INFANT DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPMENTAL RISK - A REVIEW OF THE PAST 10 YEARS

Objective: To review critically the research on infant developmental r isk published in the past 10 years. Method: A brief framework on devel opment in the first 3 years is provided. This is followed by a review of pertinent studies of developmental risk, chosen to illustrate major risk conditions and the protective factors known to affect infant dev elopment. Illustrative risk conditions include prematurity and serious medical illness and infant temperament, infant-caregiver attachment, parental psychopathology, marital quality and interactions, poverty an d social class, adolescent parenthood, and family violence. Results: R isk and protective factors interact complexly. There are few examples of specific or linear links between risk conditions and outcomes durin g or beyond the first 3 years of life. infant development is best appr eciated within the context of caregiving relationships, which mediate the effects of both intrinsic and extrinsic risk conditions. Conclusio ns: Complex and evolving interrelationships among risk factors are beg inning to be elucidated. Linear models of cause and effect are of litt le use in understanding the development of psychopathology. Refining o ur markers of risk and demonstrating effective preventive intervention s are the next important challenges.