Interpersonal, familial, and situational risk factors that predict young children's aggression and non-compliance are explored. Here examples of specific techniques and provided to help teachers and parents effectively support children's early development of cooperative and prosocial behaviours as well as problem-solving skills in family and…

Discusses young children's adaptation to out-of-home care with regard to both immediate and long-term effects. Presents results of two studies that illustrate alternative research strategies and address substantive issues concerning the effects of out-of-home care on the behavior and quality of adaptation of young children. (Author/NH)

Examined a parent inventory measure of attachment for young children, based on observed child reunion behaviors. Factor analysis of maternal inventory responses for low income 5-year-olds yielded six factors. Sixteen of the 20 behaviors could be classified into previously established attachment categories. Discussed advantages of measure in…

Examines patterns of social interactions and their relationship to quality of attachment to mother in 33 children of 2 and 5 years. Balanced patterns in interactions with mothers reduced opportunities for interaction with peers. Insecure attachment to mothers predicted decreased responsiveness to mothers and peers at 2 years. (RJC)

A study involving two questionnaires given to mothers of four-, six-, and eight-year olds investigated whether a correlation exists between differences in temperaments of children and their attachment to objects. Results supported the hypothesis and provided evidence that children with non-social attachment are as well adjusted as children without…

Associations between mother's models of attachment and mother and child behaviors related to separation were explored in a study of 45 mothers and their 2- to 4-year-old children. Results showed that mother behaviors before and after separation and child reunion behaviors varied according to attachment classification. (SH)

Developing secure attachments with babies gives them a very special gift--the foundation for good infant mental health! In this article, the author discusses how to develop secure attachments with babies. Babies who are in the care of others during the day often suffer from separations from their special adults. Thirteen "tips" to ensure that…

The Kinship Center Attachment Questionnaire (KCAQ) is a newly developed screening instrument completed by the caregiver and appropriate for use with children younger than 6 years. The KCAQ is different from other attachment instruments because it is a time-efficient, quantitative measure of child attachment that is capable of tracking change in…

This presentation describes young children's social development, beginning with infancy and spanning the early childhood years. Topics include: (1) attachment when the infant is very young; (2) a social-learning theory view of the early months of life; (3) the onset of prosocial behavior and responsibility; and (4) competence in the early…

A total of 113 children were seen at one and six years of age in order to examine the relationship between the quality of the early attachment relationship and later psychopathology. Results from the Achenbach and Edelbrock Child Behavior Profile (a measure of psychopathology at six years) indicated different outcomes for male and female children.…

Mothers in one sample were interviewed when children were 1.5, 2, and 2.5 years old, while mothers in the other sample answered questionnaires when their children were 3.5, 5, and 7 years old. Strong emotional attachment to objects and finger-sucking were most prevalent around 2 years of age. (MP)

Studied effects of strategies used by mothers to prepare a two-year-old child to be left with a stranger. Strategies differed, as did outcomes. Among the results, children given brief preparations remained with the stranger longer and played with more toys. (Author/DB)

Examined the concurrent and cross-time relations of parents' warmth and positive expressivity to elementary school children's situational facial and self-reported empathic responding, social competence, and externalizing problems. Found that parents' positive expressivity mediated the relation between parental warmth and children's empathy, and…

This paper reviews research suggesting that parents' adaptation to their children's diagnoses has been found to predict both family well-being and the children's attachment security. A parent group intervention designed to promote adaptation among such parents is then described, including the rationale, goals, and guidelines of the eight-session…

Examined continuity and discontinuity in maternal sensitivity of 135 disadvantaged mothers and their first-born children from 6 and 24 months to 42 months. Results indicate that sources of stress originating from the child or environment result in decreased sensitivity over time, whereas sources of support increase sensitivity.(RJC)