Inasmuch as research has held the increase in youth gang activities responsible for the escalating level of crime and delinquency in Chinese societies, ascertaining risk or protective factors of gang involvement among Chinese youths is crucial. The factors include those associated with social control, social learning, and cognitive development. To…

Work in developmental psychiatry and psychology has increasingly focused on how internal representations of early experiences with primary figures of childhood affect relationship formation in later childhood and adulthood. Investigations of the reflective self function, which involves mental states in which individuals become the subject of their…

Aimed at parents with infants, this book is a collection of 250 simple, fun-filled games that can be played with children up to the age of 1. The games have been categorized into the following eight types: (1) growing and learning games; (2) special bonding games; (3) kitchen games; (4) laughing and having fun games; (5) art and singing games; (6)…

As growing numbers of mothers enter the workforce, understanding the effects of maternal employment on children and adolescents has become increasingly important. The effects of maternal employment after infancy on adult attachment, and how these effects vary as a function of children's personality style are examined in this paper. It was…

This study investigated the connection between self-disclosure and stages in development of interpersonal relationships. It hypothesized that self-disclosure in relationships is of a dynamic character which works in two directions: towards the interaction partner, and in the opposite direction. The study proposed three stages in the development of…

Infants have definite personality characteristics from birth onward. Despite wide variation in infant temperament styles, ranging from easy to difficult, responsive parents and non-parental caregivers can ensure positive emotional-social development. This paper, which reviews various theories and research on personality development in infants and…

Attachment theory posits that intimate relationships (especially during early childhood) have an influence on future social functioning. Children construct an "internal working model" of a relationship which is influenced by the nature and quality of primary attachment relationships. This model then serves as a foundation for future…

This paper reports the results of a study on the quality of attachment in two groups of interracially adopted infants in the Netherlands, and compares these results with results from a similar study of American interracial adoption. The two groups in the Netherlands consisted of 30 adoptive Asian children placed in White families, and 20 Asian and…

This module is part of a training program for foster parents and foster care workers offered at Colorado State University. The module explores the attachment process and the long-term effects of attachment difficulties in the first years of a child's life. The module's learning objectives address: (1) ways of identifying the basic concepts…

A prospective, longitudinal investigation was made of psychological aspects of pregnancy, birth, and the first year postpartum. The majority of participants were Caucasian (90 percent) and Chinese-Canadian (5 percent) men and women and their infant children. Adult participants completed a series of psychological and attitude measures selected to…

The literature review examines the relationship of neurological impairment in young children with their social and emotional development. It identifies disorders of interaction and/or attachment and disorders of independence/dependence as specific maladaptive social and emotional states associated with neurological impairment. Three theoretical…

Collected in this working paper are summary descriptions of 17 innovative community action programs designed to prevent child abuse. These programs were developed by individuals, community groups, hospitals, and/or state chapters of the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse, as well as by other groups and organizations. Located in…

Love and romance continue to be important issues within every age group, not merely among the usually studied college students. Two issues, the nature or intensity of the love experienced and the motives or purposes of love were examined for different age groups. The ways in which the pursuit of heterosexual love may change throughout adult life…

The process by which parents become attached to their infants was the focus of a roundtable discussion. Participating were students of the attachment process in various animal species, as well as clinicians and researchers, from various disciplines, engaged in studying the development of attachment in parents of normal infants, parents of…

Literature on parent-toddler affiliative behavior which reflects the dynamic and reciprocal nature of parent-toddler interaction is reviewed in this paper, including an ecosystems perspective. Affiliative behaviors for parents and toddlers are defined with respect to the verbal and physical behaviors of both parent and toddler. Also, research…