In this working paper, Wendy Russell and Stuart Lester of the UK's University of Gloucestershire discuss why play is fundamental to the health and well-being of children. They argue that both state signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 31 of which enshrines the right to play) and adults generally should…

This study investigated cumulative vulnerability/protection models of individual-level factors (child's attachment relationship and sense of coherence-SOC) and family-level factors (mothers' emotional resources), as explaining differences in socio-emotional and behavioral adjustment among children with learning disabilities (LD) or typical…

This study examined the relationship between children's attachment security, as manifested in their family drawings, and their personality and adjustment. Family drawings were collected from 222 Israeli children, as well as data regarding their personality and adjustment. Each drawing was coded and classified into 1 of 4 attachment categories…

The purpose of this study was to describe reflections of nine American parents on the strengths, challenges, and strategies in parenting young children newly adopted from another country. Eight mothers and one father with an adopted child aged less than 3 years and home for less than 3 months completed standardized assessments measuring the…

Secure mother-child attachment has been found to be an important factor in the healthy emotional development of children and has been shown to have effects on child, adolescent, and adult behavior. Previous research has primarily focused on attachment in children who are typically developing. However, little research has been conducted in…

Given the interactive nature of teaching, dispositional characteristics (i.e., traits that dispose a person towards certain behaviors, choices, and experiences) like assertiveness and openness or emotional states such as sadness, worry, and stress may play important roles in a teacher's ability to interact in meaningful, engaging, and effective…

"Everyone Playing in Class" is an unstructured free play based provision for small classes or groups. The intervention involves training staff in attachment theory, presenting up-to-date research findings on the role of play in emotional well-being and relationship building, as well as teaching reflective communication skills. In this…

Current anger management programs use a cognitive behavior perspective; however, research also links anger control to developmental deficits such as attachment insecurity and emotional regulation. This article previews the Emotional Skills-Building Curriculum (ESBC), a 13-week treatment program designed to treat individuals who are referred for…

This study examined connections between fathering context (stress, social support, and fathers' internal working models), fathering dimensions, children's attachment to fathers, and children's social-emotional and academic outcomes within two culturally diverse samples in the USA and Taiwan. Participants included 274 fathers and their eight- to…

The child-caregiver relationship has long been recognized as crucial to social-emotional functioning and later development. Specifically, the consistency with which caregivers interact with young children in warm, supportive ways is related to optimal early development. This may be especially critical in the families formed by international…

Within each chapter of this innovative topical text, the authors engage students by demonstrating the wide range of real-world applications of psychological research connected to child development. In particular, the distinctive Active Learning features incorporated throughout the book foster a dynamic and personal learning process for students.…

Research Findings: Parental engagement with children has been linked to a number of adaptive characteristics in preschool children, and relationships between families and professionals are an important contributor to school readiness. Furthermore, social-emotional competence is a key component of young children's school readiness. This study…

Zeanah argues that ethological attachment theory, as outlined by John Bowlby, has provided one of the most important frameworks for understanding crucial risk and protective factors in social and emotional development. However, although attachment theory and the notion of attachment disorders have influenced such initiatives, many psychologists,…

This book makes explicit connections between young children's spontaneous repeated actions and their representations of their emotional worlds. Drawing on the literature on schemas, attachment theory and family contexts, the author takes schema theory into the territory of the emotions, making it relevant to the social and emotional development…

Edward was one of 58 children studied by workers and parents as part of a study on Well-being and Resilience at the Pen Green Nursery. Within the larger study, eight children were studied in greater depth in order to explore connections between cognitive and emotional development. Schematic theory and attachment theory were used as frameworks for…