Includes bibliographical references and index.

Setting the Stage -- Strengths-Based Research and Policy: Introduction / Kenneth I. Maton, Daniel W. Dodgen, Bonnie J. Leadbeater, Irwin N. Sandler, Cynthia J. Schellenbach, and Andrea L. Solarz -- Research and Policy for Building Strengths: Processes and Contexts of Individual, Family, and Community Development / Bonnie J. Leadbeater, Cynthia J. Schellenbach, Kenneth I. Maton, and Daniel W. Dodgen -- Adversities, Strengths, and Public Policy / Irwin N. Sandler, Tim S. Ayers, Jesse C. Suter, Amy Schultz, and Joan Twohey-Jacobs -- Overcoming Adverse Circumstances Affecting the Individual and the Family -- Strengths-Building Public Policy for Children of Divorce / Sanford L. Braver, Kathleen N. Hipke, Ira M. Ellman, and Irwin N. Sandler -- Resilient Outcomes in Abused and Neglected Children: Bases for Strengths-Based Intervention and Prevention Policies / Penelope K. Trickett, Dawn A. Kurtz, and Karabelle Pizzigatti -- The Strengths, Competence, and Resilience of Women Facing Domestic Violence: How Can Research and Policy Support Them? / Sarah L. Cook, Jennifer L. Woolard, and Harriet C. McCollum -- Enhancing the Developmental Outcomes of Adolescent Parents and Their Children / Cynthia J. Schellenbach, Bonnie J. Leadbeater, and Kristin A. Moore -- Fostering Resilience in Children of Alcoholic Parents / Laurie Chassin, Adam C. Carle, Denis Nissim-Sabat, and Karol L. Kumpfer -- Mental Health Services: A Family Systems Approach / William Beardslee and Jane Knitzer -- Children and Families Coping With Pediatric Chronic Illnesses / Cynthia A. Gerhardt, Natalie Walders, Susan L. Rosenthal, and Dennis D. Drotar --

Overcoming Adverse Circumstances in the Community and Society -- Building Protection, Support, and Opportunity for Inner-City Children and Youths and Their Families / Patrick H. Tolan, Lonnie R. Sherrod, Deborah Gorman-Smith, and David B. Henry -- Opportunities for Schools in Promoting Resilience in Children and Youths: A Strengths Perspective / Emilie Phillips Smith, Gloria S. Boutte, Edward Zigler, and Matia Finn-Stevenson -- The Organization of Schooling and Adolescent Development / Edward Seidman, J. Lawrence Aber, and Sabine E. French -- Resilience in Children Exposed to Negative Peer Influences / Janis B. Kupersmidt, John D. Coie, and James C. Howell -- Racial and Ethnic Status: Risk and Protective Processes Among African American Families / Algea O. Harrison-Hale, Vonnie C. McLoyd, and Brian Smedley -- Acculturation and Enculturation Among Latino Youths / Nancy A. Gonzales, George P. Knight, Dina Birman, and Amalia A. Sirolli -- Community Violence and Children: Preventing Exposure and Reducing Harm / James Garbarino, W. Rodney Hammond, James Mercy, and Betty R. Yung -- Community Development as a Response to Community-Level Adversity: Ecological Theory and Research and Strengths-Based Policy / Douglas D. Perkins, Bill Crim, Pamela Silberman, and Barbara B. Brown -- A Blueprint for the Future / Andrea L. Solarz, Bonnie J. Leadbeater, Irwin N. Sandler, Kenneth I. Maton, Cynthia J. Schellenbach, and Daniel W. Dodgen.