Abstract
Health disparities are rooted in childhood and stem from adverse early environments that damage physiologic stress-response systems. Developmental psychobiological models of the effects of chronic stress account for both the negative effects of a stress-response system calibrated to a dangerous and unpredictable environment from a health perspective, and the positive effects of such an adaptively calibrated stress response from a functional perspective. Our research suggests that the contexts that produce functionally adapted physiologic responses to stress also encourage a functionally adapted coping response-coping that can result in maladjustment in physical and mental health, but enables children to grow and develop within those contexts. In this article, I highlight the value of reframing maladaptive coping as functional adaptation to understand more completely the development of children's coping in different contexts, and the value of such a conceptual shift for coping-based theory, research, and intervention.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 96-100 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Child Development Perspectives |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2015 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Life-span and Life-course Studies