The Indivisible Self, And Bronfenbrenner's Social Ecological Model

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The best way to understand an individual is to understand the contexts and variables that had the greatest influence on that individual’s development (Myers & Sweeny, 2004). Therefore, the hallmark feature of the Indivisible Self model is the interaction between its components (i.e., local, institutional, global, and chronometrical contextual variables), which is highly correlative with Bronfenbrenner’s Social Ecology Model. While Bronfenbrenner’s framework and the Indivisible Self were not specifically developed for athletes, both can be directly applied to an athlete’s life, influences, and development. One of the many similarities between the Wheel of Wellness, Indivisible Self, and Bronfenbrenner’s models is they all advocate the importance of relationships and social support. In addition, research has indicated that social support or perceived social support is a beneficial coping mechanism for athletes or anyone else who is facing an aversive situation (Ford & Gordon, 1999; Myers et al., 2000). Therefore, Ford and Gordon (1999) examined social support as a coping mechanism for athletes who suffered a serious sport-related injury. …show more content…

The two male athletes played Australian football at a national level, one female played volleyball at a regional level, and one female played basketball recreationally (Ford & Gordon, 1999). Ford and Gordon (1999) conducted semi-structured interviews with open- and closed-ended questions that prompted athletes to discuss the influence of social support during his or her injury. Both females were interviewed prior to surgery and at intervals of 10-13 days, 43-50 days, 75-92 days, and 120-125 days post- surgery (Ford & Gordon, 1999). The males were not interviewed prior to surgery; however, they were interviewed at the same intervals as the females post-surgery (Ford & Gordon,

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