How and when do respect and disrespect develop in childhood or adolescence? Respect enables children and teenagers to value other people, institutions, traditions, and themselves. Disrespect is the agent that dissolves positive relationships and fosters hostile and cynical relationships. Unfortunately, parents, educators, children, and adolescents in many societies note with alarm a growing problem of disrespect and a decline in respect for self and others. Is this disturbing trend a worldwide problem? To answer this question, we must begin to study the developmental and cultural origins of respect and disrespect.

Five research teams report that respect and disrespect are influenced by experiences in the family, school, community, and, most importantly, the broader cultural setting. The chapters introduce a new topic area for mainstream developmental sciences that is relevant to the interests of scholars, educators, practitioners, and policymakers.

Research on these cultures and American immigrant groups is represented in this issue:

• Chinese
• Japanese
• American
• Vietnamese
• German
• Turkish
• Puerto Rican
• Thai
• Filipino
• Laotian
• Cambodian

This is the 114^th issue of New Directions for Child & Adolescent Development, a quarterly journal published by Jossey-Bass.

Click here to view the entire list of titles from New Directions for Child & Adolescent Development.