A study examined the relationship among family life events, appraisal, and family protective factors in predicting behavioral outcomes in 260 children (ages 8-12). Results indicate that higher levels of personal growth and more positive family relationships appear to increase internalizing behavior as negatively endorsed family stress events…

This article debunks myths pertaining to the social development of gifted students, including: gifted students should be age-matched peers; being perfectly well-rounded should be the primary goal; being gifted is something with which you are just born; adults know what gifted students experience; and being too smart is a problem. (Contains 3…

This article describes key steps parents can take to develop an achievement orientation in gifted children: heal the gifted child within the parent; give consistent messages; develop early independence; utilize encouragement; develop multiple self-definitions; set challenging but realistic goals; and model persistence. (Author/CR)

Defines Montessori theory in terms that can interface with developmental psychology, summarizing adolescent cognitive, social, emotional, and moral outcomes. Focuses on outcomes of the third plane of education for youth in an Erdkinder setting, Montessori's "Educational Syllabus," providing clues about the future Montessori adult.…

Summaries of four studies in child psychology reveal that children's attachment to caregivers depends on physical contact more than food; secure attachment to loving caregivers provides a base from which children explore and learn; children's separation behaviors reveal much about their attachment relationship; and children are born with traits…

Knowledge is reviewed regarding the social/emotional, cognitive, and language development of maltreated preschool-aged children, and a set of child and family patterns of development is presented. Implications for classroom management are then discussed, focusing on disruptive behavior, interventions for cognitive and language development, and…

This review of Head Start literature evaluates long-term effects of Head Start on students' overall academic success. Research bears out the idea that Project Head Start has strong immediate effects on the cognitive and socioemotional development of young children. (RJC)

The study compared results of rating "Draw a Person" drawings of 250 deaf Israeli children aged 7-15 with those of 54 American deaf children of the same ages and 100 hearing Israeli children. Implications of the findings concerning instrument reliability, emotional development in deaf children, and cross-cultural aspects are considered.…

Maintains that a child's cognitive growth is greatly enhanced by attending to the level of emotional warmth between teacher and child. But attempts at satisfying affective needs put the educator in a precarious position. An affective program in an elementary school that minimizes such risks is described. (BB)

Reaction to job loss can be considered as analogous to reaction to the death of a loved one. The stages that an individual needs to work through will be similar. Both cognitive and existential aspects of job loss are examined together with some thoughts on helping clients cope. (Author)

Illustrates the important role that fathers play in their infants' social and emotional development. Notes that not only are infants more socially responsive when they are securely attached to both mother and father but such a secure attachment to the father can help to prevent harmful consequences of insecure attachments. (HTH)

Investigated effects of day-care quality--in interaction with child and family characteristics--on socioemotional development at 29 months and again at 4 years. Results showed a main effect of day-care quality on expressions of positive emotions. Interactive effects were demonstrated for several of the other indicators of socioemotional…

Relationships were examined between measures of shyness and self-esteem for 53 preschool children. Shyness was negatively related to a self-esteem rating and to a measure of the child's expectations of self-efficacy in performing motor tasks. Continued attention to early shyness in empirical, theoretical, and practical work is suggested. (Author)

Perceives an increase in adult expectations of children's competence and a concomitant narrowing of what is considered normal child behavior. Questions the growing practice of placing children in "transition,""pre-K," and "pre-first" classes, and in pull-out "gifted" programs. Calls for greater acceptance of variety among children. (PAA)

Examines the role of theory in gifted education and argues that the most important educational value should be child-centeredness, with theories serving as ways to understand the gifted child's perspective. However, many theories are seen as focusing overly much on achievement to the detriment of the child's inner life and emotional well-being.…