Child and Adolescent Development in Latin America
New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, Number 152
J–B CAD Single Issue Child & Adolescent Development Series

Explore the multiple dimensions of child and adolescent development in Latin America, and get acquainted with the research from this region and how it relates to the international scientific literature. This special issue presents a collection of reviews developed by leading scholars in Latin America about the state of child and adolescent research in this region. Topics considered include:

• poverty and cognitive development,
• school readiness of preschool children,
• peer relations and socioemotional development,
• psychopathology and psychiatric diagnosis,
• reading comprehension and related interventions, and
• the development of creativity.
  
  

This is the 152nd volume in this Jossey–Bass series New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development. Its mission is to provide scientific and scholarly presentations on cutting edge issues and concepts in this subject area. Each volume focuses on a specific new direction or research topic and is edited by experts from that field.

Child and Adolescent Development in Latin America: Introduction to the Special Issue 7
David D. Preiss

The introduction presents the main contents of this issue as well as its purpose.

1. Childhood Poverty and Cognitive Development in Latin America in the 21st Century 9
M. Soledad Segretin, M. Julia Hermida, Lucía M. Prats, Carolina S. Fracchia, Eliana Ruetti, Sebastián J. Lipina

The aim of this paper is to review empirical studies that have analyzed the associations between poverty and cognitive development, in children under 18 years from Latin American and Caribbean countries between
the years 2000 and 2015. The authors identify common patterns in the negative impacts of poverty on cognition, and several conceptual and methodological issues that should be considered in future studies
in the region.

2. School Readiness Research in Latin America: Findings and Challenges 31
Katherine Strasser, Andrea Rolla, Silvia Romero–Contreras

The article reviews studies conducted in Latin America on the readiness skills of preschool children. The skills considered necessary to do well in school are discussed in the context of the characteristics of local curricula, and empirical studies that describe children s performance in those skills are reviewed. The article concludes by discussing the kind of research needed to explain educational results and inform educational policies in the region.

3. Adolescent Peer Relations and Socioemotional Development in Latin America: Translating International Theory into Local Research 45
Christian Berger, Carolina Lisboa, Olga Cuadros, Pablo de Tezanos–Pinto

The article reviews research on adolescents peer relations in Latin America from a socioemotional perspective. Research in Latin America on friendships, school climate, and intergroup relations is presented. The discussion addresses the tension between theories and evidence generated in developed societies and highlights the particularities of Latin American youth, stressing the need for collecting local data.

4. Computational Tracking of Mental Health in Youth: Latin American Contributions to a Low–Cost and Effective Solution for Early Psychiatric Diagnosis 59
Natália Bezerra Mota, Mauro Copelli, Sidarta Ribeiro

The article reviews epidemiological data from Latin America regarding the onset of mental disorders, and discusses the difficulties associated with early diagnosis. Then the authors present computational psychiatry,
a new field particularly relevant for the quantitative investigation of psychopathologies manifested during childhood. To conclude, the authors discuss the application of these methods to clinical and educational
practice.

5. Reading Comprehension in Latin America: Difficulties and Possible Interventions 71
Séverin Lions, Marcela Peña

The authors review factors associated with failure in reading comprehension in Latin America. Next, they present interventions reporting beneficial impacts on reading comprehension in typically developing
students from English–speaking countries and discuss their possible applicability to Latin America. They conclude that research–based pedagogical interventions currently available may be suitable for implementation
in Latin America.

6. What Do We Know About the Development of Creativity in South America? 85
David D. Preiss, Valeska Grau, Dominga Ortiz, Michelle Bernardino

The authors review recent South American research in (a) individual differences in creativity and (b) the education and development of creativity. Most South American research on creativity is inspired by mainstream
psychometric approaches, although computational and cultural approaches are also considered. The authors call for more intervention, longitudinal and observational studies about the development of creativity in the region.

7. Research on Child and Adolescent Development and Public Policy in Latin America 99
Marigen Narea

The author concludes that developmental research in the region faces the challenge of uncovering the mechanisms that affect child development in a context of high levels of poverty and inequality. To better
inform policy makers, researchers in the region should use appropriate and rigorous methods, improve the design and adaptation of instruments that measure child and adolescent development, develop longitudinal
datasets, and look for causal evidence.

INDEX 105

David D. Preiss is associate professor at the Escuela de Psicologia (School of Psychology) of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile.