This volume address the similarities and differences in the cognitive processes that characterize children at the extremes of human talent. Its purpose is to assess the adequacy with which theories derived for normal children also account for performance and processes variability among retarded, learning disabled, and gifted children; and to advance the analaysis of quantative versus qualitative differences in cognition by focusing on more extreme contrasts than have traditionally been examined in the developmental literature.

This volume, much like its companion text Cognition in Special Children, focuses on intellectual and motivational processes that characterize individuals at the extremes of human talent. The aim is to understand more about exceptional children: how they are like and unlike other children, and what intellectual and motivational processes best explain their delayed or accelerated performance. The link between exceptionality and intelligence is examined from three perspectives: the role of intelligence theories and tests in the diagnosis and classification of retarded, learning disabled, and gifted children and adolescents; the use of intelligence theory to guide educational programming; and the importance of special populations for constructing, revising, and assessing new models of intelligence.

Stimulated by the publication of "The Nurture Assumption" by Judith Rich Harris, "Parenting and the Child's World" was conceived around the notion that there are multiple sources of influence on children's development, including parenting behavior, family resources, genetic and other biological factors, as well as social influences from peers, teachers, and the community at large.
The text's 39 contributors search for when, where, and how parenting matters and the major antecedents and moderators of effective parenting. The chapters focus on the major conceptual issues and empirical approaches that underlie our understanding of the importance of parenting for child development in academic, socio-emotional, and risk-taking domains. Additional goals are to show how culture and parenting are interwoven, to chart future research directions, and to help parents and professionals understand the implications of major research findings.

Stimulated by the publication of The Nurture Assumption by Judith Rich Harris, Parenting and the Child's World was conceived around the notion that there are multiple sources of influence on children's development, including parenting behavior, family resources, genetic and other biological factors, as well as social influences from peers, teachers, and the community at large. The text's 39 contributors search for when, where, and how parenting matters and the major antecedents and moderators of effective parenting. The chapters focus on the major conceptual issues and empirical approaches that underlie our understanding of the importance of parenting for child development in academic, socio-emotional, and risk-taking domains. Additional goals are to show how culture and parenting are interwoven, to chart future research directions, and to help parents and professionals understand the implications of major research findings.

Despite a growing body of scholarship on the phenomenon of adolescent parenting, minimal attention has been given to investigating systematic changes in adolescent mothers' and their children's psychological functioning over time. This book reports on a longitudinal study conducted to examine the social and psychological consequences of teen parenting for both mothers and their children. Qualitative and quantitative analyses are used to explain why some mothers and children fare better than others, showing that the lives and developmental trajectories of adolescent mothers and children are inextricably interwoven and closely linked to the social contexts within which they live. The book closes with social policy implications of the research including recommendations for intervention programs and policies to help adolescent parents and their children achieve developmental success and find happiness.