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Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
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Psicothema, 2010. Vol. Vol. 22 (nº 1). 28-34




Childhood experience and the development of reproductive strategies

Jay Belsky

Birkbeck University of London

Even though a great deal of mainstream developmental psychology is devoted to understanding whether and how experiences in childhood shape psychological and behavioral development later in life, little theoretical attention has been paid to why such cross-time influences should characterize human development. This is especially true with respect to the well-studied determinants of mating, pair bonding and parenting. Theoretically, Draper and Harpending (1982), Belsky, Steinberg and Draper (1991), Ellis (2004) and Chisholm (1996) have all addressed this lacuna, stimulating research on linkages between childhood experience and reproductive strategy which is summarised herein. Concern for experiential effects on pubertal timing distinguishes this line of inquiry from more traditional developmental studies because an evolutionary perspective suggests that experiences in the family might affect somatic development. Twenty years since BSD advanced their «uncanny» prediction, it seems clear that female pubertal timing is related to select aspects of early family experience.

Experiencia infantil y desarrollo de las estrategias reproductoras. Aunque la mayor parte de la psicología del desarrollo se ocupa de comprender si y cómo las experiencias infantiles dan forma al desarrollo psicológico y comportamental posterior, se ha prestado una escasa atención teórica a por qué tales influencias tipifican el desarrollo humano. Ello es especialmente cierto con respecto a los bien estudiados determinantes del emparejamiento, el establecimiento de lazos afectivos y las conductas parentales. Teóricamente, Draper y Harpending (1982), Belsky, Steinberg y Draper (1991), Ellis (2004) y Chisholm (1996) han tratado de subsanar esta laguna estimulando la investigación sobre los vínculos entre las experiencias infantiles y las estrategias reproductoras, que se resumen a continuación. El interés por los efectos de la experiencia en la llegada de la pubertad distingue esta línea de trabajo de los estudios sobre el desarrollo más tradicionales porque la adopción de una perspectiva evolucionista sugiere que las experiencias familiares podrían afectar el desarrollo físico. Veinte años después que BSD (Belsky, Steinberg y Draper, 1991) lanzaran su «misteriosa» predicción, parece claro que el comienzo de la pubertad en las chicas está relacionado con determinados aspectos de las experiencias familiares tempranas.

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