Noting that millions of young American children are at-risk because they have been denied bonding and communication with a caring adult, this book serves as a call for national attention and provides a guide for developing the parenting skills needed by today's parents and child caregivers. The book contends that caregivers' qualifications must…

Research on school restructuring reveals the commitments and competencies that lead to improved outcomes for children, including careful attention to students' emotional development, professional development that emphasizing the reflective study of teaching, culturally responsive and inclusive teaching, and a focus on early language and literacy…

Examined influence of perceived self-efficacy for affect regulation with older adolescents. Found that self-efficacy to regulate affect related to high efficacy to manage academic development, resist social pressures for antisocial activities, and engage with empathy in others' emotional experiences. Perceived self-efficacy for affect regulation…

Asserts that using children's literature to present life stories can reinforce young children's understanding of life span and help them better understand how goals formed in childhood may help determine an individual's future. Briefly reviews and recommends 15 children's books focused on life stories and decision making. (MJP)

The combination of economic hardship, limited access to supportive services, and the psychological burden of oppression have combined to disadvantage African-American children and place significant obstacles in the way of their development. This special issue assembles a group of articles focusing on the development of African-American children.…

Comments on problems raised in this special issue, focusing on the distinctive aspects of the risk research reported. Highlights issues like sample characteristics, measurement strategies, specificity of risk factors, and risk mechanisms. Discusses the challenges of integrating alternative models of risk, with special references to research into…

An attachment theory framework is applied toward understanding the emergence of depressive symptomatology and lower perceived competence in maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Confirmed hypotheses that maltreated children with nonoptimal patterns of relatedness show elevated depressive symptomatology and lower competence, whereas nonmaltreated…

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth merged mother-child file, this article examines the relationship between living in four different family structures on key measures of youth well-being, studied separately by race. The authors also examine whether contextual factors mediate these associations. For Black youth, we find no…

Explored perceptions of school readiness among preschool and kindergarten teachers, principals, and parents. Found participants experienced tensions related to their readiness views: conflict between personal teaching/learning philosophies and state expectations; pressure placed upon children, teachers, and families for children to perform; and…

Background: This study was designed to assess whether children with a sensory disability have consistent delays in acquiring emotion recognition and emotion understanding abilities. Method: Younger (6-11 years) and older (12-18 years) hearing-impaired children (HI; n = 49), vision-impaired children (VI; n = 42), and children with no sensory…

Conversations with school superintendents, board members, principals, teachers, counselors, and nurses about their students' social and emotional health show how actively they are working to help students confront difficult issues. Topping the list of issues are drug and alcohol use and abuse, depression, and violence among students. Equally…

Founded in 1966, Young Women's Leadership School is a public girls' school in New York City that serves grades 7-12. The school's philosophy--"to nurture the intellectual curiosity and creativity of its students and address the unique developmental needs of young women"--is put into practice on a daily basis. The girls wear uniforms,…

Longitudinal data on the cognitive and physical outcomes of children adopted from Eastern Europe by American families is limited. While there is clear evidence that many children adopted from Eastern European countries are more at risk for medical concerns and developmental delay, research that follows these children into their elementary school…

This paper begins by outlining four aims of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, namely: (1) to create developmental environments which facilitate interaction between adults and children; (2) to develop adults' sensitivity for children and to increase their level of knowledge of the young child's needs; (3) to give adults the ability to…

The resource constraints and increasing demands mandated by state and federal programs have made it difficult for rural and small schools to provide a developmentally appropriate education for all their students, but especially for middle level students, many of whom have been identified as "at risk." This paper focuses on recent research in the…