This study examined the effectiveness of child-centered group play therapy (CCGPT) and narrative therapy in reducing separation anxiety disorder (SAD) and boosting social-emotional behaviours in early childhood (2.5-4-year-olds). An 8-week-randomized controlled trial design with three intervention groups, i.e. CCGPT, narrative therapy, and a…

The present study applied state-space grid analysis to describe how preschooler-mother dyads co-regulate emotion in the Strange Situation. Second-to-second mother and child affect during pre-separation play (baseline) and the final reunion (post perturbation) episodes of the Strange Situation were coded for 80 dyads. Change in emotion…

The focus of this article is on children who are "looked after" or adopted. Specifically it explores some of the possible effects of early life traumas and insecure attachments on brain development and subsequent learning in primary school. The article draws on a range of research which helps to outline possible difficulties which these…

Students' frustration with the lack of measurable progress in their practice has always been a major obstacle for them in learning to use themselves differentially and to effect changes in their clients (Saari, 1986). This article discusses the author's approach to tending to students' emotions as a central component in organizing and teaching in…

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…

The authors explore the importance of early attachments; the effects of separation on infants, toddlers, and 3-year-olds; and ways teachers can support children and families during separations. They discuss the predictable stages of the Emotional Cycle of Deployment, a model used with military families, and strategies teachers can use to help…

It was examined whether secure infant-mother attachment contributes to emotionally congruent and organized mother-child dialogues about emotions in later years. The attachment of 99 children was assessed using the Strange Situation at the age of 1 year and their emotion dialogues with their mothers were assessed at the ages of 4.5 and 7.5 years.…

Reports a short-term longitudinal study of children at 13 months and at 18 months which supports the belief that patterns of emotion reflect early, persistent individual differences; they also reflect a developmental trend toward increasing complexity of emotional responses. (Author/NH)

This book, updated since initial publication in 1989, offers explanations, practical tips, and encouragement for teachers and families of preschool children facing the excitement--and stress--of separation. Topics discussed include ambivalence about separation and attachment, the comfort of routines, understanding the child perspective, supporting…

Anxiety about the emotional experience of young children in nursery has been central in thinking about the development of nursery provision. The main theory of emotion that has been applied to nursery practice has been attachment theory. This article proposes that there is a need to open up our conceptual framework for thinking about emotional…

Jerzy Kosinski's "The Painted Bird" is used as a case study to illustrate the universal and necessary unity which binds loneliness, hostility, anxiety, and despair over the possibility of communicating within individual isolated human consciousness. (HOD/Author)

Attachment theory is based on Bowlby's work on the connections between maternal loss or deprivation and personality development and on Ainsworth's interest in security theory. Their separate and joint work is reviewed, along with that of other theorists and researchers whose work influenced them or was influenced by them. (LB)

More sets of twins will probably show up in classrooms, since the "twinning rate" has risen from 23 per 1,000 in 1990 to 27 per thousand in 1997. School policies that separate twins from kindergarten on may not be in kids' best interest. Language and environmental factors are discussed. (MLH)

Examined infants' emotionality, inside and outside of the relationship with the mother, and mothers' responsiveness as predictors of reunion behaviors in the Strange Situation. Found that children's separation distress mediated influence of predictors and itself predicted reunion behaviors. When distress was controlled, some responses generally…

One of the major challenges to early childhood professionals is to effectively deal with separation anxiety and assist children in the transfer from home to other environments. This article summarizes, from a psychoanalytic perspective, the developmental stages of psychological separation, and describes techniques for practitioners for dealing…