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)

The relations of dependency and self-criticism to social function were studied for 106 secondary-school students who completed measures of depressive experiences and interpersonal problems. Results show that self-criticism is strongly associated with reporting interpersonal problems, but dependency is only marginally related to interpersonal…

Two children (ages 13 and 16) with autism were taught to differentiate appropriate from inappropriate social behaviors. Children's treated behaviors improved rapidly, and there were generalized changes in untreated social behaviors. Results suggest the possibility of identifying pivotal response classes of social behavior that may improve peer…

The normal course of children's development of social competence from preschool through high school is reviewed, and its relationship with developing language skills is discussed. Peer aspects of developing social competence, particularly those relating to friendship development and the development of interpersonal understanding, are highlighted.…

For a sample of 69 mothers and their preschool-age children, mothers completed measures that assessed their social networks and perceived parenting difficulty, and children's peer acceptance and cognitive performance were assessed. Maternal network characteristics directly predicted children's cognitive performance and indirectly predicted…

The Social Strategy Rating Scale, which measures social competence in young children with disabilities across multiple contexts, was completed with 47 toddlers in 3 social settings over a 16-month period. The scale exhibited relatively high interobserver agreement across items, high internal consistency, and sensitivity to skill changes over time.…

This article examines the origins of aggression and identifies the link between aggression and conduct disorders in children. The existence of two subcategories of conduct disorders is noted--undersocialized and socialized. The role of the family, peer group, and school is explored. (JDD)

Shows why most discussions of self-esteem theory and practice are unsatisfactory. Part I reviews available research, which finds little causal relationship between self-esteem and student achievement. Part II calls into question the values inherent in the concept, particularly the overemphasis on individualism and self-actualization. Part III…

Examined patterns of interaction between Mexican parent-child dyads to understand the relationships between childrearing practices, culture, family social environment, and children's social and emotional development. Found that warm, supportive parenting was related to both supportive and assertive, self-expressive child behavior, whereas…

This paper examines data from three survey activities conducted by the National Center on Educational Outcomes for specific relevance to social/behavioral outcomes development and assessment. Findings suggest that little effort is being directed to the measurement of the extent to which students with behavioral disorders are meeting such outcomes.…

Ways that molecular and molar semiotic analysis of children's sociodramatic play can lead to new insight into children's interpersonal relations and social development is demonstrated. The method is illustrated through analysis of play transcripts of 2 girls aged 4.5 and 5.5 years. (Author/LB)

Discusses the importance of a sense of wonder in young children's social and emotional development. Offers ideas for ways in which parents and teachers can help create, nourish, and sustain a sense of wonder in children. (GLR)

Examined patterns of psychosocial development for white and African-American traditional-age undergraduate female college students (n=218). Differences were found by class level in measures of autonomy with seniors scoring higher than other classes and mature interpersonal relationship scores indicating a gradual increase. In a measurement of…

This study assessed social perspective taking in 57 children classified as educable mentally retarded divided into 3 age groups from 8-16 years. Significant differences in social perspective taking were obtained between the three groups in understanding individuals and between the older and two younger groups in understanding friendship.…

Summarizes current information regarding personal and social talents and their roles in academic, career, and personal success. These talents will ultimately be deemed important for two reasons. They may be core requirements for success in politics, leadership, religion, teaching, and counseling, and they may link innate ability with mature…