This study examined whether psychosocial stimulation, parental distress, and enrollment in pre-primary education had different associations with early child development outcomes for boys and girls in Pakistan. Using data from a nationally representative phone survey in Pakistan, it assessed these relationships for two cohorts of children--those…

This study examined whether childhood interparental conflict moderated the mediational pathway involving adolescent exposure to interparental conflict, their negative emotional reactivity to family conflict, and their psychological problems in a sample of 235 children (M[subscript age] = 6 years). Significant moderated-mediation findings indicated…

Learn how to navigate the challenging terrain of connecting with a child who is deeply afraid, angry, and/or sad. Framing this work as emotionally responsive teaching (ERT), this book expands current conceptualizations of trauma-informed practice to encompass more broadly the relational demands of supporting young children with challenging life…

Head Start is a two-generation program that supports children and families with low incomes through comprehensive child development and family support services. Family services include providing families with direct services and supports (e.g., free meals, screenings and assessments, parenting programs) and connecting them to needed resources in…

The current study investigates how internalizing and externalizing problems develop reciprocally across infancy to middle childhood, in relation to children's gender, cognitive functioning, socioeconomic status, and parental stress. The study also examines the impact of the developmental cascade of internalizing and externalizing problems on…

Early childhood education (ECE) conflict zones face profound challenges that undermine children's cognitive, emotional, and social development. Armed conflicts disrupt access to education through displacement, infrastructure destruction, and insecurity, leaving millions of children without safe learning environments (UNICEF, 2023). This report…

Many children, especially those from lower-income families, face considerable instability early in their lives. This may include changes in family structure, irregular family routines, frequent moves, fluctuating daycare arrangements, and noisy, crowded, or generally chaotic environments. Moreover, instability and chaos affect young children's…

Researchers have noted the need, particularly when working with young people, to examine positive processes of development and how they can be considered protective factors of child development under adverse conditions. This study aims to investigate whether high levels of hope and life satisfaction during childhood are associated with a reduced…

Maternal sensitivity is of central importance to a child's healthy development. This study examines how different types of psychosocial stress originating from the child, the parents, the context, and overall stress relate to maternal sensitivity. Psychosocial stress and its impact on maternal sensitivity are assessed in an at-risk sample of 248…

We continue to increase our understanding of the experiences and settings that contribute to positive developmental outcomes in childhood, and those that confer greater risk. Although the mechanisms by which the risk and protective factors affect developmental outcomes need to be further elucidated through research, converging findings from the…

A review of the effects of generational poverty on the development of children and the well-being of their families is compared with nine years of experience by Generation One, a non-profit organization that operates a school and a revitalization program in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas. Analysis of student behavior and the level and quality of…

Youth in pain often show self-defeating and destructive patterns of behavior which should be seen as calls for help and positive support. Instead, deep-seated brain programs and cultural beliefs about discipline can trigger angry or avoidant behavior by adults who deal with these young people. This brief introduction to the Conflict Cycle…

Dysregulated cortisol is a risk factor for poor health outcomes. Children of distressed mothers exhibit dysregulated cortisol, yet it is unclear whether maternal distress predicts cortisol activity in later developmental stages. This longitudinal study examined the prospective relation between maternal distress during late childhood (9-12 years)…

Using both traditional composites and novel profiles of anger, we examined associations between infant anger and preschool behavior problems in a large, longitudinal data set (N = 966). We also tested the role of life stress as a moderator of the link between early anger and the development of behavior problems. Although traditional measures of…

This study attempted to establish and quantify the connections between parenting, offspring psychosocial adjustment, and the epigenome. The participants, 35 African American young adults (19 females and 16 males; age = 17-29.5 years), represented a subsample of a 3-wave longitudinal 15-year study on the developmental trajectories of low-income…