50 JADE SHEPPARD
outlines the ways in which proximal processes intertwine in order to produce
developmental outcomes and can easily be applied to the current crisis.
Individual Outcomes
Perhaps most importantly, and most relevant to Bronfenbrenner’s theory, is the impact
of individual characteristics on developmental outcomes. Personality and other
individual characteristics such as appearance, age and gender can influence
microsystems as they dictate how other people relate to us and how we react. Positive
demand characteristics such as attractiveness can encourage interactions whereas
negative traits such as unhappiness can repel them. They must always be placed in a
specific context, since the expression of biology is dependent on environment.
Secondly, developmentally generative characteristics such as curiosity and impulse
control are related to healthy outcomes, whereas disruptive forces tend to bring
negative outcomes (Bronfenbrenner and Morris 2006: 795-825). In terms of refugees,
individual characteristics have been shown to play an important role in how they are
affected differently by the same situations. Older children display greater levels of
externalising behaviour, while females are more likely to internalise problems,
leading to higher levels of depression (Nielsen et al in Bronstein and Montgomery
2010: 44-56).
A meta-analysis by Bronstein and Montgomery (2010: 44-56) of twenty-two high
quality studies found that the levels of distress refugee children suffer depends to a
large extent on personal factors, the extent of trauma they had witnessed at home and
experiences in their recipient country. They discovered that, on average, refugee
children experienced greater post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) levels (19-54
percent) than both the general population and those who had been displaced due to
natural disaster. It seems as though the specific nature of war has an impact on trauma
– more so than losing their homes or families in other circumstances. In terms of the
Bioecological Model the child’s microsystems are completely disrupted, due to
decisions and actions in their macrosystem filtering down to an individual level. They
have certainly experienced a huge amount of stress in losing their school, friends and
possibly family, as well as the previously stable elements of their day-to-day life, or