Читать книгу Infants and Children in Context - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 10

Development does not occur in a vacuum but is a function of dynamic transactions among individuals, their physical, cognitive, and socioemotional capacities, and a multitude of contextual influences. We are all embedded in many interacting layers of context, including tangible and intangible circumstances that influence and are influenced by our development, such as family, ethnicity, culture, neighborhood, community, norms, values, and historical events. Child and Adolescent Development in Context explains this process, emphasizing how individual factors combine with the places, sociocultural environments, and ways in which we are raised to influence children’s development.

The contextual theme is infused throughout the text and highlighted specifically in Lives in Context boxed features that appear in each chapter. The Lives in Context features are labeled to illustrate the various contexts in which children and adolescents are immersed: Family and Peer Context, Community Context, Cultural Context, and Media and Technology. Examples of these features include the effects of parental military deployment (Family and Peer Context), the effects of exposure to community violence (Community Context), and culture and theory of mind (Cultural Context). Advances in technology and the advent of social media have led to a new but highly relevant online context that is depicted in Lives in Context features labeled Media and Technology, such as the effects of screen time on children’s health or screen use and infant motor development. Finally, when considering context, it is tempting to overlook biology, but our biology influences and is influenced by our contexts. The Lives in Context feature labeled Biological Influences calls attention to the role of biology in development. Sample topics include pregnancy and the maternal brain, genetic engineering, and the effects of poverty on brain development.