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This book is the first to bring together researchers in individual differences in personality and temperament to explore whether there is any unity possible between the temperament researchers of infancy and childhood and the major researchers in adult personality. Prior to the workshop which resulted in this volume, the existing literature seemed to document a growing consensus on the part of the adult personality researchers that five major personality dimensions -- the'Big Five'-- might be sufficient to account for most of the important variances in adult individual differences in personality. In contrast to this accord, the literature on child and infant individual differences seemed to offer a wide variety of opinions regarding the basic dimensions of difference in personality or temperament. The editors believed that they could encourage researchers from both the adult and child areas to consider the importance of a lifespan conceptualization of individual differences by discussing their research in terms of a continuity approach. Written by some of the most distinguished scholars from Great Britain, continental Western Europe, and Eastern Europe as well as the United States and Canada, the chapters present a cross-cultural view of both adult personality and temperament in infancy and childhood. By sharing their recent data, techniques, and theoretical speculations, the chapter authors communicate the research enthusiasm engendered by the growing consensus of the adult'Big Five'as well as the exciting prospects of an integrative program of research from infancy to adulthood that will clarify and consolidate what is now a disparate set of methods, theory, and findings across the lifespan. The editors suggest that this volume will have considerable heuristic value in stimulating researchers to conceptualize their work in developmental, lifespan approaches that will lead to a consolidation of individual differences research at every age.

Children are being diagnosed with psychopathologies at alarming rates. Not surprisingly, their behavioral and educational outcomes are increasingly compromised. The financial costs of treating childhood disabilities are spiraling out of control, and the emotional and social toll on students, families, schools, the penal system, and society as a whole is staggering. With proper care during pregnancy, medical professionals can now help expectant mothers prevent many physical birth defects. But prevention and intervention techniques remain elusive for abnormal fetal development that manifests later in life as behavioral problems. Researchers in the field of behavioral teratology continue to search for answers – prevention and intervention techniques – that will lead to improved behavioral and education outcomes for children. In this first compendium in the growing literature of behavioral teratology, readers will discover an easy-to-access, concise presentation that: Synthesizes important findings that help explain why prenatal events may result in abnormal behavior and learning disabilities later in life; Examines the role of prenatal perturbations, along with genetics and the postnatal roles of caretakers and the social environment, in light of how each may – individually or together – contribute to conditions as varied as dyslexia, schizophrenia, fetal alcohol syndrome, and autism; Ensures that effective prevention and intervention can occur during the prenatal phases of development; Addresses the research needs in behavioral teratology that are likely to lead to discoveries that may ensure the birth of healthier babies who develop normally across the lifespan; Provides a brief medical glossary that details terminology specifically related to fetal development and birth. With its multidisciplinary approach, this volume is a must-have resource for clinical child and school psychologists; educational professionals; medicalpractitioners; social workers and counselors as well as researchers and graduate students in these areas. In addition, pediatricians, psychiatrists, and other medical professionals – including such disciplines as epidemiology, reproductive biology, psychiatry, pediatrics, obstetrics, neonatology, among others – will find this book highly useful.