A practical distillation of cutting-edge developmental research for mental health professionals. The field commonly known as "infant mental health" integrates current research from developmental psychology, genetics, and neuroscience to form a model of prevention, intervention, and treatment well beyond infancy. This book presents the core concepts of this vibrant field and applies them to common childhood problems, from attention deficits to anxiety and sleep disorders. Readers will find a friendly guide that distills this developmental science into key ideas and clinical scenarios that practitioners can make sense of and use in their day-to-day work. Part I offers an overview of the major areas of research and theory, providing a pragmatic knowledge base to comfortably integrate the principles of this expansive field in clinical practice. It reviews the newest science, exploring the way relationships change the brain, breakthrough attachment theory, epigenetics, the polyvagal theory of emotional development, the role of stress response systems, and many other illuminating concepts. Part II then guides the reader through the remarkable applications of these concepts in clinical work. Chapters address how to take a textured early developmental history, navigate the complexity of postpartum depression, address the impact of trauma and loss on children's emotional and behavioral problems, treat sleep problems through an infant mental health lens, and synthesize tools from the science of the developing mind in the treatment of specific problems of regulation of emotion, behavior, and attention. Fundamental knowledge of the science of early brain development is deeply relevant to mental health care throughout a client's lifespan. In an era when new research is illuminating so much, mental health practitioners have much to gain by learning this leading-edge discipline's essential applications. This book makes those applications, and their robust benefits in work with clients, readily available to any professional.

Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.

Adolescence is one of the most fascinating and complex transitions in the human life span. Its breathtaking pace of growth and change is second only to that of infancy. Over the last two decades, the research base in the field of adolescence has had its own growth spurt. New studies have provided fresh insights while theoretical assumptions have changed and matured. This summary of an important 1998 workshop reviews key findings and addresses the most pressing research challenges.

Adolescence is a time when youth make decisions, both good and bad, that have consequences for the rest of their lives. Some of these decisions put them at risk of lifelong health problems, injury, or death. The Institute of Medicine held three public workshops between 2008 and 2009 to provide a venue for researchers, health care providers, and community leaders to discuss strategies to improve adolescent health.

Health and well-being during adolescence depends largely on the fit between the young person's developmental needs and desires and opportunities provided by the changing context. In Health Risks and Developmental Transitions, prominent researchers in the adolescent field examine how various developmental transitions associated with the passage from childhood to adulthood provide risks and opportunities for adolescents' mental and physical health. Given the importance of adolescence in determining the course of health and well-being across the life span, efforts to ease the various transitions into and out of adolescence will yield long-term health benefits. By focusing on the link between health risks, developmental transitions, individual and contextual conditions and planned interventions that moderate the link, this interdisciplinary book provides the foundation for a unifying framework for research and application in health and human development.

Child and Adolescent Development: A Social Justice Approach features portraits of development at each stage interwoven with the findings of developmental science research on how inequitable resources and opportunities, which are influenced by social, economic, and political factors, can impact development. The text also presents findings on how such data can be used to reduce inequities for children and their families, thereby optimizing development and allowing individuals to reach their full potential no matter who they are. The text begins with a chapter that briefly describes the stages, domains, and patterns of child and adolescent development, as well as traditional and contemporary theories. Subsequent chapters provide insight into the research methods of developmental science and explain how epigenetic influences affect development. The book then progresses chronologically, discussing the physical, cognitive, and emotional changes that occur within each stage, guiding readers through a tapestry of development from conception through adolescence. Throughout, Pan & Zoom sections supply both big-picture and microscopic understandings of development, Tech & Media asides highlight the influences that technology and media can have on child and adolescent development, and Mentor Minutes provide readers with practical wisdom through interviews with diverse professionals working in the field. Featuring a timely and much-needed perspective on development, Child and Adolescent Development: A Social Justice Approach is an ideal resource for courses in psychology, education, counseling, human services, and social work. Kristine Anthis is a professor of psychology at Southern Connecticut State University, where she teaches courses in development and personality. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Nebraska and served as a fellow in the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University. Dr. Anthis is a member of APA Division 2: Society for the Teaching of Psychology, and APA Division 7: Developmental Psychology. She has won multiple university-wide teaching awards and has served as a reviewer for the Teaching of Psychology journal. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut, with her wife and son.

This Handbook draws together leading social scientists in the world from multiple disciplines to articulate what is known and needs to be known about spiritual development in childhood and adolescence.

The Developmental Science of Adolescence: History Through Autobiography is the most authoritative account of the leading developmental scientists from around the world. Written by the scholars who shaped the history they are recounting, each chapter is an engaging and personal account of the past, present, and future direction of the field. No other reference work has this degree of authenticity in presenting the best developmental science of adolescence. The book includes a Foreword by Saths Cooper, President of the International Union of Psychological Science and autobiographical chapters by the following leading developmental scientists: Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, Robert Wm. Blum, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, B. Bradford Brown, Marlis Buchmann, John Bynner, John Coleman, Rand D. Conger, James E. Côté, William Damon, Sanford M. Dornbusch, Nancy Eisenberg, Glen H. Elder, Jr., David P. Farrington, Helmut Fend, Andrew J. Fuligni, Frank F. Furstenberg, Beatrix A. Hamburg, Stephen F. Hamilton, Karen Hein, Klaus Hurrelmann, Richard Jessor, Daniel P. Keating, Reed W. Larson, Richard M. Lerner, Iris F. Litt, David Magnusson, Rolf Oerter, Daniel Offer, Augusto Palmonari, Anne C. Petersen, Lea Pulkkinen, Jean E. Rhodes, Linda M. Richter, Hans-Dieter Rösler, Michael Rutter, Ritch C. Savin-Williams, John Schulenberg, Lonnie R. Sherrod, Rainer K. Silbereisen, Judith G. Smetana, Margaret Beale Spencer, Laurence Steinberg, Elizabeth J. Susman, Richard E. Tremblay, Suman Verma, and Bruna Zani.

Adolescence: The Transitional Years presents the intricate physical, emotional, and behavioral changes that occur during the years between childhood and adulthood. This book provides psychological studies of adolescence and the methods used to gain information about adolescent development. Organized into 12 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the contributions of psychology to understanding the transition from childhood to adulthood. This text then reviews the changes at puberty, including the sequence of development for girls and boys and the underlying physiological mechanisms responsible. Other chapters consider the cultural variations in the mode of transition from childhood to adulthood. This book provides as well a brief overview of the psychological dimensions of self-identity. The final chapter deals with the educational experience for adolescents and examines the factors associated with different levels of educational attainment. This book is a valuable resource for developmental psychologists, sociologists, geneticists, anthropologists, theorists, and research workers.

The world's leading authority on adolescence presents original new research that explains, as no one has before, how this stage of life has changed and how to steer teenagers through its risks and toward its rewards.