Читать книгу Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology - Robert Weis - Страница 81

What explains equifinality and multifinality? Why is there such great variability in children’s developmental pathways? The answer is that child development is multiply determined by the complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social–cultural factors. Some of these factors promote healthy, adaptive development, whereas others increase the likelihood that children will follow less-than-optimal, more maladaptive, developmental paths.

Developmental psychopathologists use the term risk factors to describe influences on development that interfere with the acquisition of children’s competencies or compromise children’s ability to adapt to their environments. Risk factors can be biological, psychological, or social–cultural (Cicchetti, 2016a).

In general, the more risk factors experienced by children, the greater their likelihood of developing a disorder. In one study, researchers counted the number of environmental risks experienced by a large sample of adolescents (McLaughlin et al., 2012). Approximately 58% of adolescents experienced at least one risk factor such as parental divorce, parental substance use problems, or economic hardship. Regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender, the more risks that children experienced, the greater their likelihood of developing a mental health problem. Certain risk factors were especially predictive of disorders, such as parental criminal involvement, parental mental health problems, family violence, and child maltreatment.

It is noteworthy, however, that not all youths who experience these risk factors develop mental disorders. Protective factors refer to biological, psychological, and social–cultural influences that buffer the negative effects of risks on children’s development and promote adaptation. For example, parental divorce is a risk factor for behavioral and emotional disorders in young children, especially in families experiencing chronic stress and economic adversity (Hetherington, 2014). However, certain factors protect children of divorced parents from developing problems. These protective factors include the child’s temperament or innate emotional disposition (a biological factor), the quality of the parent–child relationship (a psychological factor), and the degree to which parents can rely on others for support (a social–cultural factor).

The salience of a risk factor depends on the child’s age, gender, level of development, and environmental context. For example, child sexual abuse is a risk factor for later psychosocial problems. However, the effects of sexual abuse depend on the gender of the child and the age at which the abuse occurs. Boys often show the greatest adverse effects of sexual victimization when they are abused in early childhood, whereas girls often show the poorest developmental outcomes when abuse occurs during early adolescence. Similarly, the ability of protective factors to buffer children from the harmful effects of risk depends on context. For example, many children who experience sexual abuse report considerable distress and impairment. However, children who are able to rely on a caring, nonoffending parent are often able to cope with this stressor more effectively than youths without the presence of a supportive caregiver (Cohen, Deblinger, & Mannarino, 2019).