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At present, the social-ecological model is often used as a conceptual framework for investigating health problems. One of the fields that demonstrates the effectiveness of this model’s application is the problem of eating disorders. The case that I will describe represents such disorders as anorexia and bulimia. In this essay, I will analyze the different spheres that influenced one of my friends with the aforementioned eating behavior problems according to the social-ecological model of health.
The person whom I’m describing is a girl of the university-age, who is attending a dance school and planning further to build her career as a dancer. For several years, she has been suffering from an eating disorder that includes anorexia (over-controlling of eating) and bulimia (episodes of overeating, followed by the feeling of guilt). The social-ecological model can be used to analyze the aforementioned problem, exploring distal, immediate, and proximal factors of influence.
At the intrapersonal level, the behavior of the described person is driven by psychological motives, caused by such qualities as perfectionism and the desire to be attractive. However, the girl does not consider the influence of a family (parents’ arguments), thus, ignoring the impact of the interpersonal level exacerbates the problem. At the organizational level, she is affected by her university colleagues. However, instead of copying their habits, which are mostly unhealthy, she tries to position herself as superior, purposely demonstrating her ability to control her weight. Generally, it is argued that “university is a critical period for young adults regarding food choices” (Sogari et al., 2018, p. 2). On the other hand, the impact of the club/association is crucial. The girl is highly influenced by her mates and teachers in the dance school, where low weight and hard training are considered virtues.
At the level of community, she is influenced by the stereotypes, such as promoted “ideal” of the women usually presents an anorexic model instead of a healthy person with average weight. This public opinion is typical for urban social psychology, including the upper-middle class to which she belongs. While within lower strata, the problem would not be relevant as, sometimes, food is hardly accessible, the described person has the freedom of choice, both financial and psychological. Finally, the societal level does not seem to impact the girl considerably. Within this level, much larger problems arise, such as healthcare considering her future motherhood, which requires proper nutrition. Moreover, in light of broad moral concerns, the question of physical attraction often loses its importance; however, for the girl, that is the sphere left without attention.
To conclude, it is evident that my friend’s problem is caused by various factors. Some of them (perfectionism, opinion of her dance school friends and university mates, public ideals) are overestimated while others (parents’ advice, general healthcare, and moral concerns) are lacking her attention. It is evident that, in the described case, the intrapersonal, organizational, and communal levels are the most influential, while the interpersonal and societal have almost no impact on the girl. The analysis of this problem demonstrates that the social-ecological model can be successfully applied for the analysis of health problems.
Reference
Sogari, G., Velez-Argumedo, C., Gómez, M. I., & Mora, C. (2018). College students and eating habits: A study using an ecological model for healthy behavior. Nutrients, 10(1823), 1-16.
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