The Invulnerable Child (Guilford Psychiatry Series) [Hardcover]

Anthony Cohler (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0898622271 | ISBN-13: 978-0898622270 | Publication Date: June 8, 1987 | Edition: 1

This groundbreaking volume thoroughly explores the intriguing and sometimes baffling phenomenon of positive adaptation to stress by children who live under conditions of extreme vulnerability. Examining the determinants of risk, the development of competence in the midst of hardship, and the nature of stress-resilience, THE INVULNERABLE CHILD will be of profound interests to psychiatrists, developmental and clinical psychologists, social workers, nurses, educators and social scientists, and all those involved in the psychosocial well being of children.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''The goal of the editors is to assemble a state-of-the-art report on research and clinical issues that center on topics of vulnerability, invulnerability, coping and defense, resilience and risk, and long-term follow-up life history research. This volume meets that goal admirably. I recommend it highly for all mental health professionals." --Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry -- Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press; 1 edition (June 8, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898622271
• ISBN-13: 978-0898622270
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,087,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Illuminating, even for a non-professional, February 16, 2004

By 

Designedforlife "farreln59" (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Invulnerable Child (Guilford Psychiatry Series) (Hardcover)

Another positve reviewer said that this book lacks poetry and that is certainly true. This collection of case studies and essays may be written for the clinical professional but I think it has much to recommend to anyone interested in adult survivors of abuse.

The layperson can skip the super-clinical articles and devour the rest for a glimpse into why some children and adults are more invulnerable than others to abuse and tragedy whose wounds are often a crippling or mortal blow. It was a remendously validating experience to read these stories of why and how others have done more than survive devastating abuse and tragedy.

4.0 out of 5 stars decent collection, November 24, 2001

By 

L. Somerstein (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Invulnerable Child (Guilford Psychiatry Series) (Hardcover)

This book lacks poetry but is filled with important information.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Potentially Dangerous Book, December 5, 2007

By 

Susan Linden - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Invulnerable Child (Guilford Psychiatry Series) (Hardcover)

It might be comforting to know that a (extremely, extremely small) percentage of children can grow up just fine with parents who are alcoholics, schizophrenics, physically abusive, etc., but the truth is that children as a group will always respond to their upbringing in highly predictable ways. Abusiveness will always, on the whole, produce more fragile and unhappy children, as do parents with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other mental illness. Death and severe physical illness can ruin a child's life as well. This book seems like a subtle way to proclaim "Hey, it's ok to be physically and emotionally absent, workaholic, and otherwise a bad parent, because a RESILIENT child can handle it! If a child isn't resilient, it's not my fault he or she turns out badly!" It seems like a way to thus shift responsibility and blame from parents to children. This is extremely dangerous. Think of it this way: if you were a farmer, would it sit well with you if your crops were never watered? Would you blame the crops for no being "resilient" enough to survive?

There's no way you can demand a child be more resilient from birth like the tiny, tiny minority of children that are. You can only be better, more loving parents in your effort to make your child healthy and resilient, because that won't happen just because you wish it would.