This study of the outcomes of treatment of three children with autism, to reduce fear of dental examinations, found that the children could be trained through a combined desensitization, symbolic modeling, and reinforcement treatment package to undergo a dental exam in an analog setting, and the training could generalize somewhat to a clinical…

Examined the types of play mothers introduce in direct response to their toddlers' play and the actual maternal play behaviors. Findings suggested that mothers tend to play with their toddlers in ways that might promote their children's development and that mothers with more knowledge about play development provide their children with…

Examined the influence of 3-year-olds' facial characteristics on adults' predictions of children's gender- typical behaviors. Found that adults' expectations for children's gender-typical behaviors are influenced by the masculinity/femininity of children's facial appearance, regardless of the gender information provided. Explored implications on…

Argues that for reasons of development and temperament, many boys have difficulty fitting the traditional classroom expectations of many teachers. Presents some specific strategy changes made by a teacher in the learning environment to address boys' development, interests, and activity levels. Asserts that addressing the needs of boys can make a…

Discusses the need for empirical demonstration of intervention implementation during consultation. Provides suggestions for consultations to measure treatment integrity and acceptability of interventions for consultees. Presents case studies demonstrating innovative treatment approaches. Discusses the use of scripts written in the vernacular to…

Introduces a program to stimulate healthy interaction between parents and their teenage children. Focuses on the main activity, called the Parent-Teen Empathy Enhancement Process (P-TEEP). Discusses the goals and objectives of P-TEEP, describes the content of the program and how to get started, and discusses evaluation of the program and its…

Explores the "interactional work" of one boy in a technology lesson as he elaborates, through "play" with workshop tools, a sexual fantasy of masturbation and penetration. This action is contextualized by his relations with others and by the dominance of a prevailing myth of male sexuality in his construction of a masculine…

Describes the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Children 5-16 Research Programme, a 5-year project which examined contemporary childhood in the United Kingdom, including aspects of social lives, living conditions, experiences, and perspectives. Notes specific research aims: to develop new knowledge about children as social actors, to…

Used prospective longitudinal design to ascertain whether different types of behavioral inhibition were stable from toddler to preschool age, and whether inhibited temperament or parenting style predicted children's subsequent social/behavioral problems. Found that traditional and peer-social toddler inhibition predicted socially reticent behavior…

Compared teacher and observer ratings of young children's social behaviors during peer play and examined the construct validity of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale. Findings indicated that both teacher and observer ratings revealed factor structures reflecting play interaction, disruption, and disconnection. Observer ratings distinguished…

Presents the third part of a research project that investigated information-seeking behavior and success of seventh-grade science children in using the Yahooligans! Web search engine/directory. Children were more successful on a fully self-generated task than one two fully assigned tasks and were more successful when they browsed than when they…

Used data from longitudinal study of consequences of child maltreatment to explore relationships between service referrals and children's behavioral and academic functioning. Found that mental health services were the most frequently recommended service for maltreated children. More than 25 percent of children with serious behavioral problems did…

Examined family cohesion and power in relation to depressive affect, social self-concept, and behavioral restraint in young adolescents. Cohesion and power were examined within the context of parent-child and mother-father relationships. The cohesive nature of family relationships affected adjustment more consistently for girls than boys, whereas…

Describes research on nurturance, focusing on one study of children aged two through six and their interactions with a baby. Boys were found to be as nurturing as girls, but in different ways. Describes a parent survey indicating that girls spent more time than boys playing with and caring for babies. Notes the societal influences on children's…

Answers the question, "How do families engender caring in children and youth?" by pulling together diverse literatures. Examines adolescent caring behavior and its precursors, and discusses risk and protective factors in the development of caring. A model of the processes underlying caring and the associations among processes is…