© 2007 – Psychology Press
Indicators of child and youth well-being are indispensable tools for improving the lives of children. In this book, the nation’s leading development researchers review the recent progress made in the measurement, collection, dissemination, and use of indicators of child and youth well-being. In addition, they identify opportunities for future research to expand and improve on the indicator data available, so as to develop greater measures of positive development.
The first eleven chapters cover key indicators in the areas of health, education, social, and emotional development and then social context indicators of the family, peers, school, and the community. The book then goes on to demonstrate the use of indicators for influencing policy at the state and local levels. One chapter discusses how social indicators were used to guide welfare reform and another recounts the use of the indicators to guide local planning. The volume concludes with a discussion of summary indices of well-being and the methodological challenges of constructing such indices.
Written in an accessible manner for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers concerned with children’s well-being, including experts in developmental, social, community, and educational psychology, the book also serves as a supplementary text in public policy and the social sciences. The policy chapters will be of particular interest to those who use child and youth indicators to guide policy development.
"[This] volume is… capable of making a significant and valuable contribution to the field of youth development, and as well, to serve as a model for scholars interested in undertaking the development of core indicators for other age cohorts." - Francisco A. Villarruel, Michigan State University
"In this comprehensive volume, Brett V. Brown presents cutting-edge research from top researchers in the areas of health, education, and social and emotional development as related to key indices of child and adolescent development… Child development researchers, welfare and social reformers, education policy makers, data collectors, and practitioners will find the collection of works beneficial in determining which indicators are most useful as instruments of policy and planning… a much needed avenue to (a) promote a cohesive system of how we track indicators and the supporting research, (b) improve the quality of child and youth indicators, and (c) expand the cultural sensitivity and validity of indicators." – Veda E. Brown in PsycCritiques
Contents: Preface—Indicators of Child and Youth Well-Being: Completing the Picture. B. Brown, Introduction: About the Chapters. Part I: Health Indicators. D.P. Hogan, M.E. Msall, Key Indicators of Health and Safety: Infancy, Pre-School, and Middle Childhood. M.W. Stagner, J.M. Zweig, Indicators of Youth Health and Well-Being: Taking the Long View. Part II: Education Indicators. T. Halle, M. Reidy, M. Moorehouse, M. Zaslow, C. Walsh, J. Calkins, N.G. Margie, A. Dent, Progress in the Development of Indicators of School Readiness. A. Flanagan, D. Grissmer, What Do National and State NAEP Scores Tell Us About the Achievement of American K-12 Students. Part III: Social and Emotional Development Indicators. M. Ripke, A.C. Huston, J. Eccles, J. Templeton, The Assessment of Psychological, Emotional, and Social Development Indicators in Middle Childhood. J.L. Roth, C.J. Borbely, J. Brooks-Gunn, Developing Indicators of Confidence, Character, and Caring in Adolescents. J. Eccles, B. Brown, J. Templeton, A Developmental Framework for Selecting Indicators of Well-Being During the Adolescent and Young Adult Years. Part IV: Social Context of Development Indicators. G.D. Sandefur, A. Meier, The Family Environment: Structure, Material Resources, and Child Care. K.M. Harris, S. Cavanagh, Indicators of the Peer Environment in Adolesence. D. Mayer, J. Ralph, Key Indicators of School Quality. J.D. Morenoff, R.J. Sampson, Constructing Community Indicators of Child Well-Being. Part V: Child and Youth Indicators in Practice. T. Corbett, Social Indicators as Policy Tool: Welfare Reform as a Case Study. D. Murphey, Creating Community Capacity to Use Social Indicators. Part VI: Social Indices of Child Well-Being. K.C. Land, V.L. Lamb, S.K. Mustillo, Child and Youth Well-Being in the United States, 1975-1998: Some Findings From a New Index. N.G. Bennett, H-H. Lu, Methodological Issues Surrounding the Construction of an Index of Child Well-Being.