Handbook of Race and Development in Mental Health

Book excerpt: This project is unique in the field for a number of reasons, both in structure and in content. Specifically, it will have leading experts on specific age groups (Childhood to Adolescence, Young Adulthood to Middle Age, and The Elderly) within the cultural groups of interest (European-Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans) contribute a chapter covering current research on both positive and negative functioning for each population. Each chapter will present basic demographic information, strengths that contribute to resilience, and three significant challenges each group faces to maintaining mental health. Each chapter will then include an integrative section, where ideas are advanced about how the strengths of each group can be harnessed to address the challenges that group faces. To conclude, each chapter will propose future directions for research which addresses integrative approaches to mental health for each group, and the implications that such approaches could have for future treatment. The main points of each section of each chapter will be visually summarized in a concluding table.