Abstract
This article presents a conceptual framework with which to approach issues of child development. It is based on an ecological perspective of human development that em phasizes the interplay of social and biological systems in shaping the experience of the child. In this framework child development is understood as the creation and maintenance of "social maps" that reflect and shape the child's behavior, maturation, personality, and conceptual development. The concepts of social risk and opportunity are critical to this conception as a means of linking developmental issues with issues of social policy, violence, displacement, and poverty.
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