The Socio-Ecological Model
Its starting point is found in the idea that human actions depend, to a large extent, on broader contexts. Human behaviour is the result of the progressive mutual accommodation between an active, developing human being and the changing properties of the instant environments in which he lives since this accommodation process is affected by the relationships established between those settings and by the big contexts in which the settings are included (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). From this perspective, health cannot be defined in the individual per se, but by reference to their total environment: physical, social, economic, cultural… In this sense, health is not an attribute of the individual himself but of his interaction with the field of forces and relationships in which their behaviour develops (Sánchez-Vidal, 1998). So,
This model considers a series of complex interrelationships and interdependencies between the organic, behavioural, and environmental systems. When talking about the environment, not only the physical and social factors are contemplated, but also the perceptions and cognitions that people have about it, that is, the sense and meaning that the environment acquires for the people who interact with it. Thus, physical, biological, psychological, social, ethnocultural, economic and political aspects will be considered. Therefore, if it is intended to understand the complex mechanism of drug use, it is necessary to include in this process the personal characteristics of the consumer and the multiple socio-environmental characteristics that surround them.
The socio-ecological explanation aims to overcome the shortcomings and limitations of the other models and, at the same time, collect and integrate their relevant contributions. The socio-ecological model resizes the problem of drug use as a global phenomenon and a social problem that includes the individual, the family, the community, society, the historical-cultural system, the political system, the economic system, the legal system and the product itself and its effects on an individual who develops his behaviour in an environmental framework defined by the previous contexts.
A risk factor must be found not only in the person but also in their surroundings. In addition, risk factors are not considered in isolation but interrelated as constellations of forces that jointly and interrelatedly influence an individual’s behaviour (Perez de Arrospide, 1998). Thus, risk factors may appear that maintain a causal relationship with another of the same species. To illustrate with an example, vulnerability to group pressure is a personality trait that increases the probability of initiating substance use, but this trait may be caused by the individual’s socializing experiences in their family; In this way, the final behaviour is a consequence not only of individual factors but also of social factors causally related to the individual.
We can refer to the etiological model of drug use proposed by Edwards, Arif and Hodgson (1982). This consumption is conceptualized as a behaviour resulting from a complex field of forces in which the characteristics of the person and their environment are integrated. Social and individual factors are differentiated, which, in turn, may operate as prior or immediate antecedents.…