Guided by evolutionary-developmental models, this study tested the hypothesis that children's exposure to parental relationship instability, defined by initiation and dissolution of caregiver intimate relationships, has both costs in cognitive impairments and benefits in enhanced learning skills. Participants included 243 mothers and their…

Social competency gained in early childhood influences numerous domains of a child's life throughout the lifespan. Since the preschool years are a time when children begin forming friendships with peers and may be exposed to a classroom setting for the first time, developing social competency is imperative for functioning well with the many people…

Early childhood educators are likely to encounter youngsters who experience problems at home impeding their abilities to learn and benefit from the program. One such group is children who live or have lived with adult domestic violence. Children yet to begin elementary school are over-represented among groups of young people known to live with…

In this experiment, the authors investigated the influence of exoneration from blame on children's overt behavioral distress and physiological reactivity following the presentation of overheard adult conflict. The participants were 48 children (48-71 months of age) and their mothers. Through random assignment, the authors presented 16 children…

Consistent with the bidirectional perspective on parent-child relations, the current study examined children's perceptions of agency in the context of marital conflict. A storytelling task was completed by 11 5 five-year-old children, tapping perceived agency. These children and their mothers and fathers completed measures of marital conflict at…