COLLEGE PARK, MD (October 3, 2016) – A special issue of Child Development highlights the growing field of equity and justice-focused developmental science research and the importance of understanding and addressing social inequalities in childhood. Guest edited by UMD College of Education professor Melanie Killen, the special section of the journal highlights advances in developmental science research focused on discrimination, social exclusion, and intergroup attitudes.
“Experiencing unfair treatment and prejudice in childhood can negatively affect children over the long-term, such as by contributing to depression or poor academic performance,” said Dr. Killen of the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology.
The September/October Child Development issue, edited by Dr. Killen, Adam Rutland of Goldsmiths, University of London, and Tiffany Yip of Fordham University in New York, calls for research that informs policies and programs designed to reduce social bias and improve the experience of stigmatized groups.
“Research on discrimination and social exclusion in childhood is crucial, as is understanding how children develop a concept of equity and justice. Attitudes are much harder to change in adults. The time for intervention is in childhood, as children don’t just experience bias, they also perpetuate it through their own social hierarchies and concept of fair treatment,” Dr. Killen said.
In the introduction to the issue, the editors highlight existing and new developmental science research focused on equity and justice in childhood, including:
- Youth’s experience of discrimination, with a focus on the effects of unfair treatment due to racial/ethnic group membership
- How peer, school, and neighborhood context influences the effects of discrimination, which may include poor self-esteem and lower academic achievement
- Links between experiencing discrimination and health outcomes, such as poor sleep and elevated cortisol levels
- How peer group norms, such as the acceptability of racial jokes, influence children’s biases and willingness to exclude other children based on group membership
- The ability of peer group pressure to maintain the status quo, such as excluding others based on sexual orientation, even though the perpetrators may view such exclusion negatively
- How contact between children from different social groups, in certain conditions, may reduce prejudice in children
Dr. Killen and co-editors also make recommendations for future research endeavors, ranging from increased study of discrimination based on gender and how gender and other characteristics interact with race to a better understanding of the minority perspective of discrimination.
“Children hold attitudes very early in life that may perpetuate bias and exclusion of others,” Dr. Killen said. “Developmental science research can and should help develop effective interventions to promote a society of equals.”
View the full Child Development issue.
-end-
For more information on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu
or contact
Audrey Hill, Associate Director of Communications, at: audreyh@umd.edu
