A bioecological-contextual framework for developmental-behavioral pediatrics and pediatric psychology

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0000413-003

Pediatrics has historically viewed child medical disorders as reflecting intrinsic conditions in the child, but there is an increasing emphasis today on the role of extrinsic contextual influences on the etiology and treatment of childhood illness. This chapter illustrates the relevance of a bioecological framework for the fields of developmental-behavioral pediatrics and pediatric psychology. It presents an exposition of the bioecological framework, highlighting examples of the interplay between proximal biomedical risk and protective factors across the person, context, and time dimensions, as related to the etiology of five common child health conditions (growth retardation, obesity, infectious diseases, respiratory conditions, and gastrointestinal disorders). The chapter then presents examples of bioecologically rooted interventions to treat or prevent the impact of child health problems in both high- as well as in low- and middle-income countries as well as examples of bioecologically based clinician training strategies.