In this article, the authors explain how self-concept develops among young children. Several strategies on how to help children attain their full emotional development are also suggested. One such effective strategy is for parents and caregivers to be sensitive to the individual needs of children and to be responsive to them during daily…

Emotional intelligence has been popularly portrayed as critical to human success and sometimes even more important than IQ (e.g., D. Goleman, 1995), yet sparse evidence exists supporting such a claim. The purpose of this study was to measure emotional intelligence, as conceptualized by J. D. Mayer and P. Salovey (1997), in order to better…

This paper looks at how the capacity for separateness arises, and some of the ways in which gender is thought about in relation to this. A link is made with technical considerations about the stance we as therapists take with our patients. In particular, therapists often choose or are prodded into a role that is more empathic or more…

The growing popularity of notions such as "self esteem" and "emotional intelligence" reflect people's shifts in thinking. From the pages of self-help manuals and women's magazines, self-esteem, emotional well-being and emotional intelligence have gone mainstream. This is leading to new professional activities in emotional management, life…

Background: Intact emotion processing is critical for normal emotional development. Recent advances in neuroimaging have facilitated the examination of brain development, and have allowed for the exploration of the relationships between the development of emotion processing abilities, and that of associated neural systems. Methods: A literature…

Recent theory and research suggests that weak central coherence, a specific perceptual-cognitive style, underlies the central disturbance in autism. This study sought to provide a test of the weak central coherence hypothesis. In addition, this study explored the relations between the weak central coherence hypothesis, theory of mind skills, and…

Objective: The primary goal of this pilot study was to examine emotion management skills (i.e., emotional understanding, emotion regulation) in children who had experienced neglect and a control group to determine the ways that neglect may interfere with children's emotional development. Method: Participants included children 6-12 years of age and…

Over 40 years of development of cognitive behavioral approaches to treating anxiety and related emotional disorders have left us with highly efficacious treatments that are increasingly widely accepted. Nevertheless, these manualized protocols have become numerous and somewhat complex, restricting effective training and dissemination. Deepening…

"Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study in basic science or clinical research. This brief reports on the study "Are there Long-Term Effects of Early Child Care?" (J. Belsky, D. L. Vandell, M. Burchinal, K. A. Clarke-Stewart, K. McCartney, M. T. Owen, M. T., and The NICHD Early Child Care Research Network).…

This book, updated since initial publication in 1989, offers explanations, practical tips, and encouragement for teachers and families of preschool children facing the excitement--and stress--of separation. Topics discussed include ambivalence about separation and attachment, the comfort of routines, understanding the child perspective, supporting…

This pilot study compared the development of two groups of adolescents--those whose parents were blind and those whose parents were sighted. It found that there were no essential differences between the groups. Moreover, the friendship relationships, feelings toward parents, and some essential characteristics of the adolescents' emotional state…

Children enter the world with simple emotions and gradually add complex feelings to their repertoire of skills. As children grow and develop, they learn to label their emotions and regulate them in socially appropriate ways. Literature is one way early childhood educators can foster healthy emotional development. This article explains how emotions…

A role model is someone an individual looks up to and wants to be like--but also someone an individual connects with as a person. There is a special relationship between a child and a teacher, particularly in the early childhood years. Teachers must think carefully about how their manner affects the children in their classrooms. This article…

Background: There is uncertainty about the extent to which language skills are part of general intelligence and even more uncertainty on whether deprivation has differential effects on language and non-language skills. Methods: Language and cognitive outcomes at 6 and 11 years of age were compared between a sample of 132 institution-reared…

This paper describes a new digital technology to support emotional self-awareness and empathy, called G.I.R.L.S (Girls Involved in Real Life Sharing). The system invited users to reflect actively upon and interact with a dialogue about how the story made them feel through the construction of pictorial narratives. In a pilot study with teenage…