Ross A. Thompson – författare

The current system of protecting society's children from abuse is failing miserably. In this volume, scholars affiliated with universities and professional associations nationwide pinpoint a better strategy. Their research spotlights neighborhood-based child protection systems and provides a comprehensive approach for creating procedures that meaningfully address child maltreatment.The volume discusses the challenges of moving toward such a system within the current legal, political, and cross-cultural contexts of child protection. Examples of promising applications of a community-based approach are cited. Also cited are the legal and practical structural steps to be taken in creating caring communities that effectively address child abuse and neglect.

With about one half of all marriages ending in divorce today, it is safe to say that nearly everyone will be or has been affected by divorce in some way. For many, it does not mean the end to a family. Focusing on the consequences of divorce for children, The Postdivorce Family examines the stressors that divorce can create; adjustment problems among children of divorce; the issue of resilience for children; and individual differences in the psychological adjustment to divorce. The authors also examine the parents' responsibilities after divorce, including custody issues, child support orders, and nonresidential parenting. This book concludes with a section that explores the effects of a high divorce rate in society, including how the prevalence of divorce has changed the family form and structural factors that have contributed to various social problems. With this volume, the authors hope to incite analysis and reflection of the issues surrounding divorce and their implications for public policy. This book integrates the empirical research and policy perspectives of several scholars in various disciplines including psychology, sociology, human development, law, and social work.

With about one half of all marriages ending in divorce today, it is safe to say that nearly everyone will be or has been affected by divorce in some way. For many, it does not mean the end to a family. Focusing on the consequences of divorce for children, The Postdivorce Family examines the stressors that divorce can create; adjustment problems among children of divorce; the issue of resilience for children; and individual differences in the psychological adjustment to divorce. The authors also examine the parents' responsibilities after divorce, including custody issues, child support orders, and nonresidential parenting. This book concludes with a section that explores the effects of a high divorce rate in society, including how the prevalence of divorce has changed the family form and structural factors that have contributed to various social problems. With this volume, the authors hope to incite analysis and reflection of the issues surrounding divorce and their implications for public policy. This book integrates the empirical research and policy perspectives of several scholars in various disciplines including psychology, sociology, human development, law, and social work.

Ross A. Thompson's social-policy expertise illuminates the limitations of formulating a child protection policy agenda on current research without concern for the specific populations to be served. Thompson details an ambitious agenda for child welfare reform by calling for a multistrategy approach, with specific reference to the 1990 proposals of the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, with which he has been intimately connected. . . . This masterful work weaves together theory and application about how to prevent child maltreatment. Good references. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --Choice Recently, there has been considerable interest in providing social support to abuse-prone families as a means of preventing child abuse and neglect. Partly due to both reports that social support programs can indeed help parents and the theoretical underpinnings of these programs, social support has become the cause celebre among those who are seeking more effective new avenues to abuse prevention. However, many important issues must be considered in translating this general idea into effective public policy initiatives related to abuse prevention. Preventing Child Maltreatment Through Social Support carefully considers the various factors affecting the success of social support programs and provides the path to designing effective--and enduring--interventions. Offering the reader a critical analysis of current research concerning social networks and functions of social support, this perceptive book fosters an understanding of maltreatment, socially isolated families, and the dynamics of help giving and receiving. Ross A. Thompson moves deftly from theory to practice, including detailed lessons from applications such as home visitation and other intensive family strategies. This volume stimulates thinking about integrating research, policy, and practice, and in a progressive move, envisions social support within the larger context of child welfare reform. Dedicated to making social support programs theoretically grounded and thus able to withstand the rigor of application, this book provides a much-needed resource to practitioners, researchers, and students in social work, family studies, nursing/public health, and clinical and counseling psychology as well as educators and policy makers. "I am very impressed with Preventing Child Maltreatment Through Social Support. I think Ross A. Thompson has tackled a complex and important subject, producing a book that both practitioners and policymakers will find useful in their efforts to construct more effective programs to prevent child abuse. This book fills a unique gap in the child abuse prevention literature." --Deborah Daro, Director, Center on Child Abuse Prevention Research, Chicago "This book provides a coherent road map to the role of social support in dealing with the problem of child maltreatment. It is well researched and well thought out in every respect. Preventing Child Maltreatment Through Social Support is well digested intellectually: It covers the material in detail but is not overcome by detail." --James Garbarino, Director, Family Life Development Center, Cornell University

First Published in 1985. This book provides a thorough review of the literature concerning the origins, interpretation, and developmental significance of individual differences in early infant-parent attachment.

The science of human development informs our thinking about children and their development. The Brain Development Revolution asks how and why has brain development become the major lens for understanding child development, and its consequences. It describes the 1997 I Am Your Child campaign that engaged public attention through a sophisticated media communications effort, a White House conference, and other events. It explores the campaign's impact, including voter initiatives to fund early childhood programs and a national campaign for prekindergarten education, but also several missed opportunities. The study examines why brain development compels our attention, why we are - but shouldn't be - neurodeterminists, and the challenges of communicating developmental brain science. This book examines the framing of the brain development story, the selectivity of the messaging, and overpromising the results of early programs. Lastly, it discusses proposals for how science communication can be improved to better serve children and the public.

The science of human development informs our thinking about children and their development. The Brain Development Revolution asks how and why has brain development become the major lens for understanding child development, and its consequences. It describes the 1997 I Am Your Child campaign that engaged public attention through a sophisticated media communications effort, a White House conference, and other events. It explores the campaign's impact, including voter initiatives to fund early childhood programs and a national campaign for prekindergarten education, but also several missed opportunities. The study examines why brain development compels our attention, why we are - but shouldn't be - neurodeterminists, and the challenges of communicating developmental brain science. This book examines the framing of the brain development story, the selectivity of the messaging, and overpromising the results of early programs. Lastly, it discusses proposals for how science communication can be improved to better serve children and the public.