Ordinary Magic

Fully updated with key advances in theory, methods, and research, the second edition of this landmark work features an expanded conceptual framework and a more global perspective on threats to human development, including climate change, war, poverty, racial injustice, and pandemics. Pioneering resilience expert Ann S. Masten illuminates the ordinary but powerful processes that allow many children exposed to trauma and adversity to survive, adapt, and even thrive. The book traces fundamental adaptive systems that have evolved and function synergistically at the neurobiological, psychological, social, community, and cultural levels. Using a range of case examples to illustrate complex concepts, Masten provides a cogent resilience framework for promoting healthy development in children at risk.

New to This Edition

• Advances in neurobiology, more international (including non-Western) findings and examples, new discussions of cultural identity development, up-to-date intervention research, and more.
• Heightened focus on the interactions of multiple systems—including families, schools, culture, and communities—in supporting children's resilience.
• Increased attention to the impact of structural inequality, poverty, and intergenerational trauma.
• Coverage of rapidly emerging threats—the risks posed to children by multisystem, cascading disasters, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.