Significant mental health problems can and do occur in young children. In some cases, these problems can have serious consequences for early learning, social competence, and lifelong health. Furthermore, the foundations of many mental health problems that endure through adulthood are established early in life through the interaction of genetic…

Written to meet the affective need of adolescent students to share their feelings and concerns with supportive listeners, this document contains 50 guided discussions on various topics relating to three focus areas: the self, the self and others, and stress. Under the focus of the self topics include: personal strengths and limitations; behind the…

This paper describes the Early Screening Project (ESP), a system to identify behavior problems among preschool children ages 3 to 5. The ESP is a three-stage, multiple-gating set of procedures which assesses both the frequency and intensity of adjustment problems. In Stage 1, teachers rank students on externalizing and internalizing behavior…

Developed by the Oklahoma State Department of Health, this booklet is the second in a series that provides tips that parents can use to help their children grow. The booklet is divided into three sections. The first section, "Getting Along as a Person," discusses a child's self-esteem, self-concept, and self-control, and suggests ways for parents…

The usefulness of problem-solving training with emotionally troubled students and of peer ratings as an index of change was investigated to determine the success of an early intervention program. During a 14-week period, advanced undergraduates (N=6) conducted a small-group intervention program focused on social skills training for 32 maladaptive…

A methodology for the assessment and prediction of recidivism in terms of degree or extent of environmental deprivation or support is presented. The Environmental Deprivation Scale (EDS) was employed as an objective means of assessing environmental circumstances in a group of recidivists as contrasted with non-recidivists. The EDS consists of a…

Factor analysis of 65 variables relating to personal competence and community adjustment in 336 persons with mental retardation, living in residential facilities of 6 or fewer residents, yielded 8 principal components that accounted for approximately half the total variance. Components included such skill areas as self-care skills, problem…

Data concerning children's adjustment indicated that (1) the quality of marital relationships was related to the quality of parent-child relationships; (2) authoritative parenting correlated with high levels of children's social and scholastic competence; and (3) the quality of sibling relationships correlated with children's social competence and…

Examined contributions of different risk factors to predicting children's psychological and academic outcomes at end of first grade. Found that each analysis level contributed to prediction of most outcomes; 18 to 29% of outcome variance was predicted; a common set of predictors predicted numerous outcomes; ethnicity showed little unique…

Suggests looking at group dynamics when managing conflicts between children in the classroom. Uses an example from the classroom to demonstrate how teachers can facilitate safe and fair conflict management, increase cooperative behavior, and, as a result, contribute to children's self-esteem. Discusses careful observation in the classroom,…

Research shows that students with emotional and behavior disorders are extremely difficult to include in mainstreamed environments, with general educators less tolerant of them. The article examines salient issues relative to social integration of such students and identifies critical teacher, student, and program variables that impact the…

Describes a classroom-based social decision-making intervention to promote health and prevent problem behaviors. The approach unites social-cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social relationship areas with critical thinking skills important for academic achievement. Because middle school students are high risk for negative health outcomes, they…

Explored the assessment of family processes for African American kindergarten children, parents, and teachers involved in the EARLY ALLIANCE prevention trial. Regression analyses examined the relationship of family processes to child social and academic competence, problem behavior, and early reading achievement. Family structure, family cohesion,…

Ninety children from South Korea and 119 children from the United States were observed in early childhood programs, and differences in classroom environments and teachers' and children's behavior in the two countries were identified. In both countries, there was evidence that preschool education is guided by ideas about "developmentally…

Background: Individual differences in depressive symptoms have been linked with social skill deficits in adults and children, yet empirical studies on adolescents are lacking. The present research examines age and gender differences in nonverbal behaviour between mildly depressed and nondepressed (pre-) adolescents during conversations with an…