Tasks Of Childhood Research Articles

Karl Rahner on Childhood

Karl Rahner’s ‘Ideas for a Theology of Childhood’ has become increasingly influential in childhood studies. In this article I critically assess Rahner’s ideas in this seminal work to highlight the answer Rahner proposes to the question of the meaning and task of childhood. This is brought into brief conversation with writings of Jürgen Moltmann and Jerome Berryman. Rahner’s ideas of childhood can be critiqued for a lack of careful engagement with the details of Scripture and concrete life settings, and for underestimating the effects of childhood trauma. One can also ask whether transcendental philosophy provides an accessible language, particularly in an interdisciplinary context. Nevertheless, ‘mystery of the child’ language is now near-ubiquitous in contemporary Christian authors on childhood. Rahner’s insights into childhood can function like the reality of childhood itself, remaining as a life-giving root in a theology that unfolds as others take it further.

Sleep Promotes Phonological Learning in Children Across Language and Autism Spectra.

Purpose Establishing stable and flexible phonological representations is a key component of language development and one which is thought to vary across children with neurodevelopmental disorders affecting language acquisition. Sleep is understood to support the learning and generalization of new phonological mappings in adults, but this remains to be examined in children. This study therefore explored the time course of phonological learning in childhood and how it varies by structural language and autism symptomatology. Method Seventy-seven 7- to 13-year-old children, 30 with high autism symptomatology, were included in the study; structural language ability varied across the sample. Children learned new phonological mappings based on synthesized speech tokens in the morning; performance was then charted via repetition (without feedback) over 24 hr and followed up 4 weeks later. On the night following learning, children's sleep was monitored with polysomnography. Results A period of sleep but not wake was associated with improvement on the phonological learning task in childhood. Sleep was associated with improved performance for both trained items and novel items. Structural language ability predicted overall task performance, though language ability did not predict degree of change from one session to the next. By contrast, autism symptomatology did not explain task performance. With respect to sleep architecture, rapid eye movement features were associated with greater phonological generalization. Conclusions Children's sleep was associated with improvement in performance on both trained and novel items. Phonological generalization was associated with brain activity during rapid eye movement sleep. This study furthers our understanding of individual differences in the acquisition of new phonological mappings and the role of sleep in this process over childhood. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.11126732.

Social competence and psychopathology in early childhood: a systematic review.

The acquisition of social competence, such as showing prosocial behaviour (fulfilling others' needs) and social initiative (fulfilling own needs), constitutes one major developmental task in childhood and adolescence. Previous research suggests that in middle childhood, impaired social competences are related to childhood psychopathology, such as externalizing and internalizing disorders. As the period of preschool age is a particularly important time for both the development of social competence and early psychopathological symptoms, we conducted a systematic review to investigate the role of social competence in relation to early childhood psychopathology. Twenty-one clinical as well as subclinical studies published prior to September 2016 were included in a qualitative analysis of the relation between prosocial behaviour, social initiative, and early externalizing and internalizing symptoms in preschool age children (age 3-6). Effect sizes for each study were calculated if required information was available. Our review suggests that from early on in childhood development, externalizing symptoms are accompanied by prosocial behaviour deficits such as lower levels of helping or cooperating, whereas internalizing symptoms may be accompanied by either deficient or excessive levels of prosocial behaviour. Exhibiting social initiative such as initiating contact with others or communicating one's own needs seems to be impaired in children with internalizing symptoms. Implications for current theory and future research are discussed.

Introducing the White Noise task in childhood: associations between speech illusions and psychosis vulnerability.

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are common during development and may arise due to dysregulation in top-down processing of sensory input. This study was designed to examine the frequency and correlates of speech illusions measured using the White Noise (WN) task in children from the general population. Associations between speech illusions and putative risk factors for psychotic disorder and negative affect were examined. A total of 1486 children aged 11-12 years of the Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000 were examined with the WN task. Psychotic experiences and negative affect were determined using the Kiddie-SADS-PL. Register data described family history of mental disorders. Exaggerated Theory of Mind functioning (hyper-ToM) was measured by the ToM Storybook Frederik. A total of 145 (10%) children experienced speech illusions (hearing speech in the absence of speech stimuli), of which 102 (70%) experienced illusions perceived by the child as positive or negative (affectively salient). Experiencing hallucinations during the last month was associated with affectively salient speech illusions in the WN task [general cognitive ability: adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-3.93]. Negative affect, both last month and lifetime, was also associated with affectively salient speech illusions (aOR 2.01, 95% CI 1.05-3.83 and aOR 1.79, 95% CI 1.11-2.89, respectively). Speech illusions were not associated with delusions, hyper-ToM or family history of mental disorders. Speech illusions were elicited in typically developing children in a WN-test paradigm, and point to an affective pathway to AVH mediated by dysregulation in top-down processing of sensory input.

Easing diabetes’ psychological burden

Easing diabetes’ psychological burden

Children, Redemption and Remembrance in Walter Benjamin

Walter Benjamin wrote extensively on children and childhood, though this aspect of his work has hitherto received scant attention despite continuing and growing interest in his thought. This article makes explicit the connection between his acute observations of childhood and his distinctive messianic philosophy. The twin aspects of redemption in Benjamin's writings: remembrance and now-time, as illustrated in Wim Wender's Wings of Desire, are explored in relation to the ‘task of childhood’. Benjamin asserts the emancipatory potential held within the development of historical consciousness, and leads us to question how our understanding of childhood can foster this potential

A Neural Seat for Math?

Abstract mathematical reasoning is often treated as a uniquely human endeavor. But many species, from pigeons to primates, show some ability to grasp the concept of number, suggesting that these numerical abilities represent the evolutionary building blocks of higher math in humans. Sophisticated symbolic number processing in adults recruits a region of the brain called the intraparietal sulcus (IPS). While children can grasp basic math concepts relating to size and number before they know the words that describe them, very little is known about the neural basis of these abilities. Does the IPS support the relatively simple numerical tasks of childhood as well as the sophisticated numerical calculations that adults learn to perform? Behavioral studies show that adults respond similarly to nonsymbolic numerical stimuli (arrays of dots) and symbolic numerical stimuli (Arabic numerals), suggesting that a common pathway supports both tasks. But neuroimaging studies have not resolved whether the same brain pathway is involved in both symbolic and nonsymbolic number processing. In a new study, Jessica Cantlon, Elizabeth Brannon, Elizabeth Carter, and Kevin Pelphrey at Duke University used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how the IPS responds to nonsymbolic numerical values in adults and preschool-aged children. They show that the brain circuitry governing nonsymbolic number processing is already in place very early in human development. In the study, adults and four-year-olds lay in a scanner while passively viewing a continuous stream of visual arrays on a computer screen. The arrays were designed to elicit differences in brain response to stimuli that were either novel in number or novel in shape. This study design operates under the assumption that neurons tuned to a particular stimuli (numbers, for example) will stop responding when exposed to a standard stimulus (16 circles) over and over, but will respond to stimuli that deviate from the norm (six or 32 circles). Every so often, a deviant number or shape (a triangle or square in place of a circle) was mixed in with the standard stimuli. Participants pressed a button when a crossbar in the center of the visual display turned red to maintain focus. Cantlon et al. analyzed the fMRI data to determine which brain regions responded to both types of deviant stimuli in the adults and children. Number deviants produced a much greater bilateral response in the IPS of adults compared with shape deviants, with activity extending into the inferior and superior parietal lobules (SPL). This response was confirmed by an alternate measure of brain activation based on blood oxygen level, which rose significantly three to 7.5 seconds after the number of elements changed. Brain regions that responded to shape deviants were concentrated in the ventral temporal-occipital cortex. fMRI results for the children showed that number deviants produced a significant response in and around the right IPS and the right SPL. Brain response to shape deviants was similar to that observed in adults. The location and pattern of brain activity in the preschoolers resembled that reported in studies of nonsymbolic numerical processing and basic math ability in adults. By four years old, children's brains already selectively respond to nonsymbolic numerical values, suggesting that the neural networks for number processing are established early in life. How to explain the finding that IPS activity was bilateral in adults and concentrated in the right hemisphere in the four-year-olds? It could be that the left hemisphere acquires more sophisticated math-related functions over time while the right remains relatively stable. But since some children showed more activity in the left IPS, the researchers warn that future study will have to determine whether this pattern is unique to kids. Overall, these results indicate that the brain dedicates a region to cultivating numerical abilities early in development. The IPS provides the neurobiological platform for nonsymbolic numerical processing in young children, then supports the expanding capacity for higher-math operations in adulthood. Six-month-olds also have an abstract numerical sense, suggesting that the IPS may even underlie numerical processing in infancy. Much remains to be learned about how children learn to count and match words with symbolic representations of numbers, but these results suggest that focusing on the IPS might help relate biology to behavior to answer some of these questions, and perhaps shed light on the evolution of numerical cognition.

Prevention of secondary osteoarthritis — a task in childhood and adolescence

Prevention of secondary osteoarthritis — a task in childhood and adolescence

The Affective and Cognitive Sequelae of Child Maltreatment

This article discusses the affective and cognitive sequelae of child maltreatment. It provides a brief historical overview and various definitional issues in the field. The tasks of childhood are identified, and developmental processes are discussed. A review of the literature of the sequelae of maltreatment is presented, followed by a discussion of the impact of these sequelae and the implications for the child's development.

Parental blaming and acquisition of guilt: A developmental task of childhood

Incidents involving the authors' twin 10-year-old daughters illustrate that guilt is well established in normal children of 10. The incidents suggest how the expectation of parental blaming triggers guilt and shame. Guilt and shame are compared. While they may coexist in the 10-year-old, guilt clearly is assuming a dominant position. Mental health professionals have emphasized the psychopathology of guilt and many forget that it is essential for normal socialization in that the guilty person feels a need to repair damage allegedly done. Guilt presumes that at least a primitive mutuality has been established in the person; and mutuality is the hallmark of human maturity. Terms are defined here with some variation from their usage by mental health experts: shame, guilt, blame, and counterblame.

Some Observations on the Themes of IYY 85 – Part 2

Participation is about young people: - having the right to make decisions about their own lives and the things that are important to them- having the skills to make these decisions and carry them through- having a meaningful say in family, school, work, Government, and in other aspects of their lives. (IYY 85 Brochure)As the young person moves up the age scale from 12 to 25 it is a reasonable expectation that his or her grip will be tightening on the full range of adult rights and responsibilities. The young person will also be letting go special rights and responsibilities pertaining to childhood. Hopefully this new independence and these new obligations will be welcomed and successful completion of the developmental tasks of childhood and adolescence will leave, more often than not, positive feelings toward self and life in general.

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: Psychological Problems in Mental Deficiency. 4th Ed. S. B. Sarason and J. Doris. Child Development and Personality. 3rd Ed. P. H. Mussen, J. J. Conger and J. Kagan. The Firstborn. Experiences of Eight American Families. Milton J. E. Senn and Claire Hartford. The Tasks of Childhood. Philippe Muller (translated by Anita Mason). The Development of Sex Differences. E. E. Maccoby (Ed.). Adolescence. Cyril Smith. This Stranger, My Son. A Mother's Story. Louise Wilson.

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:Intelligence and Cultural Environment. By Philip E. VernonModelling of Thinking and the Mind. By N. M. Amosov.Automation Theory and Learning Systems. Edited by D. J. Stewart from contributions selected by Stafford Beer, F. H. George and the late Richard GoodmanModern Systems Research for the Behavioural Scientist: a Sourcebook. Edited by W. Buckley.Cybernetics. By John F. Young.Psycholinguistics: Experiments in Spontaneous Speech. By Frieda Goldman Eisler.Development in Learning. Vol. III: Contexts of Education. Edited by J. F. Morris and E. A. Lunzer.Attachment and Loss. Vol. I: Attachment. By John Bowlby.The Evaluation of Personal Constructs. By D. Bannister and J. M. M. Mair.The Psychology of Superstition. By Gustav Jahoda.The Neuropsychology of Development: A Symposium. Edited by Robert L. Isaacson.Experience and Capacity. Edited by D. P. Kimble.Studies of Anxiety. (British Journal of Psychiatry Special Publication no. 3.) Edited by M. H. Lader.Social Competence and Mental Handicap: An Introduction to Social Education. By H. C. Gunzburg.Experimental Design: Procedures for the Behavioural Sciences. By Roger E. Kirk.Delinquents and Non‐delinquents in Perspective. By Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck.The Epidemiology of Depression. By Charlotte Silverman.Sentence Structure and the Reading Process. By I. M. Schlesinger.Mental Health and Subnormality. Edited by G. O'Gorman.A Psychological Approach to Abnormal Behaviour. By Leonard P. Ullmann and Leonard Krasner.Reward and Punishment in Human Learning: Elements of a Behavior Theory. By Joseph Nuttin and Anthony C. Greenwald.Brain and Behaviour. Vol. I: Mood, States and Mind. Vol. II: Perception and Action. Vol. III: Memory Mechanisms. Vol. IV: Adaptation. Edited by K. H. Pribram.The Tasks of Childhood. By Phillipe Muller. Translated from the French by Anita MasonThe Psychology and Education of the Young: A Guide to the Principles of Development, Learning and Assessment. By Margaret MunroIndustrial Training Handbook. Edited by J. W. BarberPsychology: An Outline for the Intending Student. Edited by John Cohen.Pygmalion in the Classroom. By Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson

Spelling-from Spoken Word to Written Symbol

In any discussion of the subject of spelling in the elementary school, it seems necessary to make two basic assumptions: (1) the child is master of a rather large vocabulary of spoken words; (2) the child is master of a smaller but rapidly developing vocabulary of words that he can read. Too often we forget that the number of words a child can write is relatively small when compared with the number of words in his speaking and reading vocabularies. This difference is characteristic of an essential developmental process. Yet, in our desire for the child to become proficient in spelling, we ignore this important fact and encourage him to try to master so many words, syllables, and combinations of syllables that he becomes confused and soon acquires a negative attitude toward spelling and writing. Since one of the early developmental tasks of childhood is the acquisition of the patterns of speech peculiar to the culture in which he is maturing, the child, except in rare and unusual cases, enters school with his habit of speech well developed. The pupil's ability to speak easily gives teachers a point of departure for developing further abilities that the child must have for effective communication in our