Immigrant Families in Contemporary Society (The Duke Series in Child Development and Public Policy) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1606232479 ISBN 13: 9781606232477

Publisher: The Guilford Press, 2009

Synopsis

How do some families successfully negotiate the linguistic, cultural, and psychological challenges of immigration, while others struggle to acculturate? This timely volume explores the complexities of immigrant family life in North America and analyzes the individual and contextual factors that influence health and well-being. Synthesizing cutting-edge research from a range of disciplines, the book addresses such key topics as child development, school achievement, and the cultural and religious contexts of parenting. It examines the interface between families and broader systems, including schools, social services, and intervention programs, and discusses how practices and policies might be improved to produce optimal outcomes for this large and diverse population.

About this title

About the Author:

Jennifer E. Lansford, PhD, is Research Scientist at the Duke University Center for Child and Family Policy. Her research focuses on the development of aggression and other behavior problems in youth, with an emphasis on how family and peer contexts contribute to or protect against these outcomes. Dr. Lansford examines how experiences with parents (e.g., discipline, physical abuse, divorce) and peers (e.g., rejection, friendships) affect the development of children’s behavior problems, how influence operates in adolescent peer groups, and how cultural contexts moderate links between parents’ discipline strategies and children’s behavior problems. Kirby Deater-Deckard, PhD, is Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in the Department of Psychology at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In his research, he examines genetic and environmental influences on child and adolescent social-emotional and cognitive development, with particular emphasis on parenting and cultural influences. Dr. Deater-Deckard has published several papers, book chapters, and books in the areas of developmental psychology and child development. He is Joint Editor of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Marc H. Bornstein, PhD, is Senior Investigator and Head of Child and Family Research at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. He was a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow and has received awards from the National Institutes of Health and the American Psychological Association, among others. Dr. Bornstein is coauthor of Development in Infancy, now in its fifth edition, as well as numerous other volumes. He is Editor Emeritus of Child Development and Founding Editor of Parenting: Science and Practice.

Review:

"This is the first text to provide a comprehensive account of the complex issues faced by many of America's immigrants and their children."--James A. Graham, PhD, Department of Psychology, The College of New Jersey

"Immigrants face many challenges that place them at risk for social, educational, health, and emotional difficulties. In this rich volume, scholars in psychology, medicine, sociology, education, law, and economics raise riveting issues while they document and chart new directions for research and intervention that promote social and psychological resilience. A 'must read' for a multidisciplinary audience of academics, policymakers, program developers, and practitioners trying to understand the pressing needs of immigrant children and families and to encourage their positive adaptation."--Celia J. Falicov, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego "Immigrant families and modern social institutions pose a number of challenges and opportunities for each other. The social and behavioral sciences, by and large, have addressed the issues in piecemeal fashion. This volume, in contrast, brings together knowledge and insights from psychology, sociology, medicine, and other disciplines to open a dialogue on the complexities of immigrant families in North America. The nicely organized chapters provide a foundation for gaining a larger perspective that has been missing. This book will be enormously useful to researchers, policy scholars, and teachers of the next generation of applied social scientists."--Charles M. Super, PhD, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Connecticut "The multidisciplinary approach of this book helps capture the human complexity of immigrant families. The chapters cover diverse immigrant groups, cross-referencing each other to yield a comprehensive, integrated text that can serve as a stand-alone volume on immigrant families. The authors, who are among the foremost experts in their respective fields, present the most up-to-date and relevant research and offer insightful suggestions for future investigation. This book will serve as a valuable text for upper-division undergraduate and graduate-level courses; for example, it is ideal for my seminar on cultural psychology and immigrant families."--Raymond Buriel, PhD, Department of Psychology and Department of Chicano Studies, Pomona College "This is one of the few interdisciplinary books that provide a well-balanced and well-integrated overview of demographic and sociological trends in immigration, issues of development and acculturation, and the impact of social and economic systems. It is an excellent reference not only for researchers, but also for policymakers and educational and clinical professionals. The book combines broad reviews of current theories and trends in research with more focused analyses, making it an appropriate text for specialized courses on immigrant children and families as well as more general courses on development and family diversity. It would serve as an excellent supplementary resource or even as a main text."--Ruth Chao, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside

"A real strength of this book is its interdisciplinary approach, bringing together insights from demographic studies, sociology, psychology, education, and other areas....This volume is a valuable and stimulating addition to the research literature." (Journal for the Study of Marriage and Spirituality 2009-01-18)

"This book has the potential to stimulate interdisciplinary research on this topic, which ultimately could lead to improved social, psychological, and health services for members of immigrant families." (PsycCRITIQUES 2009-01-18)

About this edition

• Publisher: The Guilford Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1606232479
• ISBN 13: 9781606232477
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336
• Editor: Lansford Jennifer E., Deater-Deckard Kirby, Bornstein Marc H.