The encyclopedia of parenting theory and research /

Smith covers a wide range of timely parenting topics, including current parent research and theory, offering more than 240 entries and 500 pages of definitions and terminology. His encyclopedia has an easy-to-use format and contains references at the end of each entry. Contributed by experts in parenting, these entries by design consist of concise summaries (1,000 words or less) of the most pertinent research. The book is arranged by nine broad categories, with topics listed alphabetically under each. A three-page chart explains the nine categories and acts as a table of contents. The categories range from "Parent Behaviors" through "Child Outcomes" to "Resources" and "People." Topics include, e.g., bullying, television violence, stepparenting, runaway children, playground skills, and distancing strategies. The book contains interesting if somewhat nontraditional terminology, such as "racial identity," "triangulation," "resiliency in children," and "self-fulfilling prophecy," and some biographical information about such experts as Alfred Adler, S. F. Skinner, and Fred Rogers. An excellent resource for professionals, practitioners, researchers, and parents; highly recommended for academic and public libraries. M. E. Leverence Governors State University

The market is flooded with parenting howto books, but a volume covering the theories and research related to parenting is long overdue. This encyclopedia, edited by an expert from the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University, offers more than 240 entries on a variety of issues that illuminate the nature of the relationship between parents and children. Arrangement is alphabetical, but nine main categories or clusters are identified: child activity, child outcomes, child states, parent behaviors, parent state or context, external or community factors, system issues, resources, and people. The introduction provides a list of entries grouped into these categories, with no entry appearing more than once. Although it is possible to dispute where any single entry has been listed, the editor states in his preface that the categories are for convenience and have fluid boundaries and considerable overlap. Entries, of approximately 1,000 words each, were written by more than 160 experts from a wide range of backgrounds including medicine, human development, psychology, education, learning, behavior, and counseling. Some of the individual entries include feminism, Hispanic/Latino parents, mediation, motor development, problem solving, siblings and single parents. The indexing is extensive. A general bibliography containing some of the classics in the field is included at the end of the book. Each contributor's entry contains a list of bibliographic references specific to the individual article. Entries are very well written and act as a good review of the literature and research related to the topic. The target audience for this encyclopedia includes parents, educators, teachers, researchers, health and mental health professionals, community educators, librarians, and others interested in parentchild relationships. Smith is maintaining a Web site, The WonderWise Parent ([http://ksu.edu/wwparent/]) in anticipation of adding additional terms for a second edition. Overall, this encyclopedia provides a good summary of what is known about parenting and parentchild relationships. Highly recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with community interest in these areas.