Child Development

Knowledge of child development is the foundation for work with children, and therefore is a requirement for all those seeking to protect children. It influences every aspect of a child from physical growth and mental abilities, to how they express emotions, think and behave.

Healthy development takes children through stages, whereby they obtain an increasing number of physical, mental, and emotional skills in order to become independent adults. These stages provide benchmarks for determining if a child is developing normally. Without knowledge of the normal developmental stages of a child, a worker cannot identify developmental delays, assess the impact of abuse, or make recommendations regarding the child’s physical, mental or emotional health. Understanding what a child is capable of allows adults to communicate on their level and provide age-appropriate responses and interventions.

Knowledge of early childhood development and attachment behaviour is particularly important for protection workers. The physical health and care a child experiences as an infant will affect their development into adulthood. A child needs to have experienced a positive attachment by the age of 3 in order to develop cognitively, physically, socially, and psychologically. Healthy attachments come from the close bond a child experiences when provided with the responsive and stable care of at least one adult. In a residential home, children are less likely to receive the amount of individual attention from a permanent caretaker that they require. Children under 12, in particular, benefit more from a kinship, foster or adoption placement where they can experience closer relationships.

Observation of a child’s attachment to caretakers will influence the type of care, permanency plan, and level of support services offered. It can also aid in the identification of abuse.

This section contains information on the importance of child development knowledge, guidance on the ages and stages of children, and attachment theory.

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Getting by and getting ahead: Social capital and transition to college among homeless and foster youth

Kim Skobba, David Meyers, Lori Tiller - Children and Youth Services Review, 04 Oct 2018

This qualitative study examines the academic pathways of 33 college students with a history or foster care placement, homelessness, or both, to better understand the ways in which forms of social capital influence the transition to college and early college experiences in the US.

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Talking about Early Childhood in Kenya

Eric Lindland, Moira O’Neil, Jenn Nichols - FrameWorks Institute, 01 Oct 2018

This report aims to deepen knowledge about children’s early development among members of the Kenyan public and those who work in the early childhood development (ECD) field.

Catch-up growth, metabolic, and cardiovascular risk in post-institutionalized Romanian adolescents

Alva Tang, Natalie Slopen, Charles A. Nelson, Charles H. Zeanah, Michael K. Georgieff & Nathan A. Fox - Pediatric Research , 01 Oct 2018

This study explored whether patterns of catch-up growth affect metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes in previously institutionalized adolescents in Romania.

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Use of Hierarchical Measures of Psychopathology to Capture the Long (and Wide) Shadow of Early Deprivation in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project Analysis

Jonathan D. Schaefer - JAMA Psychiatry, 26 Sep 2018

It has long been recognized that early adversity represents a strong risk factor for the development of later psychopathology.

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Effect of Foster Care Intervention on Trajectories of General and Specific Psychopathology Among Children With Histories of Institutional Rearing

Mark Wade, Nathan A. Fox, Charles H. Zeanah, Charles A. Nelson - JAMA Psychiatry, 26 Sep 2018

The aim of this study was to examine trajectories of latent psychopathology factors—general (P), internalizing (INT), and externalizing (EXT)—among children reared in institutions and to evaluate whether randomization to foster care is associated with reductions in psychopathology from middle childhood through adolescence.

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The relation between dimensions of maltreatment, placement instability, and mental health among youth in foster care

Austen McGuire, Bridget Cho, Lindsay Huffhines, Stephanie Gusler, Shaquanna Brown, Yo Jackson - Child Abuse & Neglect, 22 Sep 2018

The present study sought to clarify the relation between maltreatment and mental health among youth in foster care by studying both the isolated dimensions of maltreatment and cumulative maltreatment, and to determine whether the effects of maltreatment on mental health operated indirectly through placement instability.

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Effectiveness of a Trauma-Informed Care Initiative in a State Child Welfare System: A Randomized Study

M. Kay Jankowski, Karen E. Schifferdecker, Rebecca L. Butcher, Lynn Foster-Johnson, Erin R. Barnett - Child Maltreatment, 10 Sep 2018

The purpose of this study was to assess changes in self-reported practices and perceptions of child welfare staff involved in a multifaceted, statewide TIC intervention.

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Early Caregiver-Child Interaction and Children's Development: Lessons from the St. Petersburg-USA Orphanage Intervention Research Project

McCall RB, Groark CJ, Hawk BN, Julian MM, Merz EC, Rosas JM, Muhamedrahimov RJ, Palmov OI, Nikiforova NV - Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 08 Sep 2018

This study reviews a series of interrelated studies on the development of children residing in institutions (i.e., orphanages) in the Russian Federation or placed with families in the USA and the Russian Federation.

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Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond: An International Journal on Alternative Care, Issue #10

Udayan Care, 01 Sep 2018

This 10th issue of the Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond (ICEB) journal, released in September 2018, is a Special Focus issue on ‘Aftercare.’

The Construction of Friendship for Looked After Children

Christine May - University of Surrey, 01 Sep 2018

This thesis study aimed to explore what Looked After Children (LAC) value in their friendships in order to understand what support may help them gain the maximum benefits from these relationships.

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