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Handbook of Developmental Psychopathology pp 287–309Cite as

The Contributions of Early Experience to Biological Development and Sensitivity to Context

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Abstract

Although long a focus of developmental psychopathology, in recent years a variety of professional disciplines and the general public have demonstrated an increased interest in the manner in which early life experience relates to the development of health outcomes. Adding to the already rich empirical evidence of early life experience effects on child development, it is now becoming common for studies of adult mental health to include indices of childhood social context. In tandem with this movement, there has been a remarkable advancement in understanding of human biology and the biological mechanisms underlying psychopathology. In combination, these advancements in the study of early experience and biology illuminate many of the etiologic complexities of mental health. This chapter will review theories and evidence for the biological embedding of early life experience and the manner in which context and biology interact to predict psychopathology. In particular, we approach this work through the lens of Biological Sensitivity to Context Theory, which allows for examination of both phenomena and their integration, across development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of California – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA

    Nicole R. Bush Ph.D.

  2. Professor & Sunny Hill Health Centre/BC Leadership Chair in Child Development, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada

    W. Thomas Boyce M.D.

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  1. Nicole R. Bush Ph.D.
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  2. W. Thomas Boyce M.D.
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Correspondence to Nicole R. Bush Ph.D. .

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  1. Institute for the Study of Child Development, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

    Michael Lewis

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA

    Karen D. Rudolph

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Bush, N.R., Boyce, W.T. (2014). The Contributions of Early Experience to Biological Development and Sensitivity to Context. In: Lewis, M., Rudolph, K. (eds) Handbook of Developmental Psychopathology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9608-3_15

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