Research in Behavioral-Developmental Pediatrics: New Frontiers and Elusive Boundaries

As an academic discipline, behavioral pediatrics has eluded simple definition. For some, it encompasses the study and management of variations in normative behavior from the newborn period through adolescence. Others prefer the designation "developmental pediatrics" or "developmental psychobiology," and focus primarily on the effects of significant illness, disability, or physiological dysfunction on children and their families. Increasingly, a more inclusive, integrated agenda has been advocated (ie, "behavioral-developmental pediatrics") to address the dynamics of human adaptation within a wide variety of contexts, including those related to biological as well as cultural or socioeconomic variation. Rooted originally in practical problem-solving and advocacy, contemporary behavioral-developmental pediatrics is evolving into a recognized scientific and clinical discipline. This evolution is reflected in a growing participation in rigorous empirical research, as well as in the pragmatic application of a maturing data base to the care of children and their families. Behavioral-developmental pediatrics encompasses such diverse interests as the promotion of healthy lifestyles, the prevention of injury and developmental dysfunction, the provision of anticipatory guidance and early intervention, therapeutic counseling, and the care of children with chronic health impairment or disability. In each of these areas, child behavior and development are viewed increasingly through a wide-angle lens, to ensure inclusion of the contributions of both nature and nurture. BOUNDARIES AND TENSIONS Like other rapidly growing academic disciplines that are inherently multidisciplinary, the broad scope of behavioral-developmental pediatrics often makes its boundaries difficult to define. Generally speaking, a boundary serves as a marker of territorial limits. As such, it demarcates differences and establishes where one domain ends and the other begins.