<p> Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is a potential consequence of pervasive neglectful and unpredictable caregiving behaviors, and has extensive psychological and daunting consequences on the vulnerable and developing young brain. Current treatment strategies for RAD are conspicuously lacking, relying on indiscriminately targeted psychopharmacological therapies with pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic complications due to developmental vulnerabilities, and the unavailability of evidence based psychotherapeutic interventions. At present, there is an acute demand for innovative research into more developmentally sensitive and neurobiologically targeted treatment strategies for this population, and as a result, Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) is being proposed as a potentially efficacious treatment for children with RAD due to the targeted effects on limbic system structures and neurotransmitter systems that are directly implicated in the neurobiology of RAD. Rationale for the use of VNS in the pediatric RAD population is based upon evidence from the safety and efficacy of VNS in the pediatric epileptic population, in conjunction with the fairly consistent observed anxiolytic and mood stabilizing effects reported in multiple clinical studies.</p>

<p> The aim of this study was to examine children's reasoning about the fairness of differential treatment by teachers and to determine if there were circumstances under which children may consider differential treatment to be acceptable. Participants (n = 76), ages 6 to 11 years, evaluated hypothetical stories entailing unequal distributions of different educational goods: quantity of work, turns to read aloud, and individual attention from the teacher. The teacher's rationale for the differential treatment was systematically varied in order to determine whether it altered participants' evaluations. In addition to a condition in which no rationale was given, four different rationales were proposed to underlie the differential treatment: differentiating instruction for high achieving students, differentiating instruction for struggling students, preferential treatment for favored students, and preferential treatment for boys. </p><p> The findings showed that differential treatment in the form of individual teacher attention was most acceptable to students, followed by differential assigned work, and lastly differential turns to read aloud. Children drew a distinction between the condition in which no rationale for the differential treatment was provided and the conditions in which they were. When a rationale was not presented to explain the teacher's behavior, the majority of participants rejected the differential treatment. When rationales were introduced, participants were significantly more likely to endorse differential treatment for struggling and high achieving students than for favorite students or boys. Participants were also significantly more likely to endorse differential treatment for struggling students than for high-achieving students. Analysis of justifications supporting children's evaluations of differential treatment indicated that children drew a distinction between differentiated instruction and preferential treatment. </p><p> The presence of age differences in children's judgments of differential treatment depended upon the particular educational good at stake and the teacher's rationale. When no rationale for the differential treatment was provided, 6-7 year old participants were significantly less likely to endorse differential treatment than either 8-9 year old or 10-11 year old participants. When a rationale for differential treatment was presented, there were only two conditions (out of twelve) in which significant age differences emerged. Although the majority of participants favored modified work for high achieving students, 6-7 year old participants were significantly less likely to favor it for high achievers than 10-11 year old participants. Further, 10-11 year old participants were significantly less likely to favor extra turns for struggling readers than 8-9 year old participants. </p><p> Previous research had not yet examined justice reasoning as applied to the distribution of educational opportunities in the form of differential treatment. The present study found evidence that children as young as 6 years did not equate fairness with simple equality of treatment, but recognized that special needs may warrant an unequal distribution of the teacher's individual attention, extra opportunities to read aloud, or a modification of assignments. The findings add complexity to the view that the justice concept of equality emerges earlier in ontogeny than the justice concept of merit or need. In this study, participants across ages 6 to 11 years considered claims to equality, merit, and need (i.e., the acceptability of differential treatment for high achievers and struggling students). The results present a more nuanced picture of children's justice conceptions than has been discussed in earlier work. </p>

<p> This thesis analyzed relative clause (RC) comprehension in Tagalog. Results from a reference selection task revealed that the children's accuracy was already comparable to adults by 7 to 9 years of age when processing agent RCs. These findings are consistent with the literature. However, when reaction times (RTs) and error-types are considered, a different picture of the trajectory of acquisition emerges. The children's RTs did not pattern like adults until 10 to 14 years of age. They also avoided reversal-errors as consistently as adults only at 10 to 14 years of age. With regard to non-agent RCs, the RT of children, ages 10 to 14, already patterned like adults but their accuracy still remained significantly different. Children also avoided agent-errors as consistently like adults only at 10 to 14 years of age. Overall, these results suggest a more piecemeal trajectory of the development of RCs in Tagalog.</p>

<p> Play therapy is a growing form of counseling that allows children to express themselves in the most natural way possible. Virginia Axline (1969) applied Roger's person centered theory and core conditions (empathic, genuineness and honesty, unconditional positive regard) to working with children in a therapeutic setting calling it Child Centered Play Therapy. Landreth (2002) further explored and developed child-centered play therapy concepts and techniques and emphasized the art of the relationship between the child and the counselor. Extant research on the effects of CCPT with children with different diagnoses, age groups, and settings is well-documented. However, there is a dearth of information concerning using CCPT in a school setting with children of ages 3-6 who were identified by the teachers as experiencing behavioral difficulties. Thus, the purpose of the study was to see if CCPT would help change behaviors with students that were identified as having behavior difficulties in the classroom. Three teachers observed and identified 12 students in grades pre-kinder 3, 4, and Kindergarten with behavioral difficulties in the classroom. Each of the 12 students was selected to receive an intervention using CCPT. For each of the 12 students, one parent/guardian completed the Child Behavior Check List forms each week, and the respective classroom teacher completed the Caregiver-Teacher Report form each week for the 12-week duration of the study. A single case research design was used, which included three weeks of baseline observation, followed by six weeks of CCPT with treatment twice per week, and three weeks of post baseline observation. Findings revealed that play therapy was a highly effective treatment for reducing negative behaviors in most students. Parents' ratings of behaviors indicated an 88.30% improvement in behaviors, and 50% of teachers' ratings indicated improved behavior change after receiving CCPT. In summary, 71% of all scores indicated change in behavior. Under further evaluation during the post baseline stage of the study, 90% of parents and 80% of teachers rated the student's behavior as improved. The results are indicative of CCPT being a very efficacious treatment intervention for students in grades pre-kinder 3, 4, and Kindergarten.</p>

<p> Social learning has been shown to have a significant impact on moral development. Research has established that the progression of moral development is consistent and universal. Several factors can impact the rate at which children progress through the moral stages. Children's moral reasoning can be shaped by observations of media characters. Due to their recent resurgence in popular culture and the media, as well as their consistent popularity with children, superheroes have been identified as potential social models of morality. In a sample of 108 fifth grade students, a significant positive correlation was revealed between superhero knowledge and exposure. The sample was divided by gender due to significant differences in superhero knowledge and exposure as well as level of moral judgment. A linear multiple regression for the males approached but did not reach significance. A linear multiple regression for females also failed to reach significance. Limitations of the current study and implications for future research are discussed.</p>

<p> Beneath the familiar noise of a 21^st Century American popular culture enthralled with the new, the bright-and-shiny, the golden hero versus dark villain, a back-beat refrain can be heard: Where have all the grownups gone? </p><p> This dissertation searches for those adults in modern American life who have endured cycles of heroic ascent and fall, crisis and reckoning with their own unknown-wild in a process known in depth psychology as archetypal initiation. Beyond the consulting room of depth psychotherapy, the stories of public figures in the news present rich opportunity to examine the initiatory crises of adulthood within a pervasive cultural context. Hence this study focuses its inquiry as a dialogue between the culture's biographical journalism&mdash;"people stories" in the news&mdash;and the thinkers of depth psychology. It seeks to give voice to an emerging contemporary grownup by metaphorically placing-the-culture-on-the-couch of depth psychology. </p><p> Review of the literature establishes the work in the overlap of three key areas of study: The mythological hero's journey, adulthood as explored in depth psychology and prevailing cultural literature, and the journalism of depth psychology juxtaposed with the journalism of popular culture. The study employs a cultural-historical hermeneutic method using a systematic grid or matrix of interpretive inquiry to "interview" biographical and journalistic texts about 10 public figures from American business, sports, politics, military, and arts/entertainment: Steve Jobs, Joe Paterno, Marion Jones, Tiger Woods, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Mark Sanford, Paula Broadwell, David Petraeus, and Oprah Winfrey. </p><p> Findings are presented as character-sketch essays aligned tightly to the interpretive matrix. The essays establish first a biographical-journalistic narrative then develop the depth-psychology dimensions of shadow confrontation, initiatory crisis, inter-subjectivity, and archetypal motifs. As with myth, this journo-psychological matrix can serve as both contextual lens and predictive model. This study's ultimate purpose is to discover a new myth of the emerging grownup and propose a template in service to adults striving to mature through cycles of initiatory crisis and their archetypal journeys of individuation&mdash;in and beyond both news of the day and consulting room. </p><p> Key Words: adult, archetype, biography, depth psychology, grownup, initiation, journalism.</p>

This paper examines the current body of literature on the topic of bullying and cyberbullying in schools around the world. Bullying and cyberbullying represent two of the most common forms of physical and psychological harm to children today, and the negative effects caused by bullying can be incredibly severe. Various aspects of these phenomena are examined to contextualize the current problem of cyberbullying. Due to the serious implications presented by bullying for the psychological wellbeing of modern youth, understanding this phenomenon is essential in order for school authorities to have effective means of preventing bullying and cyberbullying. The paper will conclude with an examination of some current intervention efforts and considerations for the development of improved intervention efforts for the future.

<p> The present study investigated the employment experiences of adults with mild developmental disabilities. The study's sample consisted of 45 participants with developmental disabilities who were over the age of 18. Participants were recruited from two Regional Centers in Southern California and either phone interviews or in-person interviews were conducted. </p><p> A structured interview protocol examined each participant's current work experience, along with several items exploring facilitators and obstacles to employment. Data from this qualitative investigation were organized into categories using inductive content analysis. Descriptive statistics were computed for quantitative items. Overall, it was discovered that: participants found money as the most rewarding aspect of employment, relied on outside support in obtaining and maintaining employment and found few obstacles of which to overcome, worked with others with developmental disabilities, and utilized workplace supports in entry level positions making an average wage of $8.92 a hour during a 20.72 hour work week.</p>

<p> Researchers have examined reverie and the numinous autonomously; however concomitant studies on reverie and the numinous are nonexistent. Moreover, no research in depth psychotherapy explores reverie or the numinous as essential experiences associated with early childhood psychospiritual awareness. This heuristic investigation examines the experience of reverie as it can lead to the numinous in the context of Child Centered Play Therapy (CCPT). Case history as arts based data conceptualizes this premise. Five nonactive child case histories give an initial glimpse into the researcher's clinical experience of reverie as it can lead to the numinous. </p><p> Reverie is defined as a daydream, and numinous is viewed as an ethereal attribute given to one's personal experience of phenomena. Both descriptions are universal depictions. The researcher includes personal perspective through autobiographical accounts of early childhood experiences and through reflections of reverie as it can lead to the numinous in adulthood. In heuristic inquiry, understanding the researcher's internal frame of reference is essential to understanding the research premise and the unique explorative research process. </p><p> Overall, this research serves as a way to include children and their unique depth psychotherapeutic processes. Understanding how children access unconscious material may help depth psychologists to understand what informs early childhood psychospiritual awareness. </p><p> Ultimately, children can and do access psychological material that can and do lead to transformation and healing at a deep level. Children's psychotherapeutic processes manifest differently and sometimes emanate from a place of reverie; what manifests from those soulful reveries sometimes take on a numinous quality. </p><p> This initial heuristic investigation on reverie as it can lead to the numinous is exploratory in nature and is not intended to be conclusive. More research is likely needed to continue to expand on this dissertation's premise. </p><p> Key words: case history, child centered play therapy, daydream, heuristic, numinous, psychospiritual, reverie, Sol <i>niger.</i></p>

Research in developmental psychopathology has advanced our understanding of emotional dysregulation underlying children’s behavioural problems and their association with maternal depression. Neurophysiological measures may further clarify these relations. The ERN (error-related negativity) is an event-related potential commonly used to assess self-monitoring, with large amplitudes reflecting internalizing and small amplitudes reflecting externalizing symptoms. The present study investigated the effect of ERN amplitude on the relation between maternal depression and internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of children referred for aggressive behaviour. ERN amplitudes were recorded while 50 children (8-10 years of age) engaged in a go/no-go emotion induction task. Results indicated an association between high ERN amplitudes and internalizing behaviour and between small ERN amplitudes and externalizing behaviours for children with depressed mothers. These findings suggest that the degree of self-monitoring (indexed by ERN amplitude) moderates the relation between maternal depression and psychopathological outcomes in children.