Definition
The field of child development is concerned with the scientific study of human growth and functioning across the early stages of development (i.e., the prenatal period through adolescence) and within the multitude of contexts of daily life. Areas of interest include – though are not limited to – biological, cognitive, physical, social, and emotional change across the early portions of life. In all cases, an emphasis is placed on understanding how normative functioning changes or remains constant across time as a result of maturation and/or experience (Lerner 2006). Child development is one aspect of the broader field of Developmental Psychology, which examines human growth and functioning across the entire lifespan.
Description
The field of child development is concerned with the scientific study of human growth and functioning throughout the early portions of life, including the...
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References and Further Reading
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Cauffman, E., Shulman, E., Steinberg, L., Claus, E., Banich, M., Graham, S., & Woolard, J. (2010). Age differences in affective decision-making as indexed by performance on the Iowa Gambling Task. Developmental Psychology, 46, 193–207.
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Huang, J. S., Gottschalk, M., Pian, M., Dillon, L., Barajas, D., & Bartholomew, L. K. (2011). Transition to adult care: Systematic assessment of adolescents with chronic illnesses and their medical teams. Journal of Pediatrics, 159(6), 994–998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2011.05.038.
Lerner, R. M. (2006). Developmental science, developmental systems, and contemporary theories of human development. In R. M. Learner & W. Damon (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (Theoretical models of human development 6th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 1–17). Hoboken: Wiley.
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Palmer, D. (2019). Child Development. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1319-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1319-2
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