In February 2007, First 5 LA contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) and its subcontractors, Juarez and Associates, American Institutes for Research (AIR), and Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research (BEAR) Center, to conduct the First 5 LA/LAUP Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study (UPCOS). The authors conducted the study…

Developmental science integrates concepts from developmental medicine, human genetics, developmental and clinical psychology to understand behavioural adjustment and maladjustment in children, adolescents and adults as a product of the transactions between the child, its biological organization and its social experience. Put into such a…

Developmental Science aims to generate a new body of knowledge that encompasses and integrates findings from various well-defined academic disciplines concerned with developmental processes of human and non-human organisms. Although all development related research traditions surely have their own distinct history, certain theoretical ideas…

In this paper, we review a range of rigorous research studies that estimate the average statistical relationships between children growing up in poverty and their earnings, propensity to commit crime, and quality of health later in life. We also review estimates of the costs that crime and poor health per person impose on the economy. Then we…

What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, "Taking Science to School" provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of…

This brief summarizes the working paper, "The Science of Early Childhood Development: Closing the Gap between What We Know and What We Do" (ED503049). In early childhood, research on the biology of stress shows how major adversity, such as extreme poverty, abuse, or neglect can weaken developing brain architecture and permanently set the…

"No Baby Left Behind" was created to have an impact on the school readiness of children in the community today and in the future. Each year, there are an increasing number of students who have learning difficulties. Many of these problems are preventable. Accidents, poor nutrition (of the mother and/or child), drug use, alcohol use, and lack of…

This study investigated associations between maternal prenatal smoking and physical aggression (PA), hyperactivity-impulsivity (HI) and co-occurring PA and HI between ages 17 and 42 months in a population sample of children born in Quebec (Canada) in 1997/1998 (N=1745). Trajectory model estimation showed three distinct developmental patterns for…

The PLAY Project Home Consultation (PPHC) program trains parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders using the DIR/Floortime model of Stanley Greenspan MD. Sixty-eight children completed the 8-12 month program. Parents were encouraged to deliver 15 hours per week of 1:1 interaction. Pre/post ratings of videotapes by blind raters using the…

Down syndrome is the most prevalent cause of intellectual impairment associated with a genetic anomaly, in this case, trisomy of chromosome 21. It affects both physical and cognitive development and produces a characteristic phenotype, although affected individuals vary considerably with respect to severity of specific impairments. Studies…

Growing international interest in the early childhood years has been accompanied by an expansion of public programs in Australia targeting young children and their families. This article explores some of the influences and rhetoric that frame these initiatives. It encourages critical examination of the discourses that shape the nature of early…

The Executive Committee at "ZERO TO THREE" created a Task Force on Culture and Development to deepen our understanding of the role of culture in child development and to guide the organization through a self-assessment process to better understand how staff and board members address the issue of culture in their work. The task force's literature…

Citizenship education (CE) is a recent innovation within the National Curriculum in England, key aspects of which have a clear relevance to the "Every Child Matters" (ECM) agenda. Both CE and ECM strongly articulate a commitment to democratic principles and express a concern over children's perspectives being taken into account in order…

What is man? How do people differ in terms of their biological and psychological characteristics? What determines their thoughts, desires, and actions? These eternal questions, which have confronted thinkers and scientists since antiquity, relate directly to problems of upbringing. Under current conditions, it is increasingly obvious that to…

This study explores the clinical epidemiology of children's exposure to violence as addressed by a program in which mental health clinicians work with law-enforcement agents in 10 U.S. cities. Data were collected on all participants contacted by the Child Development Community Policing Program (N = 7,313 individuals involved in 2,466 community…