Psych W3615y	Children at Risk	Spring 2003

Instructors: Lois Putnam and Geraldine Downey
Teaching Assistant: Bonita London

2:10 - 4 pm Tu Th in 200B Schermerhorn Hall

	Overview		Prereqs		Contact Us
	Calendar		Syllabus		Grading
	Projects		Links		CourseWorks

Brief overview

This course considers contemporary risk factors in children's lives. We analyze the immediate and enduring biological and behavioral impact of risk factors, their interaction, and child characteristics that modify their effects. The course is organized developmentally. It begins with a discussion of prenatal development and prenatal hazards, such as mother's drug use, and ends with adolescent risks, such as unsafe sex. We examine risks originating inside (e.g., family violence) and outside (e.g., poverty, racism) the family and explore both traumatic and chronic stressors. We end with a discussion of why some children survive extreme adversity and why some intervention programs work. The course will attempt to bridge the areas traditionally covered by developmental and abnormal psychology.

The format of the course will include lecture, discussion, speakers, and group presentations. We expect students to read primary articles and books. We also expect students to work in a group to develop and give a class presentation on a topic of the group's choice. We encourage students to become involved in a volunteer activity serving children at risk as one of their class projects.

Course requirements include regular attendance and participation, written report of one individual project, one in-class exam based on lectures and readings, and a class presentation and written report of one group project.

Contact Information

Please click here for information on admission to the Spring 2003 class

Prerequisites

Prior to enrolling in Children at Risk you should have completed at least one of the following courses, or its equivalent at Barnard or elsewhere: Psychology W1010 or W2280 or W2620 or W2680. In addition, you need to obtain permission from one of the instructors to be admitted to the course.

If you have met the course prerequisites but have not yet been notified of your official admission to the class, please attend the first class meeting and bring a copy of your completed entrance survey with you. We anticipate that there will be a few more spots available after that class. We will admit up to 40 students to the class; final decisions will be made shortly after the first class meeting.

Important: It is essential that all students--admitted or not--who wish to participate in Children at Risk attend class on Jan. 21.

Grading

This page was modified on February 22, 2003