Regardless of participant background, age, or ethnic origin, camp can aid in the following key components of emotional maturity: open, positive and appropriate expression of feelings; self-acceptance; a sense of self; an awareness and acceptance of others and their feelings; the ability to develop relationships; and emotional stability. (LP)

Explored associations between the present emotional and social development of low- and middle-income African American male and female college students and the substitute care arrangements they experienced as infants. Questionnaire results from 282 college students show that the experience of substitute care arrangements during infancy did not…

Reviews significant recent research and information related to the beginning period of human life, and specifically discusses the developing fetus and infant, and the surrounding environment in which the infant is born and reared. Suggestions for prevention of mental-health problems are offered. (Author/DB)

The expressive arts, literature, film and song, are mediums for dramatic exposure of human experience with loss. This paper identifies concerns with loss, in students of any age, viewing the arts as a mode of learning in the classroom which elicits feelings and illustrates materials and techniques for expression. (Author)

Two books by and about American Indians demonstrate the positive impact of warm and caring relationships between elders and youth. Elders in these stories convey to children important lessons about life, death, traditions, heritage, and family; positively affect the identity development and emotional maturity of the adolescent protagonists; and…

Reaction to job loss can be considered as analogous to reaction to the death of a loved one. The stages that an individual needs to work through will be similar. Both cognitive and existential aspects of job loss are examined together with some thoughts on helping clients cope. (Author)

Adult development theorists believe that the changes that occur during the adult years are predictable and age linked. Their theories explain how change is resolved by the majority of the adult population. Three persons whose research has been influential in the field of adult development during the 1970s are Erik Erikson, Daniel Levinson, and…

This paper synthesizes a variety of perspectives, with an emphasis on attachment theory, on the agency/communion polarity as first defined by David Bakan (1966). The question researchers sought to answer was whether or not agency/communion is best approached as a polarity--opposite and opposing forces, forces in the personality which have often…

Examines new studies of family-level dynamics that explain individual variability in early socioemotional development. Shows that family processes help explain unique variance in conceptually related measures of child development. Reviews studies showing prospective links between family processes during infancy and behavior at age 4, and…

Kazimierz Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration is applied to counseling gifted students having emotional and adjustment problems. According to the theory, a central feature of psychological growth is a series of disintegrations--progressive contradictions and conflicts that arise from a person's experience of life. Such conflicts and…

Perspective transformation is a consciously achieved state in which the individual's perspective on life is transformed. The new perspective serves as a vantage point for life's actions and interactions, affecting the way life is lived. Three conditions are basic to achieving perspective transformation: (1) "feeling" experience, i.e.,…

The theory of transactional analysis (TA) originated by Eric Berne in the 1950's is typified by structural analysis and is comprised of the ego states of Parent, Adult, and Child. Linkages are the life scripts of the individual. One ego state is usually in control at any given time. Pathology results when ego boundaries become rigid or break down…

This paper will present evidence to support ontogenetic and phylogenetic parallels and draw from these comparisons to further illuminate our understanding of micro and macro human development. Individual and collective stages of physical, psychological and spiritual development will be compared and their homologous structures examined.…

Research findings are reported which depict characteristics and conditions of young adolescents in the 1980s. Discussion begins with an overview of what is known about the physical, socioemotional, and cognitive growth of young adolescents. It is argued that: (1) adults perpetuate many myths about teenagers; (2) adolescence is no more pathological…

As a part of an effort to bolster the United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) capacity to promote child development, this report examines the psychosocial development of the child. The intent is not to shift UNICEF's attention to the psychosocial elements of children's needs, but to help UNICEF to implement early childhood development efforts…