The Importance of Ecology for Children's Health and Well-Being

Abstract

The health and well-being of children are influenced in particular ways by historical, social, and economic circumstances. Child development research has concentrated heavily on the family environment as the primary means of capturing such influences, although peer influences and school contexts have also been examined. To justify use of the term ecology, research must extend beyond these sets of relatively proximal relationships to encompass the more distal contexts and relationships found in neighborhoods, religious groups, and nationalities. It is in the recognition that individuals are at once members of several social groups that the concept of social ecology gains prominence. These contexts range from the intimate relationships found in a family environment to ones that can be truly anonymous, as in many urban neighborhoods. This constellation of environments and relationships represents the social ecology referred to in the title of this paper.