Thomas L. Whitman – författare

This volume offers a comprehensive and conceptually integrated overview of the changing biological, psychological, and social/environmental influences on health and illness from the prenatal period through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Based on the premise that protective and risk factors vary with life stage, several chapters examine the development of major biological systems and the changing role of genetics and environment over time. In addition, they provide information on environmental influences during the prenatal period and early childhood, chronic illness in childhood, and health and health risks in adolescence. Chapters on adulthood give special emphasis to mid-life transitions in health, resiliency in later life, and the impact of caregiving on health. Final chapters focus on death and dying and on an integrative model of health and illness across the life span.

This volume offers a comprehensive and conceptually integrated overview of the changing biological, psychological, and social/environmental influences on health and illness from the prenatal period through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Based on the premise that protective and risk factors vary with life stage, several chapters examine the development of major biological systems and the changing role of genetics and environment over time. In addition, they provide information on environmental influences during the prenatal period and early childhood, chronic illness in childhood, and health and health risks in adolescence. Chapters on adulthood give special emphasis to mid-life transitions in health, resiliency in later life, and the impact of caregiving on health. Final chapters focus on death and dying and on an integrative model of health and illness across the life span.

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.

In 1984, a longitudinal study was launched at the University of Notre Dame to evaluate the social and psychological consequences of teenage parenting. Interwoven Lives: Adolescent Mothers and Their Children (2001) described, in detail, the development of these adolescent mothers and their children across the first eight years of life. Major delays were first noticed in children's patterns of attachment at age 1 and their IQ and personal adjustment scores at age 3. By age 8, school-related problems were found in 70% of the children. With these data as the backdrop, this companion volume, Risk and Resilience, identifies major risk factors associated with long-term developmental delays as well as the processes that led to resilience in some of the mothers and children.This new volume traces the children's development at ages 8, 10, and 14. The editors focus on identifying risk and protective factors associated with important life course trajectories as the mothers entered early adulthood and their children became adolescents. Relatively unexplored protective factors - such as religiosity, patterns of father involvement, and romantic relationships - were found to positively influence development for both teenage mothers and their children. This new text also addresses:New methodological approaches with an emphasis on the use of hierarchical linear and structural equation modeling and dynamical systems analysesImplications for prevention and intervention programsIntellectual, educational, and socioemotional outcome dataThe "dark side" of rearing children in povertyThe multiple risks related to adolescent parenting and their profound impact on children's developmentHow resilience emerges in children's lives and the specific factors that promote it.Risk and Resilience appeals to researchers in developmental psychology and family processes as well as agency and government professionals charged with public policy and service delivery.

In 1984, a longitudinal study was launched at the University of Notre Dame to evaluate the social and psychological consequences of teenage parenting. Interwoven Lives: Adolescent Mothers and Their Children (2001) described, in detail, the development of these adolescent mothers and their children across the first eight years of life. Major delays were first noticed in children's patterns of attachment at age 1 and their IQ and personal adjustment scores at age 3. By age 8, school-related problems were found in 70% of the children. With these data as the backdrop, this companion volume, Risk and Resilience, identifies major risk factors associated with long-term developmental delays as well as the processes that led to resilience in some of the mothers and children.This new volume traces the children's development at ages 8, 10, and 14. The editors focus on identifying risk and protective factors associated with important life course trajectories as the mothers entered early adulthood and their children became adolescents. Relatively unexplored protective factors - such as religiosity, patterns of father involvement, and romantic relationships - were found to positively influence development for both teenage mothers and their children. This new text also addresses:New methodological approaches with an emphasis on the use of hierarchical linear and structural equation modeling and dynamical systems analysesImplications for prevention and intervention programsIntellectual, educational, and socioemotional outcome dataThe "dark side" of rearing children in povertyThe multiple risks related to adolescent parenting and their profound impact on children's developmentHow resilience emerges in children's lives and the specific factors that promote it.Risk and Resilience appeals to researchers in developmental psychology and family processes as well as agency and government professionals charged with public policy and service delivery.

Tom Whitman proposes a new developmental theory of autism that focuses on the diversity of characteristics associated with this disorder, and how these develop over time. This theory is reconciled and integrated with contemporary theories of autism, including the social, cognitive, linguistic, sensorimotor and biological perspectives. The broader societal context in which autism emerges is also explored along with its impact on the family. Whitman draws from extensive clinical experience to examine common education and biomedical interventions and presents recommendations both for practical approaches to the everyday challenges of autism, and for future research. This comprehensive book is essential reading for parents, students, therapists, researchers and policymakers eager to improve or update their understanding of autism.