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2 Influences on Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Development
Pages 35-90

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From page 35...
... Nor is it news that the ratio of positive, supportive influences to negative ones is likely worse for children born into lower socioeconomic circumstances. There is, however, growing evidence of how and when these influences, which begin before conception, promote or impede positive MEB development, and how they play out across communities and generations.
From page 36...
... Finally, there is growing recognition that a child's vulnerability, strengths, and resilience -- to which biological and environmental processes contribute -- also play an important role that varies over time and across family, community, and physical environments. Together, these new understandings, along with research that has harnessed largescale datasets to investigate multiple sites and large numbers of participants across the United States, have yielded a significantly more sophisticated picture of the influences on healthy MEB development.
From page 37...
... FIGURE 2-1 Influences on MEB development across the life cycle. Biological Integration Although neurobiological mechanisms are a central focus of research on MEB outcomes, it is important to note that these mechanisms are the downstream consequence of complex cellular and molecular variation that emerges in response to the interplay between genes and environments.
From page 38...
... with potential to shape MEB health (Borre et al., 2014)
From page 39...
... Though these biological systems exist at the individual level and can be affected by the individual's experiences, the family and the community context also shape these individual-level experiences by altering the development and functioning of biological systems, and hence MEB outcomes. Integrative approaches are beginning to incorporate larger-scale environmental variables that may influence MEB health outcomes, although disentangling particular influences is complex.
From page 40...
... . The study of environmental variables as networks or webs of risk and protective factors will be complicated, but such research will be essential to the understanding of variation in MEB outcomes.
From page 41...
... Differential Susceptibility and Sex Differences Genetic, environmental, neurobiological, and behavioral characteristics account for differences in the ways individuals respond to influences such as stress or adversity. This phenomenon, known as differential susceptibility, provides a framework for thinking about ways to account for both healthy MEB development and the development of MEB disorders, a framework that focuses not on the relative vulnerability or resilience in distinct subtypes of individuals but on the degree of plasticity an individual exhibits.
From page 42...
... While a cascade of neurodevelopmental events occurs from conception through adolescence, that stretch of time includes periods of intense neural plasticity during which key sensory, social, emotional, and cognitive capacities are established. Evidence that the period from birth to age 3 is one such sensitive period has been the basis for strong arguments that early intervention is important both for fostering healthy development and for preventing or delaying the onset of disorders that may disrupt subsequent sensitive periods.
From page 43...
... It is clear that these factors exert both direct and indirect influences. Direct exposure to preconception and prenatal influences, such as toxins or diet during pregnancy, may affect MEB health and development.
From page 44...
... For example, emerging evidence suggests that maternal depression and anxiety may be associated with the development of brain white matter microstructure in infancy, although how this phenomenon affects the child's MEB outcomes is yet to be determined (Dean et al., 2018)
From page 45...
... . Although the frequency and severity of adverse MEB outcomes are generally higher the lower the baby's gestational age and birthweight, neurodevelopmental disorders that may be more subtle are also observed among infants born early but closer to term (Franz et al., 2018)
From page 46...
... , and there is evidence that the quality of parent–child interactions is a significant mediator of improved MEB outcomes in previously institutionalized children (Harwood et al., 2013)
From page 47...
... , neurodevelopmental disruption, and impairments in all of the domains of functioning necessary for healthy MEB development (Britto et al., 2017; Garg et al., 2018; Ridout, Khan, and Ridout, 2018)
From page 48...
... . There is some evidence that the adverse outcomes associated with ACEs can be mitigated by promoting healthy MEB development in children and youth.
From page 49...
... . This work has identified a number of protective factors for fostering healthy MEB development, including strong attachment to family; high levels of prosocial behavior in family, school, and community; high social skills/competence; strong moral beliefs; high levels of religiosity; a positive personal disposition; positive social support; and strong family cohesion (see https://www.cdc.gov/ healthyyouth/protective/resources.htm)
From page 50...
... . A systematic review of protective factors for depression among LGBTQ+ adolescents, for example, found positive relationships with family and friends to 5We note that categories of gender and sexual identity continually evolve and that existing studies of the relationship between sexual orientation and gender identity and MEB health have focused on varying populations.
From page 51...
... . Lifestyle factors have the potential to influence MEB outcomes at a population level across ages, genders, geographic locations, and socioeconomic strata, as well as at a family level.
From page 52...
... . Whether obesity contributes to unhealthy MEB development or is the result of behavioral dysfunction, the association is strong, and reducing obesity is likely to foster healthier MEB development.
From page 53...
... Interaction with technology (which can be defined as the quality and quantity of time spent viewing digital programming or using a computer or mobile device) is a lifestyle factor that can either enhance or interfere with healthy MEB development among children and youth, and is another area in which research is emerging (Radesky and Christakis, 2016)
From page 54...
... . Researchers have established both that positive parenting is important to healthy MEB development and that it can be taught (e.g., Office of Adolescent Health, 2019; Ryan, O'Farrelly, and Ramchandani, 2017; Stafford et al., 2016)
From page 55...
... . Given the key role of the family in promoting healthy MEB development and preventing MEB disorders, it is important to observe that research from the past 10 years suggests that the family may be under greater threat than in the past (AEI/Brookings Working Group on Poverty, 2015)
From page 56...
... 7 Chronic disorders can have adverse consequences for the MEB health of those affected and the functioning of their families. Anxiety, depression, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
From page 57...
... Community Influences To illustrate how the community environment can affect child development, we explore evidence on three elements of community: neighborhood attributes, school organization and characteristics, and foster care. Neighborhood Attributes Researchers in fields including public health and economics explore population-level connections between social determinants of health -- the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, including health systems -- and how long and how well they live.
From page 58...
... . A positive school climate has also been shown to moderate the negative outcomes and foster better outcomes for LGBTQ+ students (Birkett, Espelage, and Koenig, 2009)
From page 59...
... . The problem is serious enough to have been termed the "preschool to prison pipeline," and the trauma for young children of receiving severe punishments has been associated with negative MEB outcomes (Meek and 8See https://ocrdata.ed.gov/Downloads/CRDC-School-Discipline-Snapshot.pdf.
From page 60...
... . Some state policy makers understand that children and youth in foster care face long-term risks from their exposure to violence, maltreatment, and other adverse experiences, and have pursued opportunities for states to identify and implement strategies for minimizing the long-term consequences of these experiences and reducing the associated costs (Williams-Mbengue, 2016)
From page 61...
... These factors include poverty and inequality, discrimination and racism, marketing of unhealthy products, and effects of involvement with the criminal justice system. These more distal influences on MEB development place distinct limits on society's ability to foster healthy MEB development and prevent MEB health disorders at a population level.
From page 62...
... . A related question is whether economic inequality in itself, irrespective of poverty, might have its own effect on MEB health.
From page 63...
... . Research is needed to trace links between racism and the MEB health of children and youth more conclusively, as well as to identify ways to support the MEB health of children who experience it.
From page 64...
... Unhealthful Food The marketing of unhealthful food plays an important role in the eating habits and health of young people, which in turn can influence their MEB health (National Research Council, 2006)
From page 65...
... . Children who themselves enter the juvenile justice system are also at increased risk of negative MEB outcomes.
From page 66...
... Healthy development is shaped by experiences and circumstances that cross generations within families and affect entire neighborhoods and communities. Therefore, understanding of MEB development must be based on an integrated appreciation of connections that have been identified among biological processes, including brain development and the expression of genes as individual characteristics; physical, social, behavioral, and intergenerational experiences that affect conception, gestation, and childbirth; characteristics of the individual's physical and social environment and how they affect both behavior and gene expression; individual influences including sleep, nutrition, and physical activity; characteristics of the family and surrounding community, including safety, nurturing interactions, peer behavior, and social-emotional support in school; and characteristics of the broader society in which the individual, family, and community are situated, such as poverty and economic inequality, systemic racism and discrimination, law and policy-driven factors, and the marketing of unhealthful products.
From page 67...
... . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, Fifth Edition.
From page 68...
... . Teens, social media & technology 2018.
From page 69...
... . Adverse childhood experiences: Assessing the impact on health and school engagement and the mitigating role of resilience.
From page 70...
... . Promoting an equitable and supportive school climate in high schools: The role of school organizational health and staff burnout.
From page 71...
... , 855–902. Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative.
From page 72...
... . Association of prenatal maternal depression and anxiety symptoms with infant white matter microstructure.
From page 73...
... . Systematic review of universal resilience-focused interventions targeting child and adolescent mental health in the school setting.
From page 74...
... . Adverse childhood experiences and school-based victimization and perpetration.
From page 75...
... . #kidsanxiety and social media: A review.
From page 76...
... . Psychosocial risk and protective factors for depression among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer youth: A systematic review.
From page 77...
... . The effect of multiple adverse childhood experiences on health: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
From page 78...
... . Investigating associations between school climate and bullying in secondary schools: Multilevel contextual effects modeling.
From page 79...
... . Treatment planning and medication monitoring were lacking for children in foster care receiving psychotropic medication.
From page 80...
... . A cross-country analysis of the risk factors for depression at the micro and macro level.
From page 81...
... . Aerobic exercise for adult patients with major depressive disorder in mental health services: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
From page 82...
... . The long-term health consequences of child physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
From page 83...
... . Mental health of current and former recipients of foster care: A review of recent studies in the U.S.A.
From page 84...
... . Social media and suicide prevention: A systematic review.
From page 85...
... . Adverse childhood experiences and mental health in young adults: A longitudinal survey.
From page 86...
... . Observational assessment of family functioning at mealtime in preschool children with cystic fibrosis.
From page 87...
... . Mental and physical health of children in foster care.
From page 88...
... . School climate support for behavioral and psychological adjustment: Testing the mediating effect of social competence.
From page 89...
... . Social and emotional well-being of children and youth in foster care.


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