Researching Atypical Development Flashcards
Example of researching development
The Human Speechome Project
- researcher - recorded his child for approximately 10 hours a day, from 0-3 years
- trying to see / understand how children learn the meaning of words
- done through the analysis of observational recordings of child-caregiver interactions in natural contexts
- around 100,000 hours of multi-track recordings
The Human Speechome Project - ethical considerations?
- ethics? anonymity? consent?
- all issues to consider here!
- > > of those interacting with the child?
- > > what about the child themselves?
- acts of observations - general critiques / problems here anyway
General Guidelines for Ethical Research
Voluntary Informed Consent
P is told exactly what research entails and then volunteers to participate
- ascent? - any obvious signs that the child is not comfortable
- should get REAL consent
- 0-3 years - can they really give consent? - parents then give it, you just have to look out for signs that the child is not comfortable
General Guidelines for Ethical Research
Harm
What constitutes harm?
- loss of self-esteem, embarrassment, feelings of exclusion
- do we have to be careful with children because they are so early on in development?
- DANGER - over protection?
- may make us treat them even too much or over the top?
General Guidelines for Ethical Research
- wherever possible, the real consent of children and of adults with impairments in understanding should be obtained
What questions do we need to ask when we assessing atypical development?
How old is he / she?
- if we know age, it can help determine whether behaviour is normal or abnormal
Any recent trauma, divorce, death, abuse?
- could be a trigger for problem/atypical behaviour?
History of mental health in the family?
- genetic vulnerabilities? e.g. concordance rates for ScZ
What types of relationship does the child have with parents, peers, teachers, siblings etc?
- can get an understanding / a feel of the child’s behaviour
- can indicate problem areas that need work on
Harris (2008) - Questions to ask about research
- design - was it appropriate for the age and type of children?
- how and where were the children tested?
- ethical issues - do we need to worry about them?
- could there be any issues with children’s understanding of the task?
- any other factors?
> anything preventing them from completing the task
> anything that could have hindered their ability on the task? (language levels?)
Normal Developmental Milestones
- how do these guide us with researching atypical development?
- guidelines as to what to expect for each age
> BUT what about the experiences the child has? - we don’t want to rush putting on tables - personality and experience can have a big impact!!!
- environment - plays a big role!
> this may be causing the problem rather than something within the child!
Normal Developmental Milestones
- early interventions? potential problems?
- early intervention - is VERY important BUT we shouldn’t rush to a diagnosis
> problem with labels again!
> we really have to consider what is going on in the environment and see if there is anything there that may be causing this
> how many people the child interacts with etc
Down’s Syndrome vs Normal Development
- huge overlaps and range
- ranges are within where something may happen depending on surrounding factors
> they do reach the same milestones but just take a little longer?
Research examples:
- Byrne et al (2002) - mainstream schooling, single word reading
- Wright et al (2006) - learning via imitation
Do all children experience childhood in the same way?
- depends where you grow up?
- families of low vs high SES - clear differences
- abuse vs non-abuse
- different cultures - individualist vs collectivist cultures
- single parent vs two parent families
- refugee children - clearly different experiences compared to non-refugee children
- children growing up in war zones?
What are risk factors?
- significant things in the environment that can have an impact on development
- characteristics, events or processes that put the individual at risk for developing psychological problems
Risk factors - Person-centred
Temperament
Risk factors - Family centred
- parental mental health issues
- parental relationship conflict
- sibling issues
Risk factors - School / Society centred
- poorly performing
- over crowded
- under resourced schools
- poverty
- drug taking
- violence
What are protective factors?
Characteristics, events or processes that seem to protect individuals even when faced with adverse circumstances
Protective factors - Person-centred
- optimism
Protective factors - Family centred
- stable role models
- warm and supportive parents
Protective factors - School or society centred
- competent and caring teachers
- early intervention programmes
Nature vs Nurture
Interaction between genes and environment - can result in a high level of variability in developmental outcomes
Rich genetic & poor environment vs Poor genetic & rich environment
- may experience the environment differently even though they are shared
- very difficult to debate!
- variety of different factors that can contribute to atypical development
- COMPLEX INTERACTION BETWEEN THE TWO!
Brofenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Development
- looking at a child’s development within the context of the system of relationships that form their environment
- defining complex layers of environment, each of which has an effect on a child’s development
- child’s own biology is a primary environment fuelling their development
- the interaction between factors in the child’s maturing biology, their immediate family/community environment and the societal landscape fuels and steers their development
- changes or conflicts in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers
Brofenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Development - so what do we need to do?
To study a child:
- we need to look at their immediate environment BUT also at the interaction of the larger environment as well!
Brofenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Development - Microsystem
- layer closest to the child, structures where the child has direct contact
- encompasses relationships & interactions a child has with their immediate surroundings - family, school, neighbourhood, childcare environment etc
- bidirectional influences here! - relationship between the children and parents can affect both ways!
- these bidirectional relationships here the greatest impact on the child!
Brofenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Development - Bi-directional influences
Relationships that have an impact in 2 directions:
- away from the child and towards the child
- e.g a child’s parents may affect the child’s beliefs but the child also affects their parents behaviour and beliefs
- can occur among all levels of the environment
- BUT they are the strongest in the microsystem and have the greatest impact on the child!
Brofenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Development - what are all the different systems?
Microsystem Mesosytem Exosystem Macrosystem Chronosystem
Brofenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Development - Mesosystem
- provides the connection between the structures of the child’s microsystem
- e.g. the connections between the child’s teachers and their parents, between the church and their neighbourhood
Brofenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Development - Exosystem
- defines the larger social system in which the child does not function directly
- structures here impact the child’s development by interacting with some structures in their microsystem
- e.g. parent’s workplace schedules or community based family resources
- child may not be directly involved at this level BUT they do feel the positive or negative force involved with the interaction with their system
Brofenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Development - Macrosystem
- outermost layer of the child’s environment
- comprised of cultural values, customs and laws
- cascading influence throughout the interactions of all other layers
- e.g. cultural beliefs on parenting - this may/will affect the structures in which the parents function
- -> this in turn will affect the context of the child’s microsystem
Brofenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Development - Chronosystem
- this encompasses the dimension of time as it relates to a child’s environment
- elements within this system can either be:
> EXTERNAL - e.g. the timing of a parent’s death
> INTERNAL - e.g. the physiological changes that occur with the ageing of a child
As the child gets older:
- they may react differently to environmental changes
- may be more able to determine more how that change will influence them
Methods of researching atypical development
- Wellcome Trust
- biomedical research charity
- funds research to improve human and animal health
- major investments include ALSPAC
- work on ADHD
> genetic link to ADHD
> found that children with ADHD were more likely to have small segments of their DNA duplicated or missing than other children
Methods of researching atypical development
- Wellcome ALSPAC study
- looking longitudinally at child development
Methods of researching atypical development
- Perceptions of disability
- looking at the individual
Observational Methods - what do you have to consider?
- research question - drives what you want to do!
- why, where, what, how long for?
- other additional considerations?
- coding
- ethical considerations?
Observational Methods - why?
- is it the best method to address your question?
- is it a valid intrusion of naturally occurring behaviour?
Observational Methods - where?
- is it their own or a controlled environment?
Observational Methods - what?
- which events / behaviours will be observed?
- pre-defining them or just noting down what happens?
Observational Methods - how long for?
- hours, just a few minutes….
- how much is enough?
Observational Methods - any other considerations?
- does your sample have any additional issues? - how do you facilitate these?
- any training required?
- e.g. working with children who have learning disabilities - specific training required?
Observational Methods - coding?
- exhaustive, mutually exclusive & reliable
- need to have people on the same page
- inter-rater reliability etc
Observational Methods - ethical considerations?
E.g. filming
- have people given their permission?
- who else is going to see the video / footage
- consent etc
Researching children
- Borland, Brown, Jill & Buist (2005)
- adults underestimate children
P5 students - things they can do no problem:
- looking after parents when they are ill, using a public phone, working the microwave & washing machine, giving first aid etc
P5 students - things parents expect us to do:
- programme the video, work a computer, answer the phone, explain what happened in a TV show
—> differing views of child’s development vs what adults think the child can do?
Researching children
- Hughes et al (2002)
Assessing disruptive behaviour
- how can we investigate this - don’t want to get them or cause them to be angry
- objective measure - rigged card game so each child experiences a losing streak
- place both children in a situation where they feel mildly stressed and frustrated
- then see how they cope
Researching children
- Hughes et al (2002) - results
Parent / teacher assessments often differ!
- consistent differences in children previously identified as ‘hard to manage’ and those identified as ‘normally developing’
- children of depressed mothers - experienced more hopelessness, pessimism & low self-worth during losing streak than ‘normally developing children’
Researching children
- Hughes et al (2002) - potential issues
Induced stress / threat of losing?
- post visit feedback - children enjoyed game and wanted to play again
- differences between a situation specific assessment (card game) and ratings made by someone who knows the child over time & across context
- order of winning / losing streak might effect results
- gender / age interactions
Locations of atypical research?
School based research Hospital / clinical based research Community based research Laboratory based research Internet based research
Locations of atypical research - school based research
Specifically school related issues and wider issues
School related:
- additional support needs; behavioural issues; bullying; teacher-child interactions; intelligence
Wider issues:
- emotional / behavioural issues; eating disorders & body image issues; gender differences; health issues
Locations of atypical research - hospital / clinical based research
- social and emotional development of cancer P’s / adolescent suicide
Locations of atypical research - community based research
- homeless adolescents / children in care
Locations of atypical research - laboratory based approach
- strange situation task
Locations of atypical research - internet based approach
- blogs / forums
Assessment for Atypical Development
- can take a variety of forms
- variety of information from a range of individuals
- multi-professional holistic approach
- e.g teacher ratings, parent ratings, peer ratings, health staff and so on
Why do we assess?
- provides a diagnosis for a treatment plan
- can assess a particular area of functioning or disability to enable more appropriate support & interventions to be provided
- can let us assess treatment outcomes
- helps courts - decide on issues such as child custody, child providing evidence (competency etc)
Ethical Dilemmas in Assessment - Benefits
- guides appropriate treatment - makes assessment more efficient
- ensures that diagnostic labels are based on scientifically sound evidence
- aids communication across health discipline
- helpful to the client - can obtain support
Ethical Dilemmas in Assessment - Issues
- diagnostic criteria often overlap
> may not always capture the rare or complex symptoms of the disorder - DSM diagnoses - have been found to have low reliability & validity
- not useful without understanding the context
- social stigma of labels
> have to try and break these down
