The Effects Of Early Social Emotional And Relationship Experience On The Development Of Young Orphanage Children

Undertaken at orphanages in Russia, this study tests the role of early social and emotion experience in the development of children. Children were exposed to either multiple caregivers who performed routine duties in a perfunctory manner with minimal interaction or fewer caregivers who were trained to engage in warm, responsive, and developmentally appropriate interactions during routine care. Engaged and responsive caregivers were associated with substantial improvements in child development and these findings provide a rationale for making similar improvements in other institutions, programs, and organizations.

Environmental Experience and Plasticity of the Developing Brain goes beyond the genetic basis of neurodevelopment. Chapters illuminate the external factors that can dramatically impact the brain early in life and, consequently, the eventual accomplishment of developmental milestones and the construction of adult behavior and personality. Authored and edited by leaders in this rapidly growing field, Environmental Experience and Plasticity of the Developing Brain not only surveys preexisting literature on the effects of environment versus genetics, but also discusses more recent studies on the impacts of neurodevelopment in terms of maternal stimulation, environmental enrichment and sensory deprivation. The book also includes key examples of environmental impacts on preexisting genetic syndromes leading to developmental disabilities. Focus is also given to the consequences of early adverse experience in primates, as well as neurobiological and behavioral consequences in institutionalized human children and the reversibility of such consequences. Environmental Experience and Plasticity of the Developing Brain encompasses a broad area of research in the field of developmental neurobiology and offers a unique combination of different examples of environmental factors affecting brain development and behavior.

International adoptions have decreased dramatically in the last decade, despite robust evidence of the tremendous benefits that early placement in adoptive families can confer upon children who are not able to remain with birth families. Adoption Beyond Borders integrates evidence from a range of disciplines in the social and biological sciences-- including psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, sociology, anthropology, and social work -- to provide a ringing endorsement of international adoption as a viable child welfare option. The author interweaves narrative accounts of her own adoption journey, which involved visiting a Kazakhstani orphanage daily for nearly a year, to illustrate the complexities and implications of the research evidence. Topics include: the effects of institutionalization on children's developing brains, cognitive abilities, and socio-emotional functioning; the challenges of navigating issues of identity when adopting across national, cultural, and racial lines; the strong emotional bonds that form even without genetic relatedness; and the methods in which adoptive families can address the special needs of children who experienced early neglect and deprivation, thereby providing a supportive environment in which those children can flourish. Striving to attain a balanced, evidence-based perspective on controversial issues, Adoption Beyond Borders argues that international adoption must be maintained and supported as a vital means of promoting international child welfare.

Is residential care 'inherently harmful'? This book argues that this conventional wisdom is wrong and is, itself, harmful to a significant number of children and youth. The presumptive view is based largely on overgeneralizations from research with infants and very young children raised in extremely deprived environments. A careful analysis of the available research supports the use of high-quality residential care as a treatment of choice with certain groups of needy children and youth, not a last resort intervention. The nature of high-quality care is explored through child development theory and research and two empirically supported models of care are described in detail. It will be of interest to all scholars and students of child development, child welfare, youth work, social work and education as well as professionals working within these fields.

Over the last four decades, breakthroughs in genetic knowledge, together with the emergence of disciplines devoted to the scientific study of developmental disorders have resulted in much greater awareness of the many different behavioural and genetic phenotypes involved. It is now evident that not only do different disorders have different causes and different manifestations, but different neurological and biochemical bases, different responses to intervention, and different life courses. Reflecting the enormous changes that have taken place in our knowledge and understanding of developmental disorders, this groundbreaking international volume brings this vast and complex field together for the first time. The Editors have collected together the world′s leading academic scholars and clinicians, to explore how current research across a range of different disciplines can inform clinical practice and help to improve the lives of individuals and their families.