For courses in Life-Span Developmental Psychology, Human Development and Multicultural Education in departments of Psychology and Education. This is the first text/reader of its kind to focus on the issues of life span development from a multicultural perspective. This reader explores the impact of cultural influences on development within each of the life stages and dimensions of development. The text utilizes a non-Eurocentric approach. It introduces students to several theories, research studies and applications and examines traditional research and modifications as a result of diverse cultural approaches. Human Development in Multicultural Contexts offers an important and significant alternative to other human development texts that omit cultural variables. It helps to provide a balance to other courses with respect to resources, fresh perspectives, and techniques.

Table of Contents:
(NOTE: EachPart begins with Questions for Reflection, Editor's Notes, and Selected Readings.)CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE CYCLE. INTRODUCTION. What Is Life-Cycle Developmental Psychology? Multiculturalism in Life-Cycle Developmental Psychology. Multiculturalism in Life-Cycle Developmental Psychology: From Marginality to Inclusion. Placing Multiculturalism Within Developmental Psychology Courses. Rationale for the Selection of Readings. I. INFANCY. OVERVIEW: CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY. Physical Development in Infancy. Cognitive Development. Focus on Infant-Directed Speech. Emotional Development. Focus on Infants' Sleeping Arrangements. Focus on Infant Temperament. Social Development. Focus on Mother-Infant Attachment. Focus on Play. READINGS Functional Analysis of the Contents of Maternal Speech to Infants of 5 and 13 Months in Four Cultures: Argentina, France, Japan, and the United States, Marc Bornstein, Joseph Tal, Charles Rahn, et al. Cultural Variations in Infant's Sleeping Arrangements: Questions of Independence, Gilda Morelli, Barbara Rogoff, David Oppenheim, et al. Reactivity in Infants: A Cross-National Comparison, Jerome Kagan, Doreen Arcus, Nancy Snidman, et al . Sleeping Out of Home in a Kibbutz Communal Arrangement: It Makes a Difference for Infant-Mother Attachment, Abraham Sagi, Frank Donnell, Marinus H. van Ijzendoorn, et al. Play in Two Societies: Pervasiveness of Process, Specificity of Structure, Marc Bornstein, O. Maurice Haynes, Liliana Pascual, et al. Review Questions and Activities. Suggestions for Further Reading. II. PRESCHOOL YEARS. OVERVIEW: CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY. Physical Development in the Preschool Years. Cognitive Development. Focus on Language Advances. Focus on Child Care. Emotional Development. Focus on the Role of the Mother. Focus on the Role of the Father. Social Development. Focus on Play. Focus on Preschoolers' Exposure to Real Violence. READINGS. Parent's Report of Vocabulary and Grammatical Development of African American Preschoolers: Child and Environmental Associations, Joanne Roberts, Margaret Burchinal, and Meghan Durham. Child Care for Children in Poverty: Opportunity or Inequality?, Deborah Phillips, Miriam Voran, Ellen Kisker, et al. Emotion Regulation in Early Childhood: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between German and Japanese Toddlers. Wolfgang Friedlmeier / Gisela Trommsdorff. African-American Fathers in Low Income, Urban Families: Development, Behavior, and Home Environment of Their Three-Year Old Children, Maureen Black, Howard Dubowitz, and Raymond Starr, Jr. Cultural Differences in Korean-and Anglo-American Preschooler's Social Interaction and Play Behaviors, Jo Ann Farver, Yonnie Kwak Kim, and Yoolim Lee. Effects of Community Violence on Inner-City Preschoolers and Their Families, Jo Ann Farver, Lucia Natera, and Dominick Forsch. Review Questions and Activities. Suggestions for Further Reading. III. MIDDLE CHILDHOOD. OVERVIEW: CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD. Physical Development in Middle Childhood. Cognitive Development. Focus on Academic Achievement and Adjustment. Focus on Language Development. Emotional Development. Focus on Children of Divorce. Focus on Self-Care After School. Social Development. Focus on the Influence of a Peer Group. READINGS. Gender Effects in Children's Beliefs About School Performance: A Cross-Cultural Study. Anna Stetsenko / Todd D. Little / Tamara Gordeeva, et al. Phonetic Awareness: Knowledge of Orthography-Phonology Relationships in the Character Acquisition of Chinese Children. Hua Shu / Richard C. Anderson / Ningning Wu. A Prospective Study of the Effects of Marital Status and Family Relations on Young Children's Adjustment among African-American and European-American Families, Daniel Shaw, Emily Winslow, and Clare Flanagan. Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth: Choices in After-School Care and Child Development, Deborah Lowe Vandell and Janaki Ramanan. Costa Rican Children's Perceptions of Their Social Networks, Melissa DeRossier and Janis Kupersmidt. Review Questions and Activities. Suggestions for Further Reading. IV. ADOLESCENCE. OVERVIEW: CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE. Physical Development During Adolescence. Cognitive Development. Focus on Body Image. Emotional Development. Focus on Identity Development. Focus on Adolescent Depression. Social Development. Focus on Friendships and Membership in a Peer Group. Focus on Sexual Activity and Risk-Taking Behavior. READINGS. Effects of Body Fat on Weight Concerns, Dating, and Sexual Activity: A Longitudinal Analysis of Black and White Adolescent Girls, Carolyn Tucker Halpern, Richard Udry, Benjamin Campbell, et al. The Collectivistic Nature of Ethnic Identity Development Among Asian-American College Students. Christine J. Yeh /Karen Huang Depression in Adolescence, Anne C. Petersen, Bruce Compas, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, et al. Adolescent Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Best Friend Interactions, Cami McBride and Tiffany Field. Searching for the Magic Johnson Effect: AIDS, Adolescents, and Celebrity Disclosure, Bruce Brown, Jr., Marc Baranowski, John Kulig, et al. Review Questions and Activities. Suggestions for Further Reading. V. ADULTHOOD. OVERVIEW: CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT IN ADULTHOOD. Physical Development in Adulthood. Focus on Physical Functioning. Cognitive Development. Focus on Awareness and Utilization of Long-Term Care Services. Focus on Objectified Body Consciousness. Emotional Development. Focus on Continuity in Personality Across the Life Cycle. Focus on Depressive Psychopathology in Older Adults. Focus on Fear of Death. Social Development. Focus on Family Violence. Focus on Grandparenting. Focus on the Experience of Bicultural Identity. READINGS. Constant Hierarchic Patterns of Physical Functioning Across Seven Populations in Five Countries. Luigi Ferrucci /Jack M. Guralnik /Francesca Cecchi, et al. Awareness and Utilization of Community Long-Term Care Services by Elderly Korean and Non-Hispanic White Americans. Ailee Moon /James E. Lubben / Valentine Villa. Women and Objectified Body Consciousness: Mothers' and Daughters' Body Experience in Cultural, Developmental, and Familial Context, Nita McKinley. Age Differences in Personality Across the Adult Life Span: Parallels in Five Cultures, Robert McRae, Paul Costa, Jr., Margarida Pedroso do Lima, et al. Ethnicity, Gender, and Depressive Symptoms in Older Workers, Maria Fernandez, Elizabeth Mutran, Donald Reitzes, et al. Personality and Demographic Factors in Older Adults' Fear of Death. Victor G. Cicirelli. Changing Community Responses to Wife Abuse: A Research and Demonstration Project in Iztacalco, Mexico, Gillian Fawcett, Lori Heise, Leticia Isita-Espejel, et al. Raising Grandchildren: The Experiences of Black and White Grandmothers, Rachel Pruchno. Bicultural Identification: Experiences of Internationally Adopted Children and Their Parents. Myrna L. Friedlander / Lucille C. Larney / Marianne Skau, et al. Review Questions and Activities. Suggestions for Further Reading. References. Credits. Index.