Parenting: A Dynamic Perspective

Unlike other books on the market, this text conveys parenting in all of its complexities. It is parent-centered, not child-centered, highlighting such questions as why parents behave the way they do. Although the book is written from a psychological perspective, views from other disciplines—including sociology, criminology, anthropology, and pediatrics—are also discussed where appropriate. The text focuses on typical parent-child relations, emphasizing the process of parenting, and includes historical and crosscultural perspectives.

Key Features  

• Includes selected studies and recent statistics from developing and non-Western countries
• Features in-depth coverage of topics such as co-parenting, evolutionary views, human behavioral genetics, and religious influences, which are often absent from or superficially covered in other texts
• Presents important clinical psychological issues, such as family violence, behavior problems, and the role of pathology in the family
• Discusses contemporary issues, including fertility problems and daycare

Intended Audience  
This text is appropriate for students enrolled in courses such as Parenting or Parent-Child Relations in departments of psychology, human development, human ecology (home economics), family and consumer studies, sociology, education, pediatrics, social work, and nursing.

GEORGE W. HOLDEN, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. He received his B.A. from Yale University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After earning his degree in developmental psychology with a minor in social psychology, he was a member of the psychology faculty at the University of Texas for 23 years. While at U.T., he was head of the developmental area from 1990 to 1996 and the Director of the Institute of Human Development and Family Studies from 1995 to 1997. For five years (1999 to 2004) he served as Associate Chair of the Psychology Department. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Society and a member of the Society for Research in Child Development, the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, and the Society for Research in Human Development, where he is currently President. He has been or is on the editorial boards of Child Development, Developmental Psychology, Journal of Family Psychology, Parenting, and the Journal of Emotional Abuse. Dr. Holden’s research interests are in the area of social development, with a focus on parent-child relationships. He is especially interested in understanding the determinants of parental behavior, parental social cognition, and the causes and consequences of family violence. For example, he has investigated how parenting is affected and children are impacted by marital violence. Another topic he has investigated in several studies is parental use of physical punishment and children’s perception of it. His research has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Justice, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. He is the author of numerous scientific articles and chapters, and the books Parenting: A dynamic perspective (Sage, 2010) and Parents and the Dynamics of Child Rearing (Westview, 1997). In addition he co-edited Children Exposed to Marital Violence (American Psychological Association, 1998) and the Handbook of Family Measurement Techniques, Vol. 2 & 3 (Sage, 2001). He is married and has three children.