Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide, Wellbeing in Children and Families

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• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781118716342
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

This is a wide-ranging look at the factors which positively and negatively affect the wellbeing of children and families.

• Discusses core developmental competencies for later life, the role of the family, the impact of different settings, and factors associated with lower levels of wellbeing
• Brings together the latest research from leaders in the field of child development
• Outlines important recommendations for families, caregivers, educators, social workers, and policymakers to assure and increase child wellbeing
• Part of the six-volume Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide, which brings together leading research from across the social sciences

1

Introduction

Susan H. Landry

University of Texas Health Science Center, U.S.A.

The wellbeing of children and families is of utmost importance to our communities, cities, and nations. This volume is a collection of chapters that address many of the issues related to understanding the wellbeing of young children and, in turn, the wellbeing of their families. The first part of this volume includes four chapters that describe different, but related, areas of children's early development that together provide an important foundation for later competence. The changes in children's self-regulation and executive control over the first years of life, described in Chapter 2, are dramatic. This is important to appreciate as these skills are critical to children's ability, at entry into school, to function somewhat independently in a classroom with all of the numerous social and cognitive demands they face in this complex setting. The inclusion of these discussions in this book is important, given how self-regulation and executive control together with emotion regulation are integral to later academic and social competence.

Chapter 3 provides a sound rationale for considering the importance of early emotional regulatory skills for understanding that early cognitive learning can be best supported if there is careful attention to these skills and the emotional climates of children's learning environment (e.g., classrooms, schools, and home). We also understand, from information provided in Chapter 4, how early math and literacy skills that develop across the first 5 years are key to understanding later academic achievement. The rigorous research described in this chapter demonstrates longitudinal support for these skills as early predictors that can guide educational policy to make informed decisions.

When Chapters 2, 3, and 4 are considered together, the complex nature of children's early development, in terms of the need to consider the interrelatedness of skills across different developmental domains in order to account for later life competence, is truly highlighted. However, in light of the dynamic nature of the early development of the many skills necessary to put children on a trajectory that will better assure life success, the evidence provided in Chapter 5 is concerning. This chapter considers the importance of intrinsic motivation for understanding a sustained high level of learning in light of the decline in this key predictor across the elementary-school years. Discussion of the factors that may buffer this decline provides hope for ways to intervene effectively.

Parts 2 to 4 of this collection of chapters explore the many factors that are documented to influence the quality and rate of development of children's abilities, such as those described in Part 1. The caregiving environment and parents' interactions with their young children are consistently documented as two of the most important environmental influences on children's outcomes. The selection of chapters in Part 2 considers the mechanisms that explain this influence, as well as some of the developmental areas that are impacted by parenting. The critical nature of parents' behaviors with their children, beginning at birth, is striking—as described in Chapter 6 in relation to early language development and emergent literacy, and in Chapter 8 in relation to executive functions. In addition to delineating the mechanisms that help explain the parent–child associations, Chapter 6 provides empirical evidence for four specific features of parents' language with their young children that could have strong implications for future interventions to facilitate parents' use of effective language support strategies. The role of parenting in understanding change in development, in contrast to the role of genetic factors in explaining stable individual differences, highlights the specific aspects of parent interactional behavior that predict variability in change or rates of growth in executive function skills. The theme of specificity is expanded on in Chapter 9, where the reader is provided with insight into the complexity of parenting in terms of its multifaceted nature. A variety of factors such as the goals of parenting (e.g., teaching values or customs, obtaining cooperation, positive engagement) and how different forms of parenting predict different outcomes are highlighted as well as the importance of considering the bidirectional nature (parent–child, child–parent) of the influence of this process. As much of what is known about the importance of early parenting is based on correlational data, Chapter 7 provides experimental research that supports a causal influence of this environmental factor on children's development.

In Part 3, chapters explore the interplay of contextual influences on the child. This is illustrated in one chapter using a bioecological system approach that reveals how high-risk home and child-care environments are more likely to be present for children from poverty and describes the interconnectedness and joint negative influences of two low-quality caregiving environments on children's outcomes. In light of the destructive effect on children's development of low-quality early caregiving settings and growing documentation of the economic benefits of investing in high-quality early childhood programs, Chapter 13 describes the research that has informed this educational movement.

In a comprehensive discussion of the contribution of quality environmental stimulation across the period from birth to elementary school in Chapter 14, the importance of the relationship between children and adults (e.g., parents, teachers, and child-care staff) is demonstrated in terms of its potential influence on aspects of social and cognitive development including emergent literacy skills. Finally in Part 3, the influence of relationships with same-aged peers gets attention. Although much has been written about the adult–child relationship, elementary-school peers can influence children's openness to school participation and learning. Chapter 12 considers distinct types of peer relationships, how they develop, and the process by which they affect the child.

We understand, in the first chapter of the final part of this volume, that poverty in early childhood has a more lasting negative impact than poverty in later childhood. These effects are far-reaching and the things they impact include adult health status and earnings. When one considers how poverty affects multiple aspects of the young child's environment (e.g., the nurturance, physical, and nutritional), the explanation in this chapter regarding the extent to which safety nets are in place to protect young children from the devastating effect of poverty is revealing. Another chapter reveals the importance of considering characteristics of a child's neighborhood for understanding variability in child outcomes. A comprehensive discussion of the direct and indirect influences of neighborhood effects on child outcomes provides insight into the mechanisms by which neighborhoods manifest effects on children and their families. The theme of the importance of the early caregiving environment for understanding child wellbeing is reiterated in Chapter 16, although with a thoughtful discussion of the effect of negative early experiences impacting neurobehavioral development. When children are exposed chronically to negative experiences, biological systems are activated in response to these environmental stressors that affect brain and body. Information on this process and its environmental triggers can ultimately inform preventative approaches. The final chapter in Part 4 describes such a program. Although the effects of the Family Check-Up Program have not been investigated in relation to children's physiological responses, it targets prevention of many of the negative environmental factors that are known to be triggers for elevations in cortisol levels showing higher reactivity to stress. Programs such as the Family Check-Up, which fit within the service-delivering milieu and are effective in early identification of caregiving problems with effective solutions, may advance our public health initiatives that target the wellbeing of families and their children.

Part 1

The Development of Early Social and Cognitive Skills Important for Child Wellbeing

2

Children's Self-Regulation and Executive Control

Critical for Later Years

Caron A. C. Clark

University of Oregon, U.S.A.

Miriam M. Martinez and Jennifer Mize Nelson

University of Nebraska–Lincoln, U.S.A.

Sandra A. Wiebe

University of Alberta, Canada

Kimberly Andrews Espy

University of Oregon, U.S.A.

In everyday life, we are challenged continually to modulate our thoughts, behavior, and emotions in accordance with goals, social norms, and expectations. This ability to self-regulate has broad bearing on our competence and functioning. Indeed, deficits in the effective self-regulation of thoughts, emotions, and behavior are defining features of many psychological disorders. Not surprisingly then, self-regulation is a critical area of interest for developmental science.

Expectations for self-regulation change dramatically over the course of childhood, and particularly in the first few years of life. Although, normatively, toddlers are expected to throw tantrums in the supermarket when denied a particular goody, this behavior is considered unacceptable from an adult. These age-related differences reflect a progression from behavior that is reflexive and modulated externally to behavior that is controlled internally in a voluntary manner (Kopp, 1982). For instance, a toddler is critically dependent on her caregiver to monitor her safety and social behavior. Although she may be responsive to instructions, ultimately these guidelines for her behavior emanate from an external source. Toddlers and infants also are driven to a large extent by external cues in their environment and tend to respond automatically. If a toddler sees a toy, she will often reach or grab for it, perhaps even grabbing it from another child. By formal schooling entry, however, most children function with far less supervision, and navigate more independently the complex social and academic demands of the classroom. What is it that allows for such a dramatic change in behavior within so short a time frame?

Executive Control

Undeniably, a driving force behind children's ability to accomplish such a remarkable transition is the development of their cognitive abilities. Toddlers are deficient in the set of volitional cognitive processes that are responsible for biasing thoughts and actions in the service of behavioral goals. This coordinating, tertiary set of mental processes is known as executive control (EC). In some venues, the terms EC and self-regulation are used interchangeably. However, self-regulation typically is used as a more general term for the behavioral outcome of several interacting, internal processes that is manifested across everyday contexts, including the home, the classroom, or a crowded supermarket. Processes that support effective self-regulation are not all “executive” in nature, and include a coherent sense of self, emotion recognition, a stable pattern of physiological arousal, an understanding of social norms and expectations, facility with language, and sensory motor proficiency (Kopp, 1982). Furthermore, the term self-regulation often is used in conjunction with terms from the temperament or personality literature, such as “willpower” or “stress reactivity” (Mischel & Ayduk, 2011; Rothbart, Ellis, & Posner, 2011). In contrast, EC has its roots in the cognitive and neuropsychology literatures and is framed more specifically as the mental system that draws on and integrates information and cues from long-term memory, internal states, and the immediate external context to coordinate and prioritize thoughts, emotions, and responses in the service of goals, especially in situations where an automatic or habitual response is not appropriate (Aron, 2008; Hughes, 2002; Welsh, 2002). Note that this designation of EC as a conscious, volitional system means that its employment need not always provide the best means of self-regulation. In some cases, such as cases of immediate danger or threat, an automatic response, orchestrated by lower level response systems (i.e., run, don't think), may be more optimal. Indeed, recent research has highlighted the important role of automatic or nonconscious processes in self-regulation (Papies & Aarts, 2011). Therefore, one way to view the relation between EC and self-regulation is by thinking of self-regulation as the behavioral outcome of a dynamic interchange between several modular, bottom-up processes and the orchestrating, top-down, tertiary EC system.

What, specifically, are the mental component processes that characterize EC? Although there is continued debate regarding this question, the broad consensus in the adult literature is that EC is both unitary and differentiated in nature. Specifically, whereas adult performance on different tasks assessing EC is correlated, tasks that demand more specific abilities cluster together, generally into two or three underlying components (Friedman et al., 2008; Miyake, Friedman, Emerson, Witzki, & Howerter, 2000). One component is working memory, defined as a mental processing space that allows one to hold task-related information in mind, often while simultaneously using or manipulating this information (Baddeley, 1986; Gathercole & Pickering, 2000). A second is inhibitory control, which incorporates the ability to suppress a prepotent or impulsive response, as well as the ability to filter out distracting, goal-irrelevant information (Friedman & Miyake, 2004; Nigg, 2000). Clearly, holding personal goals or task requirements “active” in the mind, while simultaneously suppressing impulsive behavior or distracting information, is essential for self-regulated behavior (Hofmann, Schmeichel, & Baddeley, 2012). However, when the means to accomplish a goal or the goal itself changes, self-regulated behavior also entails recognizing the need for a new behavioral response and implementing it. Thus, cognitive flexibility, sometimes referred to as set-shifting, is a third important aspect of executive control, which incorporates the ability to switch flexibly from one response set to another in accordance with shifting contextual cues or task requirements. These processes—working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility—theoretically work together in everyday life to enable an individual to regulate his or her behavior in the service of contextual and prospective demands.

A variety of psychometric tests have allowed psychologists to capture robust individual differences in the mature EC abilities of adults. The challenge for developmental psychologists, though, is to capture these abilities in their most basic or rudimentary forms and to understand the basis of development from the dysregulated toddler to the competent adult. Not surprisingly, young children generally are unable to complete EC measures designed for adults, many of which rely on well-developed modular skills such as reading. Due to these limitations in measurement, the study of EC in early childhood was largely neglected until recent decades. However, adaptations of paradigms from the animal literature and from neuropsychology have made it clear that even infants possess the capacity to hold mental representations active in service of a behavioral goal when the linguistic, perc...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
• Title Page
• Copyright
• About the Editors
• Contributors
• Full Contents of Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
• Introduction to Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
• 1: Introduction
• Part 1: The Development of Early Social and Cognitive Skills Important for Child Wellbeing
• Part 2: Parenting and Children's Development
• Part 3: School and Child Care: Settings that Impact Child and Family Wellbeing
• Part 4: Stress and Family and Child Wellbeing
• Index