INQUIRY | SCHOLARSHIP, RESEARCH, AND CREATIVE WORK | REVIEW 2024 17 (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14) “For example, inhibited fearful children may be more prone to develop anxiety symptoms, but they are also more sensitive to social cues and relationships which can lead them to become well-functioning, respectful and empathetic people,” An explains. She says more research is needed to identify patterns and provide context when working with youngsters and their families who live in or grew up in the Global South. “Close relationships may bring extra support or could be extra hurtful. In what situations does a certain factor introduce risk and in what situations is the same factor seen as strength? How can we minimize the risk and maximize the strength related to a specific factor,” An posits. An’s goal is to incorporate a local definition of children’s social competence, and how local parenting practices—including extended family dynamics and communities—impact “… children’s understanding of their social environment, skills and adjustment in the world with other people.” “My work in this cross-cultural context has influenced my thinking about how to incorporate variables such as culture and how to develop context-specific measurements. How psychological theories and interventions for families and children translate to African countries and to the Global South in general. How can we help children around the world to thrive.” sometimes dramatic—differences in character trait labels can be skewed depending upon the cultural lens through which they are viewed. “It is crucial to understand how social cognition at multiple levels influence children’s and adolescents’ adjustment and how to create an environment that fosters adaptive and positive social information processing,” says An, assistant professor of psychology. An is investigating different childrearing practices and their impact on children across multiple cultural contexts—especially in Africa—where developmental science has focused the least on its impact to child and adolescent attachment security and socio-emotional adjustment. Her research in the Global South indicates shyness is often appreciated as a high value trait. In many western countries, shyness is perceived—and often validated—as a negative quality. “Being shy is usually interpreted [in western cultures] as an incompetent behavior. You may not be assertive, take opportunities or speak up for yourself,” she says. Being shy demonstrates modesty and respectfulness toward other people in the Global South context—other high value personality attributes. An found individual and interpersonal character traits—like shyness or extroversion—can serve as both risk and protective factors during childhood development. “Mountains are born. They grow—and because they grow—they become targets of erosion. They grow old, and erosion slowly erases them from the surface of the earth. But they can also be like a cat with nine lives,” Pazzaglia explains. When mountains achieve old age, they can be rejuvenated by processes deep in the Earth and start to grow again. They are persistent and robust,” he adds. Earthquakes and volcanoes are symptoms of the deep Earth processes that renew mountain growth. Vaughan is using the magnetic signal encoded in sedimentary rocks to understand the timing of rock uplift. The age model is being crafted using paleo-and rock-magnetic data and along with geochemical data and a weather- climate model, they collectively will help predict how the landscape will evolve. “It’s cool to think about how the landscape we see today is only one version of how it is—and [in the future] what it’s going to be. I like thinking of time and how we’re only here for a little bit of that,” Vaughn said. psychology Looking for Ways to Better Understand Childhood Resilience There are about 2.4 billion children under the age of 18 living around the world, a 2023 UNICEF report found. Current population projections indicate by 2050 about half of the world’s children will be living in Africa, based on current growth, according to developmental psychologist Danming An. Working with others in her field and across interrelated disciplines, An seeks fresh ways to approach and understand the factors feeding children’s social, emotional and cognitive behaviors. She is examining how subtle—and Danming An Adobe Stock, Christine Kreschollek
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