The mere act of living in today's society is dangerous to the health and well-being of children and adolescents. The concept of the socially toxic environment is offered as a parallel to the environmental movement's analysis of physical toxicity. Social life is more risky than it was just 40 years ago, and the level of social and cultural poison…

This book examines the threat to childhood development posed by living amid chronic community violence and the link between a child's response to growing up in an atmosphere of violence and danger and the social context established for that child by community and caregivers. The 11 chapters in the book are as follows: (1) "The Meaning of…