NCJ Number
92493
Date Published
1982
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Psychosocial and nutritional influences have a strong impact on cognitive and social development within the first 6 years of a child's growth, and blacks are generally deficient in these areas due to a general inadequacy of information and lifestyles imposed by poverty; holistic preventive steps are required.
Abstract
The quality of life children experience, as well as their family interactions in a given environment for the first 6 years after birth will determine their cognitive style. Children subjected to any form of impoverishment in the intrauterine or extrauterine environment will require special therapeutic or educational enrichment programs to develop appropriate interpersonal skills. Further, it is common for children subjected to early emotional deprivations to experience a fragmentation of the self-concept. Black children disproportionately experience such deprivation because of family instability and the lack of positive parental role models. Researchers also conclude that there is a relationship between learning impairments, social maladjustment, and inadequate nutritional intake. While only 7.3 percent of white children received less than the required amount of protein, 14.4 percent of black children are deficient in protein intake. Black parents generally do not acquire the nutritional information needed to provide their children with foods having the required nourishment. A holistic approach to preventing social and cognitive retardation in black children requires networking in the black community, so that black ministers, other black professionals (notably health professionals and educators), and black community leaders can mount education and training programs that will prepare blacks to meet their children's nutritional and psychological needs. Twenty-eight references are provided.