Socio-emotional factors accounting for growth failurein children living in an institution

Fried, Ralph I.; Mayer, M

doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(48)80202-7

Cited by 49 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Physical Growth: Children reared in globally deficient orphanages tend to be smaller in height, weight, and head and chest circumference (e.g., Bakwin, 1949;Fried & Mayer, 1948;Smyke, Koga, Johnson, Zeanah, & the BEIP Core Group, 2004;Spitz, 1945), and children recently adopted show the same growth retardation (Benoit, Joycelyn, Moddemann, & Embree, 1996;Johnson, 2000aJohnson, , 2000bJohnson, , 2001Johnson, Miller, & Iverson, 1992; Rutter, Kreppner, O'Connor, & the English Romanian Adoptions Study Team, 1998). Some investigators (Alpers, Johnson, Hostetter, Iverson, & Miller, 1997) have estimated on the basis of newly adopted orphanage children that physical growth falls behind by approximately 1 month for every 5 months children live in such orphanages.…”

Section: Developmental Delays In Resident Orphanage Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

I. Theoretical, Empirical, and Practical Rationale

2008

Monographs Society Res Child

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A fundamental quest of the developmental social and behavioral sciences is to specify the necessary and sufficient early experiences that lead to typical human development in childhood and adulthood. Because the opportunity to experimentally manipulate early human experiences is very limited, one approach is to observe the development and long-term outcomes of children who are tragically reared in atypically deficient early environments.Unfortunately, these studies usually are limited by a variety of confounds (J. McCall, 1999), among them sample selection, selective adoption, and the multifaceted nature of the early experience. For example, children reared in substandard orphanages (i.e., those in which some aspect of care is substantially inferior to that suggested by best practices) display developmental delays in most physical and behavioral domains, and such children who are later adopted into advantaged homes have higher frequencies of extreme behaviors and problems than nonorphanage children. But are these contemporary and long-term outcomes associated with the particular children who are sent to orphanages (e.g., unusual prenatal exposure to drugs and alcohol, adverse birth circumstances) rather than the orphanage experience per se? Which aspects (e.g., deficiencies in nutrition, medical care, toys, equipment, social-emotional neglect, lack of experience with relationships, abuse) of what is usually a globally deficient orphanage environment are associated with these delays and long-term problems?This monograph reports a study that comes closer to validating that one attribute of the orphanage environment, namely very limited caregiver-child social-emotional interactions and the lack of opportunity to develop caregiver-child relationships, can be responsible for contemporary delays in most major domains of development in institutionalized children.Specifically, in a quasi-experimental design, two social-emotional interventions were introduced in orphanages for children birth to 48 months in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, that otherwise had acceptable medical care, nutrition, sanitation, toys, equipment, and the absence of abuse but were primarily deficient in the children's social-emotional experience and opportunity for adult-child relationships. The results show substantial improvement in children's physical, mental, and social-emotional development; improvements for typical children and those with a variety of disabilities; and a dose-response effect for many developmental outcomes in which the more positive social-emotional experience given to children and the longer they spent in the interventions, the greater the developmental gains. These results substantiate the potential importance of early social-emotional experience and adult-child relationships for the contemporary development of young children in institutions.WITH COMMENTARY BY Susan C. Crockenberg., Michael Rutter Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marinus H. van THEORETICAL RATIONALEMost developmental theories (e.g., psychoanalytic th...

show abstract

Section: Developmental Delays In Resident Orphanage Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

I. Theoretical, Empirical, and Practical Rationale

2008

Monographs Society Res Child

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Using the Wetzel chart to plot the course of physical growth, a series of cases in which the pattern of physical growth seems to be altered when the child has been subjected to unusual tension have been reported and the implications discussed (5,6,19). These studies strongly suggest that emotional factors can and do influence physical growth in greater degree than has been recognized previously.…”

Section: Etiological Factorsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Chapter I: Relationships Between Physical and Mental Health

Jensen¹

1949

Review of Educational Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

THE BELIEF that man's illnesses are directly and primarily attributable to some physical cause such as bacteria, virus, trauma, or changes due to deterioration was widely accepted until recently. The idea that mental or emotional factors might play a significant role was, in a large measure, disparaged. Gradually, however, the realization has developed that psychological and emotional disturbances may have a very definite place in the etiology of many illnesses. Physiologic functions and tissue reactions, it is postulated, may be produced by psychic factors. A brief review of some of the earlier investigators that have contributed to the establishment of the scientific study of these relationships is essential to an intelligent understanding of more recent trends and developments.The idea of a mind-body relationship is by no means new. It was recognized by the ancients and emphasized in their writings. Many passages in literature refer to strong emotional tension affecting the physical state. Common expressions in our everyday speech indicate an intuitive acceptance of this idea-"white with rage," "it burned me up," and the like.Delay in the scientific study of the mind-body relationship can be accounted for largely by the fact that mythology and demonology have been associated with this concept and have, as a result, produced an emotionally biased point of view and inhibited clear, critical thinking. Dissipation of this unhealthy attitude began with the era of scientific medicine. The founding of the modern schools of anatomy, bacteriology, physiology, and pathology gradually produced a clearer understanding of man as a physical organism and of some of the factors influencing his functioning. In addition, methods and procedures for scientific study have been developed. The dramatic results of these years are apparent on every hand. Yet the explanation for many illnesses remains obscure. Physical factors alone cannot account for them. Two circumstances, the large group of unexplained illnesses and the slow but persistent development toward greater understanding of mental and emotional factors as they influence man, have served to stimulate study into the possible relationship between them.This new field of interest is known as psychosomatic medicine. In essence the term connotes first, a point of view or basic philosophy in which there is no sharp cleavage between physical and psychical factors in illness; second, the giving of equal consideration in the study of illness to physical and psychical factors important in each case; and third, the belief that not only physical methods but also psychological methods of study are essential in each case.

show abstract

“…Fried and Mayer (40) concluded that socio-emotional disturbance as a cause of growth failure is much more frequent and more extensive than is generally recognized. Kessler and Scott (73) confirmed previous findings of the relation of epiphyseal maturation to birth weight, body length, and sex, but were unable to demonstrate any relation between economic status and milk intake during pregnancy and the diameters of the distal femoral and proximal epiphyses or with roentgenograms of the knees.…”

Section: Some Factors Conditioning Post-natal Growth and Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chapter VI: Physical Growth and Physiological Aspects of Development

Jensen¹

1950

Review of Educational Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Socio-emotional factors accounting for growth failurein children living in an institution

Cited by 49 publications

References 2 publications

I. Theoretical, Empirical, and Practical Rationale

I. Theoretical, Empirical, and Practical Rationale

Chapter I: Relationships Between Physical and Mental Health

Chapter VI: Physical Growth and Physiological Aspects of Development

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About