All parents experience stress as they attempt to meet the challenges of caring for their children. This comprehensive book examines the causes and consequences of parenting distress, drawing on a wide array of findings in current empirical research. Kirby Deater-Deckard explores normal and pathological parenting stress, the influences of parents on their children as well as children on their parents, and the effects of biological and environmental factors. Beginning with an overview of theories of stress and coping, Deater-Deckard goes on to describe how parenting stress is linked with problems in adult and child health (emotional problems, developmental disorders, illness); parental behaviors (warmth, harsh discipline); and factors outside the family (marital quality, work roles, cultural influences). The book concludes with a useful review of coping strategies and interventions that have been demonstrated to alleviate parenting stress.
How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.
This book brings together experts from diverse scientific disciplines who share an interest in the topic of father involvement. Unlike most books in the field, which tend to solely draw from a psychological perspective, this Handbook merges theories and research from the unique fields of psychology, economics, demography sociology, anthropology, and social policy. For the most part, research on fathering is motivated by concern for children's well-being. Social scientists share a core set of questions, including: *"Who are fathers?" *"What is father involvement and how does it affect children and families?" *"What are the determinants of father involvement?" *"How do cultural contexts shape fathers' roles in families?" This Handbook sheds light on how a cross-disciplinary approach to the study of fathering can advance knowledge about these fundamental questions. This integrative approach is fundamental to a comprehensive understanding of human development generally, and to fathering more specifically. At the core of this book are the goals of describing and understanding the nature, antecedents, and consequences of father involvement across biological status, family structure, culture, and stages in children's development--both within and across scientific boundaries. Each of the scientific disciplines represented offers unique methodological and theoretical approaches to the study of fathering and to the interpretation of behavioral patterns that characterize ecological systems that include--as well as extend beyond--family units. Together, the chapters offer provocative and challenging insight into the nature and meaning of fatherhood and father involvement by questioning longstanding assumptions about fathers' roles in the lives of families and children in current history.
Prosocial behavior-broadly defined as voluntary action intended to help or benefit another-has been associated with positive outcomes across the lifespan. Children with a more prosocial orientation are better liked and trusted by their peers, have a higher status in peer groups, are better at maintaining friendships, demonstrate better self regulation, empathy, and social cognitive skills, and excel in academics. Researchers have shown that prosocial behaviors correlate to lower rates of school suspension and drop-out, teen pregnancy, substance use, aggression, and delinquency. These positive effects speak to the value of prosocial behavior during formative years. Prosocial Development examines a variety of biological, socialization, and contextual influences on prosocial development from infancy through early adulthood. While the definition of prosocial behavior may seem straightforward, recent research has highlighted its multifaceted nature. This volume specifically focuses on the multidimensionality of prosocial development, examining different contexts, motivations, types, and targets of prosocial behavior that are differentially predicted by socialization and dispositional characteristics. Skillfully edited by Drs. Padilla-Walker and Carlo, each chapter in this volume highlights some aspect of multidimensionality in regard to prosocial behavior and meaningful avenues for future research. This volume will be an important tool for scholars, researchers, and practitioners who are interested in prosocial, moral, and positive youth development. The organization and focus of this volume are also well-suited for use as a text for graduate courses in moral development, child and adolescent development, social psychology, sociology, anthropology, and family studies.
This book examines the complex impact of parenting stress and the effects of its transmission on young children’s development and well-being (e.g., emotion self-regulation; executive functioning; maltreatment; future parenting practices). It analyzes current findings on acute and chronic psychological and socioeconomic stressors affecting parents, including those associated with poverty and cultural disparities, pregnancy and motherhood, and caring for children with developmental disabilities. Contributors explore how parental stress affects cognitive, affective, behavioral, and neurological development in children while pinpointing core adaptation, resilience, and coping skills parents need to reduce abusive and other negative behaviors and promote optimal outcomes in their children. These nuanced bidirectional perspectives on parent/child dynamics aim to inform clinical strategies and future research targeting parental stress and its cyclical impact on subsequent generations. Included in the coverage: Parental stress and child temperament. How social structure and culture shape parental strain and the well-being of parents and children. The stress of parenting children with developmental disabilities. Consequences and mechanisms of child maltreatment and the implications for parenting. How being mothered affects the development of mothering. Prenatal maternal stress and psychobiological development during childhood. Parenting Stress and Early Child Development is an essential resource for researchers, clinicians and related professionals, and graduate students in infancy and early childhood development, developmental psychology, pediatrics, family studies, and developmental neuroscience.
This third edition of Child Psychology continues the tradition of showcasing cutting-edge research in the field of developmental science, including individual differences, dynamic systems and processes, and contexts of development. While retaining a similar structure to the last edition, this revision consists of completely new content with updated programmatic research and contemporary research trends and interests. The first three sections highlight research that is organized chronologically by age: Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence. Within each section, individual chapters address contemporary research on a specific area of development, such as learning, cognition, social, and emotional development at that period in childhood. The fourth section, Ecological Influences, emphasizes contextual influences relevant to children of all ages, including risk and protective processes, family and neighborhood context, race and ethnicity, peer relations, the effects of poverty, and the impact of the digital world. Child Psychology also features a unique focus on four progressive themes. First, emphasis is placed on theory and explanation—the "why and how" of the developmental process. Second, explanations of a transactional and multidimensional nature of development are at the forefront of all chapters. Third, the multi-faceted approach to development highlights contextual influences and cultural diversity among children from different communities and backgrounds. Finally, methodological innovation is a key concern, and research tools presented across chapters span the full array available to developmental scientists who focus on different systems and levels of analysis. The thoroughness and depth of this book, in addition to its methodological rigor, make it an ideal handbook for researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and advanced students across a range of disciplines, including psychology, education, economics and public policy.
Experts discuss the potential of early intervention to transform outcomes for people with mental disorders. Mental illness represents one of the largest disease burdens worldwide, yet treatments have been largely ineffective in improving the quality of life for millions of affected individuals—in part because approaches taken have focused on late-stage disorders in adulthood. This volume shifts the focus by placing the developmental stage of “youth” at the center of mental health. The contributors challenge current nosology, explore mechanisms that underlie the emergence of mental disorders, and propose a framework to guide early intervention. Offering recommendations for the future, the book holds that early intervention in youth has the potential to transform outcomes for people with mental disorders and to reconfigure the landscape of mental health. The contributors discuss epidemiology, classification, and diagnostic issues, including the benefits of clinical staging; the context for emerging mental disorders, including both biological and sociocultural processes; biological mechanisms underlying risk for psychopathology, including aspects of neural circuitry; and developing and implementing prevention and early intervention, including assessment and intervention modalities and knowledge translation in early treatment of schizophrenia. Contributors Nicholas B. Allen, Mario Alvarez-Jimenez, G. Paul Amminger, Shelli Avenevoli, Hannah F. Behrendt, Tolulope Bella-Awusah, Maximus Berger, Byron K. Y. Bitanihirwe, Drew Blasco, John D. Cahill, Joanne S. Carpenter, Andrew M. Chanen, Eric Y. H. Chen, Shane D. Colombo, Christoph U. Correll, Christopher G. Davey, Kim Q. Do, Damien A. Fair, Helen L. Fisher, Sophia Frangou, John Gleeson, Robert K. Heinssen, Ian B. Hickie, Frank Iorfino,Matcheri S. Keshavan, Kerstin Konrad, Phuong Thao D. Le, Francis Lee, Leslie D. Leve, Sarah A. Lieff, Cindy H. Liu, Beatriz Luna, Patrick D. McGorry, Urvakhsh Meherwan Mehta, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Shreya V. Nallur, Cristopher Niell, Merete Nordentoft, Dost Öngür, George C. Patton, Tomáš Paus, Ulrich Reininghaus, Bernalyn Ruiz, Fred Sabb, Akira Sawa, Michael Schoenbaum, Gunter Schumann, Elizabeth M. Scott, Jai Shah, Vinod H. Srihari, Ezra Susser, John Torous, Peter J. Uhlhaas, Swapna K. Verma, T. Wilson Woo, Stephen J. Wood, Lawrence H. Yang, Alison R. Yung