Toxic stress, epigenetics and child development

Abstract Development is characterized by quantitative and qualitative changes that occur in a predetermined sequence. However, development could be affected by adversities, which change its typical course. The present study aimed to carry out a review of the concept of toxic stress, used in the Shonkoff’s Ecobiodevelopmental Theory, and to analyze its impact on human development. A search was conducted in the PubMed database, which yielded 12 conceptual articles from 2000 to 2013. The results were categorized into themes. The theory proposed by Shonkoff aims to elucidate the impact of stress on child development, based on other developmental theories. Toxic stress pertains to the prolonged activation of the body as a response to the stress system that can provoke neurobiological and psychological damages. The interventions proposed in the reviewed studies were effective in minimizing the negative effects of this type of stress, as well as in providing support to the caregivers of children.

Download Full-text

INTERGENERATIONAL RISK TRANSMISSION AND TOXIC STRESS: IMPACT ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT IN A COMMUNITY SOCIAL PEDIATRICS CONTEXT

Paediatrics & Child Health ◽

10.1093/pch/pxx086.083 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (suppl_1) ◽

pp. e32-e33 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

G Julien ◽

H Gaudreau ◽

A Melançon ◽

D Mena ◽

C Gagnon-Trudeau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Child Development ◽

Toxic Stress ◽

Social Pediatrics ◽

Intergenerational Risk

Download Full-text

The Concurrent Validity of the Minnesota Child Development Inventory as a Measure of Young Children's Language Development

Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders ◽

10.1044/jshd.5401.101 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 101-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

J. Bruce Tomblin ◽

Cynthia M. Shonrock ◽

James C. Hardy

Keyword(s):

Child Development ◽

Language Development ◽

Expressive Language ◽

Strong Predictor ◽

Receptive Language ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Language Measure ◽

The Mean ◽

Child Development Inventory ◽

Mean Length Of Utterance

The extent to which the Minnesota Child Development Inventory (MCDI), could be used to estimate levels of language development in 2-year-old children was examined. Fifty-seven children between 23 and 28 months were given the Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development (SICD), and at the same time a parent completed the MCDI. In addition the mean length of utterance (MLU) was obtained for each child from a spontaneous speech sample. The MCDI Expressive Language scale was found to be a strong predictor of both the SICD Expressive scale and MLU. The MCDI Comprehension-Conceptual scale, presumably a receptive language measure, was moderately correlated with the SICD Receptive scale; however, it was also strongly correlated with the expressive measures. These results demonstrated that the Expressive Language scale of the MCDI was a valid predictor of expressive language for 2-year-old children. The MCDI Comprehension-Conceptual scale appeared to assess both receptive and expressive language, thus complicating its interpretation.

Download Full-text

Complex Trauma and Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: Clinical Implications

Perspectives on School-Based Issues ◽

10.1044/sbi13.2.32 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 32-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Yvette D. Hyter

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Child Development ◽

Academic Outcomes ◽

Complex Trauma ◽

Prenatal Alcohol Exposure ◽

Alcohol Exposure ◽

Clinical Implications ◽

Prenatal Alcohol ◽

The Brain

Abstract Complex trauma resulting from chronic maltreatment and prenatal alcohol exposure can significantly affect child development and academic outcomes. Children with histories of maltreatment and those with prenatal alcohol exposure exhibit remarkably similar central nervous system impairments. In this article, I will review the effects of each on the brain and discuss clinical implications for these populations of children.

Download Full-text