The present study examined fathers' daily parenting hassles and coping strategies to (a) determine their association with fathers' emotional expressiveness and (b) predict their sons' development of socioemotional competence. Fathers of 148 preschool-aged boys reported on their parenting hassles, coping strategies, and emotional expressiveness;…

Despite the recognition of cultural influences on emotional development, very little is known regarding emotion regulation in children from different cultures. This study examined beliefs regarding social acceptability and regulatory behaviors in 80 children (aged five to six years and eight to nine years) from two urban communities (suburban and…

Foster children are at great risk for poor school outcomes. Given that school readiness is a powerful predictor of later school success, the promotion of school readiness skills in foster children is an opportunity for preventive intervention. Results are presented from a preliminary evaluation of a program designed to improve school readiness in…

This research highlights the learning of female offenders on a 20-day tailor-made experiential adventure education course (Women in Action) delivered by Outward Bound New Zealand. The aims of the course were to increase self-awareness, to develop an understanding of the concept of choice and self responsibility, to improve communication skills and…

This article examined emotion competence in children exposed to domestic violence (DV). It also examined the hypothesis that children's emotional competence mediates relations between DV and children's later difficulties with peers and behavioral adjustment. DV was assessed when children were at the age of five, emotional competence was assessed…

This article talks about a conference organised by the National Children's Bureau (NCB) Northern Ireland, which brought together a number of experts in young people's emotional health. The event reflected the growing interest in young people's emotional well-being and delegates attended from across Northern Ireland and the Republic. The NCB is a…

Two studies used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine neural manifestations of emotion recognition in 7-month-old infants. In the first study, 20 infants were presented with 2 alternating achromatic slides of the same female model posing a happy and a fearful expression. Infants' ERPs revealed a prominent positive component to the happy face…

The concept of limits on child and teenage behavior is discussed in this book. Section I includes the core hypothesis of the theory of limits and discusses these essential concepts: (1) the pleasure/pain principle (the need to increase tolerance for stimulation in the pain center of the brain in order to be able to tolerate more stimulation in the…

Two studies looked into the ability of 3- to 5-year-olds to understand the idea that a person who intends to bring about a bad outcome will be pleased when he does so. Previous studies had conflicting outcomes; one found children under age 7 did not understand the idea, while another found that most 5-year-olds did. The first of the two studies…

The Knox-Sporakowski Attitudes Towards Love scale was subjected to factor analysis. Principal component analysis indicated unidimensionality of the scale. Additional analyses suggested the possibility of three subscales. Labels for the subscales were assigned. Suggestions for further research with the scale were made. (Author)

This study investigated the development of perceptual, cognitive, and affective perspective taking in 167 kindergarten through sixth grade children. Task intercorrelations were low, nonsignificant, and inconsistent, supporting the view that perspective taking is a multidimensional social-cognitive construct. (JMB)

This article discusses helping children cope with death. It also presents some of the issues related to the way our society deals with the topic and the reality of death. (Author)

An assessment of the occurrence of three forms of humor (responsive, productive, and hostile) during the activities of 30 nursery school children. The three humor forms were not significantly correlated. The relation of the ongoing activities and the pattern of humor exhibited, along with the significant sex differences in humor expression are…

Defines the term "affective behavior" and describes two techniques (self-report and observational method) for measuring affective orientations of students. (HMV)

Middle and working class sixth grade children were compared on various aspects of emotional development. A relation between social class and knowledge of affect terms previously found in 4-6 year olds did not continue into later childhood, contrary to expectations. Methodological and educational implications are discussed. (Author/EH)