This study investigated the behaviour and communication of seven- to eight-year-old children during a dyadic computer task. The children participating were identified by peers as: (1) initiators of bullying ("bullies"); (2) defenders of those victimised ("defenders"); and (3) those who generally do not take on a consistent role in relation to…

The current study examines whether the relation between mothers' responses to their children's negative emotions and teachers' reports of children's academic performance and social-emotional competence are similar or different for European-American and African-American families. Two hundred mothers (137 European-American, 63 African-American)…

We assessed linkages of mothers' emotion coaching and children's emotion regulation and emotion lability/negativity with children's adjustment in 72 mother-child dyads seeking treatment for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Dyads completed the questionnaires and discussed emotion-related family events. Maternal emotion coaching was associated…

Research on sex differences in antisocial behaviour may shed light on the causes of childhood antisocial behaviour. Using a longitudinal design, we tested whether there were sex differences in the amount of harsh discipline children received or in the effect of harsh discipline and whether this accounted for sex differences in later conduct…

The present study examined the influence of children's experiences during non-maternal childcare on their behavior toward unfamiliar peers. Participants included children classified as negatively reactive at four months of age (N = 52) and children not negatively reactive (N = 61), who were further divided into those who experienced non-maternal…

Parental depressive symptomatology has consistently been linked to child maladjustment, but these effects are not universal. This investigation examined the role of child temperament as a moderator of the effects of parental depression on behavior problems in five-year-old children. Parents reported on their own depressive symptoms, and both…

Parent-reported reactions to children's negative emotions and child negative emotionality were investigated as correlates of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Children (N = 107) and their parents participated in a short-term longitudinal study of social development. Mothers and fathers independently completed questionnaires assessing…

The present study examined the association between theory of mind and indirect versus physical aggression, as well as the potential moderating role of prosocial behavior in this context. Participants were 399 twins and singletons drawn from two longitudinal studies in Canada. At five years of age, children completed a theory of mind task and a…

Relations among parental depressive symptoms, overt and covert marital conflict, and child internalizing and externalizing symptoms were examined in a community sample of 235 couples and their children. Families were assessed once yearly for three years, starting when children were in kindergarten. Parents completed measures of depressive symptoms…

This study examined the role of family cultural values as moderators of the association between family relations and the adjustment of young children. Fifty-five families of Mexican descent with young children enrolled in Head Start programs in the Southwest participated. Mothers provided information about closeness of the mother-child…

We tested the hypothesis that mother-child warmth and responsiveness would moderate the link between young children's theory of mind skills and self-worth. Participants included 125 same-sex pairs of 3.5 year-old twins and their mothers. A battery of tests was individually administered to measure the children's theory of mind skills and verbal…

Viewing indirect aggression on television has been shown to have negative short-term effects on a viewer's subsequent aggressive behavior; however, the longer term relationship between viewing indirect aggression on television and in real life has not yet been examined. Three hundred and forty-seven adolescents, aged 11-14, were asked to list…

Concurrent and longitudinal relations among parental emotional expressivity, children's sympathy and children's prosocial behavior were assessed with correlations and structural equation modeling when the children were 55-97 months old (N = 214; M age = 73 months, SD = 9.59) and eight years later (N = 130; ages 150-195 months old, M = 171 months,…

This study examined the effects of one unfamiliar adult's warm, responsive interactions or cold, aloof, unresponsive interactions on child emotion and subsequent social initiatives to a second adult. Participants were 32 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-year-old preschool children. Nurturing, responsive caregiving and non-nurturing, unresponsive caregiving were…

Mothers' emotion talk, children's emotion talk, and children's understanding of emotion were examined in 50 mother-child dyads at 41 months. Language measures included total emotion words, unique emotion words, labels, explanations, and different types of explanations. Children's emotion understanding was assessed for labeling, situation, and…