Human Behavior in the Social Environment: A Multidimensional Perspective (with InfoTrac) (Available Titles CengageNOW)

Ashford, LeCroy, and Lortie's ground-breaking book offers students a balanced, integrated introduction to human behavior in the social environment. Lively and comprehensive, this book succeeds by helping students connect foundation knowledge with practice concerns. Clarified through the introduction of study tables and concept maps (at the end of each discussion behavior in the development chapters), the authors look at biopsychosocial development across the life span using an integrative multidimensional approach, discussing integrative practice, theory, treatment, and services throughout. This multidimensional framework provides a concrete tool for the reader to assess human behavior from a perspective that truly reflects the values and knowledge base of the social work profession. Together, the book's solid coverage of foundation knowledge, integration of the biopsychosocial dimensions for assessing social functioning, its multidimensional framework, and its use of case studies to illuminate the applied aspects of HBSE content--along with the authors' consistent attention to diversity--successfully combine to give readers a meaningful, exciting experience.

Jose Ashford teaches the human behavior course in the department of Social Work at Arizona State University and serves as a professor of social science and law in the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Justice Studies. He is currently the principle investigator for the Family Drug courts grant, funded by the governor's Division of Drug Policy. He is widely published in areas dealing with the assessment, classification, and treatment of special need offenders; juvenile aftercare; and forensic social work. Professor Ashford testifies around the country as an expert in the assessment of mitigating factors in capital murder cases.

Craig Winston LeCroy is a professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. Dr. LeCroy has directed several projects for children and adolescents, including a National Institute of Mental Health Training Grant for emotionally disturbed children and adolescents; Youth Plus: Positive Socialization for Youth, a substance abuse prevention project; and a primary prevention program for adolescent girls. Professor LeCroy has published widely in the areas of children's mental health, social skills training, risk and needs assessment with juvenile offenders, and adolescent treatment and program evaluation.

Kathy L. Lortie is a school social work with the Tucson Unified School District. She was previously a pediatric social worker at University Medical Center, University of Arizona, Health Sciences Center. She co-teaches Social Work in Health Care, a graduate course at Arizona State University. A certified childbirth educator, she has taught classes on childbirth, parenting, and infant care and has worked as a labor assistant. She is also the author of SPECIAL DELIVERY: A LABOR GUIDE FOR EXPECTANT PARENTS. Her current interests include child abuse prevention, infant mental health, school social work, and coping with chronic illness in adolescence.