Twenty-four socially rejected children were coached on the importance of displaying behaviors known to be used by peers in making inferences of liking and then were encouraged to communicate these behaviors toward selected friendship targets within their own classroom groups. Significant treatment-related improvements were found in these…

Children who do not learn responsible anger management are more likely than other children to engage in negative peer interactions and respond to anger with socially unconstructive responses. To encourage anger management in children, teachers can model anger management; avoid shaming children; increase children's understanding of anger; help…

Two studies had parents describe the characteristics of the most prosocial two- and five-year olds they knew and rate the relative importance of each attribute in defining a child as prosocial. Results indicated more similarities than differences between the two age groups and suggested that research has underrepresented the rich repertoire of…

Examined the effects of different forms of induction on children's prosocial behavior with 80 children ages 7 and 8 years. Hypotheses were evaluated regarding the cognitive component of the induction and the manipulation of choice. The findings, which were consistent with self-perception theory, help clarify when induction encourages internalized…

Studied the structure and psychometric properties of a self-report measure of adolescents' helping behavior within the family. Factor analyses yielded four internally consistent subscales for the Sibling Helping Scale and five for the Parent Helping Scale, all of which were conceptually related to inventories reflecting family support among…

Discusses play as preparation for life, and the role of aggressive play. Provides guidelines for caregivers to help children modify their aggressive play, and for working with parents to help reinforce positive, prosocial behavior in children. (HTH)

Preschoolers rated the degree to which they liked or disliked their peers; rated their peers' behavior; and completed a self-perception scale. Children who were better liked by peers were rated as more prosocial, more sociable, and less aggressive than were less liked children. Preschoolers' social acceptance was not related to their…

Assessments of parent and sibling attachments were made when the firstborn child of a two-child family was one, three, and six years old. Sibling conflict and aggression were related to maternal conflict with both children at six years. Affectionate fathering was associated with prosocial sibling interaction. (BC)

The relation of prosocial behavior of 53 preschoolers to different modes of vicarious emotional responses was examined. Videotapes were used to elicit empathy, whereas vicarious emotional responses and defensive behaviors were assessed by means of self-report, facial, and heart-rate indexes. (SH)

Compared social interactions of persuasive preschoolers to those of dominant and less persuasive peers. In comparison to other children, persuasive children made more attempts to persuade, used a moderate number of extremely friendly or aggressive strategies, and had a lower rate of compliance. (GLR)

Reviews three books (1) "Montessori Play and Learn: A Parents Guide to Purposeful Play from Two to Six" (Lesley Britton); (2) "Health and Safety in Child Care" (Susan S. Aronson); and (3) "The Schoolhome: Rethinking Schools for Changing Families" (Jane Roland Martin). (MDM)

Examined mother-child interaction in play and teaching tasks. Mother-child interaction aggregates represented task orientation, positive emotion, and allowance of autonomy. Maternal interaction aggregates predicted teachers' ratings of children's positive social behavior, assertiveness, and sadness in the preschool setting. (BC)

Explains how the needs children are trying to meet through gang involvement are the same ones that societies meet with rites of passage. Although gang rituals are antisocial, the needs they meet for youth are healthy. Offers several strategies that can be used when working with youth involved in gangs. Urges educators to help youth develop…

Presents a learning activity designed to illustrate the concept of positive social deviance to introductory sociology students. Describes the background to the lesson, the assignment, student observations during the activity, student reactions to it, and warnings to instructors considering replicating the assignment. (DSK)

Examined association between adolescents' perception of parent-adolescent attachment quality and adolescent aggression, as mediated by social cognition and self-esteem. Found that higher social cognition was associated with lower self-reported aggression when parent-adolescent attachments and adolescent self-esteem were controlled. When…