Book Chapters
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Browsing Book Chapters by Author "Anne Rifkin-Graboi"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- PublicationMetadata onlyThe importance of positive environments on infant and early childhood neurodevelopment: A review and preview of upcoming, "BE POSITIVE," researchWhy do our brains change so much in early life? Why do they continue to develop over time? What are the implications of prolonged neural plasticity for interventions, learning, and childhood well-being? Humans live among ever-changing circumstances and therefore require extensive neurocircuitry supporting abilities to learn, regulate, and respond to information throughout life. Nevertheless, biological plasticity is energetically costly, and so it may be advantageous for infants to take a “best guess” at the type of environment in which they will likely be raised. Will it be dangerous? Will it be filled with unpredictability and a lack of control? Or, will it be comprised of support, certainty, and access to resources? These are important questions: different skills are necessary to succeed in different types of environments. In this chapter, we will consider how brain development unfolds, especially in early life. We will ask, why, from a biological standpoint, early experience impacts developmental trajectories. Next, we will specifically consider effects of the caregiving environment upon neurodevelopment and related implications for individual differences at school age. Gaps in the knowledge base, especially with regard to how such relationships unfold outside of low-risk North American and European homes and school systems, will be highlighted. The reader will learn about a new collaborative Singaporean study, “BE POSITIVE,” that aims to address these gaps starting in children 4 months to 4 years. Finally, we will consider ways such research can be applied to shaping interventions and policies aimed at increasing educational success and well-being.
76 - PublicationMetadata onlyIntroduction to early childhood development and research in SingaporeEducation and well-being care are important throughout life, but especially so during early childhood, a time characterized by profound neural change. Importantly, early life experiences and neurodevelopment, in turn, lay the foundation for the subsequent ways in which neurodevelopment unfolds. As neurodevelopment is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, it is not surprising that the quality of early childhood experiences has been found to have short- and long-term impacts upon individuals and society. For example, early environments characterized by relative responsiveness from caregivers (Fraley et al., 2013; Raby et al., 2015) may lead to academic and/or social competence even into adulthood. On the other hand, early childhood experiences with poverty and/or low socioeconomic status, exposure to parental mental health difficulties, forms of insecure attachment, and abuse or trauma have been linked to outcomes such as lower levels of school readiness, attentional problems, and/or difficulties in socioemotional development (e.g., Psychogiou et al., 2020; Fearon & Belsky, 2004; Dearing et al., 2001; Enlow et al., 2012).
338