Drivers of human development: How relationships and context shape learning and development1
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 2 January 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Applied Developmental Science
- Vol. 24 (1), 6-36
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2017.1398650
Abstract
This article synthesizes knowledge on the role of relationships and key macroand micro-contexts - poverty, racism, families, communities, schools, and peers - in supporting and/or undermining the healthy development of children and youth, using a relational developmental systems framework. Relationships with parents, siblings, peers, caregivers, and teachers are explored in the context of early care and childhood settings, schools, classrooms, and school-based interventions. Additional contextual factors include; chronic stress, institutionalized racism, stereotype threat, and racial identity. A companion article focuses on how the human brain develops, and the major constructs that define human development, the constructive nature of development, and the opportunities for resilience. Human development occurs through reciprocal coactions between the individual and their contexts and culture, with relationships as the key drivers. Relationships and contexts, along with how children appraise and interpret them, can be risks and assets for healthy learning and development, and their influence can be seen across generations and can produce intra- as well as intergenerational assets and risks. This knowledge about the individual's responsiveness to context and experience has both positive and negative implications across early childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. Sensitive periods for brain growth and development are considered within the contextual factors that influence development including; parental responsiveness and attunement, intentional skill development, mindfulness, reciprocal interactions, adversity, trauma, and enriching opportunities. The accumulated knowledge on human development and the power of context and culture can inform child-serving systems that support positive adaptations, resilience, learning, health, and well-being.Funding Information
- Ford Foundation (0175-0780)
- Raikes Foundation (17-00963)
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (171520)
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (171522)
This publication has 181 references indexed in Scilit:
- Leveraging the biology of adversity to address the roots of disparities in health and developmentProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2012
- Intergenerational transmission of maltreatment and psychopathology: the role of antenatal depressionPsychological Medicine, 2012
- Evaluation of the interactionist model of socioeconomic status and problem behavior: A developmental cascade across generationsDevelopment and Psychopathology, 2010
- Age-related cognitive gains are mediated by the effects of white matter development on brain network integrationNeuroImage, 2009
- Emotion dysregulation as a mechanism linking peer victimization to internalizing symptoms in adolescents.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2009
- Biological processes in prevention and intervention: The promotion of self-regulation as a means of preventing school failureDevelopment and Psychopathology, 2008
- Effects of a universal classroom behavior management program in first and second grades on young adult behavioral, psychiatric, and social outcomesDrug and Alcohol Dependence, 2008
- A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-takingDevelopmental Review, 2008
- Durable effects of concentrated disadvantage on verbal ability among African-American childrenProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2008
- Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years: Evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switchingNeuropsychologia, 2006