Formative experiences: The interaction of caregiving, culture, and developmental psychobiology
Author(s)/Editor(s): Carol M. Worthman, Paul M. Plotsky, Daniel S. Schechter, Constance A. Cummings
Publisher/Organizer: The Foundation for Psychocultural Research
Publication date: 2010
Language: English
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Details on contents and contributors
including article by Dr Flavia Bustreo, Director PMNCH and Dr Jennifer H. Requejo
Overview
This interdisciplinary book offers a unique exploration of the formative effects of children's early life experiences, with an emphasis on interactions among neurodevelopmental, behavioral, and cultural dynamics. The authors draw on insights from psychobiological, clinical, and cross-cultural comparative research that maps the robustness of these developmental dynamics across species and societies. Multidisciplinary case studies focus on specific periods of development, or windows of susceptibility, during which caregiving and other cultural practices potentially have a long-lasting impact on brain and behavior. Chapters describe in detail: how social experience interacts with neurodevelopmental disorders; how epigenetic mechanisms mediate the effects of early environment; the interaction of temperament and environmental influences; the implications of early life stress or trauma for mental health and well-being; and the cultural shaping of sexual development and gender identity. The authors also explore key aspects of and common experiences associated with modern childhood, including teasing, bullying, the function of social play, emotional regulation, and management of attention disorders. The final section translates insights from this work into a fresh appraisal of child-rearing practices, clinical interventions, and global public health policy that affect the mental health and well-being of children around the world.
Reviews
“A wonderful book for all professionals whose work touches the lives of children and their caregivers, and others in allied fields!”
– T. Berry Brazelton, Brazelton Touchpoints Center and Harvard Medical School
“A rich and highly diverse collection of papers that illuminate some of the complex puzzles lying at the interface of development, experience, and biology. Scholars interested in the new evidence on epigenetic processes, Williams syndrome, and cultural influences should profit from this volume.”
– Jerome Kagan, Harvard University
“Formative Experiences is a marvelous collection on the frontier of knowledge about the role of the environment in social and emotional development. Its range of contributions – from the developmental psychobiology laboratory to the exotic cross-cultural field study and the clinical challenges of psychological suffering – make it unique, and the distinction of its authors make it indispensable. It sets a new standard for multilevel analysis in this rich and exciting realm of science.”
– Melvin Konner, author of The Evolution of Childhood: Relationships, Emotion, Mind