Cultural and Contextual Perspectives on Developmental Risk and Well-Being

Developmental risk refers to conditions, characteristics, experiences, or situations with potentially deleterious effects that lead to outcomes later in life that do not meet societal expectations. While risk is typically framed as the statistical probability of a problematic outcome in relation to the general population, the converse notion of well-being is considered in relation to the level of functioning at a given developmental stage. The contributors to this volume provide insight into developmental well-being by examining the ways that culture and context affect outcomes associated with various types of risk, such as those related to oppression, academic performance, family background, life history, physical health, and psychiatric conditions. Even though certain outcomes may seem inevitable in cases involving harmful environments, diseases, and disorders, they are virtually all influenced by complex interactions among individuals, their families, communities, and societies.

Jacob A. Burack is a Professor of School Psychology and Human Development in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University, Montréal and a researcher at Hôpital Rivières-des-Prairies in Montréal, Canada. He is also the founder and director of the McGill Youth Study Team. Along with his colleagues and students, he studies and works with a variety of populations, including First Nations adolescents, persons with autism spectrum disorders, and persons with Down syndrome.

Louis A. Schmidt is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Child Emotion Laboratory at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. He is also a core member of the Offord Center for Child Studies at McMaster Children's Hospital and a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. Schmidt's research interests include the origins and development of individual differences in temperament and the impact of early life events on the human brain.