Elements in Child Development – serie

Gender is a highly salient and important social group that shapes how children interact with others and how they are treated by others. In this Element, we offer an overview and review of the research on gender development in childhood from a developmental science perspective. We first define gender and the related concepts of sex and gender identity. Second, we discuss how variations in cultural context shape gender development around the world and how variations within gender groups add to the complexity of gender identity development. Third, we discuss major theoretical perspectives in developmental science for studying child gender. Fourth, we examine differences and similarities between girls and boys using the latest meta-analytic evidence. Fifth, we discuss the development of gender, gender identity, and gender socialization throughout infancy, early childhood, and middle childhood. We conclude with a discussion of future directions for the study of gender development in childhood.

In the first decade of life, children become bilingual in different language learning environments. Many children start learning two languages from birth (Bilingual First Language Acquisition). In early childhood hitherto monolingual children start hearing a second language through daycare or preschool (Early Second Language Acquisition). Yet other hitherto monolingual children in middle childhood may acquire a second language only after entering school (Second Language Acquisition). This Element explains how these different language learning settings dynamically affect bilingual children's language learning trajectories. All children eventually learn to speak the societal language, but they often do not learn to fluently speak their non-societal language and may even stop speaking it. Children's and families' harmonious bilingualism is threatened if bilingual children do not develop high proficiency in both languages. Educational institutions and parental conversational practices play a pivotal role in supporting harmonious bilingual development.

Children's imagination was traditionally seen as a wayward, desire-driven faculty that is eventually constrained by rationality. A more recent, Romantic view claims that young children's fertile imagination is increasingly dulled by schooling. Contrary to both perspectives, this Element argues that, paradoxically, children's imagination draws much inspiration from reality. Hence, when they engage in pretend play, envision the future, or conjure up counterfactual possibilities, children rarely generate fantastical possibilities. Their reality-guided imagination enables children to plan ahead and to engage in informative thought experiments. Nevertheless, when adults present children with less reality-based possibilities - via biblical narratives or the endorsement of special beings - children are receptive. Indeed, such imaginary possibilities can infuse their otherwise commonsensical appraisal of reality. Finally, like adults, young children enjoy being absorbed into a make-believe, fictional world but faced with real-world problems calling for creativity, they often need guidance, given their limited knowledge of prior solutions.

Children's early temperamental characteristics have a pervasive impact on the development of socioemotional functioning. Through socialization and social interaction processes, cultural beliefs and values play a role in shaping the meanings of socioemotional characteristics and in determining their developmental patterns and outcomes. This Element focuses on socialization and socioemotional development in Chinese children. The Element first briefly describes Chinese cultural background for child development, followed by a discussion of socialization cognitions and practices. Then, it discusses socioemotional characteristics in the early years of life, including temperamental reactivity and self-control, mainly in terms of their cultural meanings and developmental significance. Next, the Element reviews research on Chinese children's and adolescents' social behaviors, including prosocial behavior, aggression, and shyness. Given the massive social changes that have been occurring in China, their implications for socialization and socioemotional development are discussed in these sections. The Element concludes with suggestions for future research directions.

The biological life history (LH) theory has been increasingly utilized in psychology, especially in developmental psychology. However, there has not been a comprehensive text on the topic thatalso addresses applications in psychology. This Element fills this void. Organized into five sections, it initially delineates and explains the species-general concepts and principles forming LH theory, emphasizing that, although derived from observations between species, they can be used to explain individual differences within human populations. Grounded in the assumption of phenotypic plasticity, subsequent LH research conducted in psychology covers a wide range of cognitive and social behavioral domains. This body of LH research is discussed next. The Element concludes by presenting four broad recommendations, which, comprising one-quarter of the total content, provide specific directions for future LH research in psychology.

This Element delineates how the narrative expression of autobiographical memory develops through everyday interactions that frame the forms and functions of autobiographical remembering. Narratives are both outward and inward facing, providing the interface between how we perceive the world and how we perceive ourselves. Thus narratives are the pivot point where self and culture meet. To make this argument, the author brings together literature from multiple perspectives, including cognitive, personality, evolutionary, cultural, and developmental psychology. To fully understand autobiographical memory, it must be understood how it functions in the context of lives lived in complex sociocultural contexts.

The existential threat posed by climate change presents a challenge to all those concerned about the next generation. This Element reviews and discusses its implications for the development of children (ages 0-12) today and in the future, and for the parents, teachers, researchers, and professionals who have responsibility for children. This Element adopts a bioecological model to examine both the direct impacts on children's physical and psychological well-being as well as indirect impacts through all the systems external to the child, emphasizing the greater vulnerability of children in the Global South. Given evidence of well-founded climate anxiety, this Element examines children's coping strategies and discusses the key roles of caregivers and schools in protecting and preparing children to face current and future challenges - with knowledge, hope, and agency as central themes. This Element highlights many under-researched areas and calls for action by all those caring for and about children's future.

This Element addresses the factors that influence children's accuracy in reporting on events and draws implications for children's ability to serve as reliable eyewitnesses. The following topics are covered: short- and long-term memory for event details; memory for stressful events; memory for the temporal order of events; memory for the spatial location of events; the ways poorly worded questions or intervening events interfere with memory; and individual differences in language development, understanding right from wrong and emotions, and cognitive processes. In addition, this Element considers how potential jurors perceive children as eyewitnesses and how the findings of the research on children's event memory inform best practices for interviewing children.

Giftedness often is defined in a transactional way: individuals give something in return for getting something from authorities who label them as gifted; the labeling authority then expects those individuals identified as 'gifted' to act in ways that justify the label. The authors place emphasis on transformational giftedness-giftedness that serves to make the world a better place. This Element stresses the importance of intelligence, not of the kind of narrow intelligence measured by IQ tests and their proxies, but rather the kind of broad intelligence used to adapt to a variety of real-world environments. The authors further discuss the nature of dual exceptionality, whereby individuals may be identified as having a disability yet at the same time act in gifted ways and thereby harbor the potential to contribute to the world in some distinguished fashion.

This Element overviews recent research on children's adjustment to adoption and its relevance for key questions addressed in developmental science. First, a historical perspective on trends in adoption practice and adoptive family life is offered. Second, research on children's adjustment to adoption is reviewed, including the impact of early adversity on their development, as well as biological and social factors related to their recovery from adversity. Third, factors impacting adoptive identity development are examined, followed by research on open adoption and adoption by sexual minority adults. Fourth, different types of postadoption support and services that facilitate family stability and children's emotional well-being are analyzed. Finally, conclusions are drawn, and recommendations for future research and practice are offered.

All children deserve access to the conditions and opportunities needed to thrive, including unbiased accessible healthcare and high-quality learning opportunities; safe, toxin-free communities and stable housing; access to nutritious meals; and secure, warm, available, and loving caregivers. Historic and contemporary injustices in US society have created inequities in opportunity and access to resources for Black, Latine, Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native, and other children of color, children with disabilities, children in poverty, and other marginalized children; these have contributed to stark disparities across child development outcomes. This Element overviews inequities in economic, educational, and health systems through historical and contemporary perspectives and describes how these inequities impact children and families. Solutions to address these inequities are considered for a fairer US society, starting with its youngest residents, where all families have what they need to thrive. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

This Element describes the development of a Theory of Mind, or mentalizing, in infancy and early childhood. Theory of Mind is a key social cognitive ability that permits children to predict and explain human behaviors by attributing mental states to other people. Understanding mental states gradually progresses from basic desires to false beliefs. The Element reviews the proximal and distal cognitive and social determinants that facilitate early Theory of Mind development. Discoveries in neuroscience contribute to understanding the ontogeny of Theory of Mind. This Element presents an overview of the main theoretical accounts of Theory of Mind development and offers suggestions for future research.

The primary psychological process leading aggressive children to grow into dysfunctional adults is a defensive mindset, which encompasses a pattern of deviant social information processing steps, including hypervigilance to threat; hostile attributional biases; psychophysiological reactivity, experience of rage and testosterone release (in males); aggressive problem-solving styles; aggressogenic decision-making biases; and deficient behavioral skills. These processes are acquired in childhood and predict adult maladjustment outcomes, including incarceration and premature death. The antecedents of defensive mindset lie in early childhood experiences of trauma and threat. The Fast Track (FT) intervention was designed to improve social competence in aggressive children. A randomized controlled trial demonstrated that FT is effective in preventing externalizing psychopathology; the primary mediating factor is the reduction of defensive mindset processes. This Element concludes with insights that defensive mindset might also explain dysfunction in other realms, including school culture, parenting, marriage, the workplace, intergroup relationships, politics, and international relations.

The innocence of childhood does not protect against exposure to stress. More than half of US children are exposed to adverse experiences, such as abuse, neglect, witnessing domestic violence, parental psychopathology, or divorce, and all children encounter normative stressors like school transitions and challenges with peers. This Element discusses research on stress psychobiology during childhood, from birth to age ten. The Element focuses on important contexts that shape children's responses to stress and their coping capacities, including the family system, peers, schools, neighborhoods, the broader culture, as well as clinical settings. Sources of stress and resilience in each context are described.

This Element overviews recent research on children's adjustment to adoption and its relevance for key questions addressed in developmental science. First, a historical perspective on trends in adoption practice and adoptive family life is offered. Second, research on children's adjustment to adoption is reviewed, including the impact of early adversity on their development, as well as biological and social factors related to their recovery from adversity. Third, factors impacting adoptive identity development are examined, followed by research on open adoption and adoption by sexual minority adults. Fourth, different types of postadoption support and services that facilitate family stability and children's emotional well-being are analyzed. Finally, conclusions are drawn, and recommendations for future research and practice are offered.

All children deserve access to the conditions and opportunities needed to thrive, including unbiased accessible healthcare and high-quality learning opportunities; safe, toxin-free communities and stable housing; access to nutritious meals; and secure, warm, available, and loving caregivers. Historic and contemporary injustices in US society have created inequities in opportunity and access to resources for Black, Latine, Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native, and other children of color, children with disabilities, children in poverty, and other marginalized children; these have contributed to stark disparities across child development outcomes. This Element overviews inequities in economic, educational, and health systems through historical and contemporary perspectives and describes how these inequities impact children and families. Solutions to address these inequities are considered for a fairer US society, starting with its youngest residents, where all families have what they need to thrive. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Giftedness often is defined in a transactional way: individuals give something in return for getting something from authorities who label them as gifted; the labeling authority then expects those individuals identified as 'gifted' to act in ways that justify the label. The authors place emphasis on transformational giftedness-giftedness that serves to make the world a better place. This Element stresses the importance of intelligence, not of the kind of narrow intelligence measured by IQ tests and their proxies, but rather the kind of broad intelligence used to adapt to a variety of real-world environments. The authors further discuss the nature of dual exceptionality, whereby individuals may be identified as having a disability yet at the same time act in gifted ways and thereby harbor the potential to contribute to the world in some distinguished fashion.

Screen time, defined as estimates of child time spent with digital media, is considered harmful to very young children. At the same time, the use of digital media by children under five years of age has increased dramatically, and with the advent of mobile and streaming media can occur anywhere and at any time. Digital media has become an integral part of family life. Imprecise global screen time estimates do not capture multiple factors that shape family media ecology. In this Element, the authors discuss the need to shift the lens from screen time measures to measures of family media ecology, describe the new Dynamic, Relational, Ecological Approach to Media Effects Research (DREAMER) framework, and more comprehensive digital media assessments. The authors conclude this Element with a roadmap for future research using the DREAMER framework to better understand how digital media use is associated with child outcomes.

The primary psychological process leading aggressive children to grow into dysfunctional adults is a defensive mindset, which encompasses a pattern of deviant social information processing steps, including hypervigilance to threat; hostile attributional biases; psychophysiological reactivity, experience of rage and testosterone release (in males); aggressive problem-solving styles; aggressogenic decision-making biases; and deficient behavioral skills. These processes are acquired in childhood and predict adult maladjustment outcomes, including incarceration and premature death. The antecedents of defensive mindset lie in early childhood experiences of trauma and threat. The Fast Track (FT) intervention was designed to improve social competence in aggressive children. A randomized controlled trial demonstrated that FT is effective in preventing externalizing psychopathology; the primary mediating factor is the reduction of defensive mindset processes. This Element concludes with insights that defensive mindset might also explain dysfunction in other realms, including school culture, parenting, marriage, the workplace, intergroup relationships, politics, and international relations.

Children's temperament is a central individual characteristic that has significant implications, directly and indirectly, for their social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and health outcomes, through its evocative and moderating effects on other social and contextual influences. Accounting for these contextual influences is critical to articulating the role of temperament in children's development. This Element defines temperament and describes its roots in neurobiological systems as well as its relevance to children's developmental outcomes, with a focus on understanding the influence of temperament in children's social and environmental contexts. It covers key developmental periods, situating the contribution of temperament to children's development in complex and changing processes and contexts from infancy through adolescence. The Element concludes by underscoring the value of integrating contextual, relational, and dynamic systems approaches and pointing to future directions in temperament research and application.

Children's temperament is a central individual characteristic that has significant implications, directly and indirectly, for their social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and health outcomes, through its evocative and moderating effects on other social and contextual influences. Accounting for these contextual influences is critical to articulating the role of temperament in children's development. This Element defines temperament and describes its roots in neurobiological systems as well as its relevance to children's developmental outcomes, with a focus on understanding the influence of temperament in children's social and environmental contexts. It covers key developmental periods, situating the contribution of temperament to children's development in complex and changing processes and contexts from infancy through adolescence. The Element concludes by underscoring the value of integrating contextual, relational, and dynamic systems approaches and pointing to future directions in temperament research and application.

The biological life history (LH) theory has been increasingly utilized in psychology, especially in developmental psychology. However, there has not been a comprehensive text on the topic thatalso addresses applications in psychology. This Element fills this void. Organized into five sections, it initially delineates and explains the species-general concepts and principles forming LH theory, emphasizing that, although derived from observations between species, they can be used to explain individual differences within human populations. Grounded in the assumption of phenotypic plasticity, subsequent LH research conducted in psychology covers a wide range of cognitive and social behavioral domains. This body of LH research is discussed next. The Element concludes by presenting four broad recommendations, which, comprising one-quarter of the total content, provide specific directions for future LH research in psychology.

This Element describes the development of a Theory of Mind, or mentalizing, in infancy and early childhood. Theory of Mind is a key social cognitive ability that permits children to predict and explain human behaviors by attributing mental states to other people. Understanding mental states gradually progresses from basic desires to false beliefs. The Element reviews the proximal and distal cognitive and social determinants that facilitate early Theory of Mind development. Discoveries in neuroscience contribute to understanding the ontogeny of Theory of Mind. This Element presents an overview of the main theoretical accounts of Theory of Mind development and offers suggestions for future research.

The innocence of childhood does not protect against exposure to stress. More than half of US children are exposed to adverse experiences, such as abuse, neglect, witnessing domestic violence, parental psychopathology, or divorce, and all children encounter normative stressors like school transitions and challenges with peers. This Element discusses research on stress psychobiology during childhood, from birth to age ten. The Element focuses on important contexts that shape children's responses to stress and their coping capacities, including the family system, peers, schools, neighborhoods, the broader culture, as well as clinical settings. Sources of stress and resilience in each context are described.

In Children in War, we describe the impact of armed conflicts and war on children and family life and elaborate on ways in which children in and after war can be supported. Attachment theory rooted in the World Wars raging in the 20th century is one of our conceptual underpinnings. The protracted Russian war against Ukraine served as the driving rationale for this Element. Its deleterious effects on child development but also the untold reserves in parents and professionals show that families under siege can profit from support to create safe, stable and shared care for the children. Two developmental scientists recognized for their attachment research and a child psychiatrist working 'in situ' during the war in Ukraine wrote this brief but comprehensive treatise on children and families weathering war. The authors aim to reach researchers but also policymakers and professionals working with children in wartime and its aftermath.

In Children in War, we describe the impact of armed conflicts and war on children and family life and elaborate on ways in which children in and after war can be supported. Attachment theory rooted in the World Wars raging in the 20th century is one of our conceptual underpinnings. The protracted Russian war against Ukraine served as the driving rationale for this Element. Its deleterious effects on child development but also the untold reserves in parents and professionals show that families under siege can profit from support to create safe, stable and shared care for the children. Two developmental scientists recognized for their attachment research and a child psychiatrist working 'in situ' during the war in Ukraine wrote this brief but comprehensive treatise on children and families weathering war. The authors aim to reach researchers but also policymakers and professionals working with children in wartime and its aftermath.

This Element provides a broad overview of autism spectrum disorder from early childhood through adolescence. The Element reviews high-impact areas of research relevant to young children, including the shifting diagnostic conceptualizations of autism, current best practices related to screening and diagnosis, our understanding of factors that increase the likelihood of receiving an autism diagnosis, the overlap between autism and other co-occurring conditions, and related contemporary approaches to supports and interventions for young children. The discussion of these topics addresses measurement of outcomes, reproducibility, and methodological rigor. By focusing on these methodological gaps and progress, future directions for research in each of these areas is highlighted.

This Element provides a broad overview of autism spectrum disorder from early childhood through adolescence. The Element reviews high-impact areas of research relevant to young children, including the shifting diagnostic conceptualizations of autism, current best practices related to screening and diagnosis, our understanding of factors that increase the likelihood of receiving an autism diagnosis, the overlap between autism and other co-occurring conditions, and related contemporary approaches to supports and interventions for young children. The discussion of these topics addresses measurement of outcomes, reproducibility, and methodological rigor. By focusing on these methodological gaps and progress, future directions for research in each of these areas is highlighted.

The focus of this Element is on the environment and how it is implicated in children's development.A very broad array of social and physical features connected to children's home life and to the neighborhoods where children live, including multiple aspects of parenting, housing characteristics and the increased prevalence of media in daily life are addressed.Attention is also given to the broader social, economic, and geographic contexts in which children live, such as neighborhood surroundings and conditions in less developed countries.There is a focus on how various aspects of the home context (e.g., crowding) and key parental characteristics, such as mental illness and substance abuse problems, affect the behavior of parents. Consideration also given to how various forms of chaos and instability present challenges for parents and children and how those circumstances are implicated in both children's development and caregiver behavior.