Demonstrate an integrative understanding of the major determinants and general features of human growth and development

Human growth and development is a complex process that occurs from birth to death. It involves both physical and psychological changes, with different factors influencing its course. These determinants can be divided into two main categories: biological and environmental.

Biological Determinants
The first major determinant of human growth and development is biology. This includes genetics or heredity, which refers to the influence of genetic material from parents on children (Rosenbaum et al., 2019). Genes determine general characteristics such as eye colour, height, personality traits, health risks for various diseases etc., making them an important factor in growth and development. Additionally, hormonal changes are another major biological factor during puberty which affect physical maturation as well as mental functioning (Gunnar & Vazquez 2006). Moreover, nutrition plays a role in providing necessary vitamins and minerals needed for healthy growth and brain maturation throughout childhood (Forsythe et al., 2017). Finally disease states such as chronic illnesses can significantly impact normal human development in terms of physical impairments or altered cognitive functioning due to medications used to treat them (Turner-Stokes et al., 2018).

Environmental Determinants
The second category of influences on human growth and development is environmental factors including socialization, culture, family dynamics etc.. Socialization refers to how individuals interact with their environment through learning values attitudes beliefs etc., which help shape behaviour over time (Shernoff & Evans-Agnew 2015). Similarly culture also has strong influence on human behaviour by defining accepted norms such as gender roles or religious practices that guide decision making processes throughout life (Yin & Ma 2010). Also family structure provides support systems which have significant impact on emotional stability within children who are more likely to develop behavioural problems if they lack secure attachments (Kim 2011). Furthermore socio-economic status affects educational opportunities available leading to better job prospects later in life(Kostova 2021 ).Lastly early education provides cognitive stimulation helping further neural connections between neurons providing better developmental outcomes later on(Clark et al 2020) .

Overall it is clear that multiple factors play a role in shaping how humans grow physically , mentally behaviours socially resulting in unique personalities for each individual . Genetics provide groundwork for inherited traits while environment affects acquired skills such as language acquisition or problem solving abilities allowing individuals flexibility when facing new challenges . Therefore understanding these two aspects helps gain insight into why people act , think , feel differently creating a holistic picture about the complexity behind human growth/development .