Psychology of Boys at Risk: Indicators From 0–5

Abstract

In utero and during the first 5 years of life, boys face unique risks as a result of neurobiological and environmental factors. This introductory article to the Special Issue describes the background of this gender-specific inquiry and outlines some of those risks, drawing attention to the areas that will be covered in depth in the following contributions. We also describe the basis of this inquiry as the link between early life and the subsequent difficulties that adolescent boys and many young men face, and pay particular attention to the circumstances of young men of color and to the growing knowledge about the contributions of fathers to boys' development.

Gender Differences in the Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program

“…Low-quality childcare harms boys but girls are robust to their childcare arrangements. This evidence is consistent with previous research that finds boys to be more vulnerable early in life than girls (Golding and Fitzgerald, 2016).…”

“…Males benefit much more from treatment relative to low-quality childcare compared to treatment relative to staying at home. This result is consistent with previous research that shows (i) substantial gender differences resulting from attending low-quality childcare (Kottelenberg and Lehrer, 2014;Baker et al, 2015); and (ii) that females are less sensitive to more stressful, low-quality environments (see, e.g., Golding and Fitzgerald, 2016;Autor et al, 2015). Table 1 shows the proportion of outcomes by category for which male outcomes exceed those of females.…”

“…Another way to state this is that males are more negatively affected if their mothers have a higher external locus of control than are females. This is consistent with the analyses of Schore (2017) and Golding and Fitzgerald (2016). Although locus of control does not necessarily measure depression, this finding is consistent with Beeghly et al (2017), who finds that increased maternal depression leads to worse outcomes for young males relative to females.…”

The early biopsychosocial development of boys and the origins of violence in males

“…In many ways, this focus on the very early periods of life reflects other examples of problematic outcomes such as childhood psychopathologies and school failure, also often found to have a basis in the first years of life (Caspi et al., ; Fearon & Belsky, ; Fitzgerald & Eiden, ; Hatzinikolaou & Murray, ; Lyons‐Ruth et al., ; Raine, this issue; Schore, ; Sroufe, ; Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, & Collins, ). In addition, the articles in this special issue focus on another important line of research, which involves gender differences, concerning predilections for problematic behaviors related to sex‐specific neurobiological development, especially prevalent when children are raised under conditions of compromised caregiving (Golding & Fitzgerald , ; Holden, ; Kigar & Auger, ; Martel, ; McGinnis, Bockneck, Beeghly, Rosenblum, & Muzik, ; Schore, ; Zahn‐Waxler, Shirtcliff, & Marceau. ).…”

The affective basis of violence

“…These are critically dependent for their form on complex and interacting, psychobiological mechanisms which affect brain structural development and then functionally and the ways in which affective potentials are realized in their lived expression (Fonagy, Luyten, & Strathearn, 2011, 2012Schore, 2017;Siegal, 2001;Trevarthan, 2011). These include environmental influences, such as pollution, diet, parental drug and alcohol intake (Puttler, Fitzgerald, Heitzeg, & Zucker, 2017), and mothers' emotional state on fetal development, through endocrinal and epigenetic changes that influence developing brain structures (Golding & Fitzgerald, 2017;Schore, 2017;Siegal, 2001). Postpartum, the infant is exposed to processes of socialization, patterns of attachment, and the cultural milieu for their form as mental representations (Bretherton & Munholland, 2016;Fonagy et al, 2011Fonagy et al, , 2012.…”