Faced with rapidly changing social and economic conditions, service professionals, policy developers, and researchers have raised significant concerns about the Canadian child welfare system. This book draws inspiration from experiences with three broad, international child welfare paradigms--child protection, family service, and community healing/caring (First Nations)--to look at how specific practices in other countries, as well as alternative experiments in Canada, might foster positive innovations in the Canadian child welfare approach.

Foundational values and purposes, systems design and policy, and organization and management are discussed, as are front-line service delivery, service provider work environments, and the realities of daily living for families. Informed by recent research, the contributors provide clear directions for policy, administration, and service-delivery reforms. Informing policy debates addressing child maltreatment and family welfare, this book will serve as a vital resource for managers, service providers, professionals, and students in the fields of social work, child and youth care, family studies, psychology, and special education.

The Adolescent Experience places the college student at the very heart of the book. The authors engage in a dialogue with the reader that is warm, caring, and often humorous as they write and share material about this time of life. The authors emphasize the role that development and society play in the lives of young people. The book has a solid research basis with a historical and multicultural focus. But most important, the book is practical and applied with the strongest prevention/health promotion material available in any basic undergraduate adolescent psychology text currently on the market.
Key Features
* Focuses on health promotion and illness prevention
* Provides not only a U.S. but also a much needed Canadian perspective to this life stage
* Involves students as participants in a long-standing inquiry into the nature of adolescence as they are introduced to the latest research in the field
* Provides students with the latest practical information in subject areas like sexuality, drugs and alcohol, suicide and depression, eating disorders, crime, delinquency, and violent behavior
* List server links student and/or instructor to authors
* Explores the uniqueness of North America's multi-culturalism
* Illustrates important concepts using literature and social history to make them tangible to students

How do adolescents who hail from non-white, poor, or rural backgrounds reconcile their ethnic or traditional heritage with the largely white, middle-class, urban world of modern America? How does this issue impact their development and behavior? This volume in the Advances in Adolescent Development series addresses these questions by focusing on how demographic diversity (defined by race, ethnicity, community size, region, and wealth) shape adolescent experiences and development. With contributions by recognized experts in their field, the book explores: competence among urban adolescents living in poverty; rural youth and how their experiences differ from other adolescents?; the development of contemporary Appalachian youth; how Native American youth negotiate the challenges of adolescent development; Asian American adolescents from the perspectives of academic achievement, ethnic identity and psychological adjustment; poor versus positive functioning among African American adolescents and the factors that produce these outcomes; and, a phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory as a framework to review research on American adolescent diversity that goes well beyond the traditional focus on minorities.

Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are on the increase among young people. This volume explores social and behavioural implications of adolescent sexuality and suggests ways in which to encourage sexual responsibility.

With contributions from psychologists, sociologists and family care experts, the volume examines such topics as gender, sexual behaviour, adolescent parenting, homosexuality and bisexuality.

Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are on the increase among young people. This volume explores social and behavioural implications of adolescent sexuality and suggests ways in which to encourage sexual responsibility.

With contributions from psychologists, sociologists and family care experts, the volume examines such topics as gender, sexual behaviour, adolescent parenting, homosexuality and bisexuality.

What factors contribute to family violence and how can they be identified early so that future violence can be prevented? Addressing these and related issues, the papers in this volume are a testimony to the rapid expansion of research, theory and practice in the family violence field.

Leading researchers and clinicians explore the roots of family violence, including both physical and sexual abuse, and examine assessment, treatment and prevention. Topics addressed include whether children or the elderly are at greater risk, and the role of substance abuse in family violence.

How do adolescents who hail from non-white, poor, or rural backgrounds reconcile their ethnic or traditional heritage with the largely white, middle-class, urban world of modern America? How does this issue impact their development and behavior? This volume in the Advances in Adolescent Development series addresses these questions by focusing on how demographic diversity (defined by race, ethnicity, community size, region, and wealth) shape adolescent experiences and development. With contributions by recognized experts in their field, the book explores: competence among urban adolescents living in poverty; rural youth and how their experiences differ from other adolescents?; the development of contemporary Appalachian youth; how Native American youth negotiate the challenges of adolescent development; Asian American adolescents from the perspectives of academic achievement, ethnic identity and psychological adjustment; poor versus positive functioning among African American adolescents and the factors that produce these outcomes; and, a phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory as a framework to review research on American adolescent diversity that goes well beyond the traditional focus on minorities.

Aimed at providing a foundation for increasing the quantity and quality of physical and mental health care for children, this book describes the latest research and theories about family, school, and community prevention and health-promotion programs to improve the health status of children during the next decade. This impressive group of researchers examine such pertinent questions as: + Why do problem behaviors occur together (like substance abuse, delinquency, and school failure)? And, to what extent can common strategies prevent each of these difficulties? + Are we effectively using what we know to prevent drug use among children? + What strategies are the most promising for preventing unwanted pregnancy and AIDS? + Does violent/aggressive behavior result from unmet developmental needs? + What programs have been most effective in preventing depression and suicide in young people? + Are there reliable prevention strategies that can reproduce the risk of unintentional injury among children? This thought-provoking book identifies innovative and empirically based preventive and health-promotion strategies that schools and communities may implement to enhance childrenAEs social, emotional, and physical wellness and thus will be interest to professionals and practitioners in the fields of developmental psychology, clinical psychology, family studies, social work, counseling, human services, nursing, and public health.

Aimed at providing a foundation for increasing the quantity and quality of physical and mental health care for children, this book describes the latest research and theories about family, school, and community prevention and health-promotion programs to improve the health status of children during the next decade. This impressive group of researchers examine such pertinent questions as: + Why do problem behaviors occur together (like substance abuse, delinquency, and school failure)? And, to what extent can common strategies prevent each of these difficulties? + Are we effectively using what we know to prevent drug use among children? + What strategies are the most promising for preventing unwanted pregnancy and AIDS? + Does violent/aggressive behavior result from unmet developmental needs? + What programs have been most effective in preventing depression and suicide in young people? + Are there reliable prevention strategies that can reproduce the risk of unintentional injury among children? This thought-provoking book identifies innovative and empirically based preventive and health-promotion strategies that schools and communities may implement to enhance childrenAEs social, emotional, and physical wellness and thus will be interest to professionals and practitioners in the fields of developmental psychology, clinical psychology, family studies, social work, counseling, human services, nursing, and public health.

TodayAEs young people face greater risks to their current and future health and social development as shown by the involvement of younger and younger children in smoking, drinking, gang membership, and acts of violence. Emphasizing developmentally and contextually appropriate prevention service delivery models, the authors of this volume identify state-of-the-art, empirically based strategies to strengthen the environments in which children develop. Since programs with strong conceptualization, design, and implementation have the potential to enhance childrenAEs social, emotional, and physical wellness, the authors first review ways to strengthen the family, child-care systems, early childhood education, school-based health and mental health services, and community-based mental health programming. They next explore the importance of theory-guided evaluation to clarify the process of program implementation as well as highlighting strategies for disseminating programs effectively. Throughout the chapters, the authors emphasize three themes: One, that scientists, practitioners, and policy makers must collaborate to diversify the portfolio of coordinated family-, school-, and community-based prevention services. Second, that rigorous evaluations of prevention programs are critical to document their efficacy and to identify ways to improve their quality. And, three, that well-designed prevention programs must be effectively conducted in order to insure implementation quality. This important new volume will be invaluable to professionals and practitioners in the fields of developmental psychology, clinical psychology, family studies, social work, counseling, human services, nursing, and public health.

John Hill used four classes of variables and their interrelations to conceptualize the phenomena of adolescence. Can these variables provide a context for conceptualizing, investigating, and understanding adolescent psychosocial development today? Taking a developmental contextualist perspective, this impressive collection of scholars explores how research on adolescent psychosocial development has unfolded from the 1970s to the present. Focusing on the issues of social class, ethnicity, and gender, they examine such topics as autonomy in adolescence and the detachment debate; sexuality from trends in gender sexual scripts to sexual offenses, such as date rape; intimacy from individual differences to interpersonal situations; achievement from school/workplace to social settings; identity, including the role of culture; cognitive behaviors, including education for and constraints on critical thinking; and the interplay of biological and psychological processes. Readers of this stimulating volume will gain a new perspective on the role of biopsychosocial factors and the contextual influences of gender, race/ethnicity, and social class in understanding adolescent behavior and development. Psychosocial Development During Adolescence contains information vital to the research and work of professionals in developmental psychology, adolescent studies, psychology, family studies, and drug/substance abuse studies.

John Hill used four classes of variables and their interrelations to conceptualize the phenomena of adolescence. Can these variables provide a context for conceptualizing, investigating, and understanding adolescent psychosocial development today? Taking a developmental contextualist perspective, this impressive collection of scholars explores how research on adolescent psychosocial development has unfolded from the 1970s to the present. Focusing on the issues of social class, ethnicity, and gender, they examine such topics as autonomy in adolescence and the detachment debate; sexuality from trends in gender sexual scripts to sexual offenses, such as date rape; intimacy from individual differences to interpersonal situations; achievement from school/workplace to social settings; identity, including the role of culture; cognitive behaviors, including education for and constraints on critical thinking; and the interplay of biological and psychological processes. Readers of this stimulating volume will gain a new perspective on the role of biopsychosocial factors and the contextual influences of gender, race/ethnicity, and social class in understanding adolescent behavior and development. Psychosocial Development During Adolescence contains information vital to the research and work of professionals in developmental psychology, adolescent studies, psychology, family studies, and drug/substance abuse studies.

Currently, only about 50% of American youths live in traditional two-parent, first-marriage families. This fact, combined with often bleak economic and social realities, creates the backdrop of interactions between families, children, and schools are examined in this probing volume. Answering a need for evaluative research in this area of increasing public interest, the contributors build a model for evaluation, focusing on the dynamics of family-school connections. How is school achievement influenced by parent-child interactions and the family environment? How do school, family, community, and peer-group connections affect early adolescents? What is the family's role in the success of learning-disabled youth or in school truancy? What effect does parental discord and divorce have on a child's learning? These questions, as well as proposals for intervention and prevention, create the crux of this book designed to inform and motivate readers to respond to one of our country's most fundamental social concerns. Vital reading for everyone who wants to better understand child-school-community interaction, this book especially warrants reading by students, researchers, and other professionals in developmental psychology, family studies, psychology, and social work. "The book should be read by professionals who have contact with schools as part of their brief; by those educators who train the new generation of social workers, psychologists, and teachers; and by researchers who seek to understand the tapestry of social influences on children's development. The book is worth buying alone for the fruits of great scholarship evident in the extensive lists of up-to-date references at the end of each chapter, and in a superb appendix that offers a tour de force of a 19-page bibliography on the topic." --Child and Family Social Work

Currently, only about 50% of American youths live in traditional two-parent, first-marriage families. This fact, combined with often bleak economic and social realities, creates the backdrop of interactions between families, children, and schools are examined in this probing volume. Answering a need for evaluative research in this area of increasing public interest, the contributors build a model for evaluation, focusing on the dynamics of family-school connections. How is school achievement influenced by parent-child interactions and the family environment? How do school, family, community, and peer-group connections affect early adolescents? What is the family's role in the success of learning-disabled youth or in school truancy? What effect does parental discord and divorce have on a child's learning? These questions, as well as proposals for intervention and prevention, create the crux of this book designed to inform and motivate readers to respond to one of our country's most fundamental social concerns. Vital reading for everyone who wants to better understand child-school-community interaction, this book especially warrants reading by students, researchers, and other professionals in developmental psychology, family studies, psychology, and social work. "The book should be read by professionals who have contact with schools as part of their brief; by those educators who train the new generation of social workers, psychologists, and teachers; and by researchers who seek to understand the tapestry of social influences on children's development. The book is worth buying alone for the fruits of great scholarship evident in the extensive lists of up-to-date references at the end of each chapter, and in a superb appendix that offers a tour de force of a 19-page bibliography on the topic." --Child and Family Social Work

This seems to be a very useful book. It is a collection of review essays on specific, relevant topics in adolescent substance misuse, rather than the usual assortment of empirical reports that belong properly in journals. It is appropriately cross-disciplinary. Each chapter ends with a clear and concise summary. The problem has generated a rich and complex research literature, one that merits a coherent and comprehensive overview. Some of the chapters in this book contain useful reviews and interesting insights. --Stan Sadava in Addiction What factors contribute to the misuse of drugs and alcohol among teens? Does one's economic background or ethnicity play a role in their avoidance or involvement in substance misuse? Substance Misuse in Adolescence explores these questions and untangles widely held beliefs about substance abuse issues using historical, clinical, and research data. This volume begins with an introduction to the social history of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin and then examines individual, family, peer, and community variables that may contribute to substance misuse as well as resiliency factors that enable some teens to avoid such problems. It also discusses substance misuse in rural and urban settings, the pharmacological effects of specific substances, and current treatment approaches for substance-misusing youth. It also includes coverage of drug legalization issues and a lucid discussion of the current effectiveness of various prevention programs. Researchers, graduate students, and practitioners who want the latest synthesis and view on adolescent substance misuse will find this volume a useful addition to their libraries and classrooms.

This seems to be a very useful book. It is a collection of review essays on specific, relevant topics in adolescent substance misuse, rather than the usual assortment of empirical reports that belong properly in journals. It is appropriately cross-disciplinary. Each chapter ends with a clear and concise summary. The problem has generated a rich and complex research literature, one that merits a coherent and comprehensive overview. Some of the chapters in this book contain useful reviews and interesting insights. --Stan Sadava in Addiction What factors contribute to the misuse of drugs and alcohol among teens? Does one's economic background or ethnicity play a role in their avoidance or involvement in substance misuse? Substance Misuse in Adolescence explores these questions and untangles widely held beliefs about substance abuse issues using historical, clinical, and research data. This volume begins with an introduction to the social history of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin and then examines individual, family, peer, and community variables that may contribute to substance misuse as well as resiliency factors that enable some teens to avoid such problems. It also discusses substance misuse in rural and urban settings, the pharmacological effects of specific substances, and current treatment approaches for substance-misusing youth. It also includes coverage of drug legalization issues and a lucid discussion of the current effectiveness of various prevention programs. Researchers, graduate students, and practitioners who want the latest synthesis and view on adolescent substance misuse will find this volume a useful addition to their libraries and classrooms.

"Educators will find much useful information in Personal Relationships During Adolescence. It offers insights for program and curriculum planning and suggests numerous topics for stimulating discussions with teens. It also raises provocative issues about how the developmental needs of youth can be served more effectively by families, communities, and educators." --Family Life Educator "Personal relationships During Adolescence marks the launching of adolescent personal relationships as a field. Rather than a cohesive or exhaustive book, this book is a collection of high-quality chapters. The book holds the potential to define personal relations as an integrated line of study that serves to develop theory and research beyond contextual boundaries." Journal of Marriage and the Family The contributors to Personal Relationships During Adolescence analyze the ways in which critical interpersonal bonds are forged and maintained by presenting the current works of leading scholars and professionals. The relationships discussed are as diverse as the distinguished authors studying them: The parent-teen connection; the impact of cultural diversity on teens' social development; same-sex friends as well as opposite-sex friends during adolescence; heterosexual, bisexual, gay and lesbian romantic relationships; adolescent crowds (or cliques); and relationships involving non-kin adults. The authors also explore conceptual issues that cut across relationships and the problem of integrating the views of both individuals in a relationship. Researchers and students in the areas of adolescence, close relationships, social and personality development, and family relationships will find this a must-read book.