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Rethinking Concepts and Categories for Understanding the Neurodevelopmental Effects of Childhood Adversity - PubMed

Rethinking Concepts and Categories for Understanding the Neurodevelopmental Effects of Childhood Adversity

Karen E Smith et al. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Discovering the processes through which early adverse experiences affect children's nervous-system development, health, and behavior is critically important for developing effective interventions. However, advances in our understanding of these processes have been constrained by conceptualizations that rely on categories of adversity that are overlapping, have vague boundaries, and lack consistent biological evidence. Here, we discuss central problems in understanding the link between early-life adversity and children's brain development. We conclude by suggesting alternative formulations that hold promise for advancing knowledge about the neurobiological mechanisms through which adversity affects human development.

Keywords: adversity; child maltreatment; early-life stress; stress neurobiology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared that there were no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship or the publication of this article.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.

Current models for conceptualizing early adversity. In lumping models (a), types of adverse events are treated similarly and are hypothesized as having similar effects on biology. Splitting models (b) assume that each type of event (gray arrows) or category of events (red and blue arrows) has a distinct effect on biology, resulting in outcomes specific to those types of events. Note that both models approach adversity in terms of the antecedent events that children encounter, and those events are construed as adverse regardless of how they are experienced by an individual (for further explanation of lumping and spitting approaches, see Box 1).

Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.

Topological approach for conceptualizing early adversity. Factors or dimensions surrounding the potentially adverse events children are exposed to contribute to the child’s experience, which then activates relevant biobehavioral responses to those circumstances. Meaningful factors might include features of the event (e.g., intensity, chronicity, developmental timing); features of the environment (e.g., predictability, contingency); and features of the child’s social context (e.g., presence of safety, social support), as well as other individual different factors such as genetics, temperament, or previous life history.

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