Families with Adolescents

Despite their flocking to social networking sites in unprecedented numbers, research confirms that adolescents continue to be influenced primarily by their families rather than their peers and other social contexts. Consequently, the family unit remains a vital setting for understanding and intervening with youth.
Synthesizing important findings from the literature on family science and such related fields as psychology, sociology, social work, and public health, Families with Adolescents focuses a unique panoramic lens on the study of adolescent development. This concise volume offers a clear blueprint for more consistently improved practice, emphasizing family process and structure instead of individual developmental stages. Its chapters deftly summarize the recent knowledge base across the mental health and social services disciplines, illustrating family concerns and theoretical perspectives coupled with real-world vignettes and making cogent use of family assessment measures.
Featured topics include: Central concepts of family development, family systems, ecological, attachment, and social learning theories in relation to families with adolescents. Impact of the family on adolescent behavior, education, and mental health outcomes. Selected studies on parenting behaviors, conflict resolution, and other major aspects of families with adolescents. Application topics in family-based intervention and prevention programs. Integrating theory, research, and applications to create a triple threat model.
Families with Adolescents is an essential resource for researchers and graduate students as well as mental health therapists in clinical child and developmental psychology, family studies, human development, sociology, social work, and education.

From a family development perspective, there continues to be growing interest in the study of marriage and family topics, and a parallel number of books that cover such issues. In these books, families with adolescents typically are treated as a single chapter, again with greater emphasis on research-based information. Still other books have a very narrow focus on family-based interventions, and, often as not, the treatment focus is on a single issue (e.g., substance abuse). Although rich in hands-on application material, these books typically contain little in the way of theory and research.

There is significant interest in the area of adolescence more generally, and a substantial number of books cover this topic from an individual development perspective. But no single book on the market today combines a theoretical, research, and application approach to the examination of families with adolescents. Many books underscore the importance of understanding the family context of adolescence and typically devote a single chapter to a review of relevant family-based research. Much less attention is given to application issues, and family theory is rarely if ever covered in these texts. Therefore, a book combining theoretical, research, and application topics is a much needed resource for this type of family-based information.

Adolescents and their Families is a valuable primary text for family scholars who have the opportunity to teach classes on topics pertaining to the families of adolescents, a practical secondary text for instructors of classes on family development, and a useful resource for prevention- and intervention-based professionals. The appeal of this book is greatly increased by its interdisciplinary approach, whereby literature from the family science field will be augmented with material from family-based work being conducted in psychology, sociology, social work, and other related fields.

Highlights the interdisciplinary nature of current research efforts

Provides an integrative and concise approach to this area of study

Draws evenly from a broad cross-section of social science disciplines

Offers vignettes of adolescents and their families that illustrate the basic themes of each section of the book

Auteur

Stephen M. Gavazzi, Ph.D., is Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Science at The Ohio State University, and Lead Director of the OSU Center for Family Research. During the past 20 years at Ohio State, Dr. Gavazzi has established a research program that identifies the impact of family dynamics on youth development, psychopathology, and problem behavior. This work has been supported by more than $4 million in grants from a wide variety of federal, state, and private sources. He also is a trained Family Therapist, thus bringing an applied clinical perspective to his work. Dr. Gavazzi has been involved in the development and evaluation of a number of family-based programming efforts, including a multifamily psychoeducational group for families containing children with mood disorders, as well as a strength-based program for families who have adolescents involved in some aspect of the juvenile court. Most recently, he has been involved in the development of the Global Risk Assessment Device, a web-based instrument designed to generate information that assists professionals in making appropriate service referrals for at-risk youth and their families.

Contenu

Part 1: Introduction and Overview of Theoretical, Research, and Application Topics.- Introduction.- Overview of Theory, Research, and Application Topics.- Part 2: Theorizing About Families with Adolescents.- Family Development Theory.- Family Systems Theory.- Ecological Theory.- Attachment Theory.- Social Learning Theory.- Part 3: Research on Families with Adolescents.- Research on the Parent-Adolescent Dyad.- Polyadic Research on Families with Adolescents.- The Family's Impact on Adolescent Outcomes.- Part 4: Application Topics Concerning Families with Adolescents.- Family Therapy and other Family Intervention-Based Efforts.- Family Prevention Programs.- Part 5: Summary and Future Directions.- Outlook on Theoretical, Research, and Application Efforts to Date.- The Need to Integrate Theory, Research, and Application Efforts.- References.