Why We Think We Can Make Things Better with Evidence-Based Practice: Theoretical and Developmental Context

Abstract

More than 20 years ago, Cicchetti and Lynch (Psychiatry 56:96–118, 1993) developed a theory to explain how child maltreatment could have such a potent effect on children’s development: the ecological-transactional model of development. Ecological-transactional theory is founded on an understanding that different qualities of children’s environments—their cultural environments, social resources, family environments, and individual differences all combine to shape the way children respond to the surrounding world. It suggests that the younger a child is when he or she experiences an adverse event such as maltreatment, the more far-reaching its effects would be, since these same systems affected by the stress of maltreatment rapidly develop in the early years of life. This chapter discusses the way that maltreatment affects children’s development and uses ecological-transaction theory to discuss why we believe EBTs can make a difference in children’s lives.