ABSTRACT
Inequitable urban environments are associated with toxic stress and altered neural social stress processing that threatens the development of self-regulation. Some children in these environments struggle with early onset externalizing problems that are associated with a variety of negative long-term outcomes. While previous research has linked parenting daily hassles to child externalizing problems, the role of frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) as a potential modifier of this relationship has scarcely been explored. The present study examined mother-child dyads, most of whom were living in low socioeconomic status households in an urban environment and self-identified as members of racial minority groups. Analyses focused on frustration task electroencephalography (EEG) data from 67 children (mean age = 59.0 months, SD = 2.6). Mothers reported the frequency of their daily parenting hassles and their child's externalizing problems. Frustration task FAA moderated the relationship between parenting daily hassles and child externalizing problems, but resting FAA did not. More specifically, children with left frontal asymmetry had more externalizing problems as their mothers perceived more hassles in their parenting role, but parenting hassles and externalizing problems were not associated among children with right frontal asymmetry. These findings lend support to the motivational direction hypothesis and capability model of FAA. More generally, this study reveals how individual differences in lateralization of cortical activity in response to a stressor may confer differential susceptibility to child behavioral problems with approach motivation (i.e., left frontal asymmetry) predicting externalizing problems under conditions of parental stress.
ABSTRACT
Environmental contaminants, which include several heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, and other harmful chemicals, impair several domains of child development. This article describes four themes from recent research on the impact of environmental contaminants on child development. The first theme, disparities in exposure, focuses on how marginalized communities are disproportionately exposed to harmful environmental contaminants. The second theme, complexity of exposures, encapsulates recent emphases on timing of exposures and mixtures of multiple exposures. The third theme, mechanisms that link exposures to outcomes, focuses on processes that elucidate how contaminants impact outcomes. The fourth theme, mitigating risks associated with exposures, sheds light on potential protective factors that could ameliorate many of the harmful effects of contaminant exposures. Developmental scientists are well positioned to contribute to interdisciplinary research that addresses these themes, which could foster additional conceptual and empirical innovations and inform policies and practices to mitigate risks and improve children's well-being.
