This book comprises articles exploring the origins and development of guilt and its relationship to adaptive behavior and mental illness in children. The articles are grouped in four sections, covering the nature of guilt; how guilt develops; inducing, instilling, and alleviating guilt; and guilt and adjustment. The articles are: (1) "How Does…

This metaanalysis examined different parental variables in order to determine which best predict children's externalizing behavior. Also examined were other variables that may influence the association of parenting and externalizing, such as type of child behavior, gender of parent and child, and age of child. Parental variables included in the…

This study explored factors within a child's social, familial, and intrapsychic system that mediate the effects on the child of parental separation/divorce. Using a sample of 52 children and 28 parents involved in contested divorce cases, structured interviews lasting 1.5 to 3 hours were conducted. Information about the separation, parental…

Child abuse involves more than the use of corporal punishment with a child. Investigators have measured parents' emotional reactivity and attributions in relation to aversive child behavior. A "video recall" procedure has been used for assessing affective responding of adults engaged in marital conflict and has been valid for obtaining…

The death of a parent can cause economic and emotional stress for the surviving family members. As part of a larger survey of widowed men and women, living in Melbourne, Australia, data on needs of children who had experienced a parent's death were collected from 126 widowed parents with at least one child under the age of 18. Parents reported…

This collection of seminar papers is concerned with the presentation of emotions on the screen, the emotional impact of such presentations on young children, and the use of children's televised drama to foster the development of emotional sensitivity. Also considered are differences in the violence depicted on Japanese and American television, and…

Describes steps taken by the American Broadcasting Corporation to assess the public's reaction to "The Day After." Pre-broadcast activities included a literature review, consultation with child development specialists, viewer's guide development, focus group research, and recommendations regarding children's viewing. Post-broadcast…

Noting recent interest in girls' social or "relational" aggression, this volume offers a balanced, scholarly analysis of scientific knowledge in this area. The book integrates current research on emotion regulation, gender, and peer relations, to examine how girls are socialized to experience and express anger and aggression from infancy…

Explored the impact of a child's suicide on the community. Adults (N=80) responded to newspaper accounts of a girl who died either from disease, an accident, a drug overdose, or hanging. The child and her family were perceived as most disturbed and her parents most blameworthy in the suicide. (JAC)

Reviews the history of the portrayal of play in art and literature, and presents classical and contemporary theories of play and its use in early childhood education. Modern theories suggest that play can help children deal with their emotions and understand the physical and social world. (SLD)

Compared the recognition of emotion from facial expression by 72 Chinese and 72 Australian children using photographs of Chinese and Caucasian faces. Results provide some evidence for an ethnic bias effect in emotion recognition and demonstrate an increase in overall accuracy with age. Cultural differences are discussed. (SLD)

Examines the influence of happy outcome information and coping style on fourth and fifth graders' emotional responses to a frightening film sequence. Finds that prior knowledge of the happy outcome reduced self-reported fear and worry for "blunters" but not for "monitors." Discusses interpretations of findings and implications for understanding…

Girls who had been sexually abused (n=68) or had alleged being sexually abused (n=68) exhibited sleep problems, fearfulness, emotional and behavioral changes, concentration problems, and sexual curiosity and knowledge. Girls known to have been abused were more self-conscious, fearful of being left alone, and had more nightmares than the allegedly…

Examines a parent's ("Sarah") educational practice and provides a description of her family. Focuses on how Sarah began her educational practice before her children were born, her conception of education and educational success, how she makes decisions in a context of uncertainty, and the role of emotions in her educational practice. (CMK)

Summarizes the main debate points on the issue and nature of bullies and bullying, and clarifies unresolved issues concerning the nature and limits of social competence values. Argues that variations in children's emotion processes may underlie some individual differences that have been found in empathy, social information processing, and reactive…