Abstract
The nature and consequences of threat in the caregiving environment have been widely studied and discussed. The construct of psychosocial neglect, however, has received less attention. In this paper, we advance a novel framework for examining the nature and consequences of neglect, which we posit can be represented as variations along a continuum from severe psychosocial neglect to environmental enrichment. Recognizing that caregiving is multi-dimensional, we conceptualize enriching input from caregivers as falling along two dimensions. Specifically, we propose that caregivers vary in their provision of emotional and cognitive input, and that the effects of this input on child development are moderated by caregiver sensitivity. Further, we present preliminary data indicating that emotional and cognitive input are separable. Conceptualizing the caregiving environment along these two dimensions advances the field in terms of (1) characterizing variation in early life experience; (2) understanding predictors of child developmental outcomes; and (3) identifying optimal targets for interventions to improve the well-being of children.