Notes that stresses of adult life are now much more commonplace among children. Provides a rationale for viewing play as an important vehicle for uncovering childhood stressors and describes both theory and practice that reinforces the value of play in relieving stress. (HTH)

Proposes a precrisis curriculum for nursery and elementary schools to prepare healthy young children for hospitalization as an alternative to current preadmission preparation programs. Key elements include such stress-immunization techniques as systematic desensitization, modeling, and rehearsal. (AS)

Examined children's feelings about, and emotional reaction to, violent and distressful television programs. Suggests that coping with distressing experiences, in this case with television, involved making sense of them. Children used complex knowledge to do this, related to the media and to their own experience. When this processing led to…

Focuses on factors that can contribute to stress in young children due to family relocation and strategies to smooth the transition. (BB)

Discusses how children construct their experiences of justice and injustice and how abuse relates exclusively to the meaning assigned to these constructs. Notes that children's psychological adaptation is shaped by the legal system's response to the child's plight and how the traumatic event is interpreted according to the ethical standards that…

Reviews how chronic illness affects the psychosocial and cognitive development of ill children, using both Eriksonian and Piagetian theoretical rubrics. Explores family and child stress and coping with medical crises and manifestations of illness. Provides recommendations for enhancing parent and professional communication and educational…