Advancing a transnational ecological systems framework for research on exposure to violence

Scholars have underscored the need to integrate research from more diverse contexts and local realities across national borders to inform global perspectives on developmental science. As multination developmental studies have increased, one area requiring further attention is the ways in which countries that wield greater power influence the local realities of youth in other countries. The domain of public safety, insecurity, and violence for youth evinces important issues related to local conditions shaped by foreign government policy interventions. In this paper we draw from multinational studies, research on exposure to community violence, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of human development, and policy between the United States and Central America. Utilizing Central America as a case study, our analysis examines how transnational governmental policies of the US are distal processes that have real-life impacts on youth’s proximal experiences with violence and safety in Honduras. We propose a transnational ecological systems framework for advancing developmental theory and research on violence to expand from a within country application of ecological systems to a between country model to account for these transnational, distal processes. We conclude with theoretical and research implications and applications with the aim of advancing a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of context-specific and general developmental processes and outcomes.