FACTORS THAT PROMOTE CHILD RESILIENCE IN SOCIETY- FOCUS ON SCHOOL, COMMUNITY & FAMILY

FACTORS THAT PROMOTE CHILD RESILIENCE IN SOCIETY- FOCUS ON SCHOOL, COMMUNITY & FAMILY

Tibanyendera Deogratias
BA, MA Child Psych, MPH(MNH), Cert Comm Health
tibanyendera76@gmail.com
skype: deotiba1

Introduction
Resilience is the capacity to resist stress, cope with adverse conditions and recover from severe difficulties and easily return to normal functioning without any effects of a stressing or difficult factor.  The American Psychological Association (APA) defines resilience as “the ability to adapt well to adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or even significant sources of stress” (APA 2011). Masten, Best, &Garmezy, (1990) define resilience as a process, capacity or outcome of successful adaptation despite challenges or threatening circumstances . . . . good outcomes despite high risk status, sustained competence under threat and recovery from trauma"
Hence, from the above definitions, resilience is not a character or trait but it is  the capacity of an individual to overcome a situation according to the context and place or the level of effect. This can be strengthened from the early onset of parental care, community support or a stable upbringing. The positive outcome of resilient children is easy to sooth, and being able to call for support when in need.

To enhance children’s resilience, it is  necessary to focus on promoting nurturing contexts for children’s development and in particular support measures that respect, nurture and complement naturally occurring supports in the routine contexts of children’s everyday lives. Specifically, it means respecting, nurturing and complementing the contribution made by ordinary parents, ordinary schools, ordinary neighbourhoods.
Being resilient as infants is important because; it brings out that human capacity to face and confront the different stumbles encountered during the life process.  According to Edith Grotberg(1995), a developmental  psychologist, “Resilience  is important because it is the human capacity to face, overcome and be  strengthened by or even transformed  by the adversities of life”

Prominent Resilient children always display characteristics that include , being  autonomous and to ask for help when  needed, heightened sensory  awareness, high positive expectations, a clear and developing understanding  of one’s strengths relating to accomplishment,  and a heightened, developing  sense of humour  adequately to situations despite the negative life events and  stress they experience. For example easily changing from a post double storied house to a single room.
In this essay focus is on understanding resilience in children – the model and approaches, pathways in which the family, the child , school and the community can provide protective factors to child risk factors that destroy resilience hence equipping children to be resilient, as well as several intervention at the same levels of discussion.

Resiliency model
The Resiliency Model shows that Stressors or life challenges are not balanced by external enviro-social protective processes or biopsychospiritual  resiliency factors within the individual can lead to imbalances in homeostasis or disruption (Flach, 1988). This model also proposes several different levels of reintegration can occur based on enviro-social reintegrating processes:
1.Resilient reintegration, or a higher state of resiliency and strength                                                            2.Homeostatic reintegration or the same state before the stressor                                                                  3.Maladaptive reintegration, or a lower state of reintegration4. Dysfunctional reintegration or a major reduction in positive reintegration
This model proposes that the positives of the level of homeostasis do change over time, which should match any clinician's observations of clientswhohave experienced a crisis in their lives.
When applied to children, three broad types of resilience tend to be described.The first type is represented by children who, in spite of their high risk status, are not overcome by severe difficulties, for example children  born with congenital disorders.The second type concerns children who develop coping strategies in situations of chronic stress, such as children of drug-using or alcoholic parents. In a third type, resilience may be exhibited by children who have suffered extreme trauma, for example through disasters, sudden loss of a close relative or abuse, and who have recovered and prospered.

Qualities of a resilient child
Competence - competence describes the feeling of knowing that you can handle a situation effectively. Children can be helped to develop this character by; focusing on individual strengths  , focusing any identified mistakes on specific incidents, empowering children to make decisions,  being careful that the desire to protect the child doesn’t mistakenly send a message that he is  competent to handle things.
Confidence - a child’s belief in his own abilities is derived from competence. This can be built by: focusing on the best in each child so that he or she can see that, as well , clearly expressing the best qualities, such as fairness, integrity, persistence, and kindness, praising honestly about specific achievements; not diffusing praise that may lack authenticity, not pushing the child to take on more than he or she can realistically handle.
Connection - developing close ties to family and community creates a solid sense of security that helps lead to strong values and prevents alternative destructive paths to love and attention. This can be through; building a sense of physical safety and emotional security within your home , allowing the expression of all emotions, so that kids will feel comfortable reaching out during difficult times, and addressing conflict openly in the family to resolve problems.

Character - children need to develop a solid set of morals and values to determine right from wrong and to demonstrate a caring attitude toward others. To strengthen a child’s character; demonstrate how behaviours affect others, help a child recognize himself or herself as a caring person, demonstrate the importance of community , encouraging the development of spirituality, avoiding racist or hateful statements or stereotypes.
Contribution - children need to realize that the world is a better place because they are in it. Understanding the importance of personal contribution can serve as a source of purpose and motivation. Teach children how to contribute by: communicating to children that many people in the world do not have what they need , stressing the importance of serving others by modelling generosity, creating opportunities for each child to contribute in some specific way

Coping - learning to cope effectively with stress will help a child be better prepared to overcome life’s challenges. Positive coping lessons include: modelling positive coping strategies on a consistent basis, guiding a child to develop positive and effective coping strategies, understanding that many risky behaviours are attempts to alleviate the stress and pain in kids’ daily lives , not condemning the child for negative behaviours.

Control - children who realize that they can control the outcomes of their decisions are more likely to realize that they have the ability to bounce back. A child’s understanding that he or she can make a difference further promotes competence and confidence. Children need to understand that life’s events are not purely random and that most things that happen are the result of another individual’s choices and actions, and learning that discipline is about teaching, not punishing or controlling.
The intrinsic factors are seen as three building  blocks that are necessary for resilience:  a secure base – the child feels a sense of belonging and security,   good self-esteem – an internal sense of worth and competence,  a sense of self-efficacy – a sense of mastery and control, along with an accurate understanding of personal strengths and limitations.
The extrinsic factors are described as:  at least one secure attachment relationship,  access to wider supports such as extended family and friends,  positive nursery, school and or community experiences, this framework provides a useful basis for informing assessment of children, and the design and implementation of potential interventions to promote resilience by targeting key building blocks.
Approaches to promoting resilience
One of the difficulties that have been put forward in defining approaches to promoting resilience is understanding what distinguishes such approaches from those that aim to promote more generic positive child development(Tarter and Vanyukov, 1999). This lack of clarity is also reflected in the relative lack of assessment measures specifically focusing on resilience as a discrete concept. This also impacts on ability to gauge the effectiveness of a resilience-promoting intervention, since distinct indicators of impact need to be defined.

Resilience promoting interventions need to define their outcomes in relation to positive age-appropriate development such as positive peer relationships, resources and adaptive capabilities, and not just rely on the absence of symptoms or risks.
Three types of approach to intervention have been identified in relation to the promotion of resilience (Yates and Masten, 2004):
• Risk-focused methods. These aim to reduce or prevent risks such as premature births or teenage pregnancy. When the avoidance of risk is not possible, or the risk is not amenable to change, other approaches may be needed.
• Asset-focused approaches. These emphasise resources that enableadaptive functioning to counteract adversity, such as improved access to healthcare, additional tutoring, provision of parent education, job training opportunities for parents, etc. These approaches are particularly useful when risk factors are intractable and on-going.
• Process-focused approaches. These aim to protect, activate or restore fundamental adaptation systems to support positive development,such as strengthening positive, long-term relationships.The most effective intervention programmes are those that involve the use ofall, or a combination of, the three types of strategies described above.
Multisystemicinterventions involving a mixture of risk, asset and process-focusedtargets located at the child, family, and community level hold the mostpromise.
Importance of resilience
Everyday children face situations that can be traumatising , stressing,  divorce or illness while others confront catastrophe — war, poverty, disease, famine, floods. Whether such experiences crush or strengthen an individual child depends, in part, on his or her resilience.
Resilience is important because it is the human capacity to face, overcome and be strengthened by or even transformed by the adversities of life. Everyone faces adversities; no one is exempt.With resilience, children can triumph over trauma; without it, trauma  triumphs. The crises children face both within their families and in their communities can overwhelm them.
While outside help is essential in times of trouble, it is insufficient. Along with food and shelter, children need love and trust, hope and autonomy. Along with safe havens, they need safe relationships that can foster friendships and commitment. They need the loving support and self-confidence, the faith in themselves and their world, all of which builds resilience.
How parents and other caregivers respond to situations, and how they help a child to respond, separates those adults who promote resilience in their children from those who destroy resilience or send confusing messages that both promote and inhibit resilience.
Risk factors
Social-emotional, mental health early intervention programs for young children focus on fostering protective factors while minimizing risk factors related to resilience , these can be categorised into individual risks, family community and peers risk factors as outlines below.
Individual risk factors include: alienation, isolation, and lack of social bonding, favourable attitudes toward tobacco, alcohol or other drugs, and delinquency, early initiation of tobacco, alcohol, or other drug abuse or early onset of violent behaviour, early and persistent antisocial behaviour, such as aggressive behaviour, academic failure and lack of commitment to school
Peer risk factors include: friends who abuse tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs, friends who engage in violence
Family risk factors include: family history of smoking, the abuse of alcohol or other drugs, or violence, favourable parental attitudes toward the abuse of tobacco, alcohol or other drugs, or violence,  family management problems, such as a lack of clear expectations for behaviour, failure of parents to monitor their children, and excessively severe or inconsistent punishment and family conflict
School risk factors include: harsh or arbitrary student management practices, such as a lack of shared norms for behaviour, and inconsistent or poorly articulated expectations for learning and behaviour, availability of tobacco, alcohol or other drugs, or weapons on school premises, delinquent peer culture, such as friends or peers who are involved in criminal activity,  ineffective administrative leadership, little emotional and social support of students and  violence in schools
Community risk factors include: availability of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, availability of firearms, community norms that favour substance abuse, firearms, and crime, community disorganization and poverty.
Children as agents of own resilience
In working with and for children, we should remember that young people themselves are not passive bystanders in their own development. Children are active players in their own development. They are engaged in the searchin their own destiny. Children help to shape the relationships they have with thepeople around them. Hence adults should avoid overlooking the child’s capacity, the child’s views and the child’s concerns.
Children have the capacity to do what is right under very difficult circumstances – a tribute to good parenting, the wider supportive context of their lives, and their own qualities. They are normally versed with what to do and where to look. For example , I remember while we(me and my 3 brothers ) were young , we were under the care of the maid. One day she just left and didn’t tell us whether she was coming back, but the time we got hungry, we for the first time prepared a meal and that was between the ages of 5 and 9. Hence, children did not have to be tutored or mentored in how to cope.
But valuing and respecting children’s contribution and capacity is not a license for adults to abandon their responsibility to children. It is not a license to shift the burden for difficult decisions onto children’s shoulders under some mistaken view of progressive practice. Adults must listen to and involve children, while avoiding shifting responsibility for key decisions onto their shoulders.
It is  also imperative to that before adults make decisionsto first listen carefully to what children are saying, either verbally or behaviourally. In many cases it may not be that children are not telling exactly what they think or what is going on, it may be that adults overlook or don’t listen and identify those information clues.
Hence there is need to try and harness potential strengths within a young person’s natural networks rather than assuming that the answer lies in having to connect the young person to specialist  projects or provision, when in a sense what is needed may be right under our nose.
To aid and add value to children owns resilience mechanisms, involves tapping into the natural help available in the family network, in the school andthe neighbourhood. As I said in my introduction, there are many positive resources lying to be tapped infamily, school and neighbourhood networks. The challenge, frequently, for policy and professional practice is to value and complement what natural networks may have to offer.
Family networks
Very often some adult gets close to a young person by playing a mentoring role. The adult may help the young person to develop a skill or interest. This transmission of a skill is not only giving the child a social niche, a meaningful role, a means of enhancing self-esteem and self-efficacy. It was also helping the youngster to connect with traditions in his family of origin and thereby assisting his sense of belonging and identity as part of that family grouping.
Family networks can be a source of stress and hurt when relations are troubled. But where positive energy flows through them, they can be a powerful and often preferred source of help and support.
Caring and Support; essential caregiving and support during the first year of a child's life is the most powerful predictor of resiliency in children. A caring and supportive relationship remains the most critical variable throughout childhood and adolescence. What is evident from nearly all the research into the family environments of resilient children is that, "despite the burden of parentalpsychopathology, familydiscord, or chronic poverty, most children identified as resilient have had theopportunity to establish a close bond with at least one person [not necessarily themother or father] who provided them with stable care and from whom theyreceived adequate and appropriate attention during the first year of life" Garmezy (1990)
High Expectations; Families that establish high expectations for their children's behaviour from an early age play a role in developing resiliency in their children. Resilient children will have reason to beoptimistic that moral difficulties can usually be worked out. The familyenvironment validates them as worthwhile human beings who ‘will be heard’ Connected with high expectations are other family characteristics such asstructure, discipline, and clear rules and regulations
Encourage Children's Participation; When children are given responsibilities, the message is clearly communicated that they are worthy and capable of being contributing members of the family.When children are given responsibilities, the message is clearly communicated thatthey are worthy and capable of being contributing members of the family. In most traditional African cultures, children as young as age three typically assume duties such as carrying wood and water, cleaning and other household chores,gathering and preparing food, gardening, and caring for younger siblings and animals. All of these tasks, even from a child's perspective, clearly contribute to the welfare of the family.Thus, to the child, there is no question that he or she is a bonded, integral,contributing member of the family and community.
Obviously, family environments with thesecharacteristics provide the fertile soil for the growth and nurturing of that sense ofbasic trust and coherence essential for human development and, therefore, for thedevelopment of the traits of resiliency: social competence, problem-solving skills,autonomy, and a sense of purpose. The family, like the individual, is a system that also exists in the larger context of the community.For families to create environments characterized by the qualities of caring, high expectations, and opportunities for participation, they, in turn, must exist incommunities which also provide support and opportunities.
Schoolas a basis for children resilience
It hardly needs saying to an audience such as this that school is vitally important in  children’s development And it is not just for academic reasons that it  is important. Now there may be the occasional horror story about how a particular  situation was poorly handled within a given school, but there is no denying that  school is vitally important socially and emotionally for children, quite apart from its  value academically(Gilligan, 1998)..
Within the school environment there are many contexts which can encourage or hamper the child’s all - round development: the classroom, the playground, the corridor, the sports field, the laboratory, the art room, the kitchen, the assembly hall. School offers opportunities for relationships with adults and peers; it offers a physical environment and moral community rich with many possible positive experiences. The school offers a range of adults some of whom at least may be responsive to the needs of a vulnerable child. These adults can serve as confidants, and as mentor’s the child’s progress on the different fronts which school opens up.
School also opens up possible ties to peers. In school, youngsters may make friends for life. They acquire interests and skills that they carry into adulthood. They discover talents they didn’t know they had. They also benefit from the encouragement and support of teachers who take a special interest in them. They experience precious success or recognition in some sphere of school life – possibly far removed from the heights of academic achievement.
School works well for a child when school manages to relate to this child and their specific circumstances. Individual teachers can be very influential. They can build confidence, they can encourage, they can provide personal support, they can stimulate interest in learning, they can respect the potential of the young person, they can   ‘expect well’. It should be noted that teacher’s interpersonal style may have quite a bearing on a child’s ‘internal working model’ of school and learning.
The schools also offer possible psychological benefits which continue into adult life. Doing well in any one of academic work, social activity, or sport is linked to improvement in self-esteem and ego. The school is hence an alternative resource for helping recovery from trauma, especially where home remains stressful. In line with this point, Rutter (1991) argues encouragingly that the positive effects of school experience seem most evident or potent among students who are vulnerable and have few other supports.
Caring and Support ; A factor often overlooked is the role of caring peers and fiends in the schooland community environments'Just as in the family arena, the level of caring and support within the school is apowerful predictor of positive outcome for youth. While the importance of the teacher as caregiver cannot be overemphasized, afactor often overlooked that has definitely emerged from protective factor researchis the role of caring peers and friends in the school and community environments.Obviously, resilient youth are those youth who have and take the opportunity tofulfil the basic human need for social support, caring, and love. If this isunavailable to them in their immediate family environments, it is imperative thatthe school provide the opportunities to develop caring relationships with bothadults and other youth.
High Expectations; Schools that establish high expectations for all kids - and give them the supportnecessary to achieve them - have incredibly high rates of academic success. Thesuccessful schools, share certain characteristics: an academicemphasis, teachers' clear expectations and regulations, high level of studentparticipation, and many, varied alternative resources-
library facilities, vocationalwork opportunities, art, music, and extracurricular activities. Rutter(1979)asserts that "schools that foster high self-esteem and that promote social and scholastic success reduce thelikelihood of emotional and behavioural disturbance"
Youth Participation and Involvement; The operating dynamic reflects the fundamental human need to bond – toparticipate, to belong, to have some power or control over one's life. Schools have the power toovercome incredible risk factors in the lives of youth - including those foralcohol and drug abuse.A natural outcome in schools, as in families, of having high expectations for youthis providing them with the opportunities to participate and be meaningfullyinvolved and have roles of responsibility within the school environment. The reverse process of participation is alienation, the lack of bonding to social institutions like the family, the school, and the community, a process which is a major risk factor forchildreninvolvement in alcohol and other drugs, delinquency, teen pregnancy, school failure, and depression and suicide.
Therefore, this poses a challenge to social institutionsandespecially for the schools, to engage children by providing them opportunities toparticipate in meaningful, valued activities and roles--those involving problemsolving,increase expectations, care and support, decision-making, planning, goal and career setting.
Neighbourhood networks
As with the other two arenas in which children are socialized, the family and the  school, the community supports the positive development of youth is  promoting the building of the traits of resiliency, social competence, problem solving skills, autonomy, and a sense of purpose and future.  Community psychologists refer to the capacity of a community to build resiliency as  "community competence"  As with the family and  the school systems, competent communities are characterized by the abundance of protective factors: caring and support, high expectations, and participation.
Communities exert not only a direct influence on the lives of youth but, perhaps even more importantly, exert a profound influence on the "lives" of the  families and schools within their domain and, thus, indirectly powerfully affect the  outcome for children and. A competent community, therefore, must support its families and schools, have high expectations and clear norms for its families and schools, and encourage the active participation  and collaboration of its families and schools in the life and work of the  community.
Caring and Support; the most obvious manifestation of caring and support at the communitylevel is the availability of resources necessary for healthy human development:health care, housing, education, job training, employment, and recreation.The long-term development of the 'competent community'depends upon the availability of social networks within the community that canpromote and sustain social cohesion within the community. That is, the formal and informal networks in which individuals develop their competencies and whichprovide links within the community are a source of strength especially resiliency for the community and the individuals most importantly the children that learn from it.
Perhaps the most obvious manifestation of caring and support at the community level is the availability of resources necessary for healthy human development:  health care, child care, housing, education, job training, employment, and recreation. Conversely, the greatest risk factor for the development of nearly all problem behaviours is poverty, a condition characterized by the lack of these basic resources. Therefore communities should endeavourto build social networks withfamilies, schools, agencies and organizations throughout the community with the common purpose of collaborating to address the needs of children and families.
High Expectations; In the context of community, discussions around the issue of high expectations are usually referenced in terms of "cultural norms." Two cultural norms appearespecially salient to our discussion of protective factors in the community. Thefirst is that in cultures that have as a norm the valuing of youth as resources asopposed to problems, youth tend to be less involved in all problem behaviours.The community is a fertile, powerful, andnecessary environment for changing norms. If chemical use problems of youngpeople are to be reduced, community-based prevention programs also must challenge adults to reflect on their patterns of chemical use. Prevention cannot be a task assigned by the community to the school and focused only on youth. It isa shared responsibility" (Griffin, 1991).
Opportunities for Participation: The natural outcome of having high expectations for youth is the creation of opportunities for them to be contributing members of their community. Shifting the balance or tripping the scales from vulnerability to resilience mayhappen as a result of one person or one opportunity. This calls for viewing childrenas resources and not problems. Just as healthy human developmentinvolves the process of bonding to the family and school through the provision ofopportunities to be involved in meaningful and valued ways in family and schoollife, developing a sense of belonging and attachment to one's community also requires the opportunities to participate in the life of the community.
According toKurth-Schai (1988), several cross-cultural studies have clearly indicated that "youthparticipation in socially and/or economically useful tasks is associated with heightened self-esteem, enhanced moral development, increased political activism,and the ability to create and maintain complex social relationships" On the other hand, "related studies demonstrate the lack of participation is associated with rigid and simplistic relational strategies, psychological dependence on external sources for personal validation, and the expression of self-destructive and antisocial behaviours including drug abuse, depression, promiscuity, premature parenthood,suicide, and delinquency"
As a resilient factor, the community encompasses all other factors that interplay to abrogate the risk factors to child resilience. Therefore the community must be well connected with lasting and reliable networks that will act as a secure base for children that may not be able to get protective factors from school or the family.
Conclusion

A resilient child, is the one that has ; ability to bounce back, capacity to have courage,  motivation to move forward, power to stay centered, gift of laughter, potential of showing promise, capacity to ask for help, tenacity to accomplish goals, willingness to share feelings, capability to connect with others and inspiration to give back. But, these factors have to emanate from the self, family school and community by enabling the child to; access to material resources, access to supportive relationships, development of a desirable personal identity, experiences of power and control, adherence to cultural traditions, experiences of social justice, and experiences of a sense of cohesion with others.

References
1.     APA 2011 APA (American Psychological Association).2011. Resilience Guide for Parents and Teachers. www.apa.org/helpcenter/resilience.aspx. 2.     Edith GrotbergGrotberg, E. 1995. “A Guide to Promoting Resilience in Children. Strengthening the Spirit.” Early Childhood Development; Practice and Reflection series, Bernard van  pp. 82
3.     Flach, f. F. (1988). Resilience: Discovering new strength attimes of stress. New York: Ballantine Books
4.     Gilligan, R. (1998) 'The Importance of Schools and Teachers in Child Welfare’, Child and Family Social Work ,pp. 3, 1, 13-25

5.     Kurth-Schai, R. (1988). The roles of youth in society: A reconceptualization. The Educational Forum. pp.52 -, 117.
6.     Masten, A. S., Best, K. M., & Garmczy, N. (1990).Resilience and development: Contributions From the study of children who overcome adversity. Development and Psychopathology, pp. 2, 425, 426-444.
7.     Rutter, M. (1991). Pathways to and from childhood to adult life: The role of schooling. Pastoral Care in Education, pp. 3–10.
8.     Rutter, M., Maugham, B., Mortimore, P. & Ouston, J.(1979). Fifteen-thousand hours: Secondary schools and their effects on children. London: Open Books.
9.     Tarter RE, Vanyukov M. (1999) Re-visiting the validity of the construct of resilience. In: Glantz MD, Johnson JL, editors. Resiliency and development: Positive life adaptations. Plenum; New York: 1999. pp. 85–100
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INFLUENCE OF GENES ON CHILD HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Author:  Tibanyendera Deogratias (BA, /MA Child Psyc/ MPH-Maternal and Newborn Health/ Cert Comm Health/ Dip PPM

The article focuses on the effects of genes to the resultant growth and development of a child.

A gene is a unit of heredity in a living organism. It normally resides on a stretch of Deoxyribonucleic acid –DNA, a self-replicating material present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes that codes for a type of protein.  All living things depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional chains. A gene can also be described as a unit of heredity that is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the proteins coded directly by genes (APA)
Children’s health includes the study of possible environmental causes of children’s illnesses and disorders, as well as the prevention and treatment of environmentally mediated diseases in children and infants.

Children are highly vulnerable to the negative health consequences associated with many environmental exposures.

What determines how a child develops?

In reality, it would be impossible to account for each and every influence that ultimately determines who a child becomes. Some of the most apparent influences such as genetics, parenting, experiences, friends, family relationships and school to help us understand the influences that help contribute to a child's growth.

Considering how genetic influence can impact on a lifetime health experiences, a factor that is under discussion, I cannot rule out the play of the environment, nutrition, and weather in child health. From the earliest moments of life, the interaction of heredity and the environment works to shape who children are and who they will become. While the genetic instructions a child inherits from his parents may set out a road map for development. The environment can impact how these directions are expressed, shaped or event silenced. In this article I take a look at how genetics and some of the genetic disorders that can impact on child psychology and development.

Growth of cells

To understand genes and their effects, it’s imperative to first know how cells and genes develop right from inception.
At its very beginning, the development of a child starts when the male reproductive cell, or sperm, penetrates the protective outer membrane of the female reproductive cell, or ovum. The sperm and ovum each contain chromosomes that act as a blueprint for human life. The genes contained in these chromosomes are made up of a chemical structure known as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that contains the genetic code, or instructions, that make up all life.

Except for the sperm and ova, all cells in the body contain 46 chromosomes. Hence, the sperm and ova each contains only contain 23 chromosomes. This ensures that when the two cells meet, the resulting new organism has the correct 46 chromosomes. This affirms that life is already determined by the genes fright from formation. If they are the right combination, development will be normal and if they are any anomalies, child development shall be compromised with assuming environmental and others factors remain constant (Everman, David B., and S. B. Cassidy. 2000).

Gene Genotype to Phenotype

A genotype refers to all of the genes that a person has inherited: A person's genotype is the sum total of the genetic material transmitted from his or her parents and the actual expression of these traits is the person's phenotype. A person's phenotype is the observable signs, symptoms, and other aspects of his or her appearance. The term is also used sometimes to refer to a person's outward appearance and behaviour as these results from the interaction between the person's genotype and his or her environment.

The phenotype can include physical traits, such as height and colour or the eyes, as well as nonphysical traits such as shyness, a high strung temperament or a thirst for adventure. While our genotype may represent a blueprint for how children grow up, the way that these building blocks are put together determines how these genes will be expressed. For example even if two children are from same parents with same genotypes, one child may be tall or dark or even big or small but they have the same genotypes.

Behavioural phenotype: The concept of a behavioural phenotype is used most often with reference to patterns of behaviour found in certain developmental disorders of childhood, such as Down syndrome or Prader-Willi syndrome. Behavioural phenotype refers to the greater likelihood that people with a specific genetic syndrome will have certain behavioural or developmental characteristics compared to people who do not have the syndrome; it does not mean that every person diagnosed with a given genetic syndrome will invariably develop these characteristics or it doesn’t necessarily mean that if a parent has asthma, then all the children will all have asthma.

Influences on Gene Expression

Expression of a gene is expressed dependant on two different things: the interaction of the gene with other genes and the continual interaction between the genotype and the environment.

Gene - Environment Interactions: The environment a child is exposed to both in the uterus and throughout the rest of his or her life can also impact how genes are expressed. For example, exposure to harmful drugs while in uterus can have a dramatic impact on later child development. Height is a good example of a genetic trait that can be influenced by environmental factors. While a child's genetic code may provide instructions for tallness, the expression of this height might be suppressed if the child has poor nutrition or a chronic illness.

Genetic causality

At times, genes are not reliable and can go off truck or way off the expected result. Sometimes when a sperm or ovum is formed, the number of chromosomes may divide unevenly, causing the organism to have more or less than the normal 23 chromosomes. When one of these abnormal cells joins with a normal cell, the resulting zygote will have an uneven number of chromosomes. Half of all zygotes that form have more or less than 23 chromosomes, but most of these are spontaneously aborted and never develop into a full-term baby.
In some cases, about 1 in every 200 births, a baby is born with an abnormal number of chromosomes. In every case, the result is some type of syndrome with a set of distinguishing characteristics as explained below.

Mental disorders with organic causes

The two most important examples of mental disorders caused by organic changes or abnormalities in the brain are late-onset Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Both disorders are termed as polygenic, which means that their expression is determined by more than one gene. Another disorder that is much less common is Huntington's disease which is monogenic, or determined by a single gene.

Schizophrenia- First-degree biological relatives of patients with schizophrenia have a 10% risk of developing the disorder, as compared with 1% in the general population. The identical twin of a person with schizophrenia has a 40%–50% risk. Families with a history of schizophrenia indicated the existence of genes related to the disorder on other chromosomes. Chromosome 15 is linked to schizophrenia in European American families as well as some Taiwanese and Portuguese families (Scarmeas, N., J. Brandt, M. Albert, et al - 2003).

Alzheimer's disease- Late-onset Alzheimer's disease is a polygenic disorder a specific form of a gene for Apo- lipoprotein E (apoE4) on human chromosome 19 is a genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's. People who have the apoE4 gene from one parent have a 50% chance of developing Alzheimer's disease; a 90% chance if they inherited the gene from both parents. They are also likely to develop Alzheimer's disease earlier in life.

Down Syndrome; the most common type of chromosomal disorder is known as trisomy 21, or Down syndrome. In this case, the child has three chromosomes at the site of the 21st chromosomes instead of the normal two. Down syndrome is characterized by facial characteristics including a round face, slanted eyes and a thick tongue. Individuals with Down syndrome may also face other physical problems including heart defects and hearing problems. Nearly all individuals with Down syndrome experience some type of intellectual impairment, but the exact severity can vary dramatically. No matter the severity of the syndrome, early intervention can result in much better outcomes, allowing many people with Down syndrome to care for themselves and gain more independence.

Childhood developmental disorders

Developmental disorders of childhood are another large category of mental disorders caused by alterations in genes or chromosomes.
Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited form of mental retardation and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any child with developmental delays, mental retardation, or learning difficulties. The syndrome is caused by a large expansion of a cytosine-guanine-guanine repeat which interferes with normal protein transcription from a gene called the FMR1 gene on the X chromosome. Males with the mutation lack a second normal copy of the gene and are more severely affected than females who have a normal FMR1 gene on their second X chromosome.

An expansion mutation of the cytosine-thymine-guanine triplet causes a potentially life-threatening developmental disorder known as myotonic dystrophy. Repeats of the cytosine-thymine-guanine triplet that is just above the threshold for myotonic dystrophy itself may produce a relatively mild disorder, namely eye cataracts in later life. Within two to three generations, however, the cytosine-thymine-guanine repeats become longer, producing a fatal congenital illness. In addition to developmental disorders of childhood, expansion mutations may also be involved in other psychiatric disorders. Anticipation has been found in some families affected by bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and may also be present in some forms of autism.

Genomic imprinting - which distinguishes between chromosomes derived from a person's father and those derived from the mother. Prader-Willi syndrome and Angelman syndrome. Both disorders were caused by a deletion on the long arm of chromosome 15 in the very same region, extending from 15q11 to 15q13. Children with Prader-Willi syndrome have severe mental retardation, poor muscle tone, small hands and feet, and a voracious appetite (hyperphagia) that begins in childhood. As a result, they are often obese by adolescence. Children with Angelman syndrome, on the other hand, do not speak, are often hyperactive, and suffer from seizures and sleep disturbances. Children with Prader-Willi syndrome are often quiet in childhood but develop stubborn, aggressive, or impulsive patterns of behaviour as they grow older. The onset of their hyperphagia is often associated with temper tantrums and other behavioural problems. They are typically obsessed with food, frequently hoarding it, stealing it, or stealing money to buy food
Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome is an overgrowth condition in which patients develop abnormally large bodies. They often have low blood sugar at birth and are at high risk for developing Wilms tumour, a childhood form of kidney cancer. Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome is caused by several different genetic mutations that affect imprinted genes on chromosome 11p15. One of these imprinted genes governs the production of a growth factor that is responsible for the children's large body size.

Williams syndrome is a genetic disorder that results from a deletion of locus 23 on chromosome 7q11. Children with this syndrome often have an "elf-like" face with short upturned noses and small chins. Their behavioural phenotype includes talkativeness, friendliness, and a willingness to follow strangers. They are also hyperactive and easily distracted from tasks. The personality profile of children with Williams syndrome is so distinctive that many are diagnosed on the basis of the behavioural rather than the physical phenotype.
Obesity; there are potential candidate genes linked to early-onset obesity. These include two loci, one near the OLFM4 gene on chromosome 13, and the other within the HOXB5 gene on chromosome 17.

The first gene appears to raise the odds of early-onset obesity by 22%, while the other raises it by 14%.

Abnormalities of the Sex Chromosomes; The vast majority of new-borns, both boys and girls, have at least one X chromosome. In some cases, about 1 in every 500 births, children are born with either a missing X chromosome or an additional sex chromosome. Klinefelter syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and Turner syndrome are all examples of abnormalities involving the sex chromosomes. Kleinfelter's syndrome is caused by an extra X chromosome and is characterized by a lack of development of the secondary sex characteristics and as well as learning disabilities.

Turner syndrome occurs when only one sex chromosome (the X chromosome) is present. It affects only females and can result in short stature, a "webbed" neck and a lack of secondary sex characteristics. Psychological impairments associated with Turner syndrome include learning disabilities and difficulty recognizing emotions conveyed through facial expressions.

Psychological/behavioural vulnerability in adults

Although it was earlier said that emotional wounds in early childhood were the root cause of anxiety and depressive disorders in later life, inherited vulnerability to these disturbances is also a possible cause. In the past two decades, genetic factors have been shown to influence the likelihood of a person's developing mood disorders or post-traumatic syndromes in adult life. Both genomic imprinting and the phenomenon of anticipation may be present in some families with multigenerational histories of depression. Susceptibility to major depression is governed by several different genes on several different chromosomes. Genetic factors are thought to account for about 40% of a person's risk of depression, with environmental factors and personal temperament accounting for the remaining 60%. With regard to manic depression, twin studies have shown that the twin of a patient diagnosed with manic depression has a 70%–80% chance of developing the disorder.

Post-traumatic syndromes- some persons are more vulnerable than others to developing dissociative and anxiety-related symptoms following a traumatic experience. Vulnerability to trauma is affected by such inherited factors as temperament as well as by family or cultural influences; shy or introverted persons are at greater risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than their extroverted or outgoing peers. In addition, twin studies indicate that certain abnormalities in brain hormone levels and brain structure are inherited, and that these increase a person's susceptibility to developing acute stress disorder or PTSD following exposure to trauma.

Anxiety disorders- It has been known for some time that anxiety disorders tend to run in families. The human genome point is said to influence genes in the development of generalized anxiety disorder. It’s said that the heritability of Generalized Anxiety Disorder to be 0.32 chances.

There is a genetic component that may influence the development of agoraphobia, and that it can be separated from susceptibility to panic disorder. Panic disorder is said to be associated with two loci, one on human chromosome 1 and the other on chromosome 11q. The researchers concluded that agoraphobia and Panic Disorder are common, heritable anxiety disorders that share some but not all of their genetic loci for susceptibility.

Child behaviour and temperament - genetic differences among individuals account for approximately 20% to 60% of the variability of temperament within a population. With few exceptions there is no consistent pattern of differential heritability across dimensions to form a wide variety of temperament dimensions including emotionality, activity, shyness, sociability, attention/persistence, approach, adaptability, distress, positive affect and negative affect.  Given that temperament is assumed to be biologically based, it is not surprising to find that parent-rated temperament is genetically influenced. However, genes are dynamic in nature, changing in the quantity and quality of their effects across time and therefore, can be sources of change as well as influencing continuity in behavioural development.  So to say, the role played by genes in development of temperament cannot be measured.

Low IQ and antisocial behaviour; one obvious result is that genetic factors account for the association of low IQ and antisocial behaviour. Antisocial behaviour is partly heritable throughout the lifespan, including in early childhood, particularly if it is pervasive across home. Genetic influences explain about one third of the variation in IQ in young children, and the amount of variance in IQ explained by genetic influences increases through adulthood. A genetically mediated association between low IQ and antisocial behaviour would be consistent with a common neurodevelopmental etiology, as suggested in the model proposed by Nigg and Huang-Pollock (2003). A common genetic etiology also would suggest that some of the genes influencing IQ contribute to variation in antisocial behaviour or vice versa.

Conclusion 

Clearly, genetics have an enormous influence on how a child develops. However, it is important to remember that genetics are just one piece of the intricate puzzle that makes up a child's life. Environmental variables, including parenting, culture, education and social relationships also play a vital role.

References
1.    American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th edition, text revised. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
2.    Everman, David B., and S. B. Cassidy (2000). "Genetics of Childhood Disorders: XII. Genomic Imprinting: Breaking the Rules." Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 39: pp 445-448.
3.    Faraone, Stephen B.et al (1999). Genetics of Mental Disorders: A Guide for Students, Clinicians and Researchers. New York: The Guilford Press.
4.    Nigg JT, Huang-Pollock CL. (2003). The causes of conduct disorder and serious juvenile delinquency. New York: Guilford Press; pp. 227–253.
5.    Scarmeas, N., J. Brandt, M. Albert, et al (2003). "Association Between the APOE Genotype and Psychopathologic Symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease." Neurology 58: 1182-1188.