Child development in the context of adversity: experiential canalization of brain and behavior.

American Psychologist Child Development in the Context of Adversity: Experiential Canalization of Brain and Behavior

Biological sensitivity to context: the interactive effects of stress reactivity and family adversity on socioemotional behavior and school readiness.

This study examined the direct and interactive effects of stress reactivity and family adversity on socioemotional and cognitive development in three hundred and thirty-eight 5- to 6-year-old children. Neurobiological stress reactivity was measured as respiratory sinus arrhythmia and salivary cortisol responses to social, cognitive, sensory, and emotional challenges. Adaptation was assessed usi...

Competence in the context of adversity: pathways to resilience and maladaptation from childhood to late adolescence.

Competent outcomes in late adolescence were examined in relation to adversity over time, antecedent competence and psychosocial resources, in order to investigate the phenomenon of resilience. An urban community sample of 205 (114 females, 90 males; 27% minority) children were recruited in elementary school and followed over 10 years. Multiple methods and informants were utilized to assess thre...

Individual development and evolution: experiential canalization of self-regulation.

In this article, we contrast evolutionary and psychobiological models of individual development to address the idea that individual development occurring in prototypically risky and unsupportive environments can be understood as adaptation. We question traditional evolutionary explanations of individual development, calling on the principle of probabilistic epigenesis to suggest that individual...

W7: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a new development within behavioral therapy. Its goal is to promote psychological flexibility. Numerous studies show that suffering results when people attempt to avoid their inner experiences (experiential avoidance). This experiential avoidance often leads to rigid and inflexible behavior that also leads them to compromise their goals and what is imp...