Noting that the death of a loved one brings grief to children as well as adults, this Digest draws on research to examine how children respond to death and the role of parents and teachers in helping children cope with loss. The Digest delineates children's "tasks" during mourning that are essential to their adjustment to loss, such as…

This digest discusses empowerment for older adults, examining the aging of the population and the adverse effects of societal attitudes toward aging on the self-esteem, locus of control, and emotional health of older adults. The Social Reconstruction Syndrome (SRS) is discussed as a model for interventions to offset the adverse effects of social…

This digest offers guidelines to parents and educators helping gifted adolescents adjust to problems related to their giftedness. Challenges to adjustment are noted in the areas of: ownership (talented adolescents simultaneously "own" and yet question the validity of their abilities); dissonance (between their high standards and their…

One notable gap in the evolving literature on bullying and victimization during early adolescence is the role that peers play in promoting such behavior by either reinforcing the aggressor, failing to intervene to stop the victimization, or affiliating with students who bully. This Digest looks at the limited research available on the role of the…

One notable gap in the evolving literature on bullying and victimization during early adolescence is the role that peers play in promoting such behavior by either reinforcing the aggressor, failing to intervene to stop the victimization, or affiliating with students who bully. This Spanish-language Digest looks at the limited research available on…

This digest describes post-traumatic loss debriefing, a structured group process approach to help survivors manage their physical, cognitive, and emotional responses to a traumatic loss. It discusses seven stages of debriefing: (1) Introductory Stage; (2) Fact Stage; (3) Life Review Stage; (4) Feeling Stage; (5) Reaction Stage; (6) Learning Stage;…

This digest provides parents of highly or profoundly gifted children with practical suggestions based on the experience of other parents and the modest amount of research available. Parents are encouraged to understand that such children are significantly different from other children and have two primary needs: to feel comfortable with themselves…

Presented in a question-and-answer format, this digest offers guidelines to help gifted students manage stress effectively. The following questions are considered: What is stress? How can a youngster experience stress when nothing bad is happening? Is a gifted student more likely to feel stress than others? What are some stresses on a gifted…

This digest provides a demographic profile of family caregivers and discusses the emotional and physical burdens on family caregivers. It examines how caregivers cope with these burdens and highlights research findings on the most effective coping strategies. The digest concludes by summarizing the challenges to the helping profession in…

Noting that our ability to incorporate the cultural strengths and the distinctive ways that families, specifically fathers, contribute to educational accomplishments of preschool children is severely constrained by major gaps and inadequacy in the research literature, this Digest explores what is known about the role of fathers in young children's…

This digest discusses the ways in which counselors in middle schools can help youngsters face the challenges of early adolescence and prepare them for life in high school. It focuses on: (1) understanding one's self; (2) family relationships; (3) peer pressure and drug abuse; (4) stressful lives; (5) sexual maturation; (6) academics; and (7)…

This digest summarizes demands that confront elementary counselors: (1) a culturally diverse world; (2) changing families; (3) drug abuse; (4) child abuse and neglect; (5) exceptional children; (6) a technological world; (7) a changing world of work; (8) promoting learning in a changing world; (9) shaping children's behavior in a changing world;…