Developed as a companion volume to "The Play's the Thing," this book defines and analyzes the concept of master player based on videotaped observations of preschool children at play. An in-depth discussion reveals the multi-faceted nature of play, individual differences in both teachers' and children's styles, and the complexity of…

Individual symptoms of psychological disorders are often related to general familial conflicts; a psychologically conspicuous individual cannot become healthy as long as family life is deeply troubled. To explore this belief, parents' concepts about their children's behavior were examined. Forty-four parents, who were either involved with a family…

Even though current wisdom holds that adoptive parents should talk with their child about adoption as early as possible, no guidelines exist to prepare parents for the various ways their children might respond when these conversations take place. This book discusses how young children make sense of the fact that they are adopted, how their…

By describing the characteristics of the educational and developmental belief systems of low-income African-American parents of kindergarten children, this study extended previous research on parents' beliefs about early education and development to more ethnically and socioeconomically diverse subject groups. A sample of 115 African-American…

One of the most robust approaches to researching parents' influence on children's social competence is the study of what has been called "parenting style." Parenting style captures two important elements of parenting: parental responsiveness and parental demandingness. Categorizing parents according to whether they are high or low on…

This 40-minute instructional video illustrates the unique benefits of play therapy for children who have been physically or sexually abused. It describes how play activities fit into the reparative process and provides helpful pointers for practice. The uses of art supplies, the sandtray, puppets, dollhouse, masks, and more are highlighted.…

This lesson plan explores the nature of parental accountability for their children's behavior. The lesson encourages students to explore their individual opinions in this area and learn of specific laws enacted throughout the country; students then work in small legislative groups to draft a bill that accurately reflects their opinions. The lesson…

This bibliography of 146 scales contains measures requiring the observation of a particular set of actions and the recording, usually at a later time, of some inference or judgment concerning the observed actions. Judgment may be in terms of an indication of the presence, degree, or frequency of a behavior. The majority of instruments target the…

Educators have a responsibility to learn more about at-risk youth. This paper examines such youths' family systems and dynamics, their identifying characteristics, and explores possible interventions. If a family perceives many situations as crises, that family usually possesses inadequate coping skills. Children in such families develop their own…

This sourcebook, which builds on a 1993 publication, "The Prevention of Youth Violence: A Framework for Community Action," offers insight into best practices to prevent violence by children and adolescents. It was developed with input from people working to prevent youth violence and people whose positions made them likely to play a role…

This booklet invites reflection on ways in which childhood resilience can be promoted, thereby helping children to adapt effectively in the face of adversity. The attributes of resilient children are described, as is the importance of protective factors in building or promoting resilience. The booklet discusses the complex interplay between risk…

The recent years in our country we are facing an increasingly great number of immigrant students, mainly from East European countries and the Balkans, particularly in many Greek elementary schools and kindergartens. Aim of the presented study is to sketch the problems that came out from the co-existence of students with different cultural…

Educators today have a renewed perspective: when schools attend systematically to students' social and emotional skills, the academic achievement of children increases, the incidence of problem behaviors decreases, the quality of the relationships surrounding each child improves. The challenge of raising knowledgeable, responsible, and caring…

This study investigated how transfer from marital conflict affects parents' ability to regulate their children's negative affect displays and how these parent responses impact their children's academic and social adjustment. In addition, the study examined whether parents' gender is associated with parents' reactions to their children's negative…

This document contains the first six research updates to "Alaska's Adolescents: A Plan for the Future," a comprehensive 1994 report on adolescent health issues prepared by the multiagency Alaska Adolescent Health Advisory Committee. "The Media and Adolescent Health: Television's Impact on Certain Teen Behaviors" (Elizabeth…