Factors that affect development

Each cell in the body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, half from your mother, and half from your father. The chromosomes contain the genes you inherit from your parents. For example, for the gene that determines eye colour you may inherit a brown gene and a blue gene, in this case the child will be born with brown eyes because brown is the most dominant colour. The same is true for medical conditions. There may be a faulty version of a gene that results in a medical condition. Whether the individual develops a medical condition will depend on several factors which include: What type of genes they inherit.

Whether the gene for the condition is dominant and recessive. Their environment, including any treatment they may receive. Genetic mutation occur when DNA changes, altering genetic instructions. This either results in either genetic disorders or a change in the individuals characteristics. Mutation can be cause by being shown chemicals. Cigarette smoke is full of chemicals that attack DNA.

Environmental factors.
The environment does affect an individual’s development. Pollution is a big factor; air and water is a major source of ill health. Lack of sanitation can lead to cholera but this is only in extreme cases. There are cases of lead pollution from petrol fumes. There is air pollution from busy roads being used all the time. Air pollution is also cause by factories, tips, manure and nitrogen. Chemicals used in household products can cause chemical pollution which can damage developing brains. Housing is part of environmental factors, if the family household income is high then that family has more choice and they will have a higher mortgage.

A family who lives on low income may rent a poor quality house, which could lead to poorer health. If a family has money problems then the family may not be able to access leisure facilities and health and social care services such as; doctors. Low income areas have poorer facilities than the more wealthy areas, also in low income areas have difficulty in recruiting G’s and nurses. Family dysfunction can also affect a person development especially a child. A family is a group of people related genetically or by marriage. An extended family is a relative of a different generation that live either together or nearby one and other. A nuclear family is two parents and their children.

A reconstituted family is children that are not at all biologically related to both adults. A lone parent is one parent with their children.
Adults raised in a dysfunctional families frequently report difficulties when forming and keeping an intimate relationship, they have problem maintaining positive self-esteem and when trusting others. zencarolne.blogspot.co.uk

Socio- Economic factors.
Socio economic factors are factors that relate to both people and money. Income in a family home comes from- wages, profits, any family investments and property sale. The government takes money from families this is called tax. Poorer people can claim benefits if they are not working. Low income people tend to be lone parents, unemployed, elderly and sick/disabled, single earned or unskilled couples. Children in low-income household do less well than their better-off peers on many incomes in life, from example; education and health. This is simply down to the better income. www.jrf.org.uk Low income can have an impact on many things such as travel; there is less chance that a family on low income will be able to travel whether that is by car or public transport. Low income can also result in a family having a low diet resulting in health problems as the family would not be able to buy healthy food.

Families who are have money struggles result in parents having constant worries and this can lead the parents to become depressed. A family living on low income can lead to the exposure of pollution such as; damp, mould- if a family has low income, and it would mean that the exposure to pollution could not be resolved. Also families on low income can mean that the children may not have certain luxuries such as computers/laptops, internet access, books. Schools in deprived/ run down areas are more likely to suffer more problems than in other areas. Some children in higher class schools achieve twice more A-C GCSE grades. If a child does not get a good education it can mean that they leave with no qualifications which would mean that it is hard for them to find a job, and in the long run it would mean that they would be living with a low income because with no qualifications you will not be able to get a decent job.

A lot of peers can affect a child’s development. A lot of media (TV, internet etc.) can influence a child’s development as the child will see how the people act and may think they are role models so follow in their footsteps, these may be good influences or bad. Our attitudes towards life can affect a child’s development because if we know what we want to do regarding our future then there is the determination in which the individual will want to achieve. If the individual has a negative attitude towards life then they may not have the determination to do well and achieve. Values and attitudes are impacted on your life experiences. Lifestyle factors.

Lifestyle factors are how someone spends time and money to create a way of living. Low income for families can mean less of a healthy diet; due to costs in supermarkets processed foods are much cheaper than healthier foods. Also costs to supermarkets can be rather high so cheaper foods can help when having to travel. An unhealthy diet in the long run can lead to heart problems, obesity and other health problems. Alcohol can influence an individual’s development as alcohol can cause many things from short term problems to long term problems. It may not be a child drinking but it may be the child’s parents, the child would have seen this behaviour and would think it is the right thing to do and may remember it for later on. A lot of men and women consume the daily recommendations set by the government. Also a lot of people use illegal drugs, cannabis being the most common drugs used.

If a parent is using illegal drugs in front of children it may make the child think that this behaviour is the correct thing to be doing, also it is not good for a child’s health as a child can inhale all types of fumes which can get into the blood streams and lungs of the child. Also a lot of individuals smoke, smoking can be associated with heart and lung problems. A lot of younger people are starting to smoke now because they are seeing their peers doing this and they think it is the right thing to be doing. For a child inhaling smoke fumes is very bad as this is called passive smoking. Although the child is not inhaling directly from the cigarette it is getting the access smoke from the cigarette which is more dangerous than what is thought. Biological factors.

Biological factors are influential before birth for example if a mother drank alcohol while being pregnant then the baby is likely to be born with foetal alcohol syndrome. Drugs and alcohol can affect the development of a baby in the womb. Mother who tends to drink large quantities of alcohol can lead to their baby developing foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), this can mean that the child tends to be smaller than what a normal child would be, they tend to have much smaller heads and they may suffer from heart problems and learning difficulties. It is advised that people who are pregnant do not drink until after the baby is born and they have stopped breastfeeding the child. Foetal alcohol syndrome was first discovered in 1973, how serious the condition is depends on how much alcohol the parent consumes during pregnancy.

The World Health Organisation quotes a 2005 US study which estimated that 1 in every 1,000 children are born with FAS. www.drinkaware.co.uk During pregnancy a child will be affected by what the mother ate during pregnancy. If the biological mothers diet is high in fat and sugar it could mean that the child is born with high cholesterol and heart diseases. Malnutrition or not enough healthy products can mean that the child has poor health when it is born. Pregnant women should always have a healthy balanced diet and should know what they can eat and what they can’t. If a child is affected by these conditions before birth, after birth there are many problems that will follow.

During the stage of adolescence Whitney Houston’s genetic factors were all fully developed. She had no genetic disorders that have been recorded, also there has been no biological factors that have affect Whitney’s development although since her death there has been talk that she turned to drugs because of her earlier life. Whitney was a daughter of an army serviceman so she may have lived in marriage quarters once her mother and father had wed.

Whitney attended school an all-girls catholic school. Also in this stage in her teenage years Whitney was out touring with her mother in nightclubs where she would also perform with her, she would also still attend school. There is no evidence to suggest that Whitney and her family could not access health and social care services such as doctors, hospitals. Whitney grew up with her mother and father together in the same household, there is no evidence of family dysfunctions. www.nndb.com Both Whitney’s parents worked so their income would have been stable enough to keep the family going, it meant that Whitney and her siblings didn’t have to live in a hard environment with low income. www.answers.com In 1980 Whitney had been offered several recording contracts but her mother declined on her behalf saying that she must finish school first.