The primacy of early experience: a critique, an alternative, and some clinical implications.
The author critically examines the concept that early childhood experience plays a centrally important role in psychological development. This principle is contradicted by a wide range of evidence, most particularly that the cumulative effect of adverse experiences is more important than timing, and that children are resilient to a wide range of adverse events. An alternative model is offered, rooted in the interactions between temperament and childhood experiences. Some clinical implications of the model are also explored.
Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada.
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Paris