Children face increased demands for interpersonal as well as learning-related social skills, especially by the vulnerable stage of school entry, due to the more structured setting, new academic requirements, and the fact that children are supposed to interact successfully within a larger and heterogeneous peer group. Although a plethora of…

The term "vulnerable families" refers to familial living situations that are considered problematic, with a particular need for socially responsible, professionally provided support. This means of categorising families is extremely ambivalent, indicating not only a need for society to support forms of family life and family achievements,…

In this commentary, Ahnert addresses the Beckh and Becker-Stoll's (2016) paper that characterized positive teacher-child relationships through high levels of closeness and low levels of conflict. Once teacher-child relationships are positively established, the children benefit the most in developmental domains which are considered typically weak…

This article focuses on such a highly relevant subject as the prevention and correction of deviant behavior in the adolescent environment. The study revealed the main vectors for the development of the modern science of deviant behavior, identified the main causes of deviations and carried out a comparative analysis of the work on the prevention…

The aim of this article is to demonstrate how relational experiences with parents and preschool teachers provide children with a feeling of security that facilitates the development of competence in different domains. We first focus on the mechanisms regarding how secure attachments to parents serve as an important foundation for later…

Background: Life skills programs are effective tools to combat youth substance use. However there is a lack of studies concerning their effectiveness in Europe. Objective: This study investigated the 1 year follow up effects and the program implementation of a life skills school-based intervention (IPSY: Information + Psychosocial…

Objectives: The current article describes the process evaluation of a social early warning system (SEWS) for the prevention of child maltreatment in the federal state of Hamburg. This prevention initiative targets expectant mothers and their partners including an initial screening of risk factors for child maltreatment, a subsequent structured…

Purpose: There is a need for valid and reliable short scales that can be used to assess social networks and social supports and to screen for social isolation in older persons. Design and Methods: The present study is a cross-national and cross-cultural evaluation of the performance of an abbreviated version of the Lubben Social Network Scale…

This article deals with informal networks and their role in young people's strategies of coping with the uncertainties of transitions to work. The underlying hypothesis is that informal networks have a high potential in this regard that, however, is strongly differentiated according to class and education. Drawing on West German data from the…