Author Description
Generation Disaster: Coming of Age Post-9/11 focuses on the numerous stressors that have had an impact on today's emerging adults including climate change, school shootings, economic recession, and of course, the national trauma of 9/11. Disaster mental health expert Karla Vermeulen draws on a combination of statistics, academic sources, and her own original research, including results from a nationally representative survey, to examine these challenges as they are experienced by emerging adults who continue to fight for their future. The result is a corrective to previous works that dismiss "kids today" as fragile or entitled, and instead emphasizes the generation's strength in the face of unprecedented uncertainties and obstacles.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates how the cumulative impact of systemic stressors—ranging from 9/11 to climate change—has shaped the psychological development and resilience of the generation currently entering adulthood. Author Karla Vermeulen, a disaster mental health expert, utilizes a combination of statistical analysis, existing academic literature, and original survey data to challenge prevailing stereotypes about this demographic. She argues that rather than being fragile or entitled, these individuals have developed unique mechanisms for navigating a landscape defined by persistent uncertainty and instability.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of major societal stressors including climate change, school shootings, and economic recession.
- Examination of the long-term psychological effects of the 9/11 national trauma.
- Original research findings from a nationally representative survey of emerging adults.
Scope Limits
- The text focuses primarily on the American experience of emerging adulthood.
- It does not provide a comprehensive history of global geopolitical events, focusing instead on their psychological impact on the individual.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts in sociology and psychology identify this work as a significant contribution to the study of generational trauma and resilience. Readers frequently note that the prose is accessible yet grounded in rigorous research, making it a useful resource for understanding the current social climate.
Page Count:
263
Publication Date:
2021-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190061650
ISBN-13:
9780190061654
Non-Fiction
Psychology
Mental Health
Professional - General
General
Sociology
Child & Adolescent