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SEM Background

About the Socio-Ecological Model

The “Socio-Ecological Model (SEM)” was developed as the “Ecological Systems Theory” by Urie Bronfenbrenner in the late 1970s and published in the book The Ecology of Human Development).  The theory reflects how  individuals affect and are affected by a complex range of social influences and nested environmental interactions.

A Public Health Approach to Mental Health
There are many ways to understand mental health based on our experiences, families, and cultures. It’s not just about illness. We all have a state of mental health all of the time. A public health approach to mental health helps improve the mental health of all children and families, not just those with diagnoses.

What’s the difference between “mental health” & “mental illness?”

About this Mental Health and Well-Being SEM

Health has been described as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”  Mental health has been defined as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.”

In 2020, the authors illustrated an evidence-based Mental Health and Well-being SEM to show that individual, family, organization, community and societal factors influence mental health and well-being. Our SEM considers the whole person and mental health across the lifespan. This public health approach to mental health helps all children and families thrive mentally, socially and emotionally, with and without diagnoses. 

In 2024, we released an updated version of our SEM (PDF) to gather additional evidence for the societal level of the existing model. This mental health and well-being SEM is always evolving, and its authors consider it a living document. The statements on the model address some of the “What?” (i.e., what are the influencing factors around mental health and well-being?), capturing existing research and leaving room for new findings and other ways of knowing (Rivera-Segarra et al., 2022).

Based on our extensive scoping narrative review, the 2024 SEM continues to expand conversations around mental health promotion, emphasizing how high-level social determinants operate through inner-layer contexts. It also offers communitarian public health action items informed by the literature, as we all have a part to play in supporting each other’s well-being. This SEM is not designed to provide immediate medical or crisis support. Rather, it’s a “big-picture” tool based on a synthesis of available literature. We invite you to consider how this literature informs your mental wellbeing work. 

Request the detailed report, Societal-level Determinants of Mental Health and Well-being: A Social-Ecological Model and Report, by emailing mch@umn.edu.

Food for Thought

This SEM was created as a reflection of current literature to help shift the narrative about mental health and mental illness from an individual issue to include the social and environmental responsibility of others (Biglan et. al., 2013). 

This model also helps to shift the mental health narrative from one focused on illness to mental well-being, or flourishing (Keyes, 2014; Keyes 2002). The context that the SEM provides helps us consider that with proper support, people with mental health diagnoses can flourish– and people without diagnoses can languish, too. A focus on mental health promotion and primary public health prevention acknowledges the importance of supporting mental well-being for everyone.

We hope this SEM will reveal a bigger picture of well-being, and prompt a range of new strategies across mental and public health. 

Abbreviated References

  • Biglan, A., Flay, B. R., Embry, D. D., & Sandler, I. N. (2013). Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 16(3), 257–281.
  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
  • Keyes, C. L. (2002). Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 207–222.
  • Keyes, C. L. (2014). Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, 4005–4010.
  • Rivera-Segarra, E., Varas-Díaz, N., Santos-Figueroa, A., & Calvo, J. (2022). American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 92(6), 665–676.