An Introduction to Childhood and Youth Studies and Psychology

This exciting new book provides a novel interdisciplinary introduction to Childhood and Youth Studies and Psychology. Its accessible approach illuminates holistic understandings of children and young people’s lives by drawing from multiple disciplines and theoretical frameworks. It includes wide-ranging research examples, featuring case studies from around the world and perspectives from children and young people throughout.

Weaving insights from education and cultural studies, social anthropology, and sociology with social, cultural, and developmental psychology, the book covers experiences and development from infancy to young adulthood (0–23 years), as well as their rights. The chapters explore key contemporary topics such as:

• Digital childhood and youth
• Children’s embodied experiences
• The social and cultural origins of selves
• Diverse families
• Race and ethnicity
• Global childhoods
• Models for understanding health and disability
• Children’s rights and agency
• Gender in childhood and youth

This book is essential reading for students in childhood and youth, psychology, and education courses. An Introduction to Childhood and Youth Studies and Psychology also serves as a valuable introductory resource for practitioners working with children and young people, as well as for parents and policy makers interested in understanding children and young people’s lives today.