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The Social And Environmental Levels

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The ecological approach is simply a theory stating that the different social and environmental levels with which one interacts, has in turn an overall affect on one’s growth. Through analysis of the NICHS study, which was performed with the basis of 68 biological fathers and 68 step-fathers to determine whether contextual factors associated with involvement and interaction patterns differed between the two, several differences were observed overtime. To preface, it was stated that mere contact between the father and the child is insufficient, and it is proven that quality of time is greater than the quantity of it. The level of involvement of a father is truly measured “in terms of the division of work between the mother and the father himself, and his perception of his contribution to child-related tasks within the family”; although it was analyzed that stepfathers assumed to have similar levels of responsibility for childbearing actives as biological fathers did, it was also proven that stepfathers are less engaged and less emotionally close with their stepchildren than biological fathers. Overall, proving that although both do not differ in their initial levels of involvement, stepfathers do differ in their quality of interactions with their stepchildren. The best way to use the ecological approach to observe fatherhood would be by accounting for Bronfenbrenner’s four facets including: person, process, context, and time to observe development.

Person:
When assessing

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