A stressful pregnancy can impact a child’s development, specifically affecting their self-control and increasing their vulnerability to mental health challenges. Prenatal stress has been linked to internalizing behaviors (such as anxiety or withdrawal) and difficulties with impulse control.

However, prenatal stress was associated with these factors when maternal sensitivity, emotional support, and cognitive stimulation in the home environment were all low. In other words, mothers who are highly sensitive and responsive to their children’s needs, and provided a nurturing and stimulating home, resulted in children to be less likely to have these effects.

Because a child’s brain development, stress response system, and immune system are all still rapidly developing in early childhood and are influenced by the environment, sensitive parenting and a stimulating home can positively shape this ongoing development, counteracting the negative effects of prenatal stress.

A supportive environment helps children form secure attachments, feel emotionally safe, and learn to regulate their emotions. This emotional security is crucial and can protect against internalizing problems even if a child experienced prenatal stress.

To read more, click here!

Alexandra Lagaros, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

The answer to last weeks Trivia Tuesday was… Neural Plasticity! This term refers to the brains ability to change its structure and function. Individuals typically experience their highest levels of Neural Plasticity during early childhood.

When people are reading a list of words, they are more likely to remember the first few words when compared to words found in the middle or end of the list. What effect describes this phenomenon?

A. The Recency Effect

B. The Primacy Effect

C. The “First in Order” Effect

D. The Original Effect

Comeback next week for the correct answer!

 

 

 

 

 

Parents who actively support their child’s language skills can play a big role in improving their language development.

When parents are trained to engage more effectively with their children, it can enhance the children’s ability to both understand and speak. Teaching parents the right techniques can lead to long-term benefits, particularly for children with language delays or at risk for language disorders. Children whose parents participated in these programs demonstrated better language development compared to those whose parents did not receive training.

However, the authors also point out that more research is needed to figure out the most effective ways to implement these programs and which methods work best for different children. Ultimately, parent training is an important and beneficial way to support children’s language development.

To read more, click here!

Jess Vo, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

 

Jess is a research assistant for UConn KIDS from Canton, Massachusetts. She is a junior Psychological Sciences major at the University of Connecticut, with a minor in Human Development and Family Sciences. This is Jess’ first semester working as a research assistant with UConn KIDS, and is excited to meet the UConn KIDS community and get involved.

After she graduates, she plans to pursue a Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. She has been a summer camp counselor for 8 years now, and that is where she learned that she loved working with children!

In her free time, Jess loves to hang out with her friends, go to the beach, travel, and go to concerts! \

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIZ8PkLMMUo

There are quite a wide array of factors that are important in influencing childhood development. While an argument could be made for which of these factors is the “most” influential, Tom Weisner poses the thought that location is of the upmost importance regarding a child’s development. He goes on to elaborate on a number of factors that are heavily influenced by the location in which a child is raised such as financial stability, social settings, religious beliefs, and many other aspects of life.

Weisner discusses the concept of WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) societies throughout his talk and provides examples of multiple differences between “WEIRD” and “non-WEIRD” societies. While Weisner does not necessarily say one type of society is “better” than the other, however, he does discuss a number of privileges often afforded to children amongst WEIRD societies. For example, despite only 12% of the world being considered as “WEIRD”, 90% of research within the field of psychology takes place within these WEIRD societies. This means that the vast majority of advancements made within the field of psychology are based on and likely more applicable to WEIRD cultures.

One interesting aspect of non WEIRD communities that Weisner highlights is the emphasis on collaboration. Weisner goes on to elaborate on how non WEIRD societies and civilizations are less focused on individualism and place a higher degree of emphasis on community. It is common for child care to be more socially distributed amongst these groups i.e parents play less of an influence on a child’s development as it is more common for extended family members and members of the community to play a major role in the raising of a child.

Towards the end of his TED Talk, Weisner makes a simple yet profound statement on just how important location is in a child’s growth. While wrapping up his thoughts on his primary claim regarding this belief and discussing a variety of communities, Weisner poses the question, “What kind of child is considered desirable and morally important in that community?” This concise statement perfectly wraps up Weisners theory in a powerful manner by contrasting what is valued amongst different societies. A child with traits that could be seen as advantageous in one society could be at a major disadvantage in another. A child’s gender, sexuality, religious beliefs and social attitudes will all have a varying degree of influence depending on the culture in which they are raised. 

Overall, Weisner provides a unique perspective on the complex question of what is the most important factor in childhood development.

Children born very prematurely or with very low birth weight are at a higher risk of experiencing developmental delays, making it crucial to understand the factors that influence their growth and development

Key factors include how early the baby was born, how much they weighed, and any brain injuries they had after birth are key factors in whether they will have cognitive issues later. Other components like the family’s living situation, maternal education, and health problems that arise after birth also play a significant role in cognitive outcomes.

Early identification of children at risk and prompt interventions are essential for supporting their cognitive development. Despite advances in medical care that have increased survival rates, these children still face a higher likelihood of developmental delays, with both prenatal and postnatal factors impacting their outcomes.

To read more, click here!

Jess Vo, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday!

This week’s question is: “The ability of the nervous system to change in response to experience or environmental stimulation” (American Psychological Association, 2018) is called… 

1. Neuroregeneration
2. Behavioral plasticity
3. Neural Plasticity
4. Reflexive Conditioning

 

Tune in next week to find out the answer to this week’s question! 

Not all families send their children to preschools. For some kids, they may have started their formal education in kindergarten whereas others may have had a head start in early childhood educational programs. There are a few states that require children to attend preschool, but most of the USA leave it as an option for families to participate or not. 

Evidence has shown that teaching education and social skills to children before the age of five years old can have many benefits to children’s learning. Positive effects include improvement in language, math, literacy, and socioemotional outcomes. 

Investing in preschool programs to further improve the quality can also positively impact children’s education and life skills. With the evidence that preschools themselves can provide benefits to young kids, the better the quality of preschools, the more we can observe improvements in children’s development! 

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Emotional regulation, as defined within this study, is “the process of modulating the occurrence, duration, and intensity of internal states of feeling (both positive and negative) and emotion-related physiological processes.” This study was based on the framework of the tripartite model, which states that parents influence a child’s emotional regulation through 3 mechanisms. Those being observations of parent’s emotion regulation, emotion-related parenting practice, and emotional climate of the family.

It was found that parent’s emotional support, positive affect, emotion coaching, and use of joint strategies were associated with better emotional regulation within children. Conversely, it was found that parents’ psychological control, permissiveness, expressed anger, and criticism were associated with higher difficulties in regulating emotions. 

Ways found to support better emotional regulation have been through emotional support and a secure parent-child relationship. This allows for children to feel they are able to freely express their emotions and is an important step in learning emotion regulation. Parenting that has defined rules and limits help children know what to expect when it comes to emotional expression within their home, and this can help children learn ways to express their emotions in ways that are socially acceptable. For example, knowing it is okay to feel anger but that it is not okay to hurt someone because of it. It has also been found that parents who help coach their children on emotions, through problem solving, labeling emotion, and comforting their child, can increase successful emotional regulation! 

If you want to read more on ways to facilitate children’s emotional regulation, click here!

Kaitlyn Vitucci
UConn KIDS, Research Assistant 

A few posts back, we discussed the benefits of being bilingual from an early age. In this TED Talk by Megan Alubicki Flick, she further explores how multilingualism can transform people, specifically through education. Yes, the majority of schools require students to take a language, but these courses rarely dig deep enough for true language acquisition to develop. But why is it so important to learn a language in school?  

Megan Flick encourages educators to view multilingualism as a valuable tool and asset. Schools can make use of the different languages their students speak, creating a space where all languages are valued and used to improve learning. Bilingual education models, where students are encouraged to strengthen both their native and additional languages, are proven to boost academic success, improve cultural awareness, and prepare students to thrive in a globalized world. 

Bilingual and multilingualism individuals tend to have stronger cognitive skills, such as improved memory, problem-solving, and multitasking abilities. From a cultural perspective, multilingualism serves as a bridge between communities and cultures that foster inclusive environments.  

Interested in reading more? Click the link here to watch the full TED Talk! 

 

Rachel Silverman    

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant