ABSTRACT
This book is primarily concerned with psychological problems that occur during the first 18 years of life. The first 18 years are a period during which the most profound changes occur in physical, cognitive and social development. A summary of important normative findings from the fields of developmental psychology and psychopathology will be presented in this chapter. However, the development of the individual child is primarily a social process and the family is the central social context within which this development occurs. We will therefore begin with a consideration of the family lifecycle.
