by Cole Davies

Relevant EDI data

When looking at different neighborhoods, the two that were chosen for the purpose of this project were the British Properties and Tsawwassen. Because the British Properties are a high-income area, I wanted to see if the data would show a correlation between high income and higher rates of emotional vulnerability versus a lower income neighborhood. Looking at the levels of emotional maturity vulnerability between both the British Properties and Tsawwassen we can see that there might be a correlation between these two metrics after all. The British Properties is undergoing a slow climb in terms of the overall level of vulnerability. The overall level of vulnerability in this neighborhood is 15%. Tsawwassen on the other hand had an overall vulnerability level of 8% in which it showed a decrease in the short term gradually stabilizing in the long term. On a subscale level (the maladaptive behaviors that make up the emotional vulnerability scale as a whole) also showed this trend with Tsawwassen having lower overall numbers especially in the short term.

Environmental and genetic influences

Emotional maturity refers to the degree in which one is able to regulate, control and express their emotions in an age-appropriate manner. There are many factors that can cause an increase in vulnerability for this metric. For example, a study conducted by Leonard et al., looked at how anemia (usually caused by a deficiency of iron) impacted development in school age Aborginonal children. “Analysis showed developmental vulnerability was significantly more prevalent among children who had had early childhood anemia, compared to those who had not been anemic”. This highlights some of the childhood factors that can contribute to the development of young children and what happens if certain needs are not met. Children who have parents who don’t oversee their eating habits or who are struggling economically, are much more at risk. In addition to this, a study by Block et al., looked at how commute times, neighborhood population, and income level could influence various childhood developmental factors. They found that “In high-poverty neighborhoods with higher commute times, children have more vulnerability and decreased social competence and emotional maturity”. This further highlights the idea of how poverty and income can influence the development of such childhood traits like emotional maturity. There are a number of ways that protection and resilience can mitigate the levels of vulnerability, however. Factors such as a good community, positive parental relationships and stable income are all factors that can mitigate vulnerability. Looking more in depth is SEL. SEL stands for social and emotional learning, and it is a great way for children to learn how to regulate their emotions. A paper by Lanteri and Mambiar highlights the importance of this practice as well as some of the benefits. These benefits include an increased self-awareness, a greater capacity for relaxation, greater opportunity for deeper communication and understanding between adults and children. Ultimately, there are a lot of environmental and genetic influences that can impact the vulnerability of emotional maturity. However, there are also strategies that can be put into place to mitigate and increase resilience.

Profile of vulnerable children

Looking at the specific behaviors of children who have issues with emotional maturity, we can start to get a clear picture of how exactly this behavior manifests and then create a potential solution to help fix this behavior. This behavior and its subscales are split into a couple different categories. Aggressive behavior, anxious and fearful behavior, hyperactive and inattentive behavior, and prosocial and helping behavior. Aggressive behavior manifests itself in the following ways: getting into physical fights, engaging in rude or antagonistic behavior, and taking joy in others discomfort. Anxious and fearful behavior manifest with high levels of anxiety, attachment issues, and a difficulty thinking for themselves. Hyperactive and inattentive behavior includes restlessness, impulsiveness, and a difficulty taking turns and/or sharing. The final subscale trait isn’t a manifestation but rather a failure to display the following prosocial and helping behavior. Children who are emotionally vulnerable in relation to this subscale will not extend social invitations towards peers, help a crying child/ask for help with a difficult task, will not actively participate in behavior that helps their peers or adults. Ultimately, these are potentially the behaviors displayed by a child who has high emotional vulnerability.

Recommendation to promote child health

With an issue like emotional maturity and vulnerability, the best way to combat the problem is to tackle it as soon as you can. The longer you wait the less likely the child is to ask for and get help. Going from elementary school to highschool is one such important time. The program I am proposing, would specifically look to create a space that children who display the behavior outlined above would be able to develop themselves. I would start by taking around 5-7 students who all scored low on the EDI scale in the category of emotional maturity. There would be consistent communication with both the teachers and the parents of these students. This is to ensure that things are proceeding smoothly both outside of school and in a classroom environment. Furthermore, giving these students extra accommodations (should they need it) would also be explored such as, extra time on tests, and being able to take the tests in an alternate setting away from increased stimulation. Ultimately, we want to provide these children with safe alternative settings to work on their behavior while getting more face-to-face time with an adult (something that doesn’t happen with a classroom of 30 or so kids).

References

Block, E. P., Zimmerman, F. J., Aguilar, E., Stanley, L., & Halfon, N. (2018). Early Child Development, Residential Crowding, and Commute Time in 8 US States, 2010–2017. American Journal of Public Health, 108(11), 1550–1557. https://doi-org.ezproxy.capilanou.ca/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304680

Blog – 2019 BC Edi Wave 7 Provincial Report. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2022, from http://earlylearning.ubc.ca/blog/2019/dec/02/2019-bc-edi-wave-7-provincial-report/ How to interpret edi results.

Early Development Instrument. (2019). Retrieved March 27, 2022, from https://edi.offordcentre.com/researchers/how-to-interpret-edi-results/

Heim, C. M., Entringer, S., & Buss, C. (2019). Translating basic research knowledge on the biological embedding of early-life stress into novel approaches for the developmental programming of lifelong health. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 105, 123–137. https://doi-org.ezproxy.capilanou.ca/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.12.011

Janus, M. (2021, January 13). EARLY DEVELOPMENT INSTRUMENT A Population-Based Measure for Communities British Columbia 2020/2021.

Lantieri, L., & Nambiar, M. (2012). Cultivating the Social, Emotional, and Inner Lives of Children and Teachers. Reclaiming Children & Youth, 21(2), 27–33.

Leonard, D., Buettner, P., Thompson, F., Makrides, M., & McDermott, R. (2020). Early childhood anemia more than doubles the risk of developmental vulnerability at school‐age among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children of remote Far North Queensland: Findings of a retrospective cohort study. Nutrition & Dietetics, 77(3), 298–309.