The purpose of this investigation was to determine at which age levels, between four and eight years, children express Praise, Apology, Commiseration, Blame, Challenge, Endearment, and both a Positive and Negative State. Subjects were thirty children, six from each age level between four and eight years, selected from an elementary and preschool within the Portland area. Sixteen picture cards and stories were designed to elicit the eight different feelings. Each subject responded to questions at the end of the story and was given two chances to express the appropriate feeling. Each response was judged as appropriate or inappropriate and scored accordingly.

The quality of children's daily experiences in preschool classrooms is predictive of their school readiness and later achievement (Duncan et al., 2007; La Paro & Pianta, 2000). One particularly important aspect of these experiences is the quality of emotional support provided by teachers and peers in the classroom (Hamre & Pianta, 2005; Howes et al., 2008; Mashburn, 2008; National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning, 2012). Traditionally, emotional support quality has been calculated as the average of ratings taken across the school year and is meant to represent children's average daily experience, without regard to any variability which exists within the ratings over time. The bioecological model of development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998; 2006) points out the necessity of considering in what ways learning experiences occur over time when drawing links between children's daily lives and later outcomes. In addition, attachment theory (Bowlby, 1973; Ainsworth, 1979) highlights the foundational nature of caregivers' consistency of emotional responses over time in helping young children develop skills and competencies. This study continues a line of research focused on investigating the stability of high-quality interactions as a possible mechanism through which children's optimal cognitive and social-emotional development occurs in preschool classrooms (Curby, Brock, & Hamre, 2013; Curby et al., 2011; Zinsser, Bailey, Curby, Denham, & Bassett, 2013). The current study examined the role of children's socioeconomic and behavioral risk factors, teachers' mean emotional support, and teachers' emotional support consistency in predicting children's cognitive and social-emotional development in preschool. Children's socioeconomic and behavioral risk factors (socioeconomic status, gender, age, race, ethnicity, English Language Learner status, and self-regulation) negatively predicted both baseline scores and development over the course of the year on the cognitive measures (early math and language and literacy). Low levels of teacher-rated student self-regulation at the beginning of the year significantly negatively predicted baseline scores and development on all academic and social-emotional measures. Contrary to most previous research, teachers' mean emotional support was not found to be a significant contributor to children's development when considered with child risk factors, except in the case of receptive vocabulary. The consistency of teachers' emotional support, however, was predictive of several measures of children's development of academic skills when controlling for child risk factors. A significant interaction between English Language Learner status and emotional support consistency was found in predicting development of expressive vocabulary skills. Multilevel models combining child characteristics, mean emotional support, and emotional support consistency suggest that child risk factors and emotional support consistency predict language and literacy development, above and beyond mean emotional support. Follow-up analyses also suggest that, under conditions of relatively high emotional support, consistency is especially important in predicting children's development of cognitive and social-emotional skills.

An examination of the relationships between family environment, psychological maltreatment, subjective well-being and psychological distress. Certain family environments may be more at risk for engaging in psychological maltreatment than others.

The work deals with the understanding of own emotions in preschool children and the possibilities of its development. The literature review part presents the most well-known models of emotional intelligence and understanding of own emotions as its basic component. It also describes the developmental specifics of the preschool period with an emphasis on emotional development, and in particular the development of understanding of emotions. Factors that influence emotional development and ways in which emotional intelligence and specifically understanding of emotions can be developed are presented. The aim of the research part is to investigate, through a qualitative study design, how the expression of understanding of one's own emotions in preschool children changes after the intervention, in which the publication Emušáci: Ferda a jeho mouchy by Michaela Dostálová, Sylvia Jančiová and Helena Vlčková is used. The data are collected through individual structured interviews and processed by thematic analysis. The results describe how preschool children express their understanding of their own emotions and what changes occur in this respect after the implementation of the chosen form of intervention. Keywords Understanding emotions, preschool children, emotional intelligence, qualitative research, Emušáci

Previous studies have shown that children’s social goals are influenced byemotion and that emotions can be manipulated using relationships. The present study combines these previous findings by examining the effect of children’s relationships on social goals. Social goals were examined in second and fifth grade children using hypothetical ambiguous provocation situations in which the relationship between the participant and the provocateur was manipulated by inserting the name of a friend, enemy, or a neutral peer into the story. After each situation, children rated the importance of four different social goals, indicating which of the four would be the most important to accomplish. Results indicated that within each goal type, importance ratings varied depending on the nature of the relationship. Social relational goals were rated as much more important when the provocateur was a friend versus an enemy or neutral peer, instrumental goals, however, were rated as more important when the provocateur was an enemy or a neutral peer, and avoidant and revenge goals were rated as more important when the provocateur was an enemy. Goal hierarchy was also found to vary across relationships; social relational goals were the most important when the provocateur was a friend, yet instrumental goals became equally important when the provocateur was a neutral peer and were rated as most important when the provocateur was an enemy.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Joanne Rovet.

No description available.

Losing a close relative or friend is a traumatic event for anyone, especially for children and adolescents. This article investigates the motives and patterns of children’s and adolescents’ interpersonal online communication on bereavement platforms. A qualitative content analysis of two different youth bereavement platforms (n = 21 threads; 319 postings) illuminates how one common feature is the verbalization and illustration of missing support in the offline world. The substantial usage of social network platforms can be considered an extension of children’s and adolescents’ personal social environment. Furthermore, topics on bereavement platforms ultimately go beyond grief, as children and adolescents also include emotions such as hope, gratitude and cohesiveness. Communication within online bereavement communities thus enables a process known from offline communication as transformation from a lossoriented to restoration-oriented coping (Stroebe and Schut 2010, p. 277).

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Seksuele misbruik is 'n brutale vorm van kindermishandeling wat kommerwekkende afmetings in Suid-Afrika aanneem. Hierdie traumatiese gebeurtenis het emosioneel 'n geweldige negatiewe impak op die kinderslagoffer. Hierdie studie is gerig deur die uitgangspunt dat terapeute, deur middel van Gestaltspelterapie, hierdie kinderslagoffers moet lei in die hantering van hierdie trauma en die gevolge daarvan. Die gebrek aan riglyne vir die terapeut om die seksueel misbruikte kind in die middelkinderjare te hanteer is as navorsingsprobleem geformuleer. Die doel van die studie was dus om vanuit 'n Gestaltspelterapeutiese benadering riglyne vir terapeute daar te stel in die hantering van die seksueel misbruikte kind in die middelkinderjare ten einde die kind te bemagtig. Om hierdie doel te bereik, is die navorsingsproses deur kwalitatiewe navorsing gerig en individuele gevallestudies voltooi deur die terapeutiese proses met drie kinderslagoffers te deurloop. Die data wat bekom is kon deur middel van data-analise en literatuurkontrole aangewend word om riglyne saam te stel. Daar is dus in die doel van die ondersoek geslaag, naamlik die daarstelling van riglyne vir die hantering van die seksueel misbruikte kind in die middelkinderjare. / Sexual abuse is a brutal form of child abuse that has reached exasperating proportions in South Africa. This traumatic event has an enormously negative emotional impact on the child victim. This study is directed by the premise that therapists', by means of Gestalt play therapy, should guide these victimized children in dealing with this trauma and its consequences. The research problem for the study was formulated as the lack of guidelines for the therapist to deal with the sexually abused child in middle childhood. The aim of the study was to provide therapists' with guidelines designed from the approach of Gestalt play therapy for dealing with and empowering the sexually abused child in middle childhood. In order to achieve this goal, qualitative research was employed, while individual case studies were carried out by applying the therapeutic process to three victimized children. The data obtained was analyzed, checked against existing literature, and used to compile the guidelines. Thus, the goal of the research was achieved, namely to provide guidelines for dealing with the sexually abused child in middle childhood. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Text in Afrikaans / The Gestalt Play Therapeutic approach is used as contextual frame in this research where-in music is applied as an aid for the aggressive emotions of the primary learner. Emotional and behavioral problems in children in primary and secondary schools and even in pre-primary schools, are assuming alarming proportions. From the holistic approach of the Gestalt theory, it has an influence on the development of areas such as the emotional, physical, cognitive and social in the phase of middle childhood. There is a lack of research findings on the effect of music during support to the aggressive primary learner within a Gestalt Play Therapeutic frame. The experimental single system design was used as research method as part of the quantitative investigation. The conclusion is that music was used successfully in the handling of rage and aggressive emotions in the group of child respondents within the context of the Gestalt approach. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)