Interactional Model of Occupational Development (IMOD)

  • The IMOD describes how people understand and become competent in the occupational world. The interaction of a person with his/her occupations in the context of the environment across time results in systematic change in occupational behaviors. The three variables of interactional occupational development are: occupational behavior (interaction of person and occupation in the environment), time, and interaction between occupational behavior and time  The IMOD is depicted as three circles, composed of two intersection circles (person and occupation) inside a larger circle (environmental context). An expanding arc represents growth and development as a backdrop. Occupational behaviors are presented by circles shown at points in time, with the one on the right larger than the one on the left, indicating growth and development over time. The principles that govern occupational development and predict the course of occupational development are:

     

    (1) staged continuity which is influenced by ages and stages of human development, the development of life course occupational repertoire as a continuous and cumulative of occupational behaviors,

     

    (2) multiple determinicity which includes many factors in determining occupational development, and 

     

    (3) multiple patternicity, where occupational life course is marked by periods of both growth and decline, expansion and contraction, with occupations emerging at various points throughout life.

     

    Stage continuity implies that children have a continuous, innate tendency towards doing or being occupied. The other two principles should be considered to assess the components of occupational behavior (e.g., cognitive, affective, and physical). Canadian Occupational Performance Measure can be used to identify the occupations that the child can do, did in the past, does now, and desire to do, or expected to do. Occupational therapists also identify the occupational opportunities, support and barriers in the environment. When incongruence between occupational competence and development status is identified, therapists may consider splinter skill, which is the evidence of the influences of interactionism on occupational development. Interventions, e.g., performance-based treatment, environmental adaptation or modifications, are used to improve children’s occupational competence and occupational development. 

Summarized by

  • Macey Cho

Type

  • Model (conceptual)

Population

  • Child

Disability

  • All

Domain of occupation

  • Unspecified

Application Note

  • The model emphasizes that interactionism is the key mechanism of occupational development.

Key Reference

  • Davis, J., & Polatajko, H. (2006). The occupational development of children. In S. Rodger, & J. Ziviani, (Ed.), Occupational therapy with children: Understanding children’s occupations and enabling participation (pp.136-157). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Year Published

  • 2006

Primary Developer

  • Jane Davis

Primary Developer Email

  • ja.davis@utoronto.ca

Related Models

Synthesis of Child, Occupational, Performance, and Environmental-In Time model (SCOPE-IT)

  • The Synthesis of Child, Occupational, Performance, and Environmental-In Time (SCOPE-IT) model aims to enhance children’s occupations and occupational performance. It considers children’s growth and maturity in occupational engagement by the course of development. Through participating in daily activities, children develop their occupations and enhance their performance. The type and time devoted in an occupation differs in one’s life course. As a result, the SCOPE-IT model has six assumptions,

Developmental Frame of Reference

  • The developmental frame of reference (FOR) suggests that development is sequential, and behaviors are primarily influenced by the extent to which an individual has mastered and integrated the previous stages. This FOR views people as dynamic, developing, and people’s lives go through stages of growth and decline, which require necessitate adaptation by the individual. People develop at different rate, but each stage of development can only proceed normally if the preceding stages have been completed successfully.

Model of the Process for Establishing Children’s Occupation (PECO)

  • This model of the PECO focuses on how children develop their occupations. It describes the process stages in which children go through as they initiate new occupations and continue cease or transfer current ones. Each stage is represented in rectangles. Within the pathway, the arrows indicate the direction of the process, which can go either way depending on children’s behaviors. The pathway starts from exposure and innate drive, then no initiation/initiation, to cessation/continuation, eventually ends with re-initiation/ transformation.

Framework of Doing-Being-Becoming

  • The Framework of Doing-Being-Becoming describes the theme of “doing”, “being”, and “becoming” in occupational therapy practice. In this framework, “Doing” refers to occupation and occupational performance of an individual, which is essential for the individual to interact with others and develop own identity, and to create and shape the society. “Being” refers to being true to self, that people are required to spend time thinking and reflecting themselves. This helps an individual describes and sustains the own roles.

Social Participation Frame of Reference

  • The social participation frame of reference emphasizes the power of emotion to motivate and engage children’s social participation. Early relationship with parents provides the foundation for children’s social development, because children give meaning to their own emotions and learn strategies in regulating their emotional states based on how others and environment responses to their emotions. At the same time, the children regulate the caregivers’ behaviors and then they learn how to regulate their own and others’ emotions during future social interactions.

Model Type

Population

Disability

Domain of Occupation

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