Child Health Psychology

Child development

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All of a person's knowledge and behavior tendencies were then created by what was fed into his mind as a child. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a philosopher in the 18th century, most famous for his "innate goodness" theory. This theory suggested that when a child was born, he was not evil or blank, but inherently good. Rousseau also suggested that it was the evils encountered in society that made children misbehave or grow up to be less than stellar adults.

Today, the debate about whether children are born good, bad, or indifferent is still something of a minor debate for some. What we do realize, however, is that childhood is a very influential time in a person's life. Events that happen in a person's childhood - even small, seemingly insignificant events - usually have a direct impact on how that person feels and acts as an adult. Learn more about child psychology degrees. In general, a childhood psychologist might work with children and their primary caregivers in order to research, assess, and possibly treat developmental issues.

Depending on his preferred area of study, a child psychologist will often work with all sorts of children. Not every child that a child psychologist works with is considered to be abnormal. A child psychologist might work with so-called "normal" children for several reasons. He may perform a psychological examination, for instance, or just be a sounding board for a slightly troubled child.

A child psychologist might also work with children who are considered to have slight mental, emotional, or social problems. This can include things like anxiety or shyness. Child psychologists might also work with children who have severe mental, emotional, or social problems as well. Violent children, autistic children, and those who have been abused, for instance, will often benefit from the help of a child psychologist. No matter what type of patient that a child psychologist chooses to work with, he must always deal with them carefully and handle them with "kid gloves", so to speak.

Partial correlations between the same variables controlling for responsive parenting were also computed. The amount of time mothers spent with their children and the quality of their interactions are important in terms of children's trait emotional intelligence, not only because those times of joint activity reflect a more positive parenting, but because they are likely to promote modeling, reinforcement, shared attention, and social cooperation. Population differences may occur in older children, if, for example, they have learned that it is appropriate for boys to express emotion or behave differently from girls, [ citation needed ] or if customs learned by children of one ethnic group are different from those learned in another.

Gender identity is how a person perceives themselves as male, female, or a variation of the two. Studies have found that children can identify themselves as belonging to a certain gender as early as two years old, [57] but how gender identity is developed is a current topic of scientific debate. It is believed that several factors work in conjunction with one another to produce an individual's gender, including: Some believe that gender is malleable until late childhood, [58] while others argue that gender is established early and gender-typed socialization patterns either reinforce or soften the individual's notion of gender.

Evidence suggests that neonatal androgens, male sex hormones produced in the womb during gestation, play an important role. Testosterone in the womb directly codes the brain for either male or female-typical development. This includes both the physical structure of the brain and the characteristics the person expresses because of it. Persons exposed to high levels of testosterone during gestation typically develop a male gender identity while those who are not or those who do not possess the receptors necessary to interact with these hormones typically develop a female gender identity.

It is well documented that children actively seek out information on how to properly interact with others based on their gender, [59] but the extent to which these role models, which can include parents, friends, and TV characters, influence gender identity is less clear and no consensus has been reached in the scientific field. Language serves the purpose of communication to express oneself through a systematic and traditional use of sounds, signs, or written symbols. They include phonology, lexicon, morphology and syntax, and pragmatics.

Children's development of language also includes semantics which is the attachment of meaning to words. This happens in three stages. First, each word means an entire sentence. This stage occurs around age two or three. Third, around age seven or eight, words have adult-like definitions and their meanings are more complete. A child learns the syntax of their language when they are able to join words together into sentences and understand multiple-word sentences said by other people.

There appear to be six major stages in which a child's acquisition of syntax develops. This stage usually occurs between 12 and 18 months of age. Second, between 18 months to two years, there is the modification stage where children communicate relationships by modifying a topic word.

The third stage, between two and three years old, involves the child using complete subject-predicate structures to communicate relationships. Fourth, children make changes on basic sentence structure that enables them to communicate more complex relationships. This stage occurs between the ages of two and a half years to four years. The fifth stage of categorization involves children aged three and a half to seven years refining their sentences with more purposeful word choice that reflects their complex system of categorizing word types. Finally, children use structures of language that involve more complicate syntactic relationships between the ages of five years old to ten years old.

Infants begin with cooing and soft vowel sounds. Shortly after birth, this system is developed as the infants begin to understand that their noises, or non-verbal communication, lead to a response from their caregiver. Eventually, they are able to add pronouns to words and combine them to form short sentences. By age 1, the child is able to say 1—2 words, responds to its name, imitates familiar sounds and can follow simple instructions.

This skill develops close to their second birthdays. Vocabulary typically grows from about 20 words at 18 months to around words at 21 months. Children's recorded monologues give insight into the development of the process of organizing information into meaningful units. By three years the child begins to use complex sentences, including relative clauses, although still perfecting various linguistic systems. For this, the child needs to learn to combine his perspective with that of others and with outside events and learn to use linguistic indicators to show he is doing this.

They also learn to adjust their language depending on to whom they are speaking. Although the role of adult discourse is important in facilitating the child's learning, there is considerable disagreement among theorists about the extent to which children's early meanings and expressive words arise. Findings about the initial mapping of new words, the ability to decontextualize words, and refine meaning of words are diverse.

In this model, parental input has a critical role but the children ultimately rely on cognitive processing to establish subsequent use of words. There is no single accepted theory of language acquisition. Instead, there are current theories that help to explain theories of language, theories of cognition, and theories of development. They include the generativist theory, social interactionist theory , usage-based theory Tomasello , connectionist theory, and behaviorist theory Skinner. Generativist theories refer to Universal Grammar being innate where language experience activates innate knowledge.

This theory states that children acquire language because they want to communicate with others; this theory is heavily based on social-cognitive abilities that drive the language acquisition process. Communication can be defined as the exchange and negotiation of information between two or more individuals through verbal and nonverbal symbols, oral and written or visual modes, and the production and comprehension processes of communication. All questions in a conversation should be answered, comments should be understood or acknowledged and any form of direction should, in theory, be followed.

In the case of young, undeveloped children, these conversations are expected to be basic or redundant. The role of a guardians during developing stages is to convey that conversation is meant to have a purpose, as well as teaching them to recognize the other speaker's emotions. These four components of communication competence include: Language development is viewed as a motive to communication, and the communicative function of language in-turn provides the motive for language development.

As they begin to acquire more language, body movements take on a different role and begin to complement the verbal message. This developmental change is the change from primary intersubjectivity capacity to share oneself with others to secondary intersubjectivity capacity to share one's experience , which changes the infant from an unsociable to socially engaging creature. This gesture includes communicative pointing where an infant points to request something, or to point to provide information.

The use of non-verbal communication in the form of gestures indicate the child's interest in communication development, and the meanings they choose to convey that are soon revealed through the verbalization of language. Language acquisition and development contribute to the verbal form of communication. Children originate with a linguistic system where words they learn, are the words used for functional meaning. According to this, children view words as a means of social construction, and that words are used to connect the understanding of communicative intentions of the speaker who speaks a new word.

Another function of communication through language is pragmatic development. Mechanics of verbal interaction include taking turns, initiating topics, repairing miscommunication, and responding to lengthen or sustain dialogue. In accordance to the child's developing conversational skills, asymmetrical conversation between adult and child modulate to an equal temperament of conversation. This shift in balance of conversation suggests a narrative discourse development in communication.

Delays in language is the most frequent type of developmental delay.

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According to demographics 1 out of 5 children will learn to talk or use words later than other children their age. Some children will also display behavioral problems due to their frustration of not being able to express what they want or need. Simple speech delays are usually temporary. Most cases are solved on their own or with a little extra attribution from the family.

It's the parent's duty to encourage their baby to talk to them with gestures or sounds and for them to spend a great amount of time playing with, reading to, and communicating with their baby. In certain circumstances, parents will have to seek professional help, such as a speech therapist. It is important to take into considerations that sometimes delays can be a warning sign of more serious conditions that could include auditory processing disorders , hearing loss , developmental verbal dyspraxia , developmental delay in other areas, or even an autism spectrum disorder ASD.

There are many environmental causes that are linked to language delays and they include situations such as, the child is having their full attention on other skills, such as walking perfectly, rather than on language. The child may have a twin or a sibling in which their age are relatively close, and may not be receiving the parent's full attention. Another circumstance could be a child that is in a daycare that provides few adults to be able to administer individual attention. Perhaps the most obvious component would be a child that suffers from psychosocial deprivation such as poverty, malnutrition, poor housing, neglect, inadequate linguistic stimulation, or emotional stress.

Language delay can be caused by a substantial amount of underlying disorders, such as intellectual disability. Intellectual disability takes part for more than 50 percent of language delays. Language delay is usually more rigorous than other developmental delays in intellectually disabled children, and it is usually the first obvious symptom of intellectual disability.

Intellectual disability accounts to global language delay, including delayed auditory comprehension and use of gestures. Impaired hearing is one of the most common causes of language delay. A child who can not hear or process speech in a clear and consistent manner will have a language delay. Even the most minimum hearing impairment or auditory processing deficit can considerably affect language development. Essentially, the more the severe the impairment, the more serious the language delay. Nevertheless, deaf children that are born to families who use sign language develop infant babble and use a fully expressive sign language at the same pace as hearing children.

Developmental Dyslexia is a developmental reading disorder that occurs when the brain does not properly recognize and process the graphic symbols chosen by society to represent the sounds of speech.

Children with dyslexia may encounter problems in rhyming and separating sounds that compose words. These abilities are essential in learning to read. Early reading skills rely heavily on word recognition. When using an alphabet writing system this involves in having the ability to separate out the sounds in words and be able to match them with letter and groups of letters.

Because they have trouble in connecting sounds of language to the letter of words, this may result difficulty in understanding sentences. They have confusion in mistaking letters such as "b" and "d". For the most part, symptoms of dyslexia may include, difficulty in determining the meaning of a simple sentence, learning to recognize written words, and difficulty in rhyming. Autism and speech delay are usually correlated. Problems with verbal language are the most common signs seen in autism.

Early diagnosis and treatment of autism can significantly help the child improve their speech skills. Autism is recognized as one of the five pervasive developmental disorders, distinguished by problems with language, speech, communication and social skills that present in early childhood. Some common autistic syndromes are the following, being limited to no verbal speech, echolalia or repeating words out of context, problems responding to verbal instruction and may ignore others who speak directly.

Malnutrition, maternal depression and maternal substance abuse are three of these factors which have received particular attention by researchers, however, many more factors have been considered. Although there are a large number of studies contemplating the effect of maternal depression and postnatal depression of various areas of infant development, they are yet to come to a consensus regarding the true effects. There are numerous studies indicating impaired development, and equally, there are many proclaiming no effect of depression on development.

However, the authors conclude that it may be that short term depression has no effect, where as long term depression could cause more serious problems. A further longitudinal study spanning 7 years again indicate no effect of maternal depression on cognitive development as a whole, however it found a gender difference in that boys are more susceptible to cognitive developmental issues when their mothers suffer depression. Infants with chronically depressed mothers showed significantly lower scores on the motor and mental scales within the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, [89] contrasting with many older studies.

Research has provided conflicting evidence regarding the effect of maternal substance abuse during and after pregnancy on children's development. The use of cocaine by pregnant women is not the only drug that can have a negative effect on the fetus. Tobacco, marijuana, and opiates are also the types of drugs that can effect an unborn child's cognitive and behavioral development.

Smoking tobacco increases pregnancy complications including low birth rate, prematurity, placental abruption, and intrauterine death. It can also cause disturbed maternal-infant interaction; reduced IQ, ADHD, and it can especially cause tobacco use in the child. Parental marijuana exposure may have long-term emotional and behavioral consequences.

A ten-year-old child who had been exposed to the drug during pregnancy reported more depressive symptoms than fetuses unexposed. Some short-term effects include executive function impairment, reading difficulty, and delayed state regulation. An opiate drug, such as heroin, decreases birth weight, birth length, and head circumference when exposed to the fetus. Parental opiate exposure has greater conflicting impact than parental cocaine exposure on the infant's Central Nervous System and autonomic nervous system.

Poor nutrition early in life contributes to stunting , and by the age of two or three can be associated with cognitive deficits, poor school achievement, and poor social relationships later in life [] Malnutrition is a large problem in developing nations, and has an important effect on young children's weight and height. Children suffering malnutrition in Colombia weighed less than those living in upper class conditions at the age of 36 months The effect of low iron levels on cognitive development and IQ is a subject still to reach consensus.

Socioeconomic status is measured primarily based on the factors of income, educational attainment and occupation.

Child Development Psychology - Chapter Summary

Children in families who experience persistent financial hardships and poverty have significantly impaired cognitive abilities compared to those in families who do not face this issue. Parental educational attainment is the most significant socioeconomic factor in predicting the child's cognitive abilities, [] those with a mother with high IQ are likely to have higher IQs themselves. Mother's employment is associated with slightly lower test scores, regardless of socioeconomic status. However, those whose working mother is of a higher socioeconomic status experience more disadvantages because they are being removed from a more enriching environment than a child care.

Obviously, the quality of child care is a factor to be considered. Low income children tend to be cared for by grandparents or extended family [] and therefore form strong bonds with family. High income children tend to be cared for in a child care setting or in home care such as a nanny. If the mother is highly educated, this can be a disadvantage to the child. Even with quality of care controlled for, studies still found a negative correlation between full-time work within the first year and child development. Effects are felt more strongly when women resume full-time work within the first year of the child's life.

Low-income families are less likely to provide a stimulating home learning environment to their children due to time constraints and financial stress. Upper-income families are able to afford learning opportunities inside and outside of the classroom. A further factor in a child's educational attainment involves the school environment, more specifically teacher expectations and attitudes.

Diarrhea caused by the parasitic disease Giardiasis is associated with lower IQ. Harboring of this parasite could adverse several health implications in children affecting childhood development and morbidity. Reducing the prevalence of the parasite can be a benefit in child growth, development, and educational outcome. High levels of lead in the blood is associated with attention deficits, [] while arsenic poisoning has a negative effect on verbal and full Intelligence Quotient IQ. Organophosphates have been specifically linked to poorer working memory , verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning and processing speed.

Cognitive development is related to childhood exposure to violence and trauma, including spousal abuse between the parents and sexual abuse. When a child is unable to meet their developmental goals, because they have not been provided with the correct amount of care, stimulation or nutrition this situation is commonly referred to as child neglect. It is the most widespread form of child abuse. Scientific Studies show that exposure to child neglect can have lifelong consequences for children.

Assessing and identifying neglect pose a number of challenges for practitioners. Given that neglect is a dynamic between the child's development and levels of nurturance, the question in identifying neglect, becomes one of where do you start, with the child's development or with the levels of nurturance?

Some professionals identify neglect by measuring the developmental levels of a child, for if those developmental levels are normal, one can, by definition, conclude that a child is not being neglected. All these features go up to make a medical assessment of whether a child is thriving, so that a professional looking to start an assessment of neglect, might reasonably start with information collected by a doctor. Infants are often weighed and measured when seen by their physicians for well-baby check-ups. The physician initiates a more complete evaluation when the infant's development and functioning are found to be delayed.

What this suggests is that social work staff could consult medical notes to establish if the baby or child is failing to thrive, as a first step in a pathway towards identifying neglect.

If developmental levels are subnormal, then the identification of neglect then requires the professional establish if those subnormal levels of development can be put down to the level of nurturance experienced by the child. One needs to discount that the developmental delay was caused by some genetic condition or disease, which do not have their basis in a lack of nurturance. Another way of starting a process for identifying neglect is to identify if the child in question is experiencing a level of nurturance lower than that considered necessary to support normal development.

Furthermore, ascertaining whether a child is getting the requisite level of nurturance needs to take into account not just the intensity of the nurturance, but also, given that the intensity of certain forms of nurturance can vary across time, the duration and frequency of the nurturance. It is acceptable for a child to experience varying and low levels of certain types of nurturance across a day and from time to time, however, the levels of nurturance should never cross thresholds of intensity, duration and frequency. For this reason, professionals are minded to keep detailed histories of care provision, which demonstrate the duration to which the child is exposed to periods of subnormal exposure to care, stimulation, and nutrition.

It is most common for guidance to suggest professionals should focus on the levels of nurturance provided by the carers of the child, where neglect is understood as an issue of the parents' behaviour towards the child. This raises the question about what level of nurturance, a carer or parent needs to fall under, to provoke developmental delay, and how one goes about measuring that accurately. The method, which focuses on the stimulation provided by the carer, can be subject to critique.

Neglect is about the child's development being adversely affected by the levels of nurturance, but the carers' provision of nurturance is not always a good indicator of the level of nurturance received by the child. Neglect may be occurring at school, outside of parental care. Which influences development more - genetics or the environment? How important are early experiences in the growth and cognitive development of a child? These are some of the major questions that guide the work of researchers in the field of educational psychology.

This lesson will begin to address these questions by describing the basic principles that characterize child and adolescent development. Do you ever feel bombarded with the amount of new information in a class? How do you process new information in order to create usable knowledge? These are the types of questions cognitive psychologists and teachers seek to answer. This lesson will explore and apply the major assumptions of cognitive development and psychology.

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development focuses on how learners interact with their environment to develop complex reasoning and knowledge. This lesson will focus on the six basic assumptions of that theory, including the key terms: How do assimilation and accommodation help a child adapt to his environment? You'll explore how established and changing patterns of information drive a child's intellectual growth as he learns about cats and dogs. Jean Piaget developed a theory of cognitive development that described and explained the changes in logical thinking of children and adolescents.

Within that theory, he identified four stages of cognitive development through which all learners must proceed. This lesson will introduce you to and differentiate between those stages. The role of culture and social interactions are imperative to cognitive development, according to psychologist, Lev Vygotsky. This lesson will discuss how social interactions play a role in cognitive development of children, provide an overview of Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory and describe the stages of speech and language development.

Two of the most recognized cognitive psychologists, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, developed theories that addressed cognitive development and learning among children and adolescents. While there are similarities between the two theories, differences exist, and those differences are critical to the understanding and application of the theories in educational settings. This lesson will highlight those major differences. Psychologist Lev Vygotsky developed a theory of cognitive development which focused on the role of culture in the development of higher mental functions.

Several concepts arose from that theory that are important to classroom learning. This lesson will focus on two concepts: A well-accepted fact among educational psychologists is the idea that knowledge is not absorbed but rather constructed through a person's experiences with his or her environment. This knowledge may be constructed individually or collaboratively. This lesson will briefly explain the processes behind knowledge construction and provide information on how socially constructed knowledge can advance the cognitive development of learners.

Starting A Career As A Child Psychologist

The word 'tool' has a connotation of something that aids us. Normally, we think of tools being something manipulated with our hands to help us build.

In this lesson, we will learn about tools designed to promote cognitive development. How does association with a group of people impact behavior and learning? Are friendships relevant to understanding the behavior of students in a classroom? This lesson discusses social development by exploring interpersonal relationship functions and types.

How do we form identities as we age and grow? To answer this question, Erik Erikson came up with eight stages of identity formation that revolve around conflict and resolution. Who are you, and who will you become after completing this lesson? How does a baby's babble turn into intelligible speech?

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