Research PaperFor Week 3 you conducted an annotated bibliography on a set of topics.The major developmental theories for children and adolescents.Impact of current trends on developing children and ad

Annotated Bibliography: Examining the Impact of Geography in the Sequence of Development, and the Physical and Cognitive Development from Childhood through Adolescence

Chahar, P. S. (2014). Physiological basis of Growth and Development among Children and

Adolescent in Relation to Physical Activity. American Journal of Sports Science and

Medicine, 2(5A), 17-22.

In this article, Chahar (2014) explores the changes that boys and girls undergo as they advance their ages from childhood to adolescence. According to Chahar (2014), physical inactivity is one of the main causes of serious chronic diseases that keep on increasing at an alarming rate. Physical activity plays an integral role in improving the various physiological aspects of growth and development among children and adolescents. After conducting an exploratory research on the effects of physical activity on growth, the researcher suggests that physical activity on different durations improves children’s cardiovascular health, bone ossification, muscle growth, and endocrine glands secretion.

This research implies that development is a lifelong procedure that entails physical, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional growth and change. In early phases of life, from babyhood to childhood, and childhood to adolescence, enormous physical changes occur. Based on these findings, the research indicates that children should engage in more physical activities to support their physical growth in their transition to adolescence. Chahar states that anthropometry is a major component of growth and development evaluation among children and adolescents, particularly regarding body mass index. Without engaging the child in physical activities, the child may increase chances of having obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes in future. Therefore, there is need to develop good practices early in the child’s life, which will benefit them in future by promoting effective growth and development.

Dumontheil, I. (2014). Development of abstract thinking during childhood and adolescence:

the role of rostrolateral prefrontal cortex. Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 10,

57-76.

In this article, Dumontheil (2014) explores how abstract thinking changes as children progress in age to adolescence. Abstract thinking is an important indicator of cognitive development. It refers to the thoughts that are often self-generated and stimuli-independent, in contrast to stimulus-oriented, perceptually-derived, data. Dumontheil (2014) observes that Rostral prefrontal cortex (RPFC) has increased in size and changed in terms of its cellular organization during primate evolution. In parallel, these changes resulted in the emergence of humans’ capacity to detach self from the immediate environment to process abstract thoughts and solve problems, and to understand other people’s thoughts and intensions. This ability increases as children advance to adolescence.

This article suggests that the ability to process abstract information changes as children advance from childhood to adolescence. The RLPFC is instrumental in influencing self-generated thoughts. According to behavioral studies conducted by Dumontheil (2014), adolescents and children display a sharp difference in their ability to process these thoughts about both the present and the future. While brain and behavioral changes during this phase are often less pronounced than during infancy and childhood, adolescence is nonetheless an important stage of development with respect to the acquisition of higher cognitive skills.

Eryigit-Madzwamuse, S., & Barnes, J. (2014). Patterns of childcare arrangements and

cognitive development. Journal of Child and Adolescent Behavior, 2(5), 1-9.

While numerous studies have examined patterns of cognitive development from infancy to adolescence, there is a dearth in knowledge on how these changes inform child support practices. As a result, Eryigit-Madzwamuse and Barnes (2014) investigate whether observable patterns of childcare arrangements from birth to 51 months exist, and whether such tends influence cognitive development from 18 months to 51 months with respect to maternal stimulation of language and infant difficult temperament controlling for SES and child gender. The researchers revealed that six prevailing patterns of childcare arrangements were based upon children’s levels of cognitive development.

This study suggests that cognitive ability advances with the infants’ age, and it affects the degree or level of childcare performed. For all forms of cognitive capacity, cognitive ability at eighteen months affect language capability at 36 months. This in turn influences cognitive ability at 51 months. Therefore, this study helps to understand that a childcare pathway form birth to the start of school interplays with family and child factors to influence child cognitive outcomes at 51 months. This information is important in guiding families to make informed decision as to when to begin or end different forms of child care from infancy and preschool periods.

Ferguson, K. T., Cassells, R. C., MacAllister, J. W., & Evans, G. W. (2013). The physical

environment and child development: An international review. International Journal

of Psychology, 48(4), 437-468.

In their journal article titled The physical environment and child development: An international review, Fergusson et al. (2013) explore the impact of geographical environment on childhood development. Fergusson et al observe that most researchers have found a significant relationship between physical environment and children and adolescents’ cognitive and socio-emotional development. Examples of physical geographical factor highlighted by the researchers include climatic conditions, toxins, pollutants, crowding, chaos, housing, as well as school and neighborhood. However, they observe that not much is known about these relations within the contexts of the global South. Therefore, the researchers explore these factors within the Western contexts through a comprehensive review of Western environment. The researchers found that these geographical factors strongly affect children’s socioemotional development. As a result, Ferguson et al. (2013) propose a multidisciplinary and multifaceted approach that is based on the Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model to effectively understand and minimize the aversive impacts of multiple environmental risk factors on the cognitive and socioemotional development of children across the world.

The above study is effective in understanding the impacts of geographical environment on children and adolescents’ cognitive and socioemotional development. It highlights the fact that most of the world’s children reside in the global South, which are nations with low or middle Human Development Index score. These regions include Africa, Central and Latin America, and most parts of Asia. Despite this reality, almost all studies on relations between physical environments experienced by children and their cognitive and socioemotional development have been undertaken in North America and Western Europe. For instance, adverse weather conditions and pollution affect children development in many ways. With the modern speedy industrialization and urban development, poor air quality is increasingly posing serious health concern in the global South, and newly industrial nations. Gases such as nitrogen dioxide adversely affect the cognitive development of children who live around manufacturing plants. In highly populated environments, chronic noise exposures in early childhood interfere with reading acquisition.

Humphrey, J. L. (2015). Neighborhood effects on behavioral and educational trajectories of

US children and adolescents (Doctoral dissertation, University of Colorado at

Boulder).

While Fergusson et al. (2013) examine a collection of geographical factors, Humphrey (2015) investigate neighborhood as an immediate geographical factor that affects children’s cognitive development. In particular, Humphrey (2015) examines the behavioral and intellectual outcomes in relation to neighborhood contexts. The researcher takes a comprehensive approach to this issue by examining factors such as time, space, and multiple ecologies to which children belong. Using nationally representative, longitudinal survey information, longitudinal propensity scores, and multiple conceptualizations of residual and school neighborhoods to address study gaps, Humphrey (2015) found that children’s ecological characteristics influence their intellectual acuity. The study also implies that zones in which there is a high population of children attending schools are ideal for childhood development. This is because they simultaneously represent the areas around the homes and the schools that children are exposed to every day. In addition, they are normally larger than a census tract, but not so bigger than they can overshadow the scarce mobility of children at their age.

This scholarly work points to the fact that the immediate environment within which children reside directly affects their cognitive skills and abilities. This is especially true when these skills are evaluated within academic contexts. In view of the above, neighborhood characteristics directly influence children’s intellectual capacity in areas such as math scores. This includes internalizing and externalizing behaviors through the presence and utilization of resources, either directly or indirectly via families and schools. Theories on neighborhood institutional resources often support these assertions. However, the researcher measured the resources indirectly by characterizing neighborhoods with sociodemographic characteristics such as poverty or affluence, as opposed to the availability and quality of businesses, organizations, and institutions that often play a role in the health and development of children and adolescents.

Manna, I. (2014). Growth development and maturity in children and adolescent: relation to

sports and physical activity. American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine,

2(5A), 48-50.

In this scholarly article, Manna (2014) asserts that the physical growth and development of children to adolescence stage is a dynamic procedure that encompasses a wide range of cellular and somatic changes. The clearest signs of physical growth are changes in overall body size. Children of the same age may show variance in the rate of physical growth. Ethnic differences in growth rates are also common. Therefore, the growth patterns, such as age-related averages for height and weight, should be approached with keenness. Manna (2014) observes that while heredity remains an important indicator of physical growth, environmental factors continue to significantly influence genetic expressions. Therefore, the researcher suggests good nutrition, relative freedom from diseases, and emotional well-being as essential ingredients to children’s healthy physical growth and development.

This article points to the fact that the physical growth from childhood to adolescence is a complex process that is affected by a myriad of factors. Variation in emotional wellbeing, health, and food for children causes differences in the development of children. In the same way, hereditary factors and children’s ethnic background may also affect a child’s physical growth. The physiological, social, and physical development proce4dures often indicate powerful impacts on sport participation. Therefore, sports scientists, physicians, and physical educators should familiarize themselves with the normal patterns of growth and development of the child and adolescence. As boys and girls grow, resulting in longer levers and increased muscle tissues, both genders have the potentiality to increase their strengths. Boys and girls indicate similar capacity to perform motor skills before puberty. Generally, boys develop greater strength, thereby surpassing girls in the performance of most sport-related skills.