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Vulnerability and resiliency implications of human capital and linked inequality presence denial perspectives: Acknowledging Zigler's contributions to child well-being

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2021

Bronwyn Nichols Lodato ,
Jennifer Hall  and
Margaret Beale Spencer Open the ORCID record for Margaret Beale Spencer [Opens in a new window]
Bronwyn Nichols Lodato*
Affiliation:
Department of Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Jennifer Hall
Affiliation:
Independent Researcher, New York, NY, USA
Margaret Beale Spencer
Affiliation:
Department of Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
*
Author for Correspondence: B. Nichols Lodato, 1101 E 58th St. Rm. 305c Chicago, IL 60637; E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Edward Zigler's groundbreaking research on child development resulted in the historic Head Start program. It is useful to examine the theoretical implications of his work by applying a human development theoretical perspective. Phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST) is a strengths-based theoretical framework that engages the variability of resource access and coping strategies that promote positive identity development for diverse children. While skill acquisition is a key focus of human capital theory's engagement of early childhood needs, this article highlights the on-going status of human vulnerability that undergirds identity development over the life course. The authors note that “inequality presence denial” combines with high-risk contexts, framed by geography and psychohistoric moments (e.g., The Great Recession, COVID-19), to alter diverse children's developmental pathways. The acknowledgement of “morbid risk” motivates the urgency for research that builds upon Zigler's innovations and privileges human development imperatives. The case study explores these concepts by examining the challenges and assets available to mothers in a low-income community. The article's closing notes developments in the field of economics that ameliorate human capital theory's conceptual limitations, underscoring human development's theoretical strength in motivating research and policies that are maximally responsive to children's positive identity development.

Keywords

human developmentidentityinequalityvulnerability
Type
Special Issue Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 33 , Special Issue 2: Honoring the Legacy of Ed Zigler's Lifetime Contributions to Science, Society, and Child Wellbeing , May 2021 , pp. 684 - 699
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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