Developmental psychology - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Developmental psychology

Dr. Geoff goodman

Lecture 11

11/22/16Slide2

Genes, nature, and nurture

Introduction

Genes work together with the environment to produce specific outcomes

Distal factors that turn on or off genesInequalityRacismSocioeconomic status Proximal factors that turn on or off genesParental monitoringCaregiver sensitivityMaltreatment (abuse or neglect)Moderational model: Low parenting monitoring x genetic predisposition  adolescent smoking behaviorGenetic variation or allele can predict whether men marry or cohabitate – involved with vasopressin productionSlide3

Introduction cont.Epigenetics – environmental experiences can turn on or off certain genes

Stressful family situations might inhibit the expression of genes that protect against asthma

Dysfunctional family might turn on genes responsible for development of schizophrenia

Short version of 5ht gene involved in transporting serotonin is associated with depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems only when children experienced adversity Tph2 gene – implicated in development of adhd, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, suicidal behavior only when childhood adversity is present Monoamine oxidase (maoa) gene – implicated in violent or antisocial behavior only when child maltreatment is present Short version of drd4 gene – implicated in novelty seeking, adhd, and disorganized (d) attachment only when child has had traumatic, frightening parentingDrd2 gene – implicated in dopamine production Slide4

Introduction cont.Treatment implications

Higher doses of psychostimulant needed for adhd children with long version of drd4 gene

Parenting intervention more successful for adhd children with long version of drd4 gene

Purpose of these genetic variations – allows person to survive and thrive in a variety of environments Novelty-seeking genetic expression might aid in finding new territories (maasai In Kenya and Tanzania) Some children are more susceptible to rearing influences than others (belsky) Slide5

Genes affect behaviors in self and othersGenes can affect patterns of parenting

Short allele of 5ht gene

 less sensitive parenting when parents have low social support or marital harmony

Twins separated at birth have demonstrated their influence on maternal warmth and marital harmony Nonshared environment – every child’s home life is unique because he or she is treated differently from siblingsSibling barricade – if one child is treated harshly, the sibling is protected (alternative explanation – splitting) 30% of mother’s hostile behavior is attributable to infant temperament Children of antisocial biological parents tend to have harsher, more inconsistent adoptive parents Slide6

Genes are not everything

Presumably genetic traits such as iq can change with environmental change

Romanian orphans can form attachments depending on age of adoption

Children are more likely to become depressed if the mother but not the father is depressed, regardless of the children’s genetic predisposition to depressionGenetics can have little to do with attachment quality, but Irritable temperament x low maternal support  c attachmentShort version of drd4 gene x frightening parenting  d attachment

Summary

Environment (e.g., maltreatment) might affect genes at the molecular level permanently

Epigenetics reflects changes in genetic expression, but a degree of plasticity still exists just in case environment changes later onSlide7

Conclusions: earlier experience and its longer-term consequences

Introduction

How much continuity is inevitable from early life?

How much change is possible as time goes on?Cascade of effects at various levels of analysisIndividualFamilyNeighborhoodSociety and cultureAttachment and the effects of earlier experiencesAttachment quality at one year is not often predictive of later developmental outcomes But it can start the ball rolling

Mediational model:

anxious-resistant

attachment

 poor peer relationships  depression

Poor peer relationships is the mediator

Internal working models exert a wide-reaching influence and reflect both current and earlier experiences Slide8

Attachment and the effects of earlier experiences cont.Changes in caregiver sensitivity and mind-mindedness can

supercede

the quality of internal working model and produce positive developmental outcomes in children Resilient children are more likely to overcome adversity but seem to suffer more from psychosomatic symptoms than children who did not face adversity Under stressful conditions, children still bear the scars of the adversity they facedSecure attachment predicts developmental outcomes when there is continuity in caregiver sensitivity and mind-mindedness Developmental trajectories model – attachment quality sets the table for future experiences, which in turn impact developmental outcomesSlide9

Childhood trauma and lack of good experiencesFoster care due to abuse or neglect

50% have mental health difficulties

Poor educational attainment

Higher risk of imprisonment – 25% of inmates had been in foster care Cumulative risk = higher likelihood of poor outcomes Five or more risk factors – 36 times more likely to be expelled from schoolFive risk factors could be 1) substance abuse2) domestic violence3) unemployment4) disability5) poor housingSlide10

What change is possible?

Trauma produces

chaotic

, incoherent thinking, particularly when stressedCaregivers cannot be trusted to provideOrderRoutineSafe boundariesThree months after adoption, changes can be observed in narratives prompted by story stemsOld worldviews often coexist with new worldviewsOld internal working models get activated during times of stress (neural pathways of least resistance under threat) – psychoanalysts used to describe this phenomenon as “regression” Children of adoptive parents classified as secure on the aai had the best outcomesInfants placed within first year adjust to new relationship patterns with adoptive caregivers

These infants are classified as secure if their adoptive parents are

similarly classified

In preschool, these children tell more coherent stories, reflecting

more benign representational worldsSlide11

What change is

possible?

cont.

Early interventions have enduring effectsChildren with adhd – less risk of psychoactive drug use Anorexia nervosa – less risk of mortalityAutism spectrum disorder – early speech and language intervention produces milder outcomesProblems with translating experimental interventions into clinical practiceEnthusiasm of intervention developer – related to outcome Comorbidity in the real world makes treatment difficultPatients’ awareness of the placebo condition artificially inflates findings in randomized controlled trials (Rcts) Slide12

What change is

possible?

cont.

Treatment effectiveness Therapeutic alliance (task, goal, bond) predicts positive treatment outcomes better than treatment model Outcomes also linked to therapist skill, not likability Some characteristics of the good therapist (common factors)Establishment of therapeutic allianceConsistency Hopes and expectations of improvementAdherence to treatment model (but not too much)Ability to repair treatment ruptures Intervention can take place at different ages and at different levels

Child

Parents

School system

Neighborhood and community

Society (political level)

For example, therapy to treat a mother’s depression results in improved outcomes for her child compared to the child of an untreated mother (indirect treatment)Slide13

ConclusionsSociological trends

Wider income gap is directly proportional to mental health problems at the lowest and highest extremes

Lower levels of community trust

Weaker community life and social support systemsCommunities become violentFamilies break upOutcomes worsen Moderational model: Maternal depression x economic deprivation  impaired cognitive and emotional development in childrenWe need to account for both proximal and distal effects on children’s developmentWe Need to consider bidirectionality of causalityParents affect children and Children affect parentsBidirectionality holds true in child psychotherapy

between therapist and patient (goodman)Slide14

Conclusions cont.Single

best

predictor of resilience – lovability (think

carlyn—photo and video)Is it temperament?Is it sensitive, mind-minded caregiving?Is it economic and political stability? An individual enters every new situation bound by history and prior expectations but also open to new experiences and opportunities if he or she can set aside historical precedent Slide15

Mediational and moderational models

Moderational model

Iv

1 + iv2 + [iv1 x iv2]  dvIv1 and iv2 are typically not associated with Each otherDv is continuousiv2 = moderator

Iv

1

predicts the dv only when Iv2 is present

For example, maoa gene variation + maltreatment + maoa gene

variation x

maltreatment

 antisocial behavior (dv)

mediational model

Iv

 mv  dv

Four conditions must be true (baron &

Kenny,

1986)

Iv and mv are significantly correlated

Iv and dv are significantly correlated

Mv and dv are significantly

correlated

In a hierarchical regression analysis, mv significantly predicts the dv, and the iv becomes nonsignificant: iv (not significant) 

mv*

 dvSlide16

mediational model cont.

dv is continuous

mv = mediator

Iv acts through mv to predict the dvFor example, C attachment  poor peer relationships  depression (dv)C attachment  poor peer relationships (condition 1)C attachment  depression (condition 2)Poor peer relationships  depression (condition 3)With c attachment and poor peer relationships entered together as predictors, c attachment no longer significantly predicts depression (condition 4)

C attachment has passed the baton of influence to poor peer relationships, which

directly

influence

the manifestation of depression

Remember – iv, mv, and dv are variables, not constants