child development its nature and course fifth edition state university of new york at geneseo...

Child Development

Its Nature and Course

Fifth Edition

State University of New York at Geneseo

Henderson State UniversitySlides by Travis Langley

Ganie B. DeHart

Child DevelopmentIts Nature and Course

San Jose State UniversityRobert G. Cooper

University of MinnesotaL. Alan Sroufe

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Chapter 2:

The Contexts of Development

Photo copyright © 2003 www.arttoday.com. Used with permission.


IntroductionHuman development is strongly

influenced by the context in which it occurs.

Extreme deprivation leads to abnormal development as in several known cases: Victor, “the wild boy of Aveyron” Genie some institutionalized children

Within more typical ranges, differences in developmental contexts produce varying developmental paths.


Bronfenbrenner describes developmental contexts as a series of concentric rings.

Cultural Context

Social andEconomic Context

ImmediateEnvironment

Child’sBiological Makeup

The Child’s Biological Makeup


The Child’s Biological Makeup

At the center of Bronfenbrenner’s model, the child’s biological makeup includes three components:

evolutionary heritage shared by all humans

the child’s individual genetic inheritance

biological results of interactions between genes and environment


The Human Evolutionary Heritage

• We have a fairly precise timetable for many developmental milestones.

• We have a strong disposition to act upon the environment, to be curious rather than passive.

• We have an innate propensity for learning simple (e.g., sucking) and complex (e.g., language) skills.

• Children also inherit a predisposition to be social, to interact and form bonds with others of their species.


Individual Genetic Characteristics

• Individual genetic differences have allowed our species to meet environmental challenges over hundreds of thousands of years.

• There are direct and indirect effects of individual genetic makeup.

• Direct: Effects on mental & physical development.

• Indirect: Effects on the expectations of others (e.g., when people treat a child with Down’s syndrome differently).


Interactions Between Genes and Environment

Canalization:The extent to which genes constrain

environmental influences on particular traits.

Canalization:The extent to which genes constrain

environmental influences on particular traits.

• For some capacities (e.g., dispositions), canalization is relatively weak early in life, and constraints become more rigid with age.• For other capacities (e.g., institutionalization effects at 4-12 months), strong canalization exists early, but later there is increased openness to environmental influences.

The Child’s Immediate

Environment


The Child’s Immediate Environment

The child’s immediate environment includes all settings, people, and objects that touch the child’s daily life.

family day-care peer group neighborhood school


The Family as a System

Bidirectional effects:Two-way developmental

influences between family members.

Bidirectional effects:Two-way developmental

influences between family members.

Transactional model:Sameroff’s model describing

the cumulative effects of ongoing two-way influences between children and parents.

Transactional model:Sameroff’s model describing

the cumulative effects of ongoing two-way influences between children and parents.


Characteristics of Family Systems

Family systems are complex, made up of many subsystems: relationships between siblings between parents and children between mother and father

All these subsystems are joined together in a coherent, interlocking network.

A family is a dynamic, open system, subject to both change and continuity.

They are subject to cyclical influences that can be repeated across generations.


Fathers in the Family System

Direct effects: emotional attachment involvement intensifies in toddler

period, especially for boys sex-role learning cognitive development achievement motivation personality development


Fathers in the Family System

Indirect effects: impact on the behaviors of

mothers or siblings marital harmony or disharmony

Children of single mothers can benefit from their mothers’ relationships with men, even men who are not their biological fathers.


Siblings in the Family System

Older siblings can be companions, teachers, and models.

Children help take care for younger siblings.

Older siblings can learn from new roles and interpreting younger child’s behavior.

Siblings influence one another through their impact on parents.


Immediate Contexts Outside the Family

Day-care 1 in 4 children are cared for by grandparent

or other relative. 1 in 5 are cared for by father at home. About 1 in 5 are cared for by a nonrelative

such as an individual babysitter or a family day-care provider.

Researchers have noted no negative effects of full-time day care for toddlers and preschoolers.

It can promote cognitive and social development if high quality.

The debate continues regarding day care for those under one year of age.



Peer group Teaches how to interact in equal-

status, or symmetrical relationships. Reinforces values, beliefs, and

behavior standards that are part of the child’s culture.



Neighborhood condition of houses, streets, etc. facilities businesses people activities



School Instructor in cultural norms and

values. How the school is run and how

teachers interact with students can affect how positive the school experience is for children.

The Social and Economic Context


Family Changes Caused by Social and Economic Factors

The majority of married women with children now work outside the home.

Number of single-parent families has increased, due to divorce and birth to unmarried mothers.


Maternal Employment and Its Effects

• Depends on:• The child’s age• Amount of time mother spends at

work• Quality of shared time remaining• Quality of substitute care• Strength of the parent-child

relationship• Meaning of the woman’s employment

to both herself and her husband.


Maternal Employment and Its Effects

• Mothers unhappy with their situation, especially dissatisfied nonworking mothers, have more problems child rearing than those who are satisfied.

• If a husband is displeased with wife’s employment, he may have more negative feelings toward his children and parenting responsibilities.

• Employed single mothers show better mental health, parenting, social support,and coping skills than those receiving welfare.


Single Parenting and Its Effects

• Children of unmarried adolescent mothers often show:

• developmental problems• higher rates of school failure• delinquency• early sexual activity• pregnancy

• Social support, family support, and finishing high school are important for reducing potential developmental problems.


Divorced Parents

Every year 1 million U.S. children are involved in divorce.

Outcome issues depend on: child’s age, gender, personality quality of home life and parenting resources available whether conflict continues contact with noncustodial parent stepparents


Other Nontraditional Families

Adult career women who choose to become mothers outside marriage

Single adoptive parents Homosexual parents


Socioeconomic Status and the Family

Socioeconomic status (SES):The grouping of people within a society on the basis of income, occupation, and education.

Socioeconomic status (SES):The grouping of people within a society on the basis of income, occupation, and education.

Stock photos copyright © 2003 www.arttoday.com. Used with permission.

Differences in parenting styles have been noted between working-class and middle-class parents.

Poor quality child care cuts across socioeconomic lines.


Poverty and Child Development

11.6 million American children lived in poverty in 2000.

1 in 6 children in the U.S. overall. The rate is twice as high for

African-American and Hispanic children.

About 40% of the children in single-mother households.



Poor families experience much more stress:

more negative events job loss eviction illness criminal assault

housing problems dangerous neighborhoods



Results of poverty and greater stress:

can make parents depressed, irritable, distracted

more punitive, erratic behavior can become self-perpetuating

cycle lack of opportunities


Homelessness

Single mothers with young children are the most rapidly growing segment of the homeless population.

Receive less prenatal care. Higher rates of low birth weight

and infant mortality. Homeless children suffer more

health problems.


Unemployment and Family Relationships

Negative impacts on parents’ functioning.

Associated with increased family conflict.

Increased anxiety and depression throughout family.

Decreased self-esteem.

The CulturalContext


Culture:

A system of beliefs, attitudes, values, and guidelines for behavior shared by a group of people.

Socialization:The process by which children acquire the rules, standards, and values of a culture.


Cultural Influences

Adults in all cultures must: • Provide for infants with basic nurturance

needed for development.• Prepare children to function as adults in

their particular social world.• Pass on rules, standards, and values of the

culture via socialization.


Cultural Change and Child Development

Parenting practices have changed over the decades and centuries as economic life patterns have changed.

Technology has steadily raised the average standard of living and life expectancies.

China is a recent example of rapid cultural change (family-centered to state-centered shift).


SubculturesGroups whose beliefs, attitudes,

values, and guidelines for behavior differ in some ways from those of the dominant culture.


Development as Context

Development provides a context in two ways:

1. It gives each person a developmental history.

2. It provides context for future development.


Contexts in Interaction

Central message of this chapterHuman development always occurs

within a set of contexts: biological makeup immediate environment broader social & economic context cultural context child’s own developmental level &

history

Child Development

Its Nature and Course

Fifth Edition

State University of New York at Geneseo

Henderson State UniversitySlides by Travis Langley

Ganie B. DeHart

Child DevelopmentIts Nature and Course

San Jose State UniversityRobert G. Cooper

University of MinnesotaL. Alan Sroufe

child development its nature and course fifth edition state university of new york at geneseo...

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