Child maltreatment is a significant problem in North America. Maltreatment comes in many forms, such as neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, abandonment, and traumatic world events. The maltreatment affects children's neurobiological development, and thus, potentially their future quality of social and psychological health. This article gives a…

Autistic students experience greater social difficulties and heightened internalizing behaviors (e.g., anxiety, depression, withdrawal) relative to their nonautistic peers, yet little is known about how these domains influence one another over time. This 1.5-year longitudinal study analyzed the associations between teacher-reported social skills…

Autistic students experience greater social difficulties and heightened internalizing behaviors (e.g., anxiety, depression, withdrawal) relative to their nonautistic peers, yet little is known about how these domains influence one another over time. This 1.5-year longitudinal study analyzed the associations between teacher-reported social skills…

Three experiments showed that gratitude positively affected preschool children's prosocial behavior. In the studies, the experimenter induced gratitude by giving a token gift and then making a request for help or to share resources. Experiment 1 (N = 126, 4- to 6-year-olds) showed that gratitude increased helping behaviors toward the benefactor,…

COVID-19 pandemic has caused young children to be isolated from their neighborhood only interacting with people living under the same roof as them, to avoid spreading the virus. Limited social interaction might have affected young children's social and emotional development. This study aimed to explore the socio-emotional struggles of young…

Psychosocial intervention programs are carried out in Latin American communities with socioeconomic disadvantage to improve their quality of life; few evaluations are carried out to measure their effectiveness. The study aimed to determine if intervention processes in vulnerable communities might favor the children's development. An analysis of…

This article examines the political socialization of young children who live under conditions of intractable conflict. We present four premises: First, we argue that, within the context of intractable conflict, political socialization begins earlier and faster than previously suspected, and is evident among young children. Second, we propose that…

Given the empirical links between familial characteristics and children's academic performance, this study examined associations between stress, relationship quality, and young children's school readiness (i.e., academic, psychosocial, and socioemotional characteristics) for economically impoverished Black families (N = 127). Parents reported low…

Experimental studies of children's responses to apologies often present participants with hypothetical scenarios. This article reports on an experimental study of children's reactions to experiencing an actual disappointment and subsequent apology. Participants (ages four to seven) were told that another child was supposed to share some attractive…

Self-regulation is a complex process that involves coordinating various systems of the body and mind, including feelings. It's not only about emotions but also about cognition. Self-regulation has an impact on social development, influencing how babies and toddlers get along with others. Through self-regulation, babies and toddlers learn to pay…

Research Findings: Early care and education has pronounced implications for young children's social-emotional learning. Although program structural and classroom process quality indicators have been widely explored, teachers' personal social-emotional capacity has only recently been recognized as an indicator of quality. This study reviewed and…

Prosocial behavior in early childhood is a precursor to later adaptive social functioning. This investigation leveraged mother-reported, physiological, and observational data to examine children's prosocial development from age 2 to age 4 (N = 125). Maternal emotion socialization (ES) strategies and children's parasympathetic regulation have each…

This study assessed the relationship between emotion recognition ability and social skills in 42 young children with autistic disorder aged 4-7 years. The analyses revealed that accuracy in recognition of sadness, but not happiness, anger or fear, was associated with higher ratings on the Vineland-II Socialization domain, above and beyond the…

Taiwan has over the past three decades been experiencing demographic changes that may pose important concerns for children's quality of life. This study examines the relationships and potential pathways between family structure transitions and early childhood development. Our analysis is based on 19,499 children from the 2005 birth cohort who…

What must never be forgotten by the Montessori teacher, or by any teacher of young children, is that his or her "primary" task, his or her "primary" obligation, his or her "primary" sacred duty is not the teaching of the "three Rs" but that of nurturing the psychological health of the child. Every element of Montessori methodology is designed for…