Developmental Psychopathology and Family Process

E. Mark Cummings, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at West Virginia University. His numerous publications focus on the functioning of children in the family, and the significance of the family for children's adjustment and development. He is particularly concerned with the importance of emotional relationships and expressions. His work has been featured on 20/20, USA Today, CNN, and in the Washington Post and Parent's Magazine, among other media.

A remarkable achievement. I know of few books in the psychopathology field that do such a good job of integrating current theory with up-to-the-minute, state-of-the-art research, and none that does such a good job with a family systems approach. Exceptionally well written, the book breaks new ground in creating new and complex dynamic models of the mechanisms linking risks and outcomes. Many new studies are incorporated that I had not yet come across. All of my graduate students will have to read this book, and I will be using it frequently as a reference text. --Philip A. Cowan, PhD, Director, Institute of Human Development, University of California, BerkeleyThis book provides a rich analysis of extant theory and research on family influences and child development, including both psychopathology and resilience. The reader is helped to navigate a theoretically rich framework, challenged to grapple with difficult issues related to methodology, and provided with the 'state-of-the-art' knowledge derived from empirical research. The incorporation of a section on the clinical implications of this body of work serves to realize the full potential inherent in a developmental psychopathology perspective. --from the Foreword by Dante Cicchetti, PhD, Mt. Hope Family Center, University of RochesterThis superb volume is the best integration of material on the topic of developmental psychopathology that I have seen. It is a highly valuable introduction to the perspective and will be widely used and cited by students, scholars, and practitioners. New and exciting issues are highlighted throughout. In particular, the chapter on research methodology should be required reading for all graduate students in developmental psychology as well as clinical psychology. --Ross D. Parke, PhD, University of California, Riverside, Presidential Chair and Distinguished Professor in Psychology and Director, Center for Family Studies. -

• IntroductionI. Theory1. What Is Developmental Psychopathology?2. Identifying the Dynamic Processes Underlying the Development of Psychopathology3. Methodological Directions in Developmental Psychopathology Research4. Pathways in Development5. Complex Patterns of Influence: Risk and Protective FactorsII. Research6. Child Development and the Parent-Child Subsystem7. New Directions in the Study of Parenting and Child Development8. Children and the Marital Subsystem9. Applications of Developmental Psychopathology: Parental Depression, Families, and Children's DevelopmentIII. Clinical Implications10. A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on the Diagnosis, Classification, and Conceptualization of Children's Problems11. A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Prevention and TreatmentEpilogue