The Application of Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological Model in Children and Young People’s Mental Health Research: A Rapid Review

Abstract Concerns over the mental health of children and young people (CYP) continue to grow as rates of poorer mental health increase globally. To gain an understanding of the complex array of determinants of CYP mental health, Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model can be used to provide a conceptual framework to organise and analyse evidence, which can then be used to inform mental health policy and interventions. This rapid review brings together the published evidence on the use of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model to understand and address the mental health of CYP. We searched Web of Science and PsychINFO to identify published studies. We grouped studies based on the system levels (e.g., micro-, macro-) before exploring the ways in which ‘interactions’ between and within model levels were examined. Thirty-four studies were included, with all studies focusing on micro-level factors and most also considering factors affecting mental health at the individual level. The impact of factors at exo-, macro- and chrono- levels were much less frequently addressed. Among the 34 studies, quantitative, statistical modelling was used to explore interactions between variables within the micro-system in six studies and between variables at different levels in thirteen studies. More than half of the quantitative studies did not examine statistical interactions. Among the qualitative studies, presenting issues were often discussed which could reflect interactions between systems. Existing literature applying Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model to understating CYP’s mental health outcomes has focused predominantly on individual and micro level factors. There is a need for research to consider all systems of the model.