Annotated Bibliography Outline

Baumeister, A. A., Hawkins, M. F., Lee Pow, J., & Cohen, A. S. (2012). Prevalence and Incidence of Severe Mental Illness in the United States: An Historical Overview. Harvard Review of Psychiatry (Taylor & Francis Ltd), 20(5), 247. doi:10.3109/10673229.2012.726525

Elder, G. H. Jr.. (1998). The life course as developmental theory. Child Development, 69, 1–12.

The research is discussing the effects of prenatal stress (PS) on the development of socioemotional symptoms as well as neurodevelopmental disorders. The study arises from existing literatures where a significant relationship has been established between prenatal stress and social deficits such as autism and attention-deficit hypersensitivity disorder among children and schizophrenia among adolescents. King et al. identifies exposures to environmental hardships and stressful events as the underlying factor in the development of PS (274). The aspect has a negative impact on the immune and endocrine system as well as neurological development (Charil et al. 56). Studies have revealed that PS affects several aspects of brain development in the fetal stage. It increases rate of cell death and reduces rate of proliferation in the hypothalamus-pituitary axis (Schoenfeld and Gould 15).

Throughout life, both children and adults experience varying amounts of stress in their everyday lives. For the most part, this has been proven to be healthy and crucial in strengthening their response to such stimuli later in life. This paper will focus on the findings of various studies in which researchers have found links between stress exposure and childhood development. Specifically, this paper will focus on the effects of what is known as toxic stress and its effects on the development of a child and its role in the development of mental disorders as the child transitions into adulthood.

The main purpose of this article is to examine various research on the etiology of stuttering. The experimental research explored various brain circuitries involved, specifically the the basal ganglia. Furthermore, the meta-analysis discussed neuroimaging, lesion, pharmacological, and genetic studies on the neural circuitries connected to persistent developmental stuttering and acquired neurogenic stuttering.

However, to understand the impact of adversity on young children’s development and learning, our genes supply the basic blueprint for brain development. “Thus, toxic stress in early childhood not only is a risk factor for later risky behavior but also can be a direct source of biological injury or disruption that may have lifelong consequences independent of whatever circumstances might follow later in life (Shonoff and Garner, 2012, page 238). Poverty, neglect, or family stress can make it especially difficult for young children to develop the self-discipline and habits of mind they will need to succeed in the classroom and beyond. Researchers have found that chronic, sustained stress, such as that caused by neglect, abuse, or deprivation,

The article mainly discusses how Thompson is researching how stress can affect a children’s developing for both for good or for worse; both neurologically and biologically. But he also discusses how the chronic stress that children undergoes can be moderated or even reversed because the child’s brain is still developing. He focuses on kids who either: live in poverty, witness domestic violence, live in foster care, are abused or neglected, etc. to see how resources provided to children and stress can threaten a child’s development. Thompson argues that children are designed to rely on their early experiences to help shape themselves to become healthy or maladaptive. He divides his article in several sections each giving different information on development biology, stress, and developmental plasticity. Each section then ties to how it can contribute to a developing child.

Vulnerability and resilience among children continues to be a popular topic in research of developmental psychology. The two definitions are closely tied together as they are considered both sides to the spectrum. Schaffer (2006) defines vulnerability and resilience “as the susceptibility to develop malfunctioning following exposure to stressful life events, as opposed to the capacity to maintain competent functioning stress”. If stressful life events are the trigger here, why is it that some children are far more vulnerable, yet others are more resilient? The three studies discussed in this paper will attempt to explain why these differences occur and what can we do to enhance protective factors.

Family incomes ranged from less than $10,000 to $120,000. It is noteworthy to point out that there were no significant differences on these demographic characteristics between the 73 participating families. When these 73 mothers gave birth to their offspring researchers would begin analytical testing when the children would begin first grade. Researchers implemented a correlational experimental design that consisted of an 18 year longitudinal study recording several components that would determine how prenatal stress and other factors could affect the overall health and development of the child to be born. Because this experiment was longitudinal in nature there were very few variables that could be controlled. Never the less, none of the female participants were missing prenatal maternal depression (dependent variable), negative parenting (dependent variable), or child adrenarche data (dependent variable). Although necessary for consistent testing results 13 were missing childhood cortisol data (dependent variable); and 7 were missing mental and physical health data (dependent variable).

Cohen, S., & McKay, G. (1984). Social support, stress and the buffering hypothesis: A theoretical analysis. Handbook of Psychology and Health, 4, 253-267.

Throughout the course of a pregnancy, women are constantly told to provide a healthy and safe environment for their child to grow and develop within their womb. In the United States it is common knowledge to take prenatal vitamins, go see the doctor for checkups regularly, and to continue to eat healthy and work out while pregnant. However, not many people think that they themselves can provide a harmful environment for their fetus by experiencing certain emotions or stress. Anxiety and depression are both seen at high rates in pregnant women during the pregnancy as well as postpartum (Paul, Downs, Schaefer, Beiler, Weisman, 2013). It is possible that the mothers’ emotional state during pregnancy can cause negative health outcomes after

Today, there are many different reasons that contribute to premature births. “Multiple pregnancies, vaginal bleeding during pregnancy, and polyhydramnios or oligohydramnios are all associated with an increased in premature delivery” (Lilliecreutz, Laren, Sydsjo, & Josefsson, 2016, p. 2). Typically, these factors are related to preterm pregnancies. In addition, factors such as having high levels of stress during pregnancy can also lead to having preterm births. Women these days are often taking on a dual shift by working a full time job as well as coming home to cook and take care of the kids. Often, this will result in an increase in stress levels, not to mention when she is pregnant. There has been information that has been acquired which show a interrelationship between both social and psychological stress with an increase risk of preterm birth or even death of a child (Lilliecreutz, Laren, Sydsjo, & Josefsson, 2016). Lilliecreutz et al. (2016) states, “Our hypothesis was that maternal stress during pregnancy can attribute to the adverse outcomes of preterm labor” (p. 2). This study is carried out by trying to determine if whether women who are exposed to stress itself during pregnancy is linked to preterm births, or whether preterm babies are delivered because of pregnancy stress, while being pregnant (Lilliecreutz, Laren, Sydsjo, & Josefsson, 2016).

This longitudinal study assessed their behavior from an age range of five to fifteen years old. It was found that those exposed to an excessive amount of violent programming were more likely to commit criminal activity and develop anti social personality disorder in their early adulthood. Several factors, including socioeconomic status and parental background, were controlled to ensure little other stimuli contributed to the findings.

A mother who struggles with depression post-partum is likely to expose her baby to more harmful effects. Gerhardt (2015) states that the baby of a depressed mother can find it difficult to cope with or get over stress, or they may be more fearful (p. 21). These babies also may respond to others with depression themselves, as their mother may be neglectful in their care (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 36). One of the reasons for this is because of their cortisol levels, which can fluctuate situationally. However, in infants this can affect their development (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 83) as well as their immune system (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 118), and is evidence that a mother with depression can have a significant impact on her child well beyond when the depression occurs. Additionally, Gerhardt (2015) notes that, “When they grow up, these babies of depressed mothers are highly at risk of succumbing to depression themselves.” (p.

Figure 1 is an indication that most children learn to regulate the use of physical aggressive behavior before they enter the school system (Farrington, D. P. & Coid, J. W. (Ed.).,