Health Psychology and Health Sociology in Juno Movies - Movie Review Example

HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY AND HEALTH SOCIOLOGY Name Institution Course Date Introduction The main theme of Juno’s film is a clear focus on human dignity, mostly on the life of unborn and the dignity of the human person. In actual facts, it acts as a voiceless statement against abortion and offers a vision of justice as simply caring for one another. In the same case, this movie exonerated development stages, issues and obstacles that an individual faces as they mature or rather get to adulthood. Facing early pregnancy at age sixteen, where she decided to give birth to the baby and later arrange for an adoption rather than having the embryo aborted. In the same movie, there are issues and emotional turmoil which an adult encounters when he/she makes the right decision. Through Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of development, there are many factors that are influential in the growth and the development of an individua (Addison 1992)l. It clearly depicts that, these facts work together hand in hand to influence the development cycle. In the same case, it shows that our lives substantially balance between the aspects of the environment around an individual. In the movie the conditions in which people are born and grow in are well elaborated and they are used to emphasis on the social determinants of health. Money for instance is noted to play a major role on how children are raised and associated with good health amongst the community who has this resource. According to Bronfenbrenner’s theory of structural environment, there are systems which include a micro-system, meso-system, exo-systems and macro-system which affect the development of a child. The micro-system is the family and systems in the immediate environment where an individual is situated (Beaver et al 2009). The meso-system is the interaction of two Microsystems, like school and home. Exo-system is an environment the environment which a child interacts with even if it is external, like parents workplace and macro-system is the cultural system. In the movie, the cultural diversity and the values that accompany the same have been articulated. For instance an issue like early pregnancy is acceptable and is addressed calmly that other issues like drugs abuse by young adults (Brendtro 2006). This shows that, people in the movie have a cultural value which is open about teenagers having sex during early ages. In other words, they are open about teenagers losing their virginity and an early age. It is noteworthy that, the parents of the pregnant teenager in this movie show a lot of concern and care to her. Most importantly they are very supportive in ensuring that she gets antenatal care services. The mother and friends for instance are very supportive. In the same case, Juno is exposed to a scenario where she is supposed to make a decision just like an adult. This occurrence exposes her to issues of mature people and in the long run she graduates to the same without much struggle and obstacles. This leads to the notion that, the emerging adulthood is correlated to location, culture, psychological effects and the environmental factors that a person is exposed in. Development lifespan through Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system theory The development of a child is determines by the quality and the context of the environment. As a child develops, the interaction within the environments becomes more complex and this because the child physical and cognitive structures are also growing and maturing (Ceci 2006). This theory depicts that, there are distinct differences in the individual knowledge, development and competencies through support guidance and the entire structure of the society they live in. quite a number of ecosystems do affect an individual in many ways. The environment in which an individual live in are divided in several layers; micro-system, meso-system, exo-system, macro system and chronsystem. Micro-system As mentioned above, this is the first layer which children get direct interaction and it is depicted as the closest layer (Ceci 2006). This encompasses the relationships and interactions that a child gets from the immediate environment. This includes the neighborhood, childcare, family and school. The impact in this stage is away from the child and towards the child. For example, the parents of a child may affect the beliefs and behavior of the said child and the child also affects the behavior and the beliefs of the parents too. This is what is referred to as the bi-directional influence in this theory. Bi-directional influences are the strongest and have the greatest impact on the child. Juno grows in an environment with her mother and this gives her a rebellious and this made her independent and self reliance (Beaver et al 2009) Her step mother also made her have a very different view of the theory of relationships. This is exonerated in the fact that, her relationship with Paulie Bleeker was not very open and for she never accepted her feelings towards her, in actual fact she ended u having sex with her just for pleasure and entertainment and nothing more. Additionally there is a reflection of a family that is not willing to conform to the modern and dynamic cultural system. Meso-system In this system, there is a clear connection between the structures of the child’s micro-system. This includes the child’s teacher and the parents, church and neighborhood. In simple terms, mesosystem is a system of Microsystems (Ceci 2006). It is noted that the effects of family and school processes are greater than those attributable to socioeconomic status or even race. In the movie, this system is not very clear. However, it can be described through various relationships, like between father and mother, her boyfriend’s mother, neighbors and the couple who contemplated adopting the child. Ecosystems This is the link and the process happening between two or more settings, one which does not contain the developing person, but which even have several impacts in the long run (Ceci 2006). For example, the relationship between a child and parent’s workplace and the relationship between the school and the neighborhood groups do affect even if they can be regarded as being in the outer circle. Juno gets stressed when she learnt of some substantial differences that existed between the partners who wanted to adopt the child. The husband did not want to adopt the child for he was not ready to become a father and this ended up to their separation. This means that, their separation impacted her even though she was not directly involved, for she was concerned with the upbringing of her child. She never wanted her child to be brought up by a single parent most probably because of what she experienced as she grew up. Macro-system This is the outermost layer in child devilment environment. It is characterized by customs, cultural values and laws (Ceci 2006). It is a cultural belief that, it is the parents who are entitled to raising children and culture is less likely to provide resources to help parents. Parents are supposed to carry out their responsibility towards their children within the context of the child’s micro-system is also being affected. In the movie, culture is extemporarily emphasized. In the culture of the region where the movie is derived, which is the United States, losing virginity in the teenage years is considered normal and that is the main reason why the parents did consider is okay to be pregnant. Otherwise, if it were a drug abuse case, then the parents would have considered the issue as a very serious case. Chronsystem This incorporates the dimension of time as it relates to the development of a child. The elements involved can be internal or external. Internal involved elements like the death of parents and internal are the psychological changes that occur with the aging of a child. In this system, it is depicted that, a child may react differently to environmental changes and maybe able to determine more how that will change influence them (Ceci 2006). When her mother died in the movie, Juno was exposed to more information regarding the biological changes in a human being. In the same time, at her early adulthood she realized that sex is not about pleasure but an obligation between husband and wife or rather an experience. Additionally, she had a feeling of insecurity and in so doing she got comfort from Mark who was to adopt her baby. During development, there are moral dilemmas that do engulf young adults. This dilemmas fall under to dimensions; negative passive and positive active. Juno decided not to have the baby aborted this was a clear example of positive active moral decision. In Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of development, it is a point worth noting that it promotes the treatment of various emotional and behavioral problems (Ceci 2006). According to the theory, changing the environmental factors can provide healing and strength. Parents fail to recognize that their actions towards their children have detrimental effects in the future relationships and adjustment of their children. This is shown in Juno’s relationship, and the way she reacts when she noted that, her baby may end up being brought up by a single parent. Using the same theory, it is clear that the society influences the lives of those people who interact with it and thus becoming a better society is of great importance for the sake of children. Implications of the theory Throughout the world, there have been economic hard times and also family life has become very unpredictable which maybe a contribution of the financial crises experienced all over. Consequently, these aspects are very detrimental to the development of a child. According to Bronfenbrenner ecological model of human development, a child is at the center of concentric circles of context which are set in a overarching system of time and do have substantial effects and continuous change (Beaver et al 2009). In the system, every component interact with each other making a highly complex context the child grows up in. this means that a slight disconnection from the any micro-system will be detrimental in the development of the child. The relationships, like the parent-child relationship has to be present for effective development, failure to which it will result to antisocial behavior during adolescent (Beaver et al 2009) The theory therefore had serious implication which is related to the teaching practices. The theory advocates for closeness and strong relationships which show concern and are meant to last forever. This therefore means that in all the layers, there has to be close ties and relationships which will provide the child with a sense of care and thus influence the said child. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of development The context of human development incorporates that interacting systems and social learning this theory has highlighted on the importance of relationships, person to person and individual to context and how these influences the individual quest of learning (Beaver et al 2009) Using the Bronfenbrenner’s theory in the same context with the movie, it is clear that the development of a child is influenced greatly by the environment that the child is in (Beaver et al 2009). the environment have substantial influences when young people are growing up and most importantly when becoming adults. Despite the age of Juno, her pregnancy exposed her to advanced decision making for she was now expecting her own child. This is the time when she was exposed to emerging adulthood with her age being irrelevant at the moment. From the movie it is clear that she has a lot of concern with the environment that her baby will grow in. she had learnt of the importance of good relationships in family and she knew that, separation and disunity in the family has detrimental effects in the way a child develops and most importantly, the experiences that children get exposed to. This is emphasized by the fact that she was a victim of a separated family and she was quite aware of the consequences that accompany the same. It is also very clear that, she has learned a lot and matured a lot in regard to relationships (Beaver et al 2009) Thus, the environment that she grew up in had many impacts on her life and has shaped her behavior and life conceptions. Individuals are outcomes of their interactions with their social environments. The outlook of adulthood is the products of the society in which they were raised, their family structures, personal experience and the common knowledge of space and time in which they live (Spencer 2006) Social Model of health and determinants The social model of health considers much on the wider determinants that the presence of diseases (Ansari et al 2003). Determinants of health are a person culture and belief systems, Access to health care, level of income, education, genetics, and environmental, political and social economic conditions in the areas where these people live. Societies are very aware of how these issues affected their health and therefore they should be part and parcel of designing solutions to these health problems. Economic status affects the health and well being of people. When people have good economic levels, they can afford commendable healthcare and nutrition which are the main determinants of health. In the same case, those with low economic levels cannot afford good healthcare and at the same time they are prone to stress, literacy and can rarely afford nutrition’s food and thus their health status is compromised (WMargaret & Doran 1991). In the movie, it is clear that the economic status of those aspiring to adopt the child were highly considered. Education gives people the ability to make decisions which are connected to their health. Education is important for it health individuals understand and utilize health related benefits (Nutbeam 2001). In the same case, inherited genes do influence the health of individuals. Lifestyle is also a health determinant. An individual’s lifestyle dictates the decision one makes in such behaviors like smoking, drinking and the like. Finally, Access to healthcare also determines the health of individuals. Those living in remote areas do not have chances to access good healthcare services. Conclusion Juno movies is clear on the fact that, a child development is influenced by internal and external factors of the environment they are exposed in. it expresses the notion that there are substantial influences the way people address issues of life with the experiences they have got as they grow up. Opting not to have an abortion depicts that, there are strong cultural values which are strong in the society The relationships of all the environment systems are very vital in any environment. A break of these links may result to behavioral changes and conception in the lives of adolescents as they grow to be adults. Additionally, the health status of individual is mostly determined by their socioeconomic status and thus employing equity in less privilege communities will help in uplifting their health status, in the same case, having easily accessible healthcare is also an issue that needs to be addressed as well. The movie advocates for families to exist as a unit, rich or poor, exercise responsibility regarding the transmission of life and the education of a child, stability of the bond and most important, to obtain physical, social, political and economic security. Finally the Bronfenbrenner theory discussed the importance of various layers which depict that there are serious impacts on development of a child and the behavior of many children can be changed by changing the environment. References Addison, J. T., 1992. Urie Bronfenbrenner.. Human Ecology, 20(2): 16-20. Ansari, Zahid, Carson, Norman, Ackland, Michael, Vaughan, Loretta, Serragallo, Adrian., 2003. A Public Health Model of the Social Determinants of Health.. Sozial und Präventivmedizin/Social and Preventive Medicine, 48(4), p. 242–251. Beaver, K. M., DeLisi, M., Wright, J. P., & Vaughn, M. G. , 2009. Gene-environment interplay and delinquent involvement: Evidence of direct, indirect, and interactive effects.. Journal of Adolescent Research, 24(2), pp. 147-68.. Brendtro, L. K., 2006. The vision of Urie Bronfenbrenner: Adults who are crazy about kids. Reclaiming Children and Youth:. The Journal of Strength-based Interventions, 15(3), pp. 162-166. Ceci, S. J., 2006. Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005).. American Psychologist, 61(2), pp. 173 174.. Nutbeam, D., 2001. ‘Health Literacy as a public health goal: a challenge for contemporary health education and communication strategies into the 21 Century. Health Promotion International, , 15(3), p. 259 – 267.. Spencer, M., 2006. Phenomenology and ecological systems theory: Development of diverse groups. In: 6, ed. Handbook of child psychology . 6Vol. 1, pp. 830-90 ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons., pp. 830-90. Whitehead, Margaret and Dahlgren, Doran. , 1991. What can be done about inequalities in health? .. The Lancet, Volume 338, p. 1059–1063.. Read More