Author Toni Morrison used fictional narratives to make readers uncomfortably aware of their collective role in perpetuating the culture of poverty and pitying its victims. In her first novel, "The Bluest Eye," she focused on the most vulnerable member of society -- a child -- to depict the consequences of extreme social isolation and…

Trying to jump in and fix everything when our children tell us that they have been mistreated by a friend, classmate, or teacher is an understandable response, but this tactic will not capture what children need in that moment. When children let their parent know that they are in pain or have been wronged, a parent's job is to acknowledge that…

Many actions of troubled children and adolescents can disguise and conceal their ever-present and deep-seated psycho-emotional pain. Adults living and working with these youth may overlook this pain in a strategy of avoidance. Labelling troubling behavior as "outbursts," "explosions," or "acting out," ignores the…

The present study compared 6- to 9-year-old children's reports of their decisions to express anger, sadness, and physical pain; methods of controlling and communicating felt emotion; and reasons for doing so in response to hypothetical situations across three groups: old-city India (n = 60), suburban India (n = 60), and suburban United States (n =…

The main aim of this study was to reduce stress and consequently depression to children (age 6 to 9); a stress, which gave them problems linked to physiological perceptions (vomiting, sweat, shallow and frequent breaths, a sense of choking and muscle pain) and psychological disorders derived from either a sense of separation or social anxiety,…

Emotional pain which manifests itself in problem behaviours is, for many children and youth, a part of their everyday struggle through life. Kids growing up in residential care or in a dysfunctional family or setting suffer this pain. Connecting with kids in pain, the primary task for youth workers, is made all the more difficult, the greater the…

Background: Individuals with Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) have been reported to show comparatively high levels of flat and negative affect but there have been no empirical evaluations. In this study, we use an objective measure of facial expression to compare affect in CdLS with that seen in Cri du Chat syndrome (CDC) and a group of…

Although cross-cultural research concerning children's emotions is growing, few studies have examined emotion dysregulation in culturally diverse populations. This study compared 6- to 8-year-old children's reported methods of expressing and controlling anger, sadness, and physical pain, and their justifications for doing so across four groups in…

Quality of life (QOL) is an important concept for individuals with chronic health conditions. Measuring and supporting QOL in children, adolescents, and adults with spina bifida (SB) may be especially unique given the broad range of complex health and rehabilitative challenges they encounter. This article provides a research update on (a)…

When we attend to other people in pain, the neural circuits underpinning the processing of first-hand experience of pain are activated in the observer. This basic somatic sensorimotor resonance plays a critical role in the primitive building block of empathy and moral reasoning that relies on the sharing of others' distress. However, the…

Given that quality of life (QOL) is commonly confused with functioning, the aim of this study was to examine the association between functioning and QOL domains for children with cerebral palsy (CP). Two hundred and five parents of children aged 4 to 12 years with CP and 53 children aged 9 to 12 years with CP, completed the Cerebral Palsy Quality…

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…

Objective: To assess the potential efficacy, tolerability, and safety of citalopram in the treatment of functional pediatric recurrent abdominal pain and comorbid internalizing disorders. Method: Twenty-five clinically referred children and adolescents with recurrent abdominal pain aged 7 to 18 years, inclusive, participated in a 12-week,…