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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Sleep in Young Adults: Comparing Foster Care Alumni to a Low-Income Sample

Rachel A. Fusco - Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25 Sep 2019

The current study compares risk factors and sleep in a sample of foster care alumni and low-income young adults aged 18–24.

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Commentary: Contextualizing Alternatives to RCTs: Measuring the Impact of a Non‐Governmental Sponsorship Organization's Projects to Strengthen Children's Supportive Environments

Darcy L. Strouse Kathryn Moore - New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 11 Sep 2019

The purpose of this commentary is to reflect on the utility and possible application of the suggestions and study designs in this special issue to real‐life intervention studies in dynamic context settings.

The Set of Assumptions Randomized Control Trials Make and Their Implications for the Role of Such Experiments in Evidence‐Based Child and Adolescent Development Research

Mansi Wadhwa Thomas D. Cook - New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 11 Sep 2019

This chapter highlights the key assumptions underlying Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) and illustrates them with regard to the practice of RCTs in the realm of child and adolescent development.

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Young Children in Institutional Care: Characteristics of Institutions, Children’s Development, and Interventions in Institutions

Megan M. Julian, Junlei Li, Annie Wright, Pamela A. Jimenez-Etcheverria - Children’s Social Worlds in Cultural Context, 11 Sep 2019

In this article, institutions in Russia, China, Ghana, and Chile are described with reference to the circumstances that lead to children’s institutionalization, resident children’s social-emotional relationships, and unique characteristics of each country’s institutional care (e.g., volunteer tourism in Ghana, and shifting demographics of institutionalized children in China).

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The Effect of Resilience on the Psychological Well Being of Orphan and Non-Orphan Adolescents

Priyanka Dey, Beena Daliya - Indian Journal of Mental Health, 10 Sep 2019

The objective of the study was to examine the level of Resilience and psychological wellbeing among orphan and non-orphan adolescents; and to examine the influence of resilience on psychological wellbeing of orphan and non-orphan adolescents.

Examining the Feasibility of Using Home Visiting Models to Support Home-Based Child Care Providers

Chrishana M. Lloyd, Maggie Kane, Deborah Seok, Claudia Vega - Child Trends, 01 Sep 2019

This report examines home visiting models and curricula, state- and federal-level policies related to early care and education and home visiting, funding streams to support early care and education and home visiting, and the perspectives of home-based child care (HBCC) providers and parents in order to explore the potential for scaling up this model of professional development for HBCC providers in the United States.

A Positive Youth Development Approach to Improving Mental Health Outcomes for Maltreated Children in Foster Care: Replication and Extension of an RCT of the Fostering Healthy Futures Program

Heather N. Taussig, Lindsey M. Weiler, Edward F. Garrido, Tara Rhodes, Ashley Boat, Melody Fadell - American Journal of Community Psychology, 30 Aug 2019

This study replicates and extends previous findings of the Fostering Healthy Futures (FHF) program, a 30‐week mentoring and skills group intervention for preadolescent maltreated children in foster care.

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Exploring the multi-dimensionality of permanence and stability: Emotions, experiences and temporality in young people’s discourses about long-term foster care in Ireland

Lisa Moran, Caroline McGregor, Carmel Devaney - Qualitative Social Work, 28 Aug 2019

This paper focuses on qualitative findings on how young people in long-term foster care in Ireland interpret permanence and stability.

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The role of early care and education in addressing early childhood trauma

Jessica Dym Bartlett & Sheila Smith - The American Journal of Community Psychology, 26 Aug 2019

This paper examines strategies currently being implemented in early care and education (ECE) to address early childhood trauma.

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Revisiting the African origins of attachment research—50 years on from Ainsworth: A descriptive review

Juané Voges, Astrid Berg, Dana J.H. Niehaus - Infant Mental Health Journal, 11 Aug 2019

This review aims to consolidate knowledge about African attachment by describing studies of infant attachment conducted in Africa since Mary Ainsworth's Ugandan findings in 1967.

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