in BullyingFamilies in Middle ChildhoodParent–Child RelationshipsSiblingsOnly ChildrenSame-Sex Parented FamiliesSingle-Parent FamiliesCohabiting FamiliesDivorced and Divorcing FamiliesBlended Families
9 Glossary
10 References
List of Boxed Features
Chapter 1
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Defining Culture 6
Applying Developmental Science: The Real-World Significance of Developmental Research 7
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Effects of Exposure to Community Violence 19
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Methods of Studying the Brain 26
Chapter 2
Applying Developmental Science: Prenatal Sex Selection 37
Lives in Context Biological Influences: Genetic Engineering 46
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Development of Internationally Adopted Children 49
Chapter 3
Lives in Context Biological Influences: Pregnancy and the Maternal Brain 67
Applying Developmental Science: Maternal Drug Use While Pregnant 73
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Cultural Differences in Childbirth 82
Lives in Context Community Context: HIV Infection in Newborns 87
Chapter 4
Applying Developmental Science: Why Don’t Parents Vaccinate? 103
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Co-Sleeping 109
Lives in Context Family and Peer Context: Neonatal Circumcision 117
Lives in Context Biological Influences: Intermodal Perception and Learning 119
Chapter 5
Lives in Context Media and Technology: Baby Videos and Infant Learning 137
Applying Developmental Science: Baby Signing 143
Lives in Context Biological Influences: Poverty and Development 147
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Culture and Language Development 155
Chapter 6
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Father–Infant Interactions 165
Applying Developmental Science: Maternal Depression and Emotional Development in Infancy 171
Lives in Context Biological Influences: Trauma and Emotional Development 174
Lives in Context Family and Peer Context: Infant Adjustment to Parental Deployment 182
Chapter 7
Lives in Context Biological Influences: Handedness 198
Applying Developmental Science: Picky Eating 201
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Cultural Influences on Sleep in Early Childhood 203
Lives in Context Family and Peer Context: Gene × Environment Interaction and Responses to Adversity 209
Chapter 8
Applying Developmental Science: Children’s Suggestibility 225
Lives in Context Media and Technology: Television and Children’s Development 230
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Culture and Theory of Mind 233
Lives in Context Biological Influences: Brain-Based Learning 236
Chapter 9
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Children’s Participation in Household Work 249
Lives in Context Family and Peer Context: Physical Punishment 251
Applying Developmental Science: Transgender Children 258
Lives in Context Family and Peer Context: Young Children’s Attitudes Toward Peers With Disabilities 263
Chapter 10
Lives in Context Biological Influences: Adrenarche 276
Lives in Context Media and Technology: Screen Time and Sleep 280
Applying Developmental Science: Body Image Dissatisfaction 287
Lives in Context Community Context: Exposure to War and Terrorism and Children’s Development 290
Chapter 11
Lives in Context Cultural Context: Children’s Understanding of Illness 299
Applying Developmental Science: Should Children Get “Left Back?” 313
Chapter 12
Lives in Context Biological Influences: Self-Concept and the Brain 322
Applying Developmental Science: Antibullying Legislation 334
Lives in Context Cultural Context: China’s One-Child Policy 338
Preface
Child and Adolescent Development in Context has its origins in 24 years of interactions with students, in and out of class. The most central tenet of development is that it occurs in context. At all points in life, human development is the result of dynamic interactions among individuals and the many interacting contexts in which they are embedded. The most rapid developmental changes occur from infancy through adolescence. One of the greatest challenges child and adolescent development instructors face is helping students understand the complex influences on development, that outcomes do not vary randomly or simply “depend on the person.” With enough information, we can predict and understand development. My goal in writing this text is to explain the sophisticated interactions that constitute development in a way that is comprehensive yet concise.
Child and Adolescent Development in Context focuses on two key themes that promote understanding of how infants, children, and adolescents develop: the centrality of context and the applied value of developmental science. These two themes are highlighted throughout the text as well as in boxed features. This text also conveys findings from current and classic research in a student-friendly writing style.
Contextual Perspective
Development does not occur in a vacuum but is a function of dynamic transactions among individuals, their physical, cognitive, and socioemotional capacities, and a multitude of contextual influences. We are all embedded in many interacting layers of context, including tangible and intangible circumstances that influence and are influenced by our development, such as family, ethnicity, culture, neighborhood, community, norms, values, and historical events. Child and