Routledge Child Psychology: A Handbook of Contemporary Issues

This third edition of Child Psychology continues the tradition of showcasing cutting-edge research in the field of developmental science, including individual differences, dynamic systems and processes, and contexts of development. While retaining a similar structure to the last edition, this revision consists of completely new content with updated programmatic research and contemporary research trends and interests. The first three sections highlight research that is organized chronologically by age: Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence. Within each section, individual chapters address contemporary research on a specific area of development, such as learning, cognition, social, and emotional development at that period in childhood. The fourth section, Ecological Influences, emphasizes contextual influences relevant to children of all ages, including risk and protective processes, family and neighborhood context, race and ethnicity, peer relations, the effects of poverty, and the impact of the digital world. Child Psychology also features a unique focus on four progressive themes. First, emphasis is placed on theory and explanation―the "why and how" of the developmental process. Second, explanations of a transactional and multidimensional nature of development are at the forefront of all chapters. Third, the multi-faceted approach to development highlights contextual influences and cultural diversity among children from different communities and backgrounds. Finally, methodological innovation is a key concern, and research tools presented across chapters span the full array available to developmental scientists who focus on different systems and levels of analysis. The thoroughness and depth of this book, in addition to its methodological rigor, make it an ideal handbook for researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and advanced students across a range of disciplines, including psychology, education, economics and public policy. Review "This third edition of Child Psychology, edited by Steinhardt professor emeritus Lawrence Balter and Steinhardt professor Catherine Tamis-LaMonda, continues the tradition of showcasing cutting-edge research in the field of developmental science, including individual differences, dynamic systems and processes, and contexts of development."- NYU Research Digest 'The field of child development is so fast moving that this third―and very much revised―edition of this well-regarded volume is most welcome. The scholars contributing chapters are top notch and the organization of the volume makes it easily accessible to those especially interested in particular developmental periods (infancy, childhood, adolescence). By covering specific topics within these periods, a reader can follow the developmental course of subjects like learning, cognition, and social and emotional development. The section on ecological influences is especially significant, calling attention to topics like the family, the neighborhood, and ethnic/racial variation across developmental epochs. I recommend this book highly to those interested in child development in the modern world.' – Jay Belsky, Robert M. and Natalie Reid Dorn Professor, University of California, Davis 'What criteria does one seek in an advanced developmental volume? Presumably, breadth, depth, accuracy, and contemporaneity: breadth to cover the range of issues with which child psychology is concerned, depth to bring home to the reader the complexities underpinning those issues, accuracy in display of technical quality, and contemporaneity to convey a sense of present-day excitement about the science. Normally, these criteria are very difficult to achieve between one set of covers. Here, Balter and Tamis-LeMonda have designed a book with the apposite breadth, and recruited talented scholars to plumb the depths of significant issues in the field with scientific rigor and a distinctive "in the moment" feeling. That the editors have steere