Myths of Childhood / Edition 1

by Joel Paris

Overview

Childhood has long been considered the major factor in determining adult life. It sets us on the path toward or away from happiness, shapes our personality, and is a major cause of mental disorders. Or is it?
Myths of Childhood strongly challenges these assumptions usually taken for granted in contemporary society and the mental health community. With a healthy dose of scepticism toward clinical impressions and using empirically-based research from areas including behavioral genetics and attachment, Dr. Paris builds a convincing case against the primacy of childhood in the development of adult personality and psychopathology. In its place, he offers an alternative model for development and shows how mental health professionals can apply this model to clinical pracitce.
Myths of Childhood represents an important addition to the ongoing debate between mental health professionals regarding nature vs. nurture. For supporters of either side , this book is a valuable resource for further exploration of this controversy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780876309667
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/17/2000
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	246
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Joel Paris, MD Professor of Psychiatry McCill University Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Table of Contents

PART I CHILDHOOD AND ADULTHOOD: THE EVIDENCE Establishing Cause and Effect The Primacy of Early Experience Adversity and Outcome, Resilience: Surviving a Bad Childhood PART II CHILDHOOD AND ADULTHOOD: MYTHS Childhood, History, and Society, Childhood and Psychoanalysis, The Myth of Recovered Memory, Childhood, Attachment, and Behavior PART III, CHILDHOOD AND MENTAL DISORDERS Genes, Behavior, and Symptoms Personality and Psychopathology, PART 3 CHILDHOOD AND TREATMENT Childhood in Psychotherapy, Temperament and Psychotherapy PART V IMPLICATIONS Parenting, What We Do and Don't Know About Childhood

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Shiraz Butt, MD (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: With this book, the author attempts to challenge the concept of primacy of childhood, which states childhood shapes the course of adult life.
Purpose: The goal is to show that the idea of primacy of childhood is not supported by a large body of empirical research. This is a worthy objective because the field of child psychology is cluttered with misconceptions. The author is able to meet his objectives.
Audience: The book is intended for professionals working with children and adolescents including psychiatrists, pediatricians, therapists and developmental specialists. The author has written several journal articles and has written and edited numerous books.
Features: This book is divided into five sections with a focus on the three "myths of childhood." He author starts by discussing the impact of childhood on adult life and then challenges the commonly held assumptions about development. He offers a model for using temperament as a guide for customizing therapy. In the final part of book he addresses the implication of this work for parenting and suggests directions for further research.
Assessment: This is an excellent tool for stimulating a fresh approach towards looking at childhood. The traditional developmental theories have not been tested by empirical research and this book, by the means of objective data, attempts to do that. The author also emphasizes the importance of behavior genetics, which is often ignored by therapists. The message is to customize therapy and treatment according to the unique biological traits of the individual and not the other way around.

Doody's Review Service

"Favoring genetic factors and non-familial environmental factors over early experiences as influences on personality, this book discusses research indicating the importance of genetic predispositions in the causation of mental disorders and describes the need to place greater value on the quality of the relationship between patient and therapist than on the link between the past and the present as a curative factor." -- Resources in Education
"Joel Paris has written--again--another lucid, synthetic, and provocative book that challenges fundamental assumptions that have dominated our field in the last century. I suspect the author's mission would be accomplised if he riles unswerving practitioners of dogma and stimulates students to quetion traditional concepts and shibboleths. This masterful book deserves to be read by both these groups and would serve as a marvelous catalyst for discussion and reflection." -- Canadian Journal of Psychiatry

From the Publisher

3 Stars from Doody

Favoring genetic factors and non-familial environmental factors over early experiences as influences on personality, this book discusses research indicating the importance of genetic predispositions in the causation of mental disorders and describes the need to place greater value on the quality of the relationship between patient and therapist than on the link between the past and the present as a curative factor.

Resources in Education

Drawing on empirically based research, Paris (psychiatry, McGill U., Montreal) examines critically the primacy of early childhood and the related assumption that experiences at that age are more significant in psychological development than those that occur in later childhood. He concludes that genetic factors and non-familial environmental factors are more important influences on personality, and that cures depend more on the relationship between the patient and therapist than on the link between the past and present. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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