presence of his family, thismay reduce
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the risk of his indulging in alcohol at a later stage, as it permits the child to learn appropriate drinking habits within the safety of his family. However, this may be contrary to Rory's experiences, and may have in turn served as a predisposing factor in his drug-taking, particularly alcohol, experiences. He mentioned that "I was always allowed to drink .. .in moderation in front of my family ...wine at the table and all that." He also stated that his parents "allow[ed] me to experiment with alcohol and stuff, so it was never restricted, and my dad always had the philosophy -like, ifyou do restrict it, it will become a problem." Therefore, his parents' particular
values regarding Rory's initiation into drinking, which constitute factors present at the macrosystemic level, may have predisposed him to start drinking and taking drugs on a more regular basis (Kandel, 1985).
Rory also mentioned that as he knew he was adopted, he had always hoped for "this other family thing that I would have if! found my biological parents...Ihad this.. .idea that they would be this perfect family." Therefore, this chronosystemic level ofinterrelatedness appeared to pervade and affect his experience of childhood and adolescence, and perhaps served to further alienate him from his adoptive family, which could also have caused him to seek a new connectedness and a sense of belonging within his peer group (Calabrese, & Adams, 1990 in Spooner et aI., 1996;
Kimmel & Weiner, 1995).
Throughout the preceding discussion, numerous cause and effect relations have been hypothesised and presaged. However, what should be borne in mind is that in keeping with the ecological model ofBronfenbrenner (1980), and Kurt Lewin's equation, this process of cause and effect is by no means a linear one
... sInce the environment also exerts its influence, requmng a process of mutual accommodation, the interaction between person and environment is viewed as two- directional, that is, characterized byreciprocity(Bronfenbrenner, 1980, p. 22).
This notion of reciprocity is supported by Reed & Rose (1998), who posit that there are many reciprocal causal links among particular phenomena, and that it should not be assumed that such causal links are single and linear. Such an assumption could in turn result in a misinterpretation
of the phenomena under study.