The Development of the Person: The Minnesota Study of Risk and Adaptation from Birth to Adulthood - Softcover

Sroufe, L. Alan; Egeland, Byron; Carlson, Elizabeth A.; Collins, W. Andrew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1606232495 ISBN 13: 9781606232491

Publisher: Guilford Press, 2009

Synopsis

The definitive work on a groundbreaking study, this essential volume provides a coherent picture of the complexity of development from birth to adulthood. Explicated are both the methodology of the Minnesota study and its far-reaching contributions to understanding how we become who we are. The book marshals a vast body of data on the ways in which individuals' strengths and vulnerabilities are shaped by myriad influences, including early experiences, family and peer relationships throughout childhood and adolescence, variations in child characteristics and abilities, and socioeconomic conditions. Implications for clinical intervention and prevention are also addressed. Rigorously documented and clearly presented, the study's findings elucidate the twists and turns of individual pathways, illustrating as never before the ongoing interplay between developing children and their environments.

About this title

Product Description

Title: Development of the Person <>Binding: Paperback <>Author: Sroufe, L. Alan <>Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Review

"This book is a 'must read' for anybody involved with longitudinal research, developmental psychopathology, or social policy involving children and families. The broad focus on adaptation succeeds in linking social and personality development to domains as diverse as academic achievement, IQ, and psychopathology. The extensive and carefully crafted assessments of individuals from birth through adulthood place the authors in a unique position to test the contribution of early experience to later developmental outcomes. Overall, the authors provide an integrative, challenging, and engaging summary of the diverse pathways taken by children born into low-income families."--Roger Kobak, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Delaware

"In this landmark volume, the authors provide a full account of their impressive research on the development of the person from birth to adulthood. The Minnesota Study is one of the classic longitudinal studies in the history of the field of developmental psychology. Moreover, the theoretical approach utilized has been extremely influential in the emergence of the discipline of developmental psychopathology. Developmental and clinical psychologists, developmental psychopathologists, educators, and social policy advocates all will profit from and be interested in this work. Likewise, it is an excellent text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in developmental psychology and psychopathology. I recommend this volume with great enthusiasm."--Dante Cicchetti, PhD, Mt. Hope Family Center, Rochester, New York

"This is the long-awaited, definitive report of a uniquely important longitudinal study of the origins of social and personality development throughout the life course. The Minnesota Study of Parents and Children has been a significant source of new understanding of the importance of early experiences, parent-child relationships, and continuity and change in personality growth, and of the relevance of these issues to psychological strength and vulnerability. This volume draws together decades of research into an integrative, comprehensive report that developmental scientists, students, and practitioners will find valuable, thought provoking, and important."--Ross A. Thompson, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis

"This remarkably lucid and accessible book tells the story of the authors' groundbreaking 30-year longitudinal study of families living in urban poverty. The findings of their research provide the backdrop for an extraordinarily textured, broad, yet coherent explication of the complexities of developmental process. While concerned explicitly with the interface of socioemotional development, attachment, and psychopathology, this enormously ambitious and immensely readable book conveys the essential principles of development in a way that will be fascinating to anyone interested in infants, children, and families."--Arietta Slade, PhD, Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, City University of New York

"Four stars for this remarkable book! It offers a detailed picture of a varied set of children as they move from infancy to adulthood, noting how early interactions between parent and child play out in subsequent social relationships. It shows how each developmental phase adds new relational elements, which nevertheless emerge from, and depend on, what came before. It identifies some of the childhood roots of pathology, while also highlighting the kinds of parent-child interactions that underlie a child's growing competence and emotional well-being. Any serious teacher or student of psychosocial development will want to have this book within arm's reach."--Eleanor E. Maccoby, PhD, Department of Psychology, Stanford University

"This is the book that developmental psychologists and clinicians have been awaiting for more than 25 years--even if they didn't know it. We finally have a systematic prospective study from birth to young adulthood of nearly 200 people, using state-of-the-art measures and including all the probable variables affecting development. At the same time, the authors keep an eye on the clinical implications of this developmental sweep. This book is a monumental achievement. It not only summarizes a decades-long programmatic study, but will also be the starting point for the next generation of developmental research with clinical relevance. Essential reading for all in the field."--Daniel Stern, MD, Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Switzerland, and Department of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Edition details

• Publisher: Guilford Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1606232495
• ISBN 13: 9781606232491
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384