ABSTRACT
In their chapters in the present volume, the authors cogently discuss the relative contribution and range of impact that an array of neurobiological, biological, genetic, psychological, and sociocultural risk factors exert on the course of ontogenesis. Their analyses examine both micro level (e.g., molecular and quantitative genetics; synaptic development and elimination; child maltreatment and family violence; nutritional deficiencies; parent-child interaction) and macro level (e.g., cultural variation; war; community violence; poverty) developmental processes. The careful expositions of the contributors make it eminently clear that future research on the causes, course, and consequences of adaptive and maladaptive developmental outcomes must strive to integrate the cross-connections among these various types of biological, psychological, and social risk factors. Furthermore, it follows from the developmental considerations raised by the contributors to this volume that progress toward a process-level understanding of ontogenesis in high-risk, psychopathological, and normal populations will ultimately require research designs and strategies that allow for the simultaneous consideration of multiple domains of variables within and outside the person.
