Authoritative Communities

Kathleen Kovner Kline, M.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and an adjunct faculty member at Dartmouth Medical School. She serves on the Medical Staff of Children’s Hospital in Denver. She is the principal investigator for the Commission on Children at Risk’s Report to the Nation, Hardwired to Connect: the New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities. She received her M.D. from Yale Medical School, and her Masters of Divinity from Yale Divinity School. She completed her psychiatric training at the Institute of Living/University of Connecticut Psychiatry Program, and her Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at Dartmouth Medical School. At the University of Colorado and at Dartmouth, she has taught child and adolescent development and psychopathology to medical students, pediatricians, family practitioners, psychiatrists, child and adolescent psychiatry fellows, and trainees in psychology and social work. Her clinical practice has included treating child and adult patients in acute hospital and outpatient settings, directing diagnostic and psychopharmacology clinics, and consultation to treatment centers for delinquent and severely emotionally impaired youth. She has a history of involvement with grass roots, community service, and religious institutions, and a particular interest in the role of character-shaping institutions in the prevention of psychosocial maladjustment.

• A Report to the Nation.- Hardwired to Connect: The New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities.- Primal Connections.- The Biochemistry of Family Commitment and Youth Competence: Lessons from Animal Models.- How Mother Nurture Helps Mother Nature: Scientific Evidence for the Protective Effect of Good Nurturing on Genetic Propensity Toward Anxiety and Alcohol Abuse.- Investing in Children and Society: What We Have Learned from Seven Decades of Attachment Research.- Meaning and Morality.- The Consolidation of Conscience in Adolescence.- Best Bets for Improving the Odds for Optimum Youth Development.- Moral and Spiritual Dimensions of the Healthy Person: Notes from the Founders of Modern Psychology and Psychiatry.- Connecting to the Transcendent.- Hardwired for God: A Neuropsychological Model for Developmental Spirituality.- A Tale of Two Religious Effects: Evidence for the Protective and Prosocial Impact of Organic Religion.- Focused on Their Families: Religion, Parenting, and Child Well-Being.- Minding the Children with Mindfulness: A Buddhist Approach to Promoting Well-Being in Children.- The Changing Connections of Adolescence.- The Psychobiology of Adolescence.- Elders and Sons.- Spirituality and Resilience in Adolescent Girls.- Connecting to Community.- Promoting Well-Being Among At-Risk Children: Restoring a Sense of Community and Support for Development.- Sex, Guns, and Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Influence of Media in Children’s Lives.- The Civil Society Model: The Organic Approach to Building Character, Competence, and Conscience in Our Young People.- Commentaries.- Caring and Character: How Close Parental Bonds Foster Character Development in Children.- Gather Around the Children.

From the reviews: "Authoritative Communities: The Scientific Case for Nurturing the Whole Child is part of the Search Institute Series on Developmentally Attentive Community and Society. ... It emphasizes the importance of developmentally attentive communities that provide boundaries, guidance, and support to young people. ... There are several impressive reviews of research on attachment, religion, and the development of conscience ... . the scholars associated with the present volume should be commended for tackling such a significant and complex set of concerns." (David W. Carroll, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 53 (2), 2008)