Culture and development in children and youth

Abstract

Although culture has long been recognized as having a significant impact on human development and its variations, many child and adolescent psychiatrists and mental health clinicians assume a universal nonvariance to normal development, with the risk of identifying variations as pathologic. This article reviews the conceptual basis for the role of culture in human development, particularly psychosocial and cognitive development, presents evidence and support from field observations of children in diverse cultures, and discusses the emerging evidence from the field of cultural neuroscience. Implications for these different perspectives on future research, childhood education, and even intercultural relations are presented.