Current Research in Children's Conceptions of Death: A Critical Review

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda L. Kenyon
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Religious Experiences ◽  
Emotional Factors ◽  
Physically Based ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Theoretical Issues ◽  
Children’S Conceptions

After almost 60 years of research, how children come to understand death and what factors contribute to this development continue to generate interest. This paper critically reviews published research since the early 1980s, with a specific focus on the development of components of the death concept in children. Studies are reviewed with respect to the effects of age, cognitive development, type of object inquired about, culture and SES, experience with death, and emotional factors on the development of children's understanding of death. While these studies indicate that by 10 years of age most children have mastered the components of irreversibility, universality, non-functionality, personal mortality, and causality, acquisition of individual components appears to be differentially affected by several factors. Cognitive development, verbal ability, and cultural and religious experiences appear to influence the acquisition of abstract components such as universality. Direct experience appears to affect the acquisition of physically-based components, such as non-functionality and irreversibility. In addition, the components appear to have different developmental trajectories. Emotional factors appear to play a significant role in how children respond to questions about death and might be highly influential in the development of their understanding of death. Directions for future research are presented with attention to theoretical issues and the ongoing methodological problems in the study of children's conceptions of death.

Dissociating the Impact of Auditory Access and Language Access in Deaf Children’s Cognitive Development

2020 ◽  
pp. 98-122
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Implicit Learning ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Language Access ◽  
The Impact

Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children have been claimed to lag behind their hearing peers in various domains of cognitive development, especially in implicit learning, executive function, and working memory. Two major accounts of these deficits have been proposed: one based on a lack of auditory access, and one based on a lack of language access. This chapter reviews these theories in relation to the available evidence and concludes that there is little evidence of direct effects of diminished auditory access on cognitive development that could not also be explained by diminished language access. Specifically, reports of deficits in implicit learning are not broadly replicable. Some differences in executive function do stem from deafness itself but are not necessarily deficits. Where clinically relevant deficits in executive function are observed, they are inconsistent with the predictions of accounts based on auditory access, but consistent with accounts based on language access. Deaf–hearing differences on verbal working memory tasks may indicate problems with perception and/or language, rather than with working memory. Deaf–hearing differences on nonverbal tasks are more consistent with accounts based on language access, but much more study is needed in this area. The chapter concludes by considering the implications of these findings for psychological theory and for clinical/educational practice and by identifying high-priority targets for future research.

Children's Conceptions of Illness and Cognitive Development

1979 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 327-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Kenneth Whitt ◽  
Weiss Dykstra ◽  
Catherine A. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Children’S Conceptions

scholarly journals Cognitive and School Functioning in Children and Adolescents with Chronic Pain: A Critical Review

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 238-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce D Dick ◽  
Rebecca Pillai Riddell
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Future Research Directions

Cognitive function is a critical factor related to a child’s overall developmental trajectory. There is increasing evidence that chronic pain disrupts cognitive function in adults. Little is known about the nature or impact of cognitive disruption in children and adolescents with chronic pain. The present review examines the current literature related to cognitive function in children and adolescents with chronic pain, implications of these findings and future research directions. Nine studies on this topic were found, with a relatively recent increase in publications related to school attendance and subjective studies of school performance. The studies that were found on this topic suggested that chronic pain affects cognitive function in children but the scope of these effects on children’s function and developmental trajectories is not yet clear. While methodological issues surely make it difficult to study cognitive function in children with chronic pain, the potential gains from such research warrant a pursuit of such work. Much remains to be studied on this important topic.

scholarly journals Understanding and Describing PTSD in Kosovo: A Systematic Evidence-Based Review

SAGE Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401773458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naim Fanaj ◽  
Erika Melonashi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Prevalence Rates ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Anxiety Depression ◽  
Exposure To Trauma

Mental health problems related to the psychological trauma of war still represent a public health concern in postwar Kosovo. Despite the universal character of exposure to trauma, there are suggestions that the manifestation posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or related psychosocial factors might vary across cultures. The aim of the present article was to provide a critical overview of research on PTSD in the specific sociocultural context of Kosovo by examining prevalence rates, as well as related demographic and psychosocial variables. For this purpose, 51 studies were evaluated. Results showed that, even 10 years postwar prevalence rates for PTSD are still high among civilians exposed to trauma, refugees, and veterans. As regards psychiatric and psychological constructs correlating with PTSD, studies suggested the following: anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, anger, and revenge thoughts. Moreover, socioeconomic factors and social support were identified as highly influential on quality of life of individuals with PTSD. Nonetheless the studies considered for review had numerous methodological problems such as sample size, self-selection, nonrandomized process, and lack of control groups, findings of existing studies still need to be carefully considered and future research is necessary.

scholarly journals Normative range parenting and the developing brain: a scoping review of the literature

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline Farber ◽  
Dylan Gee ◽  
Ahmad R. Hariri
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Brain Development ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Brain Structure And Function ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact

Studies of early adversity such as trauma, abuse, and neglect highlight the critical importance of quality caregiving in brain development and mental health. However, the impact of normative range variability in caregiving on such biobehavioral processes remains poorly understood. Thus, we lack an essential foundation for understanding broader, population-representative developmental mechanisms of risk and resilience. Here, we conduct a scoping review of the extant literature centered on the question, “Is variability in normative range parenting associated with variability in brain structure and function?” After removing duplicates and screening by title, abstract, and full-text, 23 records were included in a qualitative review. The most striking outcome of this review was not only how few studies have explored associations between brain development and normative range parenting, but also how little methodological consistency exists across published studies. In light of these limitations, we propose recommendations for future research on normative range parenting and brain development. In doing so, we hope to facilitate evidence-based research that will help inform policies and practices that yield optimal developmental trajectories and mental health.

scholarly journals Neurodevelopmental Trajectories of Preterm Infants of Italian Native-Born and Migrant Mothers and Role of Neonatal Feeding

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 4588
Author(s):  
Dino Gibertoni ◽  
Alessandra Sansavini ◽  
Silvia Savini ◽  
Chiara Locatelli ◽  
Gina Ancora ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Milk ◽  
Preterm Infants ◽  
Infant Development ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Perinatal Outcomes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Formula Milk ◽  
Social Abilities ◽  
Adverse Perinatal Outcomes

There is evidence that preterm infants of migrant mothers are at a higher risk of adverse perinatal outcomes than those of native-born mothers, and that human milk feeding is beneficial to infants’ neurodevelopment. Using the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) to classify mother’s country of origin, we investigated whether type of neonatal feeding (human milk vs. mixed milk vs. exclusive formula milk) affected preterm newborn neurodevelopment varying across different HDI categories (Italian native-born vs. high HDI migrant vs. low HDI migrant) up to 2 years of age. Neurodevelopment of 530 infants born in Italy at ≤32 weeks of gestational age and/or weighing <1500 g was measured at 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, 18-, and 24-months corrected age (CA) using the revised Griffiths Mental Development Scale 0–2 years. The trajectories of the general developmental quotient and its five subscales were estimated using mixed models. At 24-months CA only preterm infants of low HDI migrant mothers and fed exclusive formula milk showed moderate neurodevelopment impairment, with lower developmental trajectories of eye-hand coordination, performance, and personal-social abilities. Migrant mothers from low HDI countries and their preterm infants should be targeted by specific programs supporting maternal environment, infant development, and human or mixed milk neonatal feeding. Future research should focus on a deeper understanding of the mechanisms through which type of feeding and mother migrant conditions interact in influencing preterm infants’ neurodevelopment.

scholarly journals Mathematics applied to the climate system: outstanding challenges and recent progress

2013 ◽  
Vol 371 (1991) ◽  
pp. 20120518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Williams ◽  
Michael J. P. Cullen ◽  
Michael K. Davey ◽  
John M. Huthnance
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Recent Progress ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Climate System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Physically Based

The societal need for reliable climate predictions and a proper assessment of their uncertainties is pressing. Uncertainties arise not only from initial conditions and forcing scenarios, but also from model formulation. Here, we identify and document three broad classes of problems, each representing what we regard to be an outstanding challenge in the area of mathematics applied to the climate system. First, there is the problem of the development and evaluation of simple physically based models of the global climate. Second, there is the problem of the development and evaluation of the components of complex models such as general circulation models. Third, there is the problem of the development and evaluation of appropriate statistical frameworks. We discuss these problems in turn, emphasizing the recent progress made by the papers presented in this Theme Issue. Many pressing challenges in climate science require closer collaboration between climate scientists, mathematicians and statisticians. We hope the papers contained in this Theme Issue will act as inspiration for such collaborations and for setting future research directions.

Maturing and Aging Together

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miri Scharf
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Frequency Of Contact ◽  
Future Research Directions

Relatively little research has examined the grandparent–adult grandchild relationship, although these relationships might play a more significant role than in the past, possibly impacting grandchildren’s development and the adjustment of both parties. This chapter reviews different theoretical perspectives related to this bond and presents the special flavor of this bond during emerging adulthood resulting from the different developmental trajectories of grandparents and grandchildren that mutually influence one another. Empirical findings demonstrating large variation both within and between families regarding frequency of contact and quality of the relations are presented, as well as various contextual and demographic variables that might mediate and moderate these variations. Finally, the importance of studying this bond, future research directions, and possible implications are discussed.

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