Evidence points to the possibility of promoting executive functions (EF) through school interventions. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of this type of intervention in situations of social vulnerability. This study investigated the effectiveness of an EF intervention program applied with a sample of preschool children, in a…

Research has shown that the quality of preschool teacher-child relationships can forecast children's social-emotional development, academic achievement, and school attitude; these benefits are amplified for impoverished children. However, teachers tend to have conflictual relationships with children living in poverty. Additionally, research in…

This paper explores the incidence of children's social, emotional and behavioural difficulties within areas of multiple deprivation in one Local Authority in Wales and the potential effects of targeted training interventions on the quality of adult-child interactions. The quality of adult-child interaction was measured pre and post-test using the…

The Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation, a 45-year study of children born into poverty, offers a number of lessons for practitioners. Among these are the potency of early relationship experiences for predicting developmental outcomes and the fate of early experience following developmental change. This article describes the…

Socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with social-emotional difficulties, including internalizing and externalizing problems, as early as toddlerhood. The aim of the current study was to understand whether economically disadvantaged children's beliefs about the consequences and correlates of poverty (poverty stereotypes) and their beliefs about…

Social skills and sensory processing were examined in 91 homeless or poor housed preschool children. The Social Skills Rating Scale measured children's social skills/behavior problems and the Short Sensory Profile measured sensory and behavioral responses. Children who were poor housed had better social skills, fewer problem behaviors and better…

The poverty-related attainment gap is an internationally recognised problem. There is growing recognition that it cannot either be understood or addressed without taking cognisance of children's mental health and wellbeing. The focus of this conceptual article is to examine the impact of social inequality and poverty on the mental health and…

Role confusion is a deviation in the parent-child relationship such that a parent looks to a child to meet the parent's emotional needs and abdicates, in part, the parental role in exchange for care, intimacy, or peer support from the child. In addition, a child may initiate role-confused behavior in order to gain closeness to a parent who is…

Malnutrition and a lack of sufficient psychosocial support from caregivers both have a tremendous effect on children's development. Initiatives to support healthy child development in a context of poverty include caregiver interventions. There is growing evidence to support interventions that integrate psychosocial and nutritional support. The…

This article is an overview of identification of intellectual disabilities (ID), with a focus on meeting legal and ethical requirements when assessing children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and those living in poverty. Specific procedures and recommended instruments will be reviewed.

Growing up in poverty increases youth risk for developing aggressive behavior problems which, in turn, are associated with a host of problematic outcomes, including school drop-out, substance use, mental health problems, and delinquency. In part, this may be due to exposure to adverse school contexts that create socialization influences supporting…

Poverty is a well-established risk factor for behavior problems, yet our understanding of putative family mediators during early childhood (i.e., before age 5 years) is limited. The present study investigated whether the association between poverty and behavior problems during early childhood is mediated simultaneously by perceived parenting,…

Nine percent of young U.S. children live in deep poverty, with state rates ranging from 17 percent in Mississippi to 4 percent in Utah. The families of these children have incomes below 50 percent of the federal poverty line, or less than $10,289 for a family of one parent and two children. Understanding more about the early health and development…

Early learning experiences at home and in classrooms build the foundations for children's later success in school and life. The pandemic has upended home life and preschool programs, making it more challenging for both parents and communities to provide optimal learning experiences for young children. These changes are likely to have important…

There is growing consensus among researchers and practitioners that children's socialemotional readiness makes unique contributions to their successful transition to and progress through school. However, many children still begin school ill-prepared for the behavioral demands they will encounter in the classroom. This study examines the joint…