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Mounting evidence indicates that early life adversity is associated with increased vulnerability for psychiatric impairment across the lifespan. Until recently, most human studies in this field have been epidemiological in nature and focused on linking early life stress to complex clinical outcomes. This chapter advances a developmental psychophysiological model, where the chapter emphasizes the importance of considering the widespread brain systems that exert a strong influence on emotional reactivity and its regulation. This chapter reviews some of the recent work from our research group that has attempted to trace the effects of prenatal insults (using extremely low birth weight as a proxy marker) and those occurring in the postnatal time period (child maltreatment) on the functional integrity of key components within this affective neurocircuitry. The chapter emphasizes the value of non-invasive psychophysiological measures in helping to bridge the developmental pathways between early experience and psychological outcomes.

This chapter outlines the concepts of life course epidemiology as applied to coronary heart disease (CHD), discusses evidence with regard to early life factors and CHD, and considers the recently debated issue as to whether there is any need to continue searching for additional CHD risk factors above the well-established adulthood factors. It examines how well CHD trends fit with life course approaches and concludes by reviewing some of the remaining important issues in CHD epidemiology from a life course perspective.

This chapter examines the early life and the chronology of the reign of Aśoka Maurya. It mentions the romantic hypotheses that either Aśoka's mother or grandmother was a Greek princess and discusses the controversy concerning his actual accession given the general agreement that Aśoka was not the crown prince, and that there was a struggle among the princes for the throne. It suggests that Aśoka probably realised his potentialities as a ruler through his ability in handling the revolt at Taxila and his successful viceroyalty at Ujjain, which probably determined him to make an attempt for the throne. The first major event of the reign of Aśoka, the Kalinga War, is also discussed. This chapter concludes by looking at various versions of the life of Aśoka which were adapted to suit religious purposes.

Thompson was born on Halloween in 1873. He was not born to a world of leisure or play; in fact the opposite. He came of age in steel towns from western Pennsylvania to St. Louis, and the expectation was that he, like his father, would find his calling in the promise of the industrial nation. But even as he served his apprenticeship in factories and internalized that culture's myths and promises, he never fully accepted the terms of Gilded Age industry. The keenest insight he acquired over the course of his apprenticeship, which ranged from steel mills to the gaudy midways of the fin de siècle world's fairs, was that he was not alone in his discontents. Other men shared the desire to have more fun. Instead of censuring or repressing this wish, Thompson ultimately exploited it by applying his industrial patrimony to produce a marketable and fantastic form of rebellion against the diminishing rewards of work in an industrializing corporate society.

This chapter reviews the evidence to date on whether events early in life can exert influences on the reporting of chronic pain in adulthood. The study of the role of early-life events, with respect to pain in adulthood, is relatively new. Nevertheless, prospective studies have demonstrated an association between some events early in life and the report of chronic pain in adulthood. These events include hospitalization for a motor vehicle accident and separation from one's mother. The report (by the mother) of childhood common symptoms is also a marker for persons who are more likely to report chronic pain as an adult. Thus, having established that there is a link between experiences and the experience of pain across the life-course, the usefulness of these observations needs to be determined in terms of understanding the biological mechanisms linking these.

This chapter considers research evidence that links early life factors to adverse health outcomes and discusses the significance of early life experiences to health inequalities. It suggests that it is theoretically possible to identify the kinds of policy interventions that could improve the healthy development of young children from disadvantaged backgrounds by linking epidemiological evidence that highlights key risk factors to evidence of the social context of risk. It identifies key areas for intervention which include smoking cessation, nutrition and parenting education.

This chapter introduces the main subjects of the book — Sherwin Cody and his famous home study course on the English language. The chapter sets the context of the book and introduces the long‐running advertising campaign begun by Cody and Maxwell Sackheim.

This chapter begins with a brief review of the established adult risk factors for breast cancer. It then assesses the evidence linking breast cancer with childhood and prenatal exposures. Finally, it considers the aetiology of breast cancer in a life course framework in which risk factors occurring at each life stage are linked to investigate possible pathways from early life events to adulthood and subsequent occurrence of breast cancer.

A growing body of research has highlighted the potential role of pre-adult influences that may operate through different life course models. Until recently, much of this evidence has been relatively weak and indirect, using either ecological or proxy measures, such as adult height. However, prospective and cohort studies have provided more rigorous evidence to test associations between circumstances and outcomes several decades apart. This chapter reviews this evidence in terms of its association with coronary heart disease and stroke.

This chapter focuses on emerging evidence that early growth and nutrition may influence aging, with particular reference of aging in the musculoskeletal system. Topics discussed include aging at population and individual levels, genetic theories of aging, lifetime influences on aging, and musculoskeletal aging.

This chapter discusses the significance of early memory and the importance of studying it. The earliest we begin remembering events is around eighteen to twenty-four months of age. Although there is evidence that memory is operating before that, when we talk about being able to remember specific experiences in a more than fragmentary fashion (e.g., hazy images), the earliest reported memories have be dated to when the individual was one-and-a-half years old, and even here, such memories are extremely rare and may occur only in individuals with unusual memory abilities. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.

This chapter examines non-genetic determinants of obesity from fetal life to adolescence. Topics covered include measurement of overweight and obesity, critical or sensitive periods for obesity development, the prenatal period, infancy and the period of adiposity rebound. It also considers how one might intervene to address multiple behaviours.

This chapter discusses Kierkegaard's perspectives on his own childhood. It first describes a document authored by Kierkegaard which contains a review of the first twenty-six years of his life, though that document has since been lost to history. The chapter then embarks on a more general discussion of Kierkegaard's early years; including his childhood habits, mannerisms, the people he encountered, and most especially how his father remained a formidable presence in his young life. It contains not only Kierkegaard's own reflections and perspectives on his childhood years, but also of testimonies made by his kindred and other people who were close to him at the time, both of which the chapter reveals to ensure a fuller portrait of Kierkegaard's early life. Finally, the chapter relates an excerpt from Kierkegaard's Stages On Life's Way (1845), entitled “The Quiet Despair.”

This introductory chapter presents a description of the life history stages of fishes, from the egg/embryonic stage to the adult stage, focusing on the early parts of development and growth (early life history) which are the embryonic, larval and juvenile stages. It also presents the types of early life history studies conducted on fishes, including studies done on recruitment fluctuations, population assessment, aquaculture, and conservation studies. This chapter also discusses the integration of basic and applied science, in relation to studies on fish biology and ecology. The concluding discussion of this chapter presents the current literature in the study of early life history of fishes.

This chapter examines the progress of the New Labour government towards the goal of reducing pregnancy and early childhood health inequalities in England since 1997. It evaluates the impact of the numerous new Labour policy initiatives aimed at reducing disadvantage in early childhood and reducing the effects of adverse early life experience on health inequalities across the life course. It provides a brief summary of inequalities in pregnancy and early childhood health and outlines proposed policy changes.

This chapter discusses the early correspondence formed by Huang Binhong and Fou Lei. It begins by introducing Huang Binhong, his early life in Jinhua, east Zhejiang, his education, and the paintings he created since his first few years in Shanghai. The other section focuses on the correspondence between Lei and Binhong. The first letter Lei wrote to Binhong was on May 1943 and alluded to Lei's knowledge of Western art history. The chapter also presents several of the letters exchanged between the two, which show that Binhong valued the friendship that formed between him and Lei.

This chapter examines the intersection between early adult development and social policy in the spheres of work, education, and family. In particular, it asks how social policies and institutions regulate the structure and content of early adulthood and how well the models of and routes to early adult life promoted within institutions match the needs and everyday realities of young people. It also asks for whom the transition is helped or hindered in the process and how policies might be created or reformed to ease entry into and promote development during adulthood. It also considers some of the special challenges faced by vulnerable or at-risk populations, how better safety nets might be created, how more effective information and guidance might be provided, and how civic engagement might be fostered. The chapter concludes by highlighting some of the complexities associated with making social policy on adult transitions and with bridging science, policy, and practice.

This chapter discusses the early life of Fou Lei, who was known as one of the greatest translators of French literature prior to the Cultural Revolution. He was also known for the letters he wrote to his sons Fou Ts'ong and Fou Min, which were published posthumously as Fou Lei's Family Letters. The chapter describes Lei's childhood, family home, and education, up until he travelled from Shanghai to Paris, where he learned French.