In this article, the author synthesizes research from several disciplines to shed light on play's central role in healthy development. Gordon builds on research in attachment theory that correlates secure attachment in infancy with adult well-being to demonstrate how playfulness might be a lifelong outcome of secure attachment and a primary…

The article reviews studies that focus on classroom management. The aim of classroom management is twofold. The first is to establish a quiet and calm environment in the classroom so that the pupils can take part in meaningful learning in a subject. The second aim is that classroom management contributes to the pupils' social and moral…

This systematic review sought to understand the individual characteristics of incarcerated youth within the major risk factor domains identified by the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). A comprehensive search of the literature from 1979 to 2013 identified 85 articles of individual-level risk characteristics that…

Summarizes research on the development of behavior before birth, focusing on studies where fetuses were exposed to stimuli that mimic features of the neonatal environment, such as milk and an artificial nipple. Notes that these stimuli reliably evoke responses from fetal subjects, including behavior such as the stretch response and the oral…

The goals of this review are to: (1) provide a set of concepts to aid in the understanding of complex processes which occur during central nervous system (CNS) development; (2) illustrate how they contribute to our knowlege of adult brain anatomy; and (3) delineate how modifications of normal developmental processes may affect the structure and…

Considers the potential value of two bodies of thought arising from work on animals in connection with rehabilitating abnormal behavior. One deals with the processes of catch-up and self-regulation, the other with optional periods of learning in development. (MP)

Over the past 5 years the scientific study of adolescence has continued to grow in volume and sophistication. Drawing on recent articles published in the "Journal of Research on Adolescence", I take this opportunity to comment on some common understandings about the nature of adolescent development and behavior, recurrent tensions in the research,…

Research on perceptual and cognitive capacities of the newborn has revealed that state variables typically interfere with or override the neonate's attentional and stimulus processing tendencies. This finding argues for the power of early state variables as behavioral determinants and, further, that neonatal state measures might provide good…

Examines whether there are gender differences in changes in the aggregate level and individual stability of conduct problems from early adolescence to early adulthood. Analyzes self-reported data from a study of Norwegian adolescents. Analyses showed that involvement in conduct problems for both genders peaked in mid-adolescence. In the long term,…

This review of 50 social validation research studies involving persons with handicaps concludes that social validation procedures are an appropriate and important component of applied behavior analysis. Discussed are methodological issues, social importance of effects, social significance of goals, social appropriateness of procedures, and…

Considers the relationship between self-esteem and smoking in youth by analyzing survey data of two Scottish samples of 13 to 14-year-olds (N=2,900). The findings for peer groupings, self-esteem, and smoking indicate that young people who were socially isolated report both lower self-esteem and smoking prevalence, while peer-oriented youth report…

This report presents an overview of the nature and uses of bibliotherapy. The concept is defined in complex as well as simplistic terminology within its historical context; and its dynamics, principles and objectives, and particular applications are discussed. The requisite qualities and skills of the bibliotherapist are analyzed and bibliotherapy…

Studies of children who initially display high rates of antisocial behavior indicate such children are more likely to persist in this behavior than those who initially show lower rates. (Author/MP)

Provides further support for the contention held by Thomas, Chess, and Korn (1982) that the concept of difficult temperament is not totally a construction of the parents. (MP)

American schools traditionally have been expected to have a role in students' affective development by encouraging positive development and preventing undesirable development. (MM)