Summary This paper presents a theory of child development which integrates race, class, gender and culture as central factors that structure this development in fundamental ways. Human development evolves within the context of our social roles, which are fundamentally organized and bounded by our position within the class, gender, racial and cultural structure of society. This theory can be used to assess a child's maturity and to guide clinical intervention. Traditional theories of child development have overfocused on discrete tasks and stages in the evolution of a self-defined primarily by a child's level of achievement and autonomy. By contrast, our theory defines maturity by our ability to live in respectful relation to others and to our complex and multifaceted world (Almeida, Woods, Messineo, & Font, 1998). Maturity in this conceptualization requires the ability to communicate (trust), collaborate (interdependence), respect (tolerance as in acceptance of “other”) others who are different, and negot...