Synapse Development and Maturation, the latest release in the Comprehensive Developmental Neuroscience series, presents the latest information on the genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms of neural development. The book provides a much-needed update that underscores the latest research in this rapidly evolving field, with new section editors discussing the technological advances that are enabling the pursuit of new research on brain development. This volume focuses on the synaptogenesis and developmental sequences in the maturation of intrinsic and synapse-driven patterns.

High profile media reports of young people committing suicide after experiencing bullying have propelled a national conversation about the nature and scope of this problem and the means to address it. Specialists have long known that involvement in bullying in any capacity (as the victim or as the perpetrator) is associated with higher rates of suicidal ideation and behaviors, but evidence about which bullying subtype is at greatest risk is more mixed. For instance, some studies have shown that the association between suicidal ideation and bullying is stronger for targets of bullying than perpetrators. However, another study found that after controlling for depression, the association was strongest for perpetrators. Similar disagreement persists with regard to gender disparities relating to bullying and self-harm, for instance.
Youth Suicide and Bullying presents an authoritative review of the science demonstrating the links between these two major public health concerns alongside informed discussion and evidence-based recommendations. The volume provides sound, scientifically grounded, and effective advice about bullying and suicide at every level: national, state, and community. Chapters provide details on models of interpersonal aggression; groups at risk for both bullying and suicide (such as sexual minorities); the role of stigma; family, school, and community-based youth bullying and suicide prevention programs, and more. Each chapter concludes with recommendations for mental health providers, educators, and policymakers. Compiling knowledge from the most informed experts and providing authoritative research-based information, this volume supports efforts to better understand and thereby reduce the prevalence of victimization and suicide.

This book examines the mathematical difficulties in typical and atypical populations. It discusses the behavioural, educational and neuropsychological characteristics of people with mathematical difficulties, and educational interventions to prevent, diagnose, treat or ameliorate such difficulties. The book brings together studies from different disciplines, including developmental psychology, neuroscience and education, and includes perspectives from practicing teachers.
The book is divided into three major sections. The first includes chapters about the nature and characteristics of mathematical difficulties in the population as a whole, in relation to both psychology and education. The second deals with mathematical difficulties in children with other problems such as specific language impairment and dyslexia. The third discusses methods of interventions aimed at preventing, treating or ameliorating mathematical difficulties, and will include discussions of assessment and diagnosis.

Autism spectrum disorder has received increasing research in recent years, with more information on assessment and treatment than can be readily assimilated from primary literature by clinicians. Clinical Assessment and Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders summarizes evidence-based assessments and intervention for Autism across the life-span, providing clinicians with a practical overview of how best to assess and treat this disorder. The book begins with a discussion of what warrants a determination of being "evidence based" and a description of the disorder from a life span perspective. The book also provides a chapter on differential diagnosis of autism relative to other disorders. What follows are separate sections on assessment and intervention. These chapters discuss first how to assess and then separately how to treat behavioral problems, communication and social skills issues, academic and vocational skills, and the use of pharmacology and an assessment of possible pharmacological effects. Intended for practitioners assessing and treating children with developmental delays, the book provides clinicians with best practices for assessing and treating delays associated with autism.
* Covers the full range of Autism Spectrum Disorders
* Covers the lifespan
* Focuses on evidence-based asssessment and treatment

The ABCs of Learning Disabilities, Second Edition, discusses major research findings on learning disabilities in children, adolescents and adults in language, memory, social skills, self-regulation, reading, mathematics, and writing, with an additional chapter on assessment. This concise primer is intended for use as an undergraduate introductory text to the field. Written with an evenness of tone, breadth, and depth, the conveys an engaging style meant to encourage the beginning student to identify the big picture and to be interested in conceptual issues as well as research findings.
* Undergraduate level text
* 90% new material
* Concise introduction to field
* Covers current concepts like removing the IQ-performance discrepancy formula in diagnosing learning disabilities
* New chapter on self-regulation and learning disabilities
* Whole school approach to social skills intervention

This book examines the role of experience-based learning on children's acquisition of language and concepts. It reviews, compares, and contrasts accounts of how the opportunity to recognize and generalize patterns influences learning. The book offers the first systematic integration of three highly influential research traditions in the domains of language and concept acquisition: Statistical Learning, Structural Alignment, and the Bayesian learning perspective. Chapters examine the parameters that constrain learning, address conditions that optimize learning, and offer explanations for cases in which implicit exemplar-based learning fails to occur. By exploring both the benefits and challenges children face as they learn from multiple examples, the book offers insight on how to better able to understand children's early unsupervised learning about language and concepts. Topics featured in this book include: Competing models of statistical learning and how learning might be constrained by infants' developing cognitive abilities. How experience with multiple exemplars helps infants understand space and other relations. The emergence of category-based inductive reasoning during infancy and early childhood. How children learn individual verbs and the verb system over time. How statistical learning leads to aggregation and abstraction in word learning. Mechanisms for evaluating others' reliability as sources of knowledge when learning new words. The Search for Invariance (SI) hypothesis and its role in facilitating causal learning. Language and Concept Acquisition from Infancy Through Childhood is an essential resource for researchers, clinicians and related professionals, and graduate students in infancy and early child development, applied linguistics, language education, child, school, and developmental psychology and related mental health and education services.

This handbook examines positive youth development (PYD) in youth and emerging adults from an international perspective. It focuses on large and underrepresented cultural groups across six continents within a strengths-based conception of adolescence that considers all youth as having assets. The volume explores the ways in which developmental assets, when effectively harnessed, empower youth to transition into a productive and resourceful adulthood. The book focuses on PYD across vast geographical regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, North America, and Latin America as well as on strengths and resources for optimal well-being. The handbook addresses the positive development of young people across various cultural contexts to advance research, policy, and practice and inform interventions that foster continued thriving and reduce the chances of compromised youth development. It presents theoretical perspectives and supporting empirical findings to promote a more comprehensive understanding of PYD from an integrated, multidisciplinary, and multinational perspective.

This book examines the implications of rural residence for adolescents and families in the United States, addressing both the developmental and mental health difficulties they face. Special attention is given to the unique circumstances of minority families residing in rural areas and how these families navigate challenges as well as their sources of resilience. Chapters describe approaches for enhancing the well-being of rural minority youth and their families. In addition, chapters discuss the challenges of conducting research within rural populations and propose new frameworks for studying these diverse communities. Finally, the volume offers recommendations for reducing the barriers to health and positive development in rural settings. Featured topics include: Changes in work and family structures in the rural United States. Rural job loss to offshoring and automation. The opioid crisis in the rural United States. Prosocial behaviors in rural U.S. Latino/a youth. Demographic changes across nonmetropolitan areas. Rural Families and Communities in the United States is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, clinicians, professionals, and graduate students in developmental psychology, family studies, public health as well as numerous interrelated disciplines, including sociology, demography, social work, prevention science, educational policy, political science, and economics.

Perception plays a key role in numerous aspects of life in contemporary society. By developing tools to effectively measure perception and spatial recognition, a range of relevant applications can be utilized. A Simplex Approach to Learning, Cognition, and Spatial Navigation: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an innovative source of scholarly material that presents a unique perspective on the convergence of game-based learning, empathy, cognition, and spatial understanding. Including a range of pertinent topics such as gender considerations, space representation, and user interfaces, this book is an ideal reference publication for academics, researchers, students, and educators interested in the role of spatial reference systems in education.

Teenagers, Sexual Health Information and the Digital Age examines the online resources available on teenagers, including games and digital interventions. In addition, it highlights current issues such as sexting and pornography. Information needs and provisions are examined, and existing sexual health interventions and digital interventions are discussed, gathering both teenagers' and sexual health professionals' views on these services. In addition to a review of the current literature on sexual health and teenagers, the book examines groups of teenagers, particularly those vulnerable to risky sex and asks what are the predictors of these behaviors and what can be done to address the behaviors. Finally, the book will also provide reflections and practical advice on the ethical issues associated with research in this context.

This volume brings together trends and their prospects to understand the complexity of metacognitive phenomena, with emphasis on the interactions of metacognition with affect. It discusses the three perspectives in understanding these interactions: the possible mechanisms underlying them, the manifestation of interactions of metacognition with affect in self- and co-regulation in social and educational contexts, and changes during development in young children and older adults. This volume is a tribute to Professor Emerita Anastasia Efklides, who was among the pioneers to investigate and argue the importance of the interactions between metacognition and affect. It serves as a dedication to her contribution in the widening of the scope of research in metacognition and self-regulated learning.

This book presents a new, evidence-based cognitive behavioral intervention for the prevention and treatment of Internet addiction in adolescents. It provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of research regarding phenomenology, diagnostics, epidemiology, etiology, and treatment and prevention of Internet addiction as a new behavioral addiction. The book is divided into two sections. The first part of the book explores various bio-psycho-social factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of symptoms in young individuals. Chapters in the second part of the book discuss the PROTECT intervention to reduce Internet addiction in adolescents. PROTECT aims to modify risk factors and maintenance factors, specifically, boredom and motivational problems, procrastination and performance anxiety, social anxiety and maladaptive emotion regulation. The PROTECT intervention is a low-intensity approach which uses comprehensive case examples in order to increase cognitive dissonance and treatment motivation. In addition, PROTECT contains cognitive behavioral intervention techniques such as psychoeducation, behavior activation, cognitive restructuring, problem solving and emotion regulation. Topics featured in this book include: Adolescence and development-specific features of Internet addiction. An overview of modifiable risk factors and maintenance factors of Internet addiction. Environmental factors that affect the development of Internet addiction. Online and offline video gaming addiction. Social network addiction. Strategies that work in prevention and treatment. Internet Addiction in Adolescents is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, clinicians and related professionals as well as graduate students in clinical child, school, and developmental psychology, educational policy and politics, and social work as well as related disciplines.

This Second Edition updates and expands on the original editorial content and coverage, including new chapters on definitions and rationale, a general overview, research on mental health disorders, report writing, the role of treatment planning, and treatment associated with mental health disorders. The Second Edition builds on the knowledge base by providing the most current information on all aspects of each topic. This unique volume addresses basic questions in salient detail, from types and rates of challenging behaviors to populations that warrant functional assessment. In addition, it examines typical assessment techniques, including interview, scaling, experimental, and in vivo methods. The use of functional assessment in treatment planning - and in combination with other interventions - is covered in depth. Given the vulnerable populations and challenging behaviors (e.g., individuals with autism, intellectual disabilities, mental health issues), the book provides detailed coverage of informed consent as well as legal and ethical issues. Key areas of coverage include: The history of behavior analysis and functional assessment. The nature, prevalence, and characteristics of challenging behaviors. Interview and observation methods in functional assessment and analysis. Experimental functional analysis for challenging behaviors. Treatment methods commonly used with functional assessment. Using functional assessment in treatment planning. Functional Assessment for Challenging Behaviors, Second Edition, is an essential updated resource for researchers, clinicians and other practitioners, and graduate students in clinical child and school psychology, pediatric psychiatry and medicine, social work, rehabilitation, developmental psychology as well as other interrelated disciplines.

This book explores social media and technology across the lifespan. The authors argue that those of different ages and life stages have very diverse experiences with these types of media and demonstrate the importance of analysing the entire lifespan in the context of technology use. They acknowledge and celebrate social media for the positives that it can bring to our lives but also recognise that there may be challenges for particular developmental stages.

Filled with relevant, expert, and practical child-rearing information, this invaluable guide also helps parents understand and utilize parenting resources ranging from scientific research to Internet sites to the popular press. Taking up where the 2004 edition of The Educated Parent left off, Child Rearing in the 21st Century is a must-have guide to parenting best practices. Author Joseph D. Sclafani, a psychologist and family therapist, highlights the different approaches to child rearing and provides practical advice about which approaches work best and why. Topics covered range from the role of the parent as supporter/protector to the efficacy of daycare and the ways parents can prepare for and assist in a child's education. The book also looks at parenting after a divorce, at the importance of fathers in children's lives, and at such 21st-century issues as cyberbullying and the anxiety-producing effects of societal pressures. One of the unique aspects of the book is that it presents and explains expert knowledge from journals and research studies that are often inaccessible to the everyday reader. Centers of parenting advice such as the Internet and parenting magazines are evaluated as well. References stress tests for children Research results on how daycare affects children Tips on finding the best daycare placement Bibliographic sources at the end of each chapter Recommended resources for further reading

While describing and even celebrating some of the many benefits of drinking wine, beer and spirits (hard liquor) in moderation, Richard Thatcher's "Thinkin' Drinkin'" also shares an abundance of ideas and scientific evidence that, when taken together, add up to a cautionary tale about careless drinking. The book is informed by Thatcher's own troubled, early, and long-sustained experience with alcohol and his subsequent success at getting the problem under control. In addition, he brings a wealth of professional expertise to his writing task.

Dr. Thatcher draws upon various aspects of that accumulated knowledge to inform and provide guidance to help teens and young adults establish enjoyable, safe, worry-free approaches to drinking. These approaches can be readily adapted to any healthy lifestyle and can become good habits that last a lifetime. The author firmly believes that, if widely adopted, those "good habits" will save an enormous amount of heartache, emotional and physical injury, and many thousands of lives.

How-and why-do humans develop as they do? This book clearly explains the key components of human development theories and describes how to compose novel theories regarding this age-old puzzle. As college students progress through bachelor's degree programs and then advance to their master's degree theses and doctoral dissertations, they are bombarded with studies of countless theories, often adopting some author's theory for interpreting information about human development, even when the theory does not precisely meet their needs. One way to solve the problem-a way especially tuned to the current classroom push for creative, critical thinking-is for the student to create his or her own theory. Unfortunately, even students as high as the doctoral level often don't understand how to create a well-ordered, workable theory of their own-a crucial gap in their "critical thinking" skillsets. This book is the solution to that specific problem. In these pages, in clear and detailed steps, is a complete explanation for developing a theory. The book addresses key topics such as attention to need, population, basic assumptions, key terms, causes and stages, interpreting evidence, and applications. Author R. Murray Thomas-a well-known and highly respected elder in the social sciences-also details five illustrative theories, covering their history and providing insights about how they were developed. This work will be valuable to students of psychology, human development, child development, and theory as well as those in other disciplines seeking an understanding of theory building. Succinctly describes the theory-construction process in language free from technical jargon that is accessible to college students or general readers interested in the nature and structure of theories Identifies the essential components that comprise theories-scientific explanations-of the human-development process, allowing readers to see how different thinkers address common concepts in their well-known theories Offers five new theories built according to the guidelines proposed in the explanation of human development theory components

Extending Horizons presents a wide-ranging collection of papers by leading practitioners in the field of analytic psychotherapy with children and young people, surveying recent developments in technique and theory; the application of the discipline to special areas of work; and its integration, in certain contexts, with other systems su

This book which has been created in the framework of the EU-funded COST Action INTERFASOL brings together researchers from 22 INTERFASOL countries, who frame intergenerational family solidarity in the specific historical, cultural, social and economic context of their own country. Integrating different perspectives from social and political sciences, economics, communication, health and psychology, the book offers country-specific knowledge and new insights into family relations, family values and family policies across Europe.

In this book, David Brandt examines the legal, psychological, and cultural issues relevant to understanding antisocial behaviour in adolescence. Based on his own research and a broad analysis of recent work in the field, Brandt identifies the factors that are common in cases of delinquency. The discussion considers the long-term effects of social issues such as poverty as well as psychological issues such as the high levels of stress and anxiety suffered during childhood by many delinquents. He shows how a failure to meet the developmental needs of children - at both the family level and at a broader social and political level - is at the core of the problem of juvenile delinquency. Brandt concludes with an inquiry into how best to prevent delinquency. Programmes that address the developmental needs of children, Brandt argues, are more effective than policing, juvenile courts, or incarceration.

This volume adopts a context-informed framework exploring risk, maltreatment, well-being and protection of children in diverse groups in Israel. It incorporates the findings of seven case studies conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's NEVET Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need. Each case study applies a context-informed approach to the study of perspectives of risk and protection among parents, children and professionals from different communities in Israel, utilizing varied qualitative methodologies. The volume analyses the importance of studying children and parents's perspectives in diverse societies and stresses the need for a context-informed perspective in designing prevention and intervention programs for children at risk and their families living in diverse societies. It further explores potential contribution to theory, research, practice, policy and training in the area of child maltreatment.

Substance abuse, gambling, sexual promiscuity, violence, mental health problems, suicide: all are risky and dangerous consequences of adolescent instability. Through the implementation of psychological research and basic theories, Johnson and Malow-Iroff expertly assess each specific risk behavior as it correlates with demographics, socio-economic statuses, and cultural factors surrounding today's youth. In addition, this book provides resources for handling harmful situations facing adolescents, offering practical and straightforward methods to aid one in negotiating positive paths for those in distress. Parents, educators, and adolescents alike will only benefit from knowing the causes of adolescent risk-taking and the ways of preventing such behavior. Each chapter is devoted to a specific risk that many adolescents take throughout their teenage years. These include: drug abuse, gambling, sex, violence, and suicide. Johnson and Malow-Iroff discuss the mental health problems that lead to dangerous activities. Each topic explains the causes that lead to these risky behaviors, ways to prevent them, and advice that will be useful to parents and educators in addressing these issues.