There has been a growing focus on the importance of understanding strengths in children with neurodevelopmental conditions and how such knowledge can support clinical practices. However, limited research has explored systematic reports of strengths from caregivers of children with neurodevelopmental conditions, most commonly autism. In this study,…

The Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC) is a developmentally appropriate parent-report measure of the Five Factor Model (FFM) that has been validated in several European languages but only recently in English. The English translation of the HiPIC was evaluated in an Australian context. Parent-rated HiPIC scores were obtained…

This review paper provides pre-service and in-service teachers, principals and other educational professionals with the information needed to understand the concept of resilience to affect positive development in children and young people in their care. It reviews and critiques the most influential literature on resiliency over the last four…

Measurement of temperament is an important endeavor with international appeal; however, cross-national invariance (i.e., equivalence of test scores across countries as established by empirical comparisons) of temperament tests has not been established in published research. This study examines the cross-national invariance of school-aged…

The transition to adulthood is characterised by both great potential for positive change and a relatively high incidence of problem outcomes. A multidimensional model of positive development during the transition to adulthood (at 19-20 years) has recently been proposed. However, an unresolved question regarding the nature of positive development…

The present research employed a prospective, multi-informant design to examine precursors and correlates of differing anxiety profiles from late childhood to late adolescence. The sample consisted of 626 boys and 667 girls who are participants in the Australian Temperament Project, a large, longitudinal, community-based study that has followed…

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that more than 40 per cent of Australian children moved their place of residence at least once in the Census period from 1996 to 2001 (ABS, 2001a). The literature varies in its assessment of the impact that this has on children. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations…

Children in middle class Australia, and many western countries around the world experience restricted opportunities to engage in free play in their neighbourhood streets and parks. The impact of this has been a drastic decrease in children's independent mobility and environmental play. Recent research has focused on the physical environment of…

The study adopted a person-centered approach to examine whether clusters of children could be identified on the basis of temperament profiles assessed on four occasions from infancy to early childhood, and if so whether differing temperament clusters were associated with subsequent differences in behavior problems, social skills, and school…

This study investigated teachers' knowledge of, and capacity to identify resilience, in 92 primary school children in Far North Queensland. It was found that although teachers' knowledge of resilience was apparently strong, and they reported a significant level of confidence in their ability to assist children in building resilience, their…

Real depression in children can manifest itself in many ways. Every human being is somewhat different and consequently distress signals and breaking points do not always imitate each other. What remains constant is the internal emotional desert and emptiness. Depression is not just feeling sad or lethargic. Depression is a state in which…

This study used data from the Australian Temperament Project to examine how child temperament characteristics and the "fit" between parent and child from early in life might influence social competence when children were 11 and 12 years old. Findings indicated that problematic child functioning, poor fit, or both, had negative…

Replicates the Asch conformity experiment (two participants pretend to misjudge a shorter line for a longer one in an attempt to influence a third participant) and applies it to 110 school children ages 3 to 17. Indicates that conformity decreases with age in perceptually ambiguous tasks. (MJP)

Background: This study examined the impact of family transitions, that is, parental separation, divorce, remarriage and death, upon the lives of Australian children and adolescents in a longitudinal study of temperament and development. Methods: Using longitudinal and concurrent questionnaire data, outcomes for young people experiencing…