A study investigated the use of a peer-delivered social skills instructional package to teach four high schoolers with behavior disorders to express anger appropriately. The instructional package, which combined peer instruction, self-instruction, and a traditional anger control program, was effective in improving the ways that students expressed…

A new computer program designed to teach people with autism spectrum disorders to better recognize and predict emotional responses in others was evaluated with 22 adolescents with autism or Asperger syndrome. Experimental subjects made gains relative to the control group on post-intervention assessment measures. Gains correlated significantly with…

Describes a model for classroom meetings in an elementary school setting. Focuses on enhancing children's communication and problem-solving skills for typical students and those identified through special education. The purpose of the meetings is to provide a nurturing climate for the learning of social skills that the children can use in the…

Presents multiple constructs that play a role in understanding African American preschool children's social competence. Findings support the importance of considering both children's developmental stage and their gender when evaluating aspects of social competence, particularly temperament and interactive peer play abilities. Discusses…

Details the second part of a three-phase study that examined the language and actions children use when being sociable and cooperative with peers through the Social Play Continuum analysis tool. Concludes that the Continuum may be a potential tool for observing, better understanding, and more appropriately intervening in children's play for the…

Surveyed 7th graders at the beginning and end of the school year to examine factors in three domains (intrapersonal, interpersonal, and personal competencies) influencing the increase in alcohol use throughout 7th grade. Factors from all three domains significantly predicted increases in alcohol use. Lack of parental monitoring and perceived ease…

Examined the relationship between quality of adjustment in adolescents and a set of psychiatric diagnoses, personality traits, parental bonding, and social support variables. Through the use of various questionnaires it was found that several variables (e.g. Conduct Disorder and Social Conformity) had a significant role in classifying adolescents…

Suggests that children construe the world as they develop relationships with other individuals. Offers considerations regarding developmental changes marking the first year of life and argues that cognition is framed in public social exchanges and private dialogical thinking. (DLH)

Investigated Japanese and U.S. mothers' descriptions of behavioral characteristics they found most desirable and undesirable in preschool children, noting characteristics they considered most highly positive or negative. Mothers in both cultures emphasized social cooperativeness and interpersonal sensitivity. U.S. mothers were far more likely to…

We conducted 2 studies to (a) establish the usefulness of the construct of home chaos, (b) investigate its correlates, and (c) determine the validity of the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS) used to measure the construct in each study. Study 1 relied on a sample of European American preschoolers and their mothers and Study 2 on a sample…

Objective: Depressive disorders in adolescents are a widespread problem with extensive psychosocial consequences. The authors designed a school-based program to prevent the increase in depressive symptoms. The authors expect the program to reduce dysfunctional automatic thoughts and improve social skills and thus prevent the increase in depressive…

This study compared the quality of child care programs serving children receiving government subsidies to those not serving such children. Thirty-four classrooms in full day programs serving preschool aged children (19 subsidized, 15 unsubsidized) were observed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales-Revised (ECERS-R). (1) Research…

Poor emotional competence has been identified as a precursor to later social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in children. Aspects of parenting, including modeling, reactions to and coaching of children's emotions, have been associated with the development of emotional competence in children. In this paper, a parenting program with this…

The overall issue of assessment during early childhood, and its relation to school readiness and other decisions, is currently widely debated. Expanding early childhood education and child care enrollments, better scientific knowledge about early childhood development, and decisions about public spending, necessitate careful consideration of which…

The current study presents preliminary data from an ongoing research project evaluating a summer treatment program for children with Asperger disorder (AD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral treatment program on the social behaviors of 6- to 13-year-old children with AD. Overall program…