Life-Span Developmental Psychology

Life-Span Developmental Psychology: Nonnormative Life Events documents the proceedings of the 7th West Virginia University Life-Span Conference, held in Morgantown, WV, in May 1980. This volume focuses on the effects of nonnormative life crises, those which occur to only certain individuals within a specific culture or group and are for the most part considered to be disruptive to the normal life course. Contributors were invited from a number of orientations and academic disciplines, ranging from traditional life-span psychologists to practicing clinical psychologists. The dynamic interplay of these diverse approaches results in a very exciting level of intellectual and practical stimulation, which is reflected in the chapters of this volume. The chapters are grouped topically to mirror the pairings of the conference presentations. Key topics covered include the dimensionalization of life events; adolescent pregnancy and parenthood; grief and adjustment for families dealing with sudden infant death; family violence; and impact of divorce on children.