The Invulnerable Child explores the intriguing and sometimes baffling phenomenon of children's capacity to deal with adversity. Survivors, strivers, and thrivers make up the unusual population of children who respond so unexpectedly to the onslaughts of calamity. Integrating the rapidly expanding body of knowledge about these children and focusing on the patterns of recovery that emerge, this groundbreaking volume thoroughly examines the determinants of risk, the development of competence in the midst of hardship and the nature of stress-resilience under conditions of extreme vulnerability.