Luthar integrates findings of empirical research, conducted over the past three decades, on processes implicated in the adjustment to socioeconomic deprivation.

Comprehensive and integrative, The Oxford Handbook of Poverty and Child Development describes the contextual and social ecology of children living in poverty and illuminates the biological and behavioral interactions that either promote optimal development or that place children at risk of having poor developmental outcomes.

Homelessness, inadequate prenatal health care, neglect and abuse of infants and children, drug misuse and teenage runaways - these are all too common problems today. But how do these conditions affect children? Does a relationship exist between poverty and children with developmental disabilities? This volume not only answers these questions but explores the major issues involved in the prevention and intervention of children's disabilities. Topics addressed include how to assess children at risk, techniques for early education intervention, education of children with Down's Syndrome and the adoption of children with disabilities.

After an overview of historical and contemporary perspectives, the authors explore various theories that have addressed the issue of psychological risk associated with adoption.

The number of children living in poverty in the United States increased dramatically during the 1980s and remains high. Why are so many children growing up in poor families? What are the effects of poverty on children's physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development? What role can public policy and policy research play in preventing or alleviating the damaging effects of poverty on children? Children in Poverty examines these questions, focusing on the child rather than on parents' income or self-sufficiency.