In a 19-year longitudinal study, the 15% most inhibited and the 15% most aggressive children at ages 4-6 years were followed up until age 23 years and were compared with controls who were below average in preschool inhibition or aggressiveness. As adults, inhibited boys and girls were judged as inhibited by their parents and showed a delay in…

Background: Mental health problems comprise an international public health issue affecting up to 20% of children and show considerable stability. We aimed to identify child, parenting, and family predictors from infancy in the development of externalising and internalising behaviour problems by age 3 years. Methods: "Design"…

Youth who initiate sexual intercourse in early adolescence (age 11-14) experience multiple risks, including concurrent adjustment problems and unsafe sexual practices. The current study tested two models describing the links between childhood precursors, early adolescent risk factors, and adolescent sexual activity: a cumulative model and a…

Neurobiological models propose an evolutionary, vertical-integrative perspective on emotion and behavior regulation, which postulates that regulatory functions are processed along three core brain systems: the brainstem, limbic, and cortical systems. To date, few developmental studies applied these models to research on prenatal and perinatal…

This study examined correlations between temperament and demanding behavior in toddlers. Subjects were eight mothers and their children from 18 to 27 months of age. Mothers were interviewed in their homes and completed the Toddler Temperament Scale and the Parenting Stress Index. Mother-child interactions were videotaped for the duration of the…

Being a parent is exhausting work, even when children do not have emotional problems. All parents need information, encouragement, training, and support to raise healthy children. No one is born with all the skills necessary to handle every problem, yet too often, when parents do ask for help for their children, they are turned down until the…

This study involved observation of 4- and 5-year-olds in a day care setting, focusing on how they developed and maintained friendships with other children in day care. Children were observed twice a day for 3 weeks as they engaged in outdoor play, dramatic play, and manipulative play. Observations included which children played with each other and…

Examined whether spatial classification is discovered during play and if external products of play lead children to use space to represent similarity. Found through two experiments--a longitudinal study of four children's classification behaviors, and the examination of play behavior with two types of objects--that comparison of different kinds…

Tested 2,400 three- to five-year olds for cognitive style and observed their play behaviors. Repeated measures multivariate analysis indicated that field-independent children engaged in more play than did field-dependent children. Significant interaction was found for age, cognitive style, and play behaviors. Older field-independent children…

Examined the relationship between sibling interactions and the social adjustment of children with behavior problems. Subjects were 53 aggressive first- and second-grade children, their mothers, and their siblings. Found that children in sibling relationships with moderate levels of warmth and conflict showed better adjustment than did children in…

Examined whether young children can identify breaches of a permission rule and their sensitivity to the implications of such rules. Found that preschool children show considerable facility in reasoning about permission rules and can justify their choices. Results suggest that, when children violate a permission rule, they do so knowingly. (MOK)

Discusses cornerstone of Montessori theory, normalization, which asserts that if a child is placed in an optimum prepared environment where inner impulses match external opportunities, the undeviated self emerges, a being totally in harmony with its surroundings. Makes distinctions regarding normalization, normalized, and normality, indicating how…

Explores the consistency of 20 children's behaviors toward anatomical dolls in two studies conducted 16 months apart. In the follow-up study, findings revealed that changes in reaction to the dolls occurred in all groups over time. These changes might be explained by cultural, maturational, and socialization factors. Implications for interviewing…

Two studies examined whether effects of attention to rewards during a delay of gratification task in waiting situations affects preschoolers' ability to delay gratification in working situations. Findings show that when work provides distraction, attention on rewards reduces delay time whether working or waiting; when work is not engaging,…

Related blood levels of testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin in pregnant women to gender role behavior among 342 male and 337 female offspring at 3.5 years. Found that testosterone levels related linearly to girls' gender role behavior. Neither hormone related to boys' gender role behavior. Other factors, including older brothers or…