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.

Lawrence Balter is Professor Emeritus at New York University where he taught developmental psychology, child psychopathology, and diagnostic psychological assessment. Balter created study abroad initiatives in developmental psychology at the Piaget Archives at the University of Geneva, NYU in Prague, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is a recipient of a Professor of the Year award at NYU. Balter is an internationally renowned parenting expert who has appeared regularly in the electronic media, has published books for parents and children, and was a columnist for numerous trade magazines. He received the Distinguished Lifetime Contribution award from APA’s Division of Media Psychology. He serves on the Advisory Board of The Future of Children, a joint publication of Princeton University and the Brookings Institution and is a Consulting Editor at NAEYC's Young Children.

Catherine S. Tamis-LeMonda is Professor of Developmental Psychology at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She studies intersections among children’s emerging skills in language, communication, motor and social domains across the first years of life. Her research is focused on the socio- cultural contexts of early development, especially the ways that infant-parent language interactions and everyday parenting practices affect children’s developmental trajectories across cultural communities within the U.S. and internationally.