Parenthood From Biology To Relation Prevention Assessment And Interventions For Developmental And Clinical Issues

Parenthood represents a fundamental construct that identifies the quality of early adult-infant interactions. In both short and long period, relationships, as primary interactional experiences, have an essential role in influencing individual's adjustment and psychopathology development during in lifetime. In this scenario, the most important areas of interest and innovation are (a) parents' representation of themselves, both in relation to the child and to their care-giving role; (b) the quality of couple relationship, in terms of both conjugal and co-parental bounds, and its influence on the quality of early mother-father-child interactions; (c) the early models of caregiver-baby interaction; (d) the recent approach to the "maternal brain", that represents the contribution coming from neurosciences, linked to the adult's activation and cerebral functioning processes, in association with the parental role. These data are a starting point for the individuation of functioning mechanisms and developmental trajectories of parenting in groups of adults and babies, belonging to normative populations. At the same time, those studies may provide an important introduction to the detection of critical and/or dysfunctional aspects in populations of babies and adults at risk (e.g. preterm babies, adopted children, etc.) or in adults' clinical group (e.g. a depressed parents, addicted parents, etc.) or in children with one or more impaired characteristic (e.g. children with organic diseases, with autistic disorders, etc.).. The present Research Topic puts the attention on these themes, particularly, considering the possible aftermaths that empirical research may have on planning and realizing interventional models to support the parental functioning. We will consider papers focused on the individuation of methods of observation and assessment, which allow to plan and realize prevention programs and/or interventions, primarily focused on parental support, both in the early stadium of the child's development and in the long-term period. Thus, the focus is both on the prevention and sustenance sphere and, also, on specific manners of taking on the therapeutic responsibility of the adult-infant relationship.

Despite the fact that most people become parents and everyone who has ever lived has had parents, parenting remains a mystifying subject about which almost everyone has opinions, but about which few people agree. Striking permutations on the theme of parenting are emerging--single parenthood, blended families, lesbian and gay parents, and teen versus fifties first-time moms and dads. Divided into four volumes, the Handbook of Parenting is concerned with different types of parents, basic characteristics of parenting, forces that shape parenting, problems faced by parents, and the practical sides of parenting. Contributors have worked in different ways toward understanding all of these diverse aspects of parenting and look to the most recent research and thinking in the field to shed light on many topics every parent has wondered about. Because development is too subtle, dynamic, and intricate to admit that parental caregiving alone determines the course and outcome of ontogeny, volume 1 concerns how children influence parenting. Volume 2 relates parenting to its biological roots and sets parenting in its ecological framework. Volume 3 distinguishes among the cast of characters responsible for parenting and is revealing of the psychological make-ups and social interests of those individuals. Volume 4 describes problems of parenting as well as the promotion of positive parenting practices. Written to be read and absorbed in a single sitting, each chapter addresses a different but central topic in parenting, and is rooted in current thinking and theory as well as classic and modern research on that topic. All chapters follow a standard organization including an introduction to the chapter as a whole followed by historical considerations of the topic, a discussion of central issues and theory, a review of classic and modern research, forecasts of future directions for theory and research, and a conclusion. In addition to considering their own convictions and research, the chapter contributors present and broadly interpret all major points of view and central lines of inquiry.

This Handbook examines core questions still remaining in the field of child maltreatment. It addresses major challenges in child maltreatment work, starting with the question of what child abuse and neglect is exactly. It then goes on to examine why maltreatment occurs and what its consequences are. Next, it turns to prevention, treatment and intervention, as well as legal perspectives. The book studies the issue from the perspective of the broader international and cross-cultural human experience. Its aim is to review what is known, but even more importantly, to examine what remains to be known to make progress in helping abused children, their families, and their communities.

One volume-reference work with approximately 300 entries Each entry will contain 5-8 references Entries will kept under 7 pages, with limited references and cross-referenced to 5 other topics in the encyclopdia

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

Presents models of the role of close relationships in psychopathology and development Provides evidence-based interventions that treat and prevent antisocial behavior Integrates genetic and environmental models of behavior.