Family Systems And Life Span Development

This interdisciplinary volume presents international research and theories focusing on the development of the individual across the life span. Centering on "family" as the key context influencing, and being influenced by the developing person, the contributors to this volume discuss an array of theoretical models, methodological strategies, and substantive foci linking the study of individual development, the family system, and the broader context of human development. The volume presents continuing empirical research and theories in the realm of individual and family development and features a developmental, contextual view from a process-oriented vantage point.

The final volume in this significant series, this publication mirrors the broad scientific attention given to ideas and issues associated with the life-span perspective: constancy and change in human development; opportunities for and constraints on plasticity in structure and function across life; the potential for intervention across the entire life course (and thus for the creation of an applied developmental science); individual differences (diversity) in life paths, in contexts (or the ecology) of human development, and in changing relations between people and contexts; interconnections and discontinuities across age levels and developmental periods; and the importance of integrating biological, psychological, social, cultural, and historical levels of organization in order to understand human development.

What is the impact of the family environment on us, particularly with regard to our intellectual functioning? Does the role of early family environment wear off, as some researchers have suggested, or does it maintain or possibly even become more important as we grow older? This book examines the interrelationship between family environment and intellectual functioning in a lifespan perspective. Covering a wide range of topics, it provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date examination of life-span family influences on various aspects of intellectual function. For cognitive, development/lifespan, and educational psychologists, and scholars studying the family and its influences, this volume will help: *students learn about family effects; *researchers update themselves in this active area of investigation; *therapists understand problems in intellectual functioning in their clients and in treating these clients successfully; and *educators gain a better grasp on how the students they teach are products not only of their genes and environments, in general, but of their family environments, in particular.

Although there has been a significant increase in studies of stress and coping processes in recent years, researchers have often approached these topics from rather narrow and constrained perspectives. Furthermore, little communication has occurred across disciplines and research directions, resulting in the emergence of several relatively isolated literatures. An outgrowth of the Eleventh Biennial West Virginia University Conference on Life-Span Development, this volume emphasizes two major themes: the importance of taking a life-span approach to the study of stress and coping, and the development of new and more complete conceptual models of stress and coping processes. The first to approach these subjects from a life-span perspective, this book includes papers by distinguished researchers from each of the major periods of the life-span, and brings together the cognitive and socioemotional traditions in the study of dealing with pressures. The editors hope that this facilitation of communication among researchers with diverse views will help create a broadening and integration of perspectives.

This volume provides an up-to-date overview of recent research concerning the links between family and peer systems. Considerable work in the past has focused on family issues or peer relationships, but these systems have typically been considered separately. This volume bridges the gap across these two important socialization contexts and provides insights into the processes that account for the links across the systems -- the ways in which the relationships between these systems shift across development. In addition, the variations in the links between family and peers are illustrated by cross-cultural work, studies of abused children, and research on the impact of maternal depression. In short, the volume provides not only a convenient overview of recent progress but lays out an agenda for future research.

Here is a major new volume for practitioners, researchers, and those concerned with future policies to promote the welfare of children and families. The patterns of support and the ability of family members to care for each other have changed along with the problems for the health and functioning of families. In Families as Nurturing Systems, respected scholars examine the new and emerging directions in the design and implementation of family resources and support programs. They describe and analyze a wide range of program models in the areas of prevention, social support, family resource, and empowerment that have been implemented in schools, the Afro-American church, early intervention programs, the workplace, and the public policy arena, reflecting the needs of families at different stages in the family life cycle.

This volume shares significant contemporary "Francophone" contributions to developmental psychology outside geographic and intellectual borders of French-speaking countries. Except for the spread of Piagetian theory after World War II into Anglophone psychology, these new publications have not become so well known worldwide as progress in Francophone developmental psychology warrants. However, the work of a new generation of developmental theorists and experimentalists continues to shape important and original lines of thinking and research in France, Canada, and in other French-speaking countries. This work also contributes uniquely to issues such as sensori-motor development, perception, language acquisition, social interaction, and the growth and induction of cognitive mechanisms. Scientific concepts are not only embedded in a paradigm, but also in a culture and a language. Instead of writing about Francophone developmental psychology from "outside," this volume brings together original English-language contributions written by researchers working in different Francophone countries. Chapters summarize and interpret research on a given topic, making explicit the context of philosophical and theoretical traditions in which the empirical advances are embedded. Original essays are accompanied by editorial commentaries from eminent scientists working on the same topics in other parts of the world -- topics that are closely related to Francophone streams of thought and themes of study. Together, these essays fully and faithfully represent modern scientific perspectives toward understanding many facets of mental growth and development of the young child.