CAREGIVING AND THE REGULATION OF CHILD GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT - DESCRIBING PROXIMAL ASPECTS OF CAREGIVING SYSTEMS

A two-tiered approach to classifying the acts and conditions of caregi ving is presented. It is an approach based on a conception of caregivi ng as a regulator of human behavior and development. The approach clas sifies the elements of caregiving according to both the goals or funct ions of caregiving acts and the form such acts and conditions take. Th e base dimension of the first tier, which deals with the structural an d functional aspects of caregiving inputs, involves classifying caregi ving acts and conditions in terms of five primary caregiving tasks: su stenance, stimulation, support, structure, and surveillance. These tas ks derive from a conception of caregiving as a set of environmental ac tions performed by a caregiver or environmental conditions arranged by a caregiver that allow a child to adapt and to pursue goals. The two other dimensions of the first tier involve classification according to the source of the act and the primary modality through which caregivi ng input is received. The second tier, which deals with the dynamic as pects of caregiving inputs, entails classifying acts and conditions of caregiving according to their intensity, their reactivity, and their complexity. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.