Throughout the past 30 years, there have been significant developments in theory and research relating family variables to various psychopathologies. The potential importance of such efforts is obviously great, given the implications that reliable and valid findings would hold for treatment and preventive inter ventions across a variety of settings and populations. The purpose of this volume is to present a critical evaluation of this field of inquiry through a detailed assessment of the theoretical perspectives, the methodological issues, and the substantive findings that have characterized family studies of psychopathology during the past several decades. The book is divided into four parts, each con taining contributions from leading researchers and theorists in the field. The first part, "Background," presents a review of the major streams of influence that have shaped the development and the present character of the field. The second part, "Conceptual Foundations," contains presentations of gen eral models and orientations relevant to family studies of psychopathology. In most cases, a particular theoretical perspective provides the primary underpin ning of the approach, the exception to this format being the family model of David Reiss based on the concept of the family paradigm. The major objective of this part is to present a broad yet detailed set of chapters that address the conceptual status of the field. It is hoped that this material will provide a rich background against which subsequent discussions of specific theories, methods, and findings can be more fully appreciated.

Providing an authoritative review of the influence of the family on individual behavior, this book shows how many individual psychopathologies stem from external rather than internal conditions. Chapters describe a variety of dysfunctional patterns and explore how they lead to different kinds of disorders. Preventive measures and treatment approaches are critically examined.

Developmental psychopathology seeks to unravel the complex connections among biological, psychological, and social-contextual aspects of normal and abnormal development. This volume presents the core and cutting-edge principles of the field in an integrative, accessible manner. The investigatory lens is focused on the primary context in which children develop--the family. Reviewing current research in such areas as attachment and parenting styles, marital functioning, and parental depression, the volume examines how these variables may influence developmental processes across a range of domains and, in turn, predict the emergence of clinical problems. Illuminated are the interplay of risk and protective factors, biological and contextual influences, and continuous and discontinuous patterns of development in childhood and adolescence. Also considered in depth are the ways in which the developmental psychopathology perspective points to new directions in diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of child emotional and behavioral disorders. Featuring a wealth of figures, tables, and illustrative vignettes, this is a valuable source book for practititioners, scholars, and other professionals in mental health and related disciplines. It will also serve as a text in graduate-level courses on developmental psychopathology and clinical child psychology.

The Wiley Handbook of Developmental Psychopathology offers a concise, up-to-date, and international overview of the study of developmental psychopathology. Examines the cognitive, neurobiological, genetic, and environmental influences on normal and abnormal development across the lifespan Incorporates methodology, theory, and the latest empirical research in a discussion of modern techniques for studying developmental psychopathology Considers the legal, societal, and policy impacts of changes to diagnostic categories in the light of the transition to DSM-5 Moves beyond a disorder-based discussion to address issues that cut across diagnostic categories

In his acclaimed book A Theory of Personality Development, Luciano L'Abate introduced a revolutionary theory of personality development and functioning that departed radically from traditional theories. In place of hypothetical traits existing in an empirical vacuum, Dr. L'Abate offered an image of observable interpersonal competencies functioning within the basic contexts of home, work, leisure, and the marketplace. Central to his theory was a developmental model that posited the family as the primordial setting in which propensities are formed and behavior patterns set. By defining personality in terms of the growth and interplay of interpersonal competencies, the L'Abate theory provided an epistemologically and empirically sound basis for understanding personality function and dysfunction as corollaries and extensions of one another. In The Self in the Family, Luciano L'Abate and Margaret Baggett again break new ground by expanding the L'Abate theory of personality development to encompass criminal and psychopathological behavior. Drawing upon mounting empirical evidence that the family paradigm is the major determinant of personality socialization throughout the life span, the authors develop a selfhood model with demonstrable links between the three domains of personality function, criminality, and psychopathology. With the help of the model, they show how it is now possible to arrive at a personality-based interpretation of most deviant behaviors, including criminality, psychopathology, addictions, and even psychosomatic illnesses, and they describe various preventive and psychotherapeutic applications for this expanded theory of family-based personality development. The authors further elaborate on the theories developed in Dr. L'Abate's previous books by introducing the core concepts of hurt—the basic feeling underlying much of personality functioning and dysfunctioning—and a continuum of likeness—the fundamental determinant of interpersonal choices and behavior in friendships, parent-child relations, and marital relations. Offering an empirically rigorous, developmentally based, unified field theory of personality function, criminality, and psychopathology, The Self in the Family is essential reading for developmental and clinical psychologists, family therapists, personality theorists, and criminality and psychopathology researchers. CHILD-CENTERED FAMILY THERAPY Lucille L. Andreozzi This book is the first complete introduction to the Child-Centered Structural Dynamic Therapy Model—a revolutionary, short-term treatment model which helps integrate child and family system development into a comprehensive framework for self-guided, family-initiated change. This guide, with its numerous case illustrations, works to build knowledge from within the family by engaging family members in structured activities that help them translate family system principles into practical, everyday reality. Child-Centered Family Therapy is an important resource for couples and family therapists, child psychologists, counselors, and social workers. 1996 (0-471-14858-X) 374 pp. TREATING THE CHANGING FAMILY Handling Normative and Unusual Events Edited by Michele Harway This inimitable book offers a broad-ranging, carefully integrated review of contemporary trends in family therapy, research, and practice. It reexamines the family and the many challenges to its function and provides practical advice for therapists who treat troubled families. It explores the impact that non-normative events such as violence and abuse, addiction, long-term and chronic illness, divorce, adoption, trauma, and many others can have on family function and provides proven intervention strategies and techniques for treating these families. With the special attention given to the structure, dynamics, and unique problems of families that do not fit the traditional mold, such as binuclear, single-parent, and gay and lesbian families, Treating the Changing Family is a valuable resource for all mental health professionals and families. 1995 (0-471-07905-7) 374 pp. Also in the Series: HANDBOOK OF RELATIONAL DIAGNOSIS AND DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY PATTERNS Florence W. Kaslow, Editor 1996 (0-471-08078-0) 592 pp.

This book assembles 11 of the leading thinkers and researchers in the field of family psychology to create a compendium summarizing both what psychology researchers have learned about the family and where the field should be going next. It evolved after the volume's contributors met with other distinguished family scholars to discuss family influences on child development and to ponder how this knowledge could be used to benefit families and children. This volume includes approaches to the family that feature multiple levels and topics of focal interest to benefit anyone interested in the family. Central topics include mothering, fathering, marriages, family group processes, sibling relations, and families as systems. In addition, three senior authors offer road maps to detect, and suggest (a) challenges in research on parenting, (b) marital and family dynamics, and (c) family systems in the years ahead. In keeping with the theme of how research affects the lives of families outside the university lab settings, this volume includes a chapter on the interface between family research and law. This book closes with a "big picture" analysis and critique of what is known and not known. Psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, and public policymakers interested in the family should especially find this volume of interest.

Interparental Conflict and Child Development provides an in-depth analysis of the rapidly expanding body of research on the impact of interparental conflict on children. Emphasizing developmental and family systems perspectives, it investigates a range of important issues, including the processes by which exposure to conflict may lead to child maladjustment, the role of gender and ethnicity in understanding the effects of conflict, the influence of conflict on parent-child, sibling, and peer relations, family violence, and interparental conflict in divorced and step-families.

The purpose of this book is to review existing and developing family assessment methods relevant to the study of psycho pathology. It is our intention not only to inform clinical re searchers of the many valuable family assessment methods that are available, but also to encourage the incorporation of such procedures into future research efforts. In so doing, we believe that our understanding of the etiology, course, treatment, and prevention of adult and childhood disorders will be greatly enriched. The book begins with an overview of the larger social and intellectual forces which have led to the current interest in study ing family influences on psychopathology in children and adoles cence. For each "stream of influence," we attempt to highlight theoretical and methodological contributions relevant to the fami ly's role in the etiology, exacerbation, and treatment of childhood disorders. Next, a framework for classifying family measurement procedures is introduced in which three major dimensions are emphasized: unit of analysis, source of data, and construct as sessed. The third and most important chapter provides detailed reviews of a selected number of methods within each of the major groupings that have been delimited, references and brief descrip tions of other measures that cannot be reviewed in detail, and a discussion of the promising and developing techniques that are known to the authors.