Used a teacher rating scale and coded videotaped observations to examine 30 toddlers' emerging social competence in an unfamiliar peer group during a 4-week summer camp. Found a correlation between the prosocial component of the teacher rating scale and observations of children's interactive-functional play and overall rate of interactive play…

Natural Helpers program encourages prosocial peer support for coping with problems as early intervention and prevention strategy for reducing adolescent substance abuse. Examined relationship between wanting help with self-esteem and other adolescent problems, including substance abuse, as measured through Natural Helpers needs assessment process.…

Examined attempts by five-year-old children to influence mothers and peers. Children were immediately successful with mothers less often than with peers and were more often able to negotiate a compromise with mothers than with peers. Mothers' strategies for influencing children predicted children's styles of influencing peers. (BC)

Examined effects of reasoning and choice on prosocial behavior of 48 second and third graders enrolled in day camps. Results indicated that the children were more helpful in choice than in no-choice conditions. However, prosocial behavior was most likely when no reasoning was used. (Author/BB)

Discusses two benefits of demystifying and better understanding the humiliation rituals. First, adults responsible for the well-being of children may find methods to interrupt behaviors associated with bullying. Second, only by making these rites public can adults ask youth to reconsider their actions. Suggests recommendations for educators and…

Notes that recess in elementary education is filled with struggles and crises; presents suggestions for playground education and guidance. Suggests that teachers can implement children's prosocial playground behavior by presenting a repertoire of acceptable games to play and tools for game organization, providing support on the playground, keeping…

Examined risk mechanisms and protective factors in the relation between aggression in childhood and long-term adult unemployment among participants in the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development. Found that aggression at 8 years predicted school maladjustment at age 14, which was related to unemployment. Child-centered…

Used observations of 28 preschoolers and questionnaire responses of 286 parents to examine how Greek preschoolers express aggressiveness and altruism, respectively. Found that aggression was expressed in a variety of ways, with boys being more aggressive than girls. Parents reported that comforting and cooperating were observed more than sharing…

Troubled youth who are disconnected from the mainstream youth culture need relationships with caring adults and prosocial peers. Peers involved in church and school activities often ostracize troubled youth. Educators and youth workers need to encourage prosocial behaviors and encourage youth to reach out and befriend their troubled peers.…

Examines the development of children's caring behavior. Suggests that caring behavior is evident from infancy, and notes the importance of individual differences, the role of modeling and encouraging empathy, and the importance of considering the impact of television and child rearing practices. Differentiates reinforcement from encouragement of…

Compassion, healing, and the emphasis on process that are hallmarks of experiential education give it a role in building more compassionate communities and encouraging systemic change for the better. Recommendations for fulfilling this role include creating time to reflect, living both within and beyond "tribe," practicing consciousness…

A study examined the ability of 56 children with learning problems and 56 typical children to resolve the social problems of whether to share limited resources with a peer. Only 15% of the dyads of children with learning problems shared, compared to 58% of typical children. (CR)

Investigated how Greek kindergartners construct and negotiate the context of their shared beliefs, experience, and interests through the form and meaning of their social behavior. Found that prosocial behavior in the form of empathy was a commonly accepted peer culture concern. Empathy forms either a friendship criteria, which questions the issue…

Recent research documents the problem of sexual violence across communities, often finding its causes to be embedded in community and cultural norms, thus demonstrating the need for community-focused solutions. In this article we synthesize research from community psychology on community change and prevention with more individually focused studies…

With the constant reminders of wars and other human degradation going on in the world, education for "caring" is more critically important than ever to our future (Noddings, 2002). Televised accounts of the war in Iraq leave most caring people devastated. Civilian and military deaths and casualties challenge people's faith in a peaceful and…