Synopses & Reviews
What determines whether a child will fall victim to his troubled surroundings or whether he will overcome the adversity and even emerge strengthened? Mental health professionals are beginning to focus on the identification of factors which can promote healthy adjustment, or, resilience, in children. In this volume, leading scholars in the field pioneer this alternative approach toward mental illness by attempting to define these factors of resilience which can then provide the groundwork for primary prevention specialists to develop and implement preventive rather than remedial programs for children designated at risk.
Unlike previous volumes which profile resilience in a small sample group, this study extends the search for an adequate psychological definition of resilience by examining many diverse populations ranging from stepchildren to developmentally delayed children to children of religious cults. Each group's psychological dynamics are thoroughly explored and the research documented, thereby providing a broad base of knowledge from which to derive a solid definition. A valid model for the recognition of positive motivations in children under stress is established and marks this work as a significant contribution to the literature on the psychology of wellness.
Synopsis
In this volume, mental health professionals pioneer a shift in focus from the treatment of dysfunctional children and adults toward the identification of factors which are found in "resilient" children, or, those who overcome their adverse surrounding and even emerge strengthened. Children from many diverse populations, ranging from stepchildren to developmentally delayed children to children of religious cults, are examined and the elements common to their healthy adjustment identified. The establishment of a model for the recognition of resilience lays the groundwork for primary prevention specialists to develop and implement preventive rather than remedial programs for children designated "at risk."
About the Author
WARREN A. RHODES is Professor of Psychology at Delaware State College.WALN K. BROWN is founder and Chairman of the William Gladden Foundation, a non-profit organization that researches issues that affect children, especially juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice.
Table of Contents
Introduction and Review of the Literature by Warren A. Rhodes and Waln K. Brown
Children of Divorce: Some Do Cope by Bonnie Robson
Resiliency in Black Children from Single-Parent Families by Mark A. Fine and Andrew I. Schwebel
Stepchildren: Burying the Cinderella Myth by Marilyn Coleman and Lawrence H. Ganong
Foster Family Care: Solution or Problem? by Edith Fein and Anthony N. Maluccio
Children Who Lose a Sibling by Helen Rosen
Risk and Resilience in Teenagers Who Avoid Pregnancy by Howard Stevenson and Warren A. Rhodes
Factors Affecting Positive Long-Term Outcome in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder by Lily Hechtman
Help for the Runaway Child by Richard Jenkins
Socializing the Unsocialized Delinquent by Richard Jenkins
Guidelines from Follow-up Surveys of Adult Subjects Who Were Adjudicated Delinquent as Juveniles by Waln K. Brown, Richard Jenkins, and Warren A. Rhodes
Resisting the Powers of Religious Cults by Lita Linzer-Schwartz
Factors That Promote Invulnerability and Resiliency in At-Risk Children by Waln K. Brown and Warren Rhodes
Bibliography