Judy Dunn – författare

This book is concerned with the question of how families matter in young people's development - a question of obvious interest and importance to a wide range of readers, which has serious policy implication. A series of key current topics concerning families are examined by the top international scholars in the field, including the key risks affecting children, individual differences in their resilience, links between families and peers, the connections between parental work and children's family lives, the impact of childcare, divorce, and parental separation, grandparents, and new family forms such as lesbian and surrogate mother families. The latest research findings are brought together with discussion of policy issues raised.

This book is concerned with the question of how families matter in young people's development - a question of obvious interest and importance to a wide range of readers, which has serious policy implication. A series of key current topics concerning families are examined by the top international scholars in the field, including the key risks affecting children, individual differences in their resilience, links between families and peers, the connections between parental work and children's family lives, the impact of childcare, divorce, and parental separation, grandparents, and new family forms such as lesbian and surrogate mother families. The latest research findings are brought together with discussion of policy issues raised.

What do young children, as they grow from infancy to childhood, understand of others and of their social world? How does this understanding change, and what influences its development?The Beginnings of Social Understanding draws on detailed studies of children within their families - their disputes with mother and siblings, their empathy and cooperation, their `pretend' stories and questions about others, and their `jokes' - to show vividly how children come to understand the social rules of the family and the feelings, intentions and relationships of others. Illustrating this case with the words of the children themselves, Judy Dunn argues that self-interest is an important force in their social development and that children's emotional experiences and their moral discourse of the family contribute crucially to their growing understanding of their social world.

Through a careful examination of current research work including three on-going longitudinal studies, Dunn explores children's relationships with parents, siblings, friends, and the connections between these relationships. "This book presents a meticulous and perceptive account of the nature of young children's relationships with others. Judy Dunn confronts this task in its full complexity by skillfully blending objective, systematic research findings with observational reports that are both sensitive and insightful. In so doing, she has written an immensely readable, coherent state-of-the-art account of children's relationships, simultaneously forging an argument that challenges the paradigm with which much current research takes place." --Jennifer Castle, review in Personality & Individual Differences "Another gem from Judy Dunn! . . . This very readable and interesting book asks some searching questions about how relationships change with age, how one sort of relationship influences others, and how thought processes shape or control our interactions with other people. The answers are based on a judicious interweaving of qualitative observation and hard-headed quantitative analyses. The result is a challenging (and sometimes provocative) account of what we know today, together with a look forward to likely developments in the years to come." --Michael Rutter, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The Bethlem Royal Hospital and Maudsley Hospital, London "This book presents a meticulous and perceptive account of the nature of young children's relationships with others. . . . Judy Dunn skilfully blends objective, systematic research findings with observational reports that are both sensitive and insightful. In so doing, she has written an immensely readable, coherent state-of-the-art account of children's relationships, simultaneously forging an argument that challenges the paradigm within which much current research takes place. . . . The breadth and scope of this book give it obvious appeal to all those interested in social and developmental psychology. . . . The style and presentation of the book will probably ensure it a readership beyond its intended audience: As usual, Judy Dunn presents complex material in a deceptively simple, uncluttered, commonsensical manner." --Behaviour Research & Therapy

In the last decade, the significance of siblings in children's development and adjustment has been widely recognized, and research on brothers and sisters has increased dramatically. Bringing together exciting research on siblings by leading developmental psychologists and clinicians, this volume's contributions were originally presented at the First International Symposium on Siblings held in Leiden. This book focuses on both the significance of siblings as influences on individual development, and on the importance of the relationship in families with sick, disabled or troubled children. It covers the recent developmental research with chapters on the development of sibling relationships in early and middle childhood, the links between sibling relationships and those with parents, peers and friends, and the influence of siblings on children's adjustment. It then focuses on clinical issues such as siblings as sources of support for unhappy or sick children, or for children in disharmonious homes, and the vulnerability of siblings of disabled children. These clinical issues are discussed in practical terms by leading practitioners. Clear in presentation, comprehensive in its coverage of the exciting recent research, and full of practical insights, this volume brings to light important developmental principles, and raises questions regarding the assumptions about family processes and how different relationships within the family affect one another. For family researchers, those interested in the individual development of children, and for clinicians concerned about the impact of troubled or disabled children on their siblings or the potential of siblings as therapists, this book will be the key. No other book covers the recent research in this important topic and discusses the clinical issues in depth and in practical terms.

Stepfamilies represent an increasing number of American households and shape the upbringing of countless stepchildren. Despite their prominence in society, our knowledge about these families is very limited. To address this deficit, the editors have drawn together the work of 16 nationally known scholars to deal with four questions: * Marriages that create stepfamilies: Why do they occur? Fail? Succeed? * How do stepfamilies function as child rearing environments? * How do stepfamilies function as sources of support in later life? * Building research and policy agendas: What is needed? In seeking answers to these questions, the book bridges the disciplines of psychology, sociology, social psychology, child development, demography, law and policy. Readers will gain an understanding of the current knowledge about stepfamilies, obtain an appreciation of the diverse views on a variety of stepfamily issues, learn about existing and anticipated laws and policies that affect stepfamilies, and acquire ideas on needed research and policy agendas. Chapter authors are leading figures in psychology, sociology, demography, human development, and family law; their contributions are valuable to researchers, teachers, and students as well as policymakers and legislatures.

First Published in 1986. The modern history of temperament research began in the late 1950s with the New York Longitudinal Study. Twenty-five years later, temperament has become a major focus of research on early developing emotional and social traits. The impetus for this growth in temperament research stems from the merging of several shifts in child development research: from a view of the child as passive to a model of the child as an active, transacting partner with the environment; increasing interest in individual differences in development; an expansion of research on emotional and social development; and a clear change from an exclusive reliance on environmental explanations of developmental differences to a more balanced perspective that recognizes the possibility of biological as well as environmental influences. Most stimulating is the multidisciplinary flavor of temperament research-clinicians, infancy researchers, cultural anthropologists, and behavioral geneticists have, each for their own reasons, been drawn to the study of temperament. Each of these fields is represented in the present volume, which provides the first overview of the growing field of temperament.

In the last decade, the significance of siblings in children's development and adjustment has been widely recognized, and research on brothers and sisters has increased dramatically. Bringing together exciting research on siblings by leading developmental psychologists and clinicians, this volume's contributions were originally presented at the First International Symposium on Siblings held in Leiden. This book focuses on both the significance of siblings as influences on individual development, and on the importance of the relationship in families with sick, disabled or troubled children. It covers the recent developmental research with chapters on the development of sibling relationships in early and middle childhood, the links between sibling relationships and those with parents, peers and friends, and the influence of siblings on children's adjustment. It then focuses on clinical issues such as siblings as sources of support for unhappy or sick children, or for children in disharmonious homes, and the vulnerability of siblings of disabled children. These clinical issues are discussed in practical terms by leading practitioners. Clear in presentation, comprehensive in its coverage of the exciting recent research, and full of practical insights, this volume brings to light important developmental principles, and raises questions regarding the assumptions about family processes and how different relationships within the family affect one another. For family researchers, those interested in the individual development of children, and for clinicians concerned about the impact of troubled or disabled children on their siblings or the potential of siblings as therapists, this book will be the key. No other book covers the recent research in this important topic and discusses the clinical issues in depth and in practical terms.

Drawing on evidence from studies on both sides of the Atlantic, this beautifully written book from Judy Dunn, the leading international authority on childhood development, considers the nature and significance of children's early friendships. accessible and comprehensive book on friendship, beautifully written by a world authority;features a foreword by Jerome Bruner, one of the most influential psychologists alive today;stresses the importance of friendships to young children and considers the implications of friendship for our understanding of children's development more generally;draws out the practical implications for parents, teachers and those who care for children;considers how to help children with friendship difficulties and what to do about 'trouble-making' friendships and bullying;latest addition to the Understanding Children's Worlds series.

The post-war world has become characterized by fierce new assertions of nationalism and sovereignty. Many regions - such as Bosnia, Somalia and Northern Ireland - are threatened by violent ethnic, religious and cultural strife. Almost daily on our television screens we see the faces of frightened children caught up in war, yet research into the effects of war on children is patchy and not well known. Children and Political Violence provides a critical evaluation of attempts to answer questions about the impact of political violence on such topics as children's aggression, moral development, and interpersonal relations. Much of the material is concerned with children who witness, experience or participate in violent acts, and with the children's stress and coping in violent circumstances. Other chapters deal with the effects on the social fabric of children's lives of the loss of families, destruction of social networks, homelessness, and the challenge of ensuring that the next generation grows up to reject violence as a way of settling political disputes.Written in a highly accessible style with many real-life examples, Children and Political Violence will be of broad interest to students, researchers and practitioners in child psychology and psychiatry, education, conflict studies and peace studies.