Working with Immigrant Children and Their Families: An Application of Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory

Abstract

The influx of multicultural and multiethnic immigrants to the United States following the liberalization of immigration law in 1965 has resulted in a high representation of children who reside with immigrant families. As these children are approaching early adulthood, their encounter with various ecological systems is likely to be shaped by their cultural differences and the diversity of family settings. Drawing on the insights of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, this article highlights the critical function that family social ecology plays in how children of immigrants will fare over their adolescent life course. By providing a comprehensive picture of how immigrant family process takes place, this article suggests how understanding the ecology of immigrant families can help strengthen social work service delivery.

Keywords:

• Immigrant families
• ecology of family
• Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory

Notes

The author thanks Mark Lusk for his editorial suggestions on an earlier version of this article.

1. Ethnic capital is conceptualized as the social or cultural capital in the ethnic community.

2. Rather than a smooth, straight-line assimilation model, Gans (1992b) proposed a “Bumpy-Line Approach” in looking at immigrants' patterns of assimilation.