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This paper used an evidence and gap map (EGM) to advance the scientific understanding of sibling relationship quality among children aged 2 to 18 years by synthesizing literature on 277 empirical studies from 1985 to 2022 to delineate patterns of study design, sampling, and measurement. Most existing research has utilized majority of White, middle‐to‐upper class, and/or two‐caregiver family samples. Nearly 85% (n = 235) of studies used quantitative methods to measure sibling relationship quality across eight domains: conflict, warmth/affection, quality, cohesion, hostility, power/control, positive engagement, and conflict management. A total of 122 studies used a measure of sibling relationship quality as a predictor of sibling behavior, social, psychological, cognitive, health, or physiological outcomes. Future directions for research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trauma‐focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF‐CBT) has been identified as a gold standard treatment for childhood posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Western countries. More recently, TF‐CBT has emerged in the literature as an area of interest for children and youth affected by conflict and war in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMIC). Methods: The present systematic review assesses the current evidence base of TF‐CBT for children and youth in LMIC, with a focus on conflict‐affected countries. A total of 143 articles were identified, of which 11 articles, representing 1,354 participants, met the proposed inclusion criteria. Results: Results showed that the majority of the studies identified were conducted in low‐resource community settings in East or Central Africa (n = 8). It was also found that cultural considerations were taken into account in TF‐CBT delivery to meet the needs of local populations. Additionally, measures were translated and validated for local use. Conclusions: Findings of outcome data indicated that TF‐CBT was effective in treating trauma‐related symptoms and improving psychosocial functioning in children and adolescents in LMICs. Given the limited number of published literature available in this area, further studies are needed to conclude when and for whom trauma‐focused interventions are most relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children (N = 278, 34–71 months, 54% girls) were told which of two figurines turned on a music box and also observed empirical evidence either confirming or conflicting with that testimony. Children were then asked to sort novel figurines according to whether they could make the music box work or not. To see whether children would explore which figurine turned on the music box, especially when the observed and testimonial evidence conflicted, children were given access to the music box during their sorting. However, children rarely explored. Indeed, they struggled to disregard the misleading testimony both when sorting the figurines and when asked about a future attempt. In contrast, children who explored the effectiveness of the figurines dismissed the misleading testimony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding when children develop a sense of group boundaries has implications for conflict and its resolution. Integrating Social Identity Development Theory and the Developmental Peacebuilding Model, we investigate whether preferences for ethno-religious ingroup symbols mediate the link from child age to outgroup prosocial giving among 5- to 11-year-old children from both majority and minority backgrounds in three settings of protracted intergroup conflict (N=713, M=7.97, SD=1.52, 52.6% female). Participants represented the conflict rival ethno-religious groups in each setting (Northern Ireland (n=299): 48.5% Protestant, 51.5% Catholic; Kosovo (n=220): 54.1% Albanian, 45.9% Serbian; Republic of North Macedonia (RNM) (n=194): 45.9% Macedonian, 54.1% Albanian) and were largely from lower to middle class families; 4% of participants from other ethnic backgrounds were excluded from the current analyses. Multiple group, bias-corrected bootstrapped mediation found that ingroup symbol preference mediated the link from child age to outgroup prosocial giving; that is, older children expressed higher ingroup symbol preference which was linked with lower outgroup giving. Across Northern Ireland, Kosovo, and the RNM, there was some significant variation in the strength of specific paths; however, there was a significant indirect effect in all three settings. The findings advance cross-cultural understanding of how age relates to ingroup symbol preferences and outgroup prosocial giving across the elementary school years, with implications for children's long-term peacebuilding contributions in three conflict-affected societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provision of education during/after violent conflicts remains a global dilemma with many conflict-affected children excluded from/within education. Likewise, school leadership is increasingly seen as a key element in developing inclusive schools across communities. This single intrinsic case study with aspects of ethnography was conducted in one post-conflict community school in Kenya, where 71% of the pupil population comprised conflict-affected children following the 2007–2008 post-election violence. The aim was to explore and understand how the headteacher and teachers perceived and developed teacher participation in school leadership practice, in order to respond to learning and development needs of conflict-affected children, and promote inclusive practices in post-conflict schooling. Thematic analysis of interviews, observations, and textual displays indicated that by diagnosing the state of local affairs, that is, violence-disrupted livelihoods, school demographics, and systemic demands, the headteacher encouraged active participation of teachers in school leadership practices. Although overall accountability remained locked in hierarchical structures, teacher leadership emerged in arrangements like "office-referenced" individual leadership and collaborating groups (e.g., task groups and "team leadership"). With school leadership practice often attributed to headteachers in Kenya, this study contributes to debates on the construction of teacher leadership and offers insights into the experiences of school leaders in combating exclusionary practices after societal violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Power processes in siblings' and friends' conflict interactions are of significance for children's development and socialization. This study conducted a comparative analysis of power behaviours (resources and effectiveness) utilized by dyadic partners in sibling and friend conflict during early childhood when focal children were aged 4. The sample consisted of 65 families and included 347 sibling conflict sequences and 326 friend conflict sequences. Data based upon naturalistic observations were coded for resources of power and power effectiveness. Patterns of findings were identified in the conflict process. Specifically, dyads used simple demands most often, followed by coercive, then elaborated information, and finally questioning power. Despite similarities, sibling dyads used coercive power and negative reward power more often than friends. Regarding power effectiveness, sibling and friend dyads were most effective using coercive power, followed by elaborated, and then questioning power. These findings provide strong support for the importance of taking the dyadic relationship context into account when studying the power process in children's interactions. Highlights: How does siblings' and friends' dyadic use of power resources and effectiveness differ in the process and outcome of conflict in early childhood? Data were based upon naturalistic observations of conflict, and findings provide strong support for dyadic analyses when studying the power process in siblings and friends interactions. The findings provide new and novel insights regarding children's agency in conflict, thus highlighting the contributions of children to their own socialization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students presenting oppositional behaviors often display lower behavioral and emotional engagement in class as compared to their peers. Moreover, children in general are known to be deeply affected by their relationships with teachers while in school. It is therefore possible that such relationships could also influence the engagement of students presenting higher levels of oppositional behavior. As a way of verifying this hypothesis, the present study investigated the contribution of students' levels of oppositional behavior to their behavioral and emotional engagement in literacy. Furthermore, it examined whether these relationships were different for boys and girls, or changed as a function of two components of student-teacher relationships: closeness and conflict. Three hundred and eighty five third and fourth grade students and their teachers participated in the study. Two series of linear regressions were conducted. Findings indicate that students who presented higher levels of oppositional behavior showed lower behavioral engagement than their peers. Moreover, students who had close relationships with their teachers reported higher behavioral engagement. Although closeness in student-teacher relationships protected students from behavioral disengagement, students with higher oppositional behaviors were less protected than students who presented lower levels of oppositional difficulty. Having a warm relationship with a teacher was also more beneficial for the behavioral engagement of girls, whereas a high level of conflict between student and teacher was more harmful for the emotional engagement of boys. This was deemed to be true whether the boys or girls presented high levels of oppositional behavior or not. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of the student-teacher relationship in fostering all students' engagement in school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between-child and within-child effects of teacher-student warmth and conflict on children's peer-nominated disliking and liking across Grades 1-4 (ages 6-10) were investigated in a sample of 746 ethnically diverse and academically at-risk children in Texas. Multilevel modeling controlled for time-invariant between-child differences while modeling the effect of time-varying teacher-student relationship (TSR) warmth and conflict on children's peer relatedness. Teachers reported on warmth and conflict. Peers reported on liking and disliking. Above between-child effects of average levels of teacher warmth and conflict on initial level and rate of change in liking and disliking and classroom teacher support, year-to-year changes in TSR conflict and warmth predicted intraindividual change in children's peer disliking but not peer liking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Kindergarten is the age at which children's future time perspective emerges. This capacity enables them to form goals based on past and ongoing experiences and project themselves in the future. This development may play an important role in guiding children in self-regulated learning. When faced with the conflict between their need to learn and their desire to play ( CLP), children make choices based on their perceptions of CLP. However, their CLP-related perceptions and responses are also influenced by the values their culture upholds. Research shows that Western learning emphasizes more mental activities and positive affect, whereas East Asian learning stresses more social/moral self-perfection. Children's CLP-related perceptions and responses are likely shaped by their respective cultures' values. Aims This study examined kindergartners' emergent perceptions of and responses to CLP. Both commonalities and possible cultural differences were investigated. Sample The sample was 130 middle-class European-American and Chinese kindergartners, balanced for culture and gender. Method Children each heard a story beginning with a picture of a protagonist who is practicing words at home but hears children playing outside. Children were asked to complete the story and were probed further when they mentioned ideas related to learning and play. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for coding. Tests were conducted for group differences. Results and Conclusions Most children from both groups identified CLP and shared similar views about their need to complete schoolwork, benefits of learning, negativity of neglecting learning, and ways to resist temptation to play. However, large cultural differences also emerged. Chinese children showed greater awareness of CLP and expressed more positive regard for learning, learning virtues, and receptivity to adult expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on autism which include the interest level in 2-year-olds with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), children with ASD who do not develop phrase speech in the preschool years, and referential gaze and word learning in adults with autism.

This study examined children's and adolescents' narrative accounts of everyday experiences when they harmed and helped a friend. The sample included 100 participants divided into three age groups (7-, 11-, and 16-year-olds). Help narratives focused on the helping acts themselves and reasons for helping, whereas harm narratives included more references to consequences of acts and psychological conflicts. With age, however, youth increasingly described the consequences of helping. Reasons for harming others focused especially on the narrator's perspective whereas reasons for helping others were centered on others' perspectives. With age, youth increasingly drew self-related insights from their helpful, but not their harmful, actions. Results illuminate how reflections on prosocial and transgressive experiences may provide distinct opportunities for constructing moral agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several authors consider high and frequent conflicts between friends during childhood as a serious risk for subsequent conduct problems such as generalized physical aggression toward others (e.g., Kupersmidt, Burchinal, & Patterson, 1995; Sebanc, 2003). Although it seems logical to assume that friendship conflict could have some negative consequences on children's behaviors, some scholars have suggested that a certain amount of conflict between friends may actually promote social adjustment (e.g., Laursen & Pursell, 2009). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of friendship conflict in regard to the development of generalized physical aggression toward others in the early school years (i.e., from kindergarten to Grade 1), as well as the moderating role of relational (i.e., shared positive affect and dyadic conflict resolution skills) and personal (i.e., children's sex and genetic liability for aggression) characteristics in this context. The sample included 745 twins assessed through teacher, peer, child, and friend ratings in kindergarten and Grade 1. Friendship conflict in kindergarten was linearly related to an increase in boys' but not girls' generalized physical aggression. However, shared positive affect and conflict resolution skills mitigated the prospective associations between friendship conflict and generalized physical aggression. These results were independent of children's sex, genetic risk for physical aggression, and initial levels of generalized physical aggression in kindergarten. Fostering a positive relationship between friends at school entry may buffer against the risk associated with experiencing friendship conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Previously, the nature of teacher-child relationships ( TCRs) has been explored through dimensions of close, conflicted, and dependent. However, this variable-centred approach is limited, as many relationships can be characterized by more than one characteristic or trait. A person-centred approach would allow for a greater understanding of the types of relationships that are formed and improved interpretation of the students' socio-emotional outcomes associated with that relationship. Aims The primary goal of this study was to examine the socio-emotional functioning of young children who formed distinct types of TCRs. Sample Participants were n = 202 kindergarten children (98 girls, 104 boys, Mage = 64.12 months, SD = 4.86). Method Multi-source assessment was employed with data collected from parent ratings, teacher reports, child interviews, and naturalistic observations in the classroom. Using quartile cut-offs, we identified children who formed conflicted, dependent, and 'combined' (conflicted and dependent) TCRs. Results Results indicated distinct patterns of socio-emotional functioning for each TCR group. For example, whereas children in conflicted TCRs evidenced greater externalizing difficulties, children with dependent TCRs had greater internalizing difficulties. Children who evidenced high levels of both conflicted and dependent TCRs displayed the most pervasive socio-emotional difficulties. Conclusions Children who form TCRs characterized by high levels of both conflict and dependency displayed the most pervasive adjustment difficulties. Further investigation is needed to improve our understanding of this group and to assess the plausibility of early intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the existing transactional associations between mother-child conflict and the child's internalising and externalising problems. To this end, longitudinal data were used, covering ages 7-15. The sample consisted of 1,136 mothers and their children who participated in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development longitudinal study. The current analysis employs the Autoregressive Latent Trajectory (ALT) model that enables the simultaneous investigation of (1) the developmental stability, (2) the developmental change, (3) the longitudinal inter-relations, (4) the time-specific associations and (5) the directionality of the relations among the variables under examination. It was found that mother-child conflict increased across time and externalising problems decreased from childhood to adolescence, while internalising problems showed intra-individual stability. Further, mother-daughter conflict increased at a higher rate than mother-son conflict. The cross-lagged regressions suggested that the association between conflict and externalising problems is bi-directional from age 7 to age 9. How-ever, a child effect was found from age 9 to age 15, in that the child's external-ising problems continually influenced mother-child conflict but not the other way around. In contrast, the association between internalising problems and conflict was limited to cross-sectional and overtime associations suggesting that the association between internalising problems and conflict is mostly due to the co-variation between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing mechanisms for predicting human action is a critical task of early conceptual development. Three studies examined whether 4-year-old children (N = 149) use social allegiances to predict behavior, by testing whether they expect the experiences of social partners to influence individual action. After being exposed to a conflict between two individuals from different novel social categories, children reliably predicted that another member of one category would withhold friendship from the contrasting category (Studies 1 and 2) and direct harmful actions toward the contrasting category (Study 3). Children did so even when the initial conflict had no direct implications for the other category members, and even when they knew that the two social categories had a positive relationship in the past. These data show that young children view social categories as marking people who are obligated to one another, and thus use the experiences of allegiance partners to predict how individuals will behave. [Supplementary materials are available for this article. Visit the publisher's online edition ofJournal of Cognition and Developmentfor the following free supplemental resource(s): Appendices.] [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study explored the association between teacher-reported student-teacher relationship quality (closeness and conflict) and demographic factors, school functioning and child mental health in a cross-sectional study. The study was conducted among a national sample of Norwegian school children (N = 825) in grades 1 to 7. Bivariate analyses and standard multiple regression analysis were conducted. Conflict in student-teacher relationships coffelated highly with child mentalhealth factors and in particular, problems of externalization. For closeness in student-teacher relationships, demographic factors accounted for the largest proportion of variance. Our findings suggest that different strategies may be needed to promote closeness and reduce conflict in student-teacher relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The current study examined context, attachment, temperament, and gender as predictors of conflict frequency between mothers and their young children. Conflict between 40 mothers and their 36-month-old children was observed during multiple laboratory tasks with varying levels of structure, and the number of dyadic conflict episodes was totaled for each context. Mothers also completed measures of attachment and temperament. Results indicated that relative to free play and clean-up contexts, dyads displayed the highest amounts of conflict during the teaching context, which was driven by mother-initiated conflict. Attachment, but not temperament, was predictive of dyadic conflict frequency and child-initiated conflicts for mother–daughter dyads, but not for mother–son dyads, during the teaching context. Specifically, as attachment security increased, conflict decreased between mothers and their daughters. The findings of the study emphasize the importance of examining the context and child''s gender in accordance with attachment in order to fully understand the relationship between attachment and conflict frequency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on the application of the four strength-based Re-EDucation strategies such as competence, trust, joy, and self-control to strengthen families. It says that Re-EDucation, which was made by Nicholas Hobbs, is applied to deal with disturbed children in day treatment, residential setting, school-based services, and therapeutic wilderness programs. It adds that the four principles of the strategy, includes the trust between an adult and a child, the teaching of self-control, the importance of being joyous every day as the child grows up, and competence. It adds that the Re-EDucation model teaches children to have the needed measure of confidence and self-control to deal with the challenges they experience.

The present study explored the association between child internalising and externalising problems in schools and demographic factors (sex and age), school functioning (academic performance and adaptive functioning) and teacher-reported student–teacher relationship quality in a cross-sectional study using structural equation modelling. The study was conducted among a sample of Norwegian schoolchildren (n=825) in grades 1–7. The results showed among others that conflict in student–teacher relationships had the strongest association with teacher-reported child externalising and internalising problems. The school system and the teachers probably need to place more focus on how to support children with these kinds of mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children in northern Uganda have undergone significant psychosocial stress during the region's lengthy conflict. A Psychosocial Structured Activities (PSSA) program was implemented in 21 schools identified as amongst those most severely affected by conflict-induced displacement across Gulu and Amuru Districts. The PSSA intervention comprised a series of 15 class sessions designed to progressively increase children's resilience through structured activities involving drama, movement, music and art (with additional components addressing parental support and community involvement). Method: Eight schools were selected by random quota sampling from those schools receiving the PSSA intervention. Two hundred and three children were identified in these schools as being scheduled to receive intervention, and were followed up 12 months later following engagement with PSSA activities. A comparison group comprised 200 children selected from schools that had met inclusion criteria for receipt of intervention, but were not scheduled for intervention coverage until later. Preliminary research used participatory focus group methodology to determine local indicators of child well-being as viewed by parents, teachers, and children respectively. Pre- and post- assessments focused on ratings for each child - by parents, teachers and children - with respect to these indicators. Results: Significant increases in ratings of child well-being were observed in both intervention and comparison groups over a 12-month period. However, the well-being of children who had received the PSSA intervention increased significantly more than for children in the comparison group, as judged by child and parent (but not teacher) report. This effect was evident despite considerable loss-to-follow-up at post-testing as a result of return of many households to communities of origin. Conclusion: General improvement in child well-being over a 12-month period suggests that recovery and reconstruction efforts in Northern Uganda following the onset of peace had a substantive impact on the lives of children. However, exposure to the PSSA program had an additional positive impact on child well-being, suggesting its value in post-conflict recovery contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated developmental differences in children's explanations of the intentions underlying the behaviours of others, including behaviours that conflicted with their expectations. Children aged 6-13 and adults explained the intentions underlying their predictions of behaviour following stories with ambiguous, positive, and negative cues. Children were then presented with experimenter-provided conflicting behaviour and explained again. Results indicated that with no clear cues, children and adults had optimistic expectations. When cues were provided, participants across development provided explanations consistent with positive cues, but children under age 10 were reluctant to provide explanations consistent with negative cues, despite good recall. When explaining conflicting behaviour, people may hesitate to overlook suspicions of negative intent sometimes even in the face of good behaviour, and this reluctance may increase with age. Findings suggest we may all overcome an optimistic bias, but children under age 10 may struggle more to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined how children reason about competing personal preferences. Seventy-two participants (mean ages 5 years 5 months, 10 years 4 months, and 17 years 7 months) considered three hypothetical scenarios in which a protagonist's personal preference was in conflict with her or his friend's personal preference. Scenarios varied in the relative weightiness of each character's desires. Whereas 5- and 10-year-olds prioritized the friend's preference across scenarios, 17-year-olds affirmed the character's prerogative to act according to her or his own preference except when the friend's preference was weightier. Nevertheless, regardless of age, participants generally reasoned about these situations in terms of autonomy and friendship rather than as moral obligations. The findings contribute to our understanding of how children of different ages work out the boundaries of the personal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study extends the determinants of parenting model to adolescent mothers by examining how adolescent mother-grandmother psychological conflict and perceptions of infant fussiness from birth through age 2 years relate to children's problem behaviors at age 7. Participants were 181 adolescent mother, child, and grandmother triads living in multigenerational households and recruited at delivery. Psychological conflict was characterized by two stable trajectories. In multivariate models that included maternal depression, both psychological conflict and perceptions of infant fussiness predicted externalizing behavior at age 7. Perceptions of infant fussiness, but not psychological conflict, predicted internalizing behavior at age 7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Conflict control is an important cognitive ability in human behavioral regulation. The Eriksen flanker task was employed to explore the neural correlation between conflict control and intelligence with the aid of event-related potential (ERP) techniques. Two groups of early adolescents with different intellectual levels participated in the current study (an intellectually gifted group of 20 children vs. an intellectually average group of 21 children, with mean scores of 43 vs. 35.7 in Cattell''s Culture Fair Test, respectively). Behavioral results indicate that the gifted children had better conflict control performances, with increased accuracy and faster response speeds than the intellectually average children. Electrophysiological results further show that the gifted children had more efficient N2 activations during conflict monitoring processing, faster P3 responses over frontal regions, and stronger P3 activations over central–parietal regions during attentional control processing. The difference waveform analysis showed that the gifted children had the weakest N2d activations when elicited by multiple conflicts. N2d amplitudes can be used to distinguish a stimulus conflict from a response conflict, and P3d amplitudes can be used to separate multiple conflicts from a single conflict. The results support the neural efficiency hypothesis of intelligence and shed light on the close relationship between conflict control ability and human intelligence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reviews the 16 contributions of the special issue entitled Current Research in Cognitive Load Theory. Each paper is briefly summarized and some critical comments made. The overall collection is then discussed in terms of the positive contributions they make to the field of learning and instruction, and cognitive load theory in particular (the good), as well as problematical issues such as unresolved explanations and conflicting results (the bad) and the special case of measuring cognitive load (the ugly). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The external world is represented intrapsychically in a specific way. Following the age of an infant, for example, the structure, quality, and the degree of symbolization will be different. The term representation in science is filled with different contents. In psychoanalysis, we see a development from Sigmund Freud's '(Sach- or Wort-)Vorstellungen' to internal objects, then to self-object representations and finally-following newer results of the concept of intersubjectivity and especially under the influence of infant mental- and interactional research-to self-object interaction representations. Some aspects of this development are presented more in detail. Knowing that on one hand, interaction in external reality is structured by the self-object interaction representations of each interacting partner and that on the other hand, what happens during the interactions in external reality modifies the representational world of all the interactive persons (i.e., their inner reality), one can observe constant movements from inside to outside (e.g., transference, action) and from outside to inside of the individual (e.g., perception, stimulation, containment, modification). Clinical implications for the actual way of understanding are manifold, but are here only very shortly delineated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Recent studies have found short-term adrenocortical benefits of early interventions for at-risk children. The current study evaluated the effects of the Family Bereavement Program on cortisol levels six years after the program. Parentally bereaved children were randomly assigned to the 12-week preventive intervention (n =78) or a self-study control (n =61) condition. Six years later (mean age 17.5), salivary cortisol levels were measured before and after a conflict discussion task conducted in late afternoon/early evening. The intervention group had significantly higher cortisol levels across the task compared to the control group, and lower cortisol was associated with higher externalizing symptoms. The group effect did not differ by age at the time of death, and the group difference remained significant after adjustment for pre-intervention mental health and current mental health symptoms. Results suggest that a family-focused intervention for parentally bereaved youth may have prevented the development of attenuated cortisol secretion suggestive of dysregulation and associated with externalizing problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

At the beginning of the 21st century, media commentary and public discourses on childhood commonly invoke a notion of 'crisis'. This article poses the question, what is new about the current invocation of crisis and how does it manifest itself? Specifically, the article explores the ways in which media texts, cultural commentary and policy documents/initiatives collectively produce a dominant discourse of childhood in crisis. I aim to trace the anatomy of this so-called 'crisis' in childhood, to examine how far it exists and what the main features of such a crisis may look like from different perspectives. In doing so I consider and comment upon the relationship between the past and the present and the ways in which a historical perspective can be instructive in understanding how concerns about childhood are conceptualized and given meaning. Based on an analysis of cultural texts that promote or collude in the normative idea of a crisis in childhood, the article provides alternative ways of conceptualizing prevailing ideas and assumptions of crisis and calamity. The article draws upon a textual analysis of pregnancy magazines to examine the ways in which parents may be responding to the idea of a crisis in childhood and the impact this has on their parenting practices. Finally, the article argues that contemporary meanings of childhood are shaped by the links between the past and present, to be found in residual notions of childhood in the popular imagination and contemporary accounts of risk and crisis. In the context of contemporary childrearing, cultural texts and residual meanings cohere to produce a reconfigured version of childhood that can be seen as a generative mixture of romantic, late modern and scientific identifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings of a longitudinal childhood resilience study which investigated the relationship between resilience-related beliefs and positive child development. Three waves of data collection (T1, T2, and T3) were completed in January 2005, July 2005, and January 2006 with a sample of 843 grade 4 pupils, drawn from six primary schools in Hong Kong, and their parents or guardians. At T1, parents/guardians responded to a 24-item inventory of life adversities affecting their children since birth; at T1 and T3, they completed a 25-item Parental Assessment of Child’s Habit, which provided parental evaluation of children’s performance at home and in school. At T1, T2, and T3, children responded to a 58-item Child and Youth Resilience Measure, a 9-item scale on Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity, and an 11-item Chinese Resilience Measure for Children and Adolescents in Hong Kong. Regression analyses, based on linear mixed models, controlling for gender, T1 and T2 scores, personal variables, and random effects of schools, were conducted to test and validate the hypothesis that children’s resilience beliefs are predictive of positive child development, and that this predictive relationship is stronger with increasing adversity in children’s lives. Implications of these findings for the development of resilience-based interventions to enhance the quality of life of children facing adversities are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied conflict management and post-conflict affiliative interactions (reconciliation) in 3-to-6 year-old preschool children. We found development in reconciliatory proficiency with age for boys, but girls reconciled at similar levels throughout the age span. After peer conflict, 3-year-old boys were less likely to reconcile than same-aged girls, or as boys aged 4–6 years. Gender differences were not manifested in older same-age-groups (4–6-year olds). Younger boys (3–4-year olds) experienced higher reconciliation rates in conflicts with older boys (5–6-year olds) than in conflicts with same aged boys. We found no significant age or gender effects in distribution of reconciliatory repertoire or frequency of non-affiliative conflict management strategies (aggression and displacement activities, indicative of stress responses). However, 6-year-old children were more likely than younger children to mediate in conflicts in which they were not opponents, but had witnessed. Though not confirmed statistically, this phenomenon appeared more pronounced in girls than boys. Together, our results suggest that at 3 years of age, preschool children employ sophisticated behaviours to resolve conflicts, displaying remarkable receptiveness and responsiveness to reconciliatory behaviours exhibited by older opponents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of teacher intervention in preschoolers' peer conflicts is controversial, with one view suggesting that children should resolve conflicts on their own, and another that socialization accounts for conflict resolution's development. This study strives to clarify this issue using a short-term longitudinal, observational design to examine teacher intervention and 91 preschoolers aggressive competitive conflict. By delimiting the form of conflict, the study examines whether the role of teacher intervention varied by conflict behavior (e.g., physical and verbal aggression) and the form of conflict resolution. Results support the view that teacher intervention disrupts the conflict resolution cycle, especially in terms of preschoolers' on-going interaction and using alternatives to temporary separation. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated narratives, symbolic play, and emotions in children who varied in severity of disruptive behavior problems. Children's representations of hypothetical situations of conflict and distress were assessed at 4–5 and 7 years. Behavior problems also were assessed then and again at 9 years. Children's aggressive and caring themes differentiated nonproblem children, children whose problems remained or worsened with age, and those whose problems improved over time. Differences in boys and girls whose problems continued sometimes reflected exaggerations of prototypic gender differences seen across the groups. Boys with problems showed more hostile themes (physical aggression and anger), whereas girls with problems showed more caring (prosocial) themes relative to the other groups. Modulated (verbal) aggression, more common in girls than boys, showed developmentally appropriate increases with age. However, this was true only for children without problems and those whose problems improved. We consider how these findings contribute to an understanding the inner worlds of boys and girls who differ in their early developmental trajectories for behavior problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The present study examined 60 (30 early-to-middle adolescents and 30 late adolescents) British adolescents’ understanding of the rights of asylum-seeker children. Participants completed semi-structured interviews designed to assess judgments and evaluations of hypothetical asylum-seeker children''s nurturance and self-determination rights in conflict with the practices of authority. Findings indicated that participants were more likely to endorse asylum-seeker children''s nurturance rights over their self-determination rights. Reasoning about both types of rights was multifaceted and focused on moral, social–conventional and psychological considerations. In addition, significant differences were found between males and females with regard to both endorsement and reasoning. The limitations of the study are discussed and future research is considered. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The drawings made by the analyst --as a countertransferencial response to a prolonged period in which the patient slept in the sessions--resulted in a sustancial change in the evolution of the analysis. In this paper the author describes the analytic process of a 4 years old girl with progressive loss of sight due to uveitis, as the sole symptom of a rheumatic fever. One of the main aims of the analytic work consisted in revealing the repetition in the transference of early events. This events, considered as "psychocnalytic facts", marked a before and after in the process and evolution of treatment. A peak moment in the transference is described: primitive situations lived by the patient appeared in the analysis, doing possible to recreate the inner core of the conflict. The observation of the drawings by the patient allowed to illuminate the unconscious conflict, at the same time there was an improvement of the ocular pathology with complete recovery of vision by the end of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sixty-four sibling dyads (4–12 years old; 61% males; 83% European-American) were asked to resolve an ongoing conflict. Older siblings provided leadership by suggesting, modifying, justifying, and requesting assent to plans for conflict resolution. Younger siblings countered and disagreed, but also contributed to planning and agreed to their siblings' plans. Compromises were associated with first offers that met both children's goals, future-oriented planning, and limited opposition. Win–loss outcomes followed offers favoring only one child and arguments over older siblings' plans. Conflicts were unresolved when negotiations included frequent accusations and opposition, but little planning. Thus mutually beneficial conflict resolution required that children shift focus from debating past wrongs to developing plans to meet their unrealized goals in future interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the results of interviews with seventeen Belgian children participating in a treatment program using Life Space Crisis Intervention. The children, ranging in age from three to eighteen, have a variety of emotional and behavior disorders, including ODD, ADHD, autism, bonding disorder, and physical and sexual abuse. They were interviewed on their perceptions of the program and conflict resolution. The results were interpreted not as the views of mentally disturbed children but as opinions differing from those of the psychologists and educators administering the program. The children talk about what prompts a conflict, how they react to intervention by educators, and how they feel afterwards.

This research explored whether witnessing spouse abuse influences children's use of violent and peaceful behavior in conflicts with peers. Sixty-two child witnesses were compared with 53 non-witnesses across five types of childhood conflicts: limited resources, exclusion, aggression, intimidation, and jealousy. Each conflict was presented in two formats: (1) hypothetical conflicts, and (2) simulated conflict situations. For both, most children, and particularly non-witness males, were consistently peaceful. However, male witnesses were inconsistent and violent in both conflict formats. Female witnesses proposed peaceful strategies in hypothetical conflicts, but were inconsistent and violent in simulated conflicts. Female non-witnesses were consistent and peaceful in simulated conflicts, but were inconsistent and more violent in hypothetical conflicts. Group differences were primarily due to subsets of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siblings between 4 ½ and 9 ½ were interviewed concerning positive and negative actions of self or sibling that either did or did not occur in past conflicts, and then asked to describe these disputes. Children evidenced self-serving biases, ascribing positive actions to themselves more than to their siblings. Additionally, younger siblings denied their negative actions. Older siblings admitted to, but spontaneously explained, their negative actions; they also excluded such actions from their narratives. Moreover, differences between children's accurate and inaccurate responses (in latencies to respond, integration of actions in narratives, and explanations for actions that did or did not occur) suggest that children's attempts to manage the impressions they make on others contribute to biased reports of past conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated children's personal representations of significant sibling conflicts. Forty pairs of siblings were interviewed separately about the same disputes. Although they described the same episodes, both older (M age - 7.0) and younger (M age - 4.4) siblings ascribed more serious transgressions to their opponents than to themselves. They also justified and denied their own severe transgressions more frequently than their siblings' offenses. Overall, children were systematically biased in favor of their own innocence, and older siblings were more self-serving in their use of justifications than their younger siblings. The number and complexity of justifications increased with siblings' age, whereas denials were more frequently relied upon by younger siblings. It is suggested that investigations of children's unique conflict representations represent an important complement to observational studies of sibling conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associations among constructive and destructive sibling conflict, pretend play, internal state language, and sibling relationship quality were investigated in 40 middle-class dyads with a kindergarten-age child (M age = 5.7 years). In 20 dyads the sibling was older (M age = 7.1 years) and in 20 dyads the sibling was younger (M age = 3.6 years). Dyads were videotaped playing with a farm set for 15 min; transcribed sessions were coded for (1) five types of conflict issues; (2) constructive, destructive, and passive resolution strategies; and (3) verbal and physical aggression. Measures of pretend play enactment, low- and high-level pretense negotiation strategies, and internal state language were also based on the transcripts. The Sibling Behavior and Feelings Questionnaire was used to assess both siblings' perceptions of sibling relationship quality. Findings revealed that conflict issues, aggression, and internal state language were associated with specific resolution strategies. Associations were evident between conflict issues and resolutions. Moreover, conflict issues and resolutions were associated with (1) relationship quality, (2) high-level pretense negotiation, and (3) internal state language employed in both play and conflict. Findings are discussed in light of recent theory on developmental processes operating within children's relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the diversity among individuals who self-identify as Muslims and the values and beliefs of Islamic discourse. Recommendations for culturally sensitive practice with Muslim youths; Discussion on the possible value conflicts in school settings; Conflict between Islamic and secular discourses.

Investigates the role of childhood interpersonal trauma on depersonalization disorder. Biometric structure of pathological dissociation; Relationship between childhood interpersonal trauma and dissociative identity disorder; Predictors of childhood sexual abuse.

The effectiveness of peer mediation was examined in an inner-city elementary school. Thirty-four third-grade and fourth-grade students in a prekindergarten to fourth-grade elementary school were trained as peer mediators to help resolve schoolmates' conflicts. They mediated 206 conflicts during the academic year, 91% of which were relationship problems involving physical (41%) and verbal (50%) aggression. Before mediation, the conflict strategies students used primarily were physical force (44%) and verbal intimidation (56%) to coerce the other person to yield. Mediation most commonly resulted in an agreement to avoid each other in the future ( 74 % ) followed by apologizing and forgiving each other (16%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of a conflict resolution training program was examined in an American midwestern suburban elementary school. Participants were 80 kindergartners randomly assigned to an experimental or control condition in morning or afternoon time blocks. Children in the experimental condition received 9 hr of conflict resolution training integrated into a curriculum unit on friendship taught daily for 4 consecutive weeks. Children in the control condition were taught the identical friendship unit for the same period of time without conflict resolution training. Teachers rotated equally across conditions. Significant differences between trained and untrained children occurred in their knowledge and retention of the conflict resolution procedure, willingness and ability to use the procedure in conflict situations, and conceptual understanding of friendship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the mental health of siblings of children with cancer and the need of parents' care and attention to them. It offers information on the Mac Arthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB) self-report measure, that is used to assess the intrapsychic strain and conflicts of these children. It also reflects on risk of later psychiatric disorders in children, who were coping behaviorally well with the situation and not showing manifestations of psychiatric disorders.

The present study aims to clarify the role of different emotions for children's prosocial behaviour on the basis of a motivation-theoretical approach. Specifically, the functions of empathy and distress with respect to prosocial behaviour were investigated in two different experimental situations. Fiveyear-old girls ( N = 50) participated in two observation studies. In study 1 the girls were randomly assigned: (a) to a nondistraction condition by experiencing another person's misfortune ( N = 13); or (b) to a distraction condition by inducing achievement motivation. In study 2 the girls ( N = 25) underwent the same procedure as in the nondistraction condition in order to check the cross-validation of the variables measured. The girls' videotaped nonverbal reactions (quality of facial expression and focus of attention) as well as the intensity of helping were analysed. The cross-validation was successful. The two experimental conditions did not differ with respect to empathy, distress, and helping. However, the relation between empathy and distress pointed at different directions with regard to the results of the two experimental groups. Furthermore, the positive effect of empathy as well as the negative effect of distress on prosocial behaviour were eliminated in case of the distraction situation. The measures on focus of attention supplemented the understanding of these different reactions in the two experimental conditions. The results are discussed in a motivation-theoretical framework by taking into account processes of emotion regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have begun to develop models that explain the processes by which interparental conflict impacts children's adjustment. The present study tested a model based on emotional security theory. The longitudinal relations among interparental conflict, boys' reactions to conflict, and internalizing and externalizing problems were examined in a sample of 129 mother-son dyads from low-income, 2-parent families from the time sons were age 2 to 5. Results indicated that children exposed to interparental conflict were more likely to have concurrent and later behavior problems and that patterns of interparental conflict across time made unique contributions in predicting later problems. Children's emotional reactivity in response to conflict had no direct relation to interparental conflict and only modest relations to behavior problems. However, interparental conflict and reactivity factors interacted to predict behavior problems at ages 3 1/2 and 5. Thus, some support was demonstrated for emotional reactivity as a moderator in the development of young children's behavior problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asserts that the manner of relating and responding to toddlers' conflict will affect the immediate outcome of toddler problem solving. Definition of toddler conflict; Manner of intervening in conflictual situations among toddlers; How caregivers traditionally react; Prevention and intervention strategies; Conclusions derived from toddler-group care situations.

Using the frame of television as a socializing agent, three primetime family sitcoms were analyzed in order to describe the nature of sibling interaction in television families. More sibling interactions were positive than negative. Compared to earlier studies of television siblings, however, the behaviors are relatively conflictual. In mixed-gender dyads younger sisters' interactions with older brothers were particularly hostile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]