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Mother–child emotion-related conversations, as a practice of parental socialization of emotion, can help children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) develop socio-emotional skills. This study intends to explore relationships between mother–child conversations about emotions and socio-emotional skills of children with ASD by accounting for the moderating role of children personality traits and mothers' emotional openness. Mothers of children with ASD (n = 49) responded to five questionnaires describing their conversations about emotions, emotional openness as well as their child's socio-emotional skills and personality. We conducted hierarchical regression and moderation analyses. Our findings indicate that frequent mother–child conversations about emotions significantly predict higher emotional regulation and Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities in children with ASD (p < 0.05). Moreover, children's consciousness and openness to experience, along with mothers' emotional openness significantly moderate the relation between mother–child conversations about emotions and children's ToM skills (p < 0.05). Mother–child conversations about emotions, as a practice of parental socialization of emotion, could be beneficial for children with ASD. Children's personality traits and mothers' openness to emotion may act as a protective factor of ToM skills in children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This nine-year longitudinal study addresses the joint contribution of parent-rated negative controlling parenting and child personality on psychosocial outcomes in 141 families of children with autism spectrum disorder (83% boys, mean age Time 1 = 10.1). Latent change modeling revealed substantial variation in within-person change in parenting and psychosocial outcomes across a six- and three-year-interval. Over time, negative controlling parenting and child personality were consistently related to externalizing problems, whereas child personality was differentially related to internalizing problems and psychosocial strengths. Three personality-by-parenting interactions were significant, suggesting that children with less mature personality traits show more externalizing behaviors in the presence of controlling parenting. This study identified both parenting and child personality as important modifiers of developmental outcomes in youth with autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three dimensions of psychopathic traits in childhood predict high levels of conduct problems. Theoretical conceptions suggest that, in addition to predicting the onset of conduct problems, traits also contribute to their developmental pathways. However, little is known about the associations between the trajectories of the three dimensions of psychopathic traits and the persistence and desistance of childhood-onset conduct problems. The objective of the present study was to examine the associations between 6-year trajectories of the three dimensions of psychopathic traits and 8-year trajectories of conduct problems among 316 children (41.8% girls) with childhood-onset conduct problems who were followed longitudinally from childhood to adolescence. Results showed that a higher probability of following high trajectories of each dimension of psychopathic traits significantly increases the odds of following a higher and less declining pattern of conduct problems over and above child sex and annual family income. Results also showed that the combination of a high trajectory of more than one dimension of psychopathic traits is a stronger indicator of a higher and less declining pattern of conduct problems than a high trajectory of only one dimension. These results support the importance of considering the three dimensions of psychopathic traits in understanding the heterogeneity of childhood-onset conduct problems pathways. They also point out the need to assess these traits early in order to give practitioners valuable information in the clinical assessment and treatment of antisocial children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Based on the premise that father-child play is an important context for children's development and that fathers 'specialize' in play, similarities and differences in the role of playfulness in the father-child and mother-child relationship were examined. Participants in this study included 111 families (children's age: 1-3 years). Father-child and mother-child play interactions were videotaped and coded for parental playfulness, sensitivity, structuring, and nonintrusiveness as well as child negativity. Results indicated that mothers and fathers did not differ in playfulness and that mothers and fathers who were higher in playfulness had children with lower levels of negativity. However, playfulness differently moderated the links between parents' and children's behaviors for mothers and fathers. A double-risk pattern was found for mothers, such that the links between child negativity and maternal sensitivity, structuring, and nonintrusiveness were significant only for the subgroup of mothers with low levels of playfulness. When mothers had high levels of playfulness, these effects were negligible. For fathers, a double-buffer pattern was revealed, indicating that the links between child negativity and paternal sensitivity and structuring were significant only for fathers with high levels of playfulness. When fathers had low levels of playfulness, these effects were negligible. These findings demonstrate the important role that parental playfulness has on parent-child interaction as well as the need to examine moderation patterns separately for fathers and mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examined long-term developmental changes in mother-rated lower-order facets of children's Big Five dimensions.Method: Two independent community samples covering early childhood (2-4.5 years; N = 365, 39% girls) and middle childhood to the end of middle adolescence (6-17 years; N = 579, 50% girls) were used. All children had the Belgian nationality. Developmental changes were examined using cohort-sequential latent growth modeling on the 18 facets of the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children.Results: In early childhood, changes were mostly similar across child gender. Between 2 and 4.5 years, several facets showed mean-level stability; others changed in the direction of less Extraversion and Emotional Stability, and more Benevolence and Imagination. The lower-order facets of Conscientiousness showed opposite changes. Gender differences became more apparent from middle childhood onward for facets of all dimensions except Imagination, for which no gender differences were found. Between 6 and 17 years, same-dimension facets showed different shapes of growth. Facets that changed linearly changed mostly in the direction of less Extraversion, Benevolence, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Imagination. Changes in facets for which nonlinear growth was found generally moved in direction or magnitude during developmental transitions.Conclusion: This study provides comprehensive, fine-grained knowledge about personality development during the first two decades of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The promotion of healthy child development has become a major focus of world attention over the last three decades. However, children are often afflicted by emotional disorders in the recent years. These are exhibited by undue thoughts and disrupted behaviors as opposed to the cultural expectations. The present study is aimed to find out the comparison among children with Externalizing/lnternalizing disorder and their Peer Control with respect to the nature and degree of underlying dynamics of personality. The sample include children with externalizing disorder, internalizing disorder and peer control. Each group consists of 15 participants. On each of the groups, a semi structured socio-demographic proforma, consent letters by parents and clinical data sheet were administered to the children. The criterion for clarification of externalizing and internalizing disorder group was assessed using the Devereux Scales of Mental Disorders (Naglieri etai., 1979) and followed by the CAT-Human Version (Beliak & Beliak, 1965). The findings indicated that, externalizing children have poor impulse control and intense need for autonomy and power, internalizing children have intense need for affiliation and moral values and take decision on the basis of ethical judgments and normal peer control group have more balanced ego as compared to the other two clinical groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined separate developmental trajectories of anxious and depressive symptoms from childhood to adolescence (9–15 years) in a community-based sample (N = 290). At three measurement points, mothers and fathers reported on their children's anxious and depressive symptoms, and at Time 1 they reported on lower order child personality facets and on their parenting. By means of growth mixture modeling, three developmental trajectories were identified for anxious symptoms: steady low (82%), moderate increasing–decreasing (5.9%), and high declining groups (12.1%). For depressive symptoms, two developmental trajectories were found: steady low (94.1%) and moderate increasing groups (5.9%). Higher shyness, irritability, and altruism predicted membership in more problematic anxious and depressive groups. The personality facets energy, optimism, compliance, and anxiety were unique predictors for class membership for anxious symptoms, and the effects of shyness, irritability, and compliance were moderated by overreactive parenting. Shyness and irritability increased the probability of following the moderate increasing–decreasing anxiety trajectory, but only in the context of high or average levels of overreactive parenting. Compliance increased the probability of following the moderate increasing–decreasing and high decreasing trajectories in the context of high overreactive parenting. Our results indicate that childhood personality facets differentiate trajectories of anxious and depressive symptoms in theoretically compelling ways. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Moderate, yet relatively consistent, associations between cognitive performance and shyness have been reported throughout the child and adult literatures. The current study assessed longitudinal associations between cognition (i.e., executive functioning) and parent-report temperamental shyness from infancy to early childhood and used temporal order to explore directionality of the relations. Two hundred and eleven children contributed data at multiple ages (5 months, 10 months, 2 years, 3 years, and 4 years). The results indicated a complex pattern of association between cognition and shyness in early development and provided tentative support for both cognitive ability and temperament as causal agents at different developmental time points. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this review, we evaluate developmental and personality research with the aim of determining whether the personality trait of conscientiousness can be identified in children and adolescents. After concluding that conscientiousness does emerge in childhood, we discuss the developmental origins of conscientiousness with a specific focus on self-regulation, academic motivation, and internalized compliance/ internalization of standards. On the basis of the accumulated body of evidence, we conclude that self-regulation fosters conscientiousness later in life, both directly and via academic motivation and internalized compliance with norms. We argue that elements of conscientiousness are evident by early childhood; self-regulation skills are likely a core developmental component of conscientiousness; and despite the contribution of heredity to the aforementioned aspects of functioning, environmental factors likely contribute to conscientiousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pedagogical vocation of Dimitrie Cantemir is less known than that of a scholar and politician. Our aim is to analyze the pedagogical virtues of his personality, more precisely, his conception of the manner in which children's education is to be carried out, the steps of this important process in developing the human personality. It is also remarkable that a thinker with an encyclopaedic background, having the propensity to universality, pleads for a profoundly Christian education of children, somehow leaving us to understand that all knowledge becomes meaningful if there is there is this paideutic foundation underlying the children's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pedagogical vocation of Dimitrie Cantemir is less known than that of a scholar and politician. Our aim is to analyze the pedagogical virtues of his personality, more precisely, his conception of the manner in which children's education is to be carried out, the steps of this important process in developing the human personality. It is also remarkable that a thinker with an encyclopaedic background, having the propensity to universality, pleads for a profoundly Christian education of children, somehow leaving us to understand that all knowledge becomes meaningful if there is there is this paideutic foundation underlying the children's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood personality is a rapidly growing area of investigation within individual differences research. One understudied topic is the universality of the hierarchical structure of childhood personality. In the present investigation, parents rated the personality characteristics of 3,751 children from 5 countries and 4 age groups. The hierarchical structure of childhood personality was examined for 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-factor models across country ( Canada, China, Greece, Russia, and the United States) and age group (3-5, 6-8, 9-11, and 12-14 years of age). Many similarities were noted across both country and age. The Five- Factor Model was salient beginning in early childhood (ages 3-5). Deviations across groups and from adult findings are noted, including the prominent role of antagonism in childhood personality and the high covariation between Conscientiousness and intellect. Future directions, including the need for more explicit attempts to merge temperament and personality models, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Little is known about slow-to-warm-up temperament in infancy. This study examined the trajectory of shyness in children who were slow-to-warm-up in infancy in comparison to children with other temperament profiles in infancy. Participants were 996 mothers and children in the NICHD SECC studied from 6months to first grade. Latent growth curve modeling showed that children who were slow-to-warm-up in infancy tended to be shy in early childhood, but with increasing age these children became indistinguishable from children who were easy or intermediate. In comparison, children who were difficult in infancy remained more shy than children with other temperament profiles. Maternal sensitive and stimulating/supportive parenting was associated with less shyness in early childhood for boys who were slow-to-warm-up in infancy. Findings support the distinctiveness of the slow-to-warm-up temperament in comparison to other temperament profiles as well as its potential usefulness for predicting later child outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ideas about child education are inevitably underpinned by particular views of children, including their nature and development. The purpose of this paper is to discuss C. G. Jung's account of child education in relation to his psychological theory and view of children. However, as Jung's theory predominantly concerns the psychological development of adults and not children, the current paper makes selective use of Jung's texts that focus on children, and examines what Jung calls 'the other half' of education that works through the teacher's personality indirectly affecting the student's development of personality. From a close study of Jung's texts, the paper discusses the nature and the extent of children's involvement in 'the other half' of education and considers some problems with Jung's account of unconscious education. The paper identifies the active and autonomous roles played by children in unconscious education and suggests that Jung's account of 'the other half of education' could provide fresh insights about the meaning and quality of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from kindergarten to primary school constitutes a significant point in children's development, entailing definitive effects on their personality and the formation of their behaviour, but also ontheir school performance. Innovative Educational Programmes constitute a nodal point for the development of cooperation among the educational institutions, aiming to facilitate the transition procedure. Based on the circular of the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs (Ref. No. 8495, 19-11-2007) and within the framework of Sub-programme 6, entitled 'Innovative interventions in all-day kindergartens', in the 4th District of Preschool Education, Prefecture of Piraeus, school year 2007-8, six transition projects were prepared, having as their subject the 'Facilitation of the smooth transition from kindergarten to primary school'. The aim of this article is to present the results from the six aforementioned programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Research on mother–child reminiscing as a socializing practice for autobiographical memory is extended from early childhood and the narrating of single events to adolescence and the narrating of an entire life story. To explore whether the development of the life story in adolescence depends on qualities of the narrator or on the brevity of the narrated life, and whether mothers adapt their scaffolding strategies in co-narrations of the child''s life to the child''s zone of proximal development, 16 mother–child pairs (child''s ages 8, 12, 16, and 20 years) both co-narrated and individually narrated the child''s life. As expected, only the coherence of the children''s, but not the mothers’, narratives varied with the child''s age. Also, mothers supported temporal structuring more in younger children and arguments about personality and its development more in adolescents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of this study was to explore child and adolescent personality in the Russian culture, addressing gender and age differences, and to examine personality and family effects on children’s Internalizing and Externalizing problems. Parents of 1,640 Russian children aged 3—18 years completed the Inventory of Child Individual Differences measuring personality, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire measuring problem behavior, and reported about family background. Girls scored higher than boys on the Conscientiousness domain and on the Intelligent and Considerate scales, but lower on Activity. In younger children, Extraversion was higher; in older children, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Shyness were higher; Distractibility was highest in early adolescence. The gender and age differences were small. Personality explained about 30% of variance in children’s Internalizing problems, and 50% in Externalizing problems; family factors contributed less than 4%. Internalizing Problems were linked to higher Neuroticism and lower Extraversion; Externalizing Problems were linked to higher Extraversion, lower Conscientiousness and Agreeableness. For both types of problems, harsh parenting was a risk factor, while SES and family cohesion were associated with lower problem levels. Models linking personality with children’s problem behavior were similar in preschool, middle childhood, early and late adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Objective: Sensation seeking is a personality attribute associated with injury in school-age children, adolescents, and adults. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire measure of sensation seeking for young children 2–5 years of age. Methods: Items tapping aspects of sensation seeking (Novelty Seeking, Behavioral Intensity, Thrill Seeking) were developed, content validation was completed by child development experts, and 72 parents then completed the Sensation Seeking Scale for Young Children (SSSYC) twice (3 months intervening) to establish internal and test–retest reliabilities. To assess criterion validity, scores were related to children''s preferences for high versus low sensation seeking activities, their free play behavior in an indoor playroom, and to children''s history of unintentional injuries. Results: Indices of internal reliability and test–retest reliability were good and questionnaire scores positively correlated with sensation seeking behaviors during free play, preferences for high versus low sensation seeking activities, and injury measures, providing support for criterion validity. Conclusion: This initial evaluation of the SSSYC suggests that it is a psychometrically sound measure of sensation seeking. This scale may be useful for identifying high sensation seekers at young ages, providing the opportunity for early intervention to prevent unintentional injuries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study investigated how Korean (N =397) and U.S. (N =333) children and adolescents (10 and 13 years of age) evaluated personality (aggression, shyness) and group (gender, nationality) characteristics as a basis for peer rejection in three contexts (friendship rejection, group exclusion, victimization). Overall, peer rejection based on group membership was viewed as more unfair than peer rejection based on personality traits. Children viewed friendship rejection as more legitimate than group exclusion or victimization and used more personal choice reasoning for friendship rejection than for rejection in any other context. Although there were a few cultural differences, overall, the findings provided support for the cultural generalizability of social reasoning about peer rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on conceptual change indicates the benefits of addressing students' prior understandings of topics of instruction. This article addresses the beliefs that college students in educational psychology and introductory psychology courses had about basic issues in child development. In response to open-ended questions, 150 students articulated distinct views about the social-emotional, physical, and cognitive domains. In their ratings, most students showed a preference for multidimensional explanations of development but adapted their responses to particular developmental domains and skills. Some evidence indicated that previous instruction in child development and the experience of raising children were associated with multifaceted beliefs. Implications are offered for future research and instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study examines how and why children change in aggression and delinquency from age 6 to 15 years. Besides assessing the shape of the developmental trajectories of aggression and delinquency, we investigated whether child personality characteristics, parenting, and interactions between these two predict the development of aggression/delinquency. Methods: Employing a cohort-sequential design, data from the Flemish Study on Parenting, Personality, and Development were used. The sample consisted of 586 children aged 6–9 years at the first assessment, and their parents. Mothers, fathers, and teachers rated child personality at Time 1 using the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children, and mothers and fathers rated externalizing behaviors at the first, second, and third assessment using the Child Behavior Checklist. Parents rated their own overreactive parenting at Time 1 with the Parenting Scale. Results: Aggression and delinquency showed differential, though interrelated development. Less extraverted, benevolent and conscientious children, and more imaginative children were more susceptible to overreactivity. The model replicated across fathers’ overreactivity. Conclusions: Parents of children who are less extraverted, benevolent and conscientious, or more imaginative, are in particular need of being supported in developing and maintaining effective disciplinary techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's personality traits have enduring effects that shape adult well-being. In particular, childhood conscientiousness influences core aspects of adult well-being: health, friendships, and mastery. Research is now examining the mechanisms by which early personality traits initiate and sustain particular life paths. These include mediating and moderating mechanisms that may operate during critical developmental periods or may build cumulatively over time. Future research would benefit from testing theoretically derived mechanisms for different traits and examining variables as they change over time, using both short- and long-term longitudinal designs over different life stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 establishing a first stable partnership and finding a first full-time job. However, only the upper 8% in terms of inhibition tended to show internalizing problems, including self-rated inhibition. Aggressive boys showed an externalizing personality profile in the parental and self-judgments, were educational and occupational underachievers, and showed a higher adult delinquency rate than the controls, even after sex and socioeconomic status were controlled. The results suggest delayed social transitions without internalizing problems for most male and female inhibited children and a significant long-term risk of an externalizing profile for aggressive children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study administered the NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3), a more readable version of an adult measure of the Five-Factor Model, to 449 boys and girls aged 12 and 13, who described themselves or a peer. Analyses of readability, reliability, factor structure, and convergent and discriminant validity suggested that the NEO-PI-3 can be appropriately used in this age group. Personality traits in children of this age closely resemble in structure and functioning the traits of older adolescents and adults. Most gender differences known from studies of adults are found in this age group, and mean levels show continuity with older groups. The NEO-PI-3 appears to be a useful instrument for research, and potentially for clinical applications, in middle-school-aged children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study with five-year-olds is the first to examine whether low-quality interactions with parents elicit physiological stress in children beyond toddlerhood, as evident from elevated cortisol levels in their saliva. It was hypothesised that particularly children with low levels of ego-resiliency −a personality construct reflecting the capacity to cope with stress − would show cortisol increases during low-quality parent–child interactions. Method: In a sample of 101 five-year-old children (62 boys), parent–child interaction was observed at home during parent–child discourse that involved the recollection and discussion of emotional events that happened to the child in the past. Saliva samples to assess cortisol levels were collected before and 20 minutes after the parent–child discourse task. The children's teacher rated child ego-resiliency using a Dutch translation of the California Child Q-set (CCQ; Block & Block, 1980 ). Results: One of the two parent–child interaction factors that emerged from a principal component analysis, namely negative parent–child interactions, was significantly related to the children's cortisol reaction; more negative parent–child interactions elicited significantly stronger cortisol reactions. The other parent–child interaction factor that was found, i.e., effective guidance, was not significantly related to children's cortisol reaction. As predicted, children low on ego-resiliency showed increases in cortisol during negative interactions with their parents, whereas high ego-resilient children did not. Conclusions: The association between negative parent–child interactions and cortisol elevations in children may point to a likely mechanism through which negative parent–child interactions contribute to negative developmental outcomes as the repeated exposure to high levels of cortisol have earlier been found to negatively affect children's development and functioning in various areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights a three-point screening tool to identify whether a shy patient is suffering from social anxiety disorder. This tool assesses whether the patient's fear of embarrassment causes him or her to avoid speaking to people, whether he or she avoid activities in which he or she is the center of attention or whether looking stupid is one of his or her worst fears. Social anxiety differs from shyness in children in its ability to debilitate the child's ability to grow and develop socially in an appropriate manner.

The article provides a discussion of the psychological outcomes in children ages six to twelve. The article cites the four stages of human development and mentions that at the end of the four periods, the individual personality is thought of as developed and complete in regard to the aspects that permit the individual to be part of a society, venture into a career, life's work, or mission. The contributions of a Montessori environment to children who are included in the second plane of development, are also discussed. The focus, as implied, should be placed on self-discipline and character. Social, cognitive, emotional, and moral developments in children in the second stage are also presented.

The authors tested a mediation model in which childhood hostility and sociability were expected to influence the development of intentions to use alcohol in the future through the mediating mechanisms of developing attitudes and norms. Children in 1st through 5th grades (N=1,049) from a western Oregon community participated in a longitudinal study involving 4 annual assessments. Hostility and sociability were assessed by teachers' ratings at the 1st assessment, and attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions were assessed by self-report at all 4 assessments. For both genders, latent growth modeling demonstrated that sociability predicted an increase in intentions to use alcohol over time, whereas hostility predicted initial levels of these intentions. These personality effects were mediated by the development of attitudes and subjective norms, supporting a model wherein childhood personality traits exert their influence on the development of intentions to use alcohol through the development of these more proximal cognitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared the long-term predictive validity of person-centered personality types and variable-centered personality dimensions assessed between ages 4-6 years in a population sample of 154 children. Results indicated that the predictive power of both approaches was remarkably robust between age 17 and 22, and even increased in the case of aggressiveness. At age 22 the long-term predictive ability of both types and dimensions was about equal, both in terms of the multivariate percentage of explained variance and the number of significant Iongitudinal correlates. This pattern is consistent with the notion that personality types and variables represent core personality domains that predict a wide range of Iongitudinal outcomes. However, the predictive ability of both approaches was larger for personality traits and intelligence than for social relationships outcomes. Implications for the distinction between core and surface traits are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire for Children (NPQC) is a brief self‐report scale for measuring narcissism in children. In Study 1, a factor analysis on 370 children’s NPQC scores revealed four factors that were labeled superiority, exploitativeness, self‐absorption, and leadership. Study 2 established convergent and discriminant validities of the NPQC. NPQC scores were positively correlated with need for power/dominance, self‐esteem, aggression, and need for achievement, and unrelated to life satisfaction, as expected. Further support for the validity of the NPQC was obtained when findings were consistent with attachment theory’s interpretation of narcissistic children’s self‐perceptions. Study 3 investigated the temporal stability of scores. Results from Studies 1 and 3 show the NPQC to be an internally consistent measure (Cronbach alpha = .81) and to have adequate test–retest reliability ( r = .81). Implications for the education of aggressive and narcissistic children are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Important progress in our understanding of the natural course of personality disorders (PDs) is documented in the articles for this special section. This progress could set the stage for ideas developed in the study of PDs to play a central role in research on psychopathology more broadly conceived. The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (Skodol et al., this issue), the Children in the Community Study (Cohen, Crawford, Johnson, & Kasen, this issue), and the McLean Study of Adult Development (Zanarini, Frankenburg, Hennen, Reich, & Silk, this issue) reveal the importance of personality in under- standing psychopathology, and point toward a dimensional approach to conceptualizing psychopathology that could also frame categorical clinical decision making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of how maltreatment and trauma aects personality functioning in abused children has been greatly enhanced by clinical theory and research in developmental psychology. Developmental research and theory has allowed the child abuse field to move beyond symptom-lists toward broader models of how trauma impacts major domains of personality functioning. However, these models continue to be based largely on discrete theories of development that parallel, if not confound, one another. This paper attempts to expand our understanding of the traumatized child by using the synthetic model of personality development expounded by Fred Pine that promotes a more holistic and comprehensive view of the abused child and, thus, enhances clinical theory and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue is about the importance of personality in children. The articles locus on areas that are increasingly being investigated which highlight how personality is related to important developmental adjustment patterns. Examples of both person-level typologies and variable-centered analyses show how important it is to consider individual differences in children when describing development over the life span. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this commentary I make three points. First, the four articles presented in this special issue are critical examples of the viability and importance of the idea of childhood personality. Second, 1 identify several concerns, including the narrow scope of the study of childhood personality, the lack of focus on environmental factors that might facilitate development in childhood personality, and the conceptual overlap between measures of childhood personality and outcomes such as externalizing behavior. Third, I recommend that the gap between childhood and adult personality be bridged more systematically so that we can detail the path of development across the life course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of a data analysis intended to examine the relationship between children's personality, maternal beliefs and childrearing behaviour and various disabilities on the one hand (mildly, moderate or severe mental handicap, sensorial handicap, developmental disabilities) and mothers' educational level on the other. Data were taken from 102 mothers of disabled children between the ages of three and six. The children came from the Walloon Region of Belgium and were regularly counselled by an early intervention team (Services d'Aide Précoce -- SAP). Variance analyses were performed on questionnaire data from the total sample (n=102). The questionnaires were based on the Five Factor Model of personality rating (Roskam, de Maere-Gaudissart, & Vandenplas-Holper, 2000), and on Sameroff's levels of parental development for the rating of maternal beliefs. Factorial correspondence analyses were also performed on maternal self-reported childrearing behaviour as described in 50 interviews with mothers, analysed with a coding grid. The results confirm that the child's disability contribute to changing maternal beliefs about personality and development as well as it may be considered as a main source of a change in the maternal directiveness. The results also confirm that the complexity of the mothers' explanatory models about child's development vary according to their educational level. Furthermore, while earlier studies were comparisons with a broad ranging sample, the present one explore comparisons between several disabilities. Contrary to most of the previous studies, it doesn't focus only on directiveness but also on other subcategories of the mothers' childrearing behaviour. Finally, several results here presented need future research. They are in favour of the relation between mother's educational level and childrearing behaviour while previous ones were much debated. They have also shown that general subcategories were not sufficient to describe mothers' childrearing behaviour. More complex dimensions have been extracted from the analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This is a preliminary report on the characteristics, experiences, and behavior of 88 adolescent, primarily African-American, children of incarcerated urban addict mothers that examines the association of age, gender, and risk factor profiles with the children''s adjustment status defined in terms of self-reported questionnaire information and selected personality/behavioral assessment inventories. In spite of the existence of adverse circumstances in their lives, including the incarceration of their substance-abusing mothers, results revealed that the majority of these children were neither especially deviant nor maladjusted, all but a small percentage having successfully avoided substance abuse and the adoption of a deviant lifestyle at this point in their development. In most cases, mother surrogates (usually a grandmother or other family member) had for many years functioned as primary caregivers of the children prior to the incarceration of their birth mothers, which may have attenuated the negative impact ordinarily associated with a mother''s absence from the home. However, there was a general indication of problematic school behavior and vulnerability to deviant peer influences that should be addressed in efforts aimed at preventing the escalation of deviant activity in such children. Also, in almost all cases, there was a readily observable need for the provision of caseworker support services to the current caregivers of the children. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Discusses the results of a study on the personality and development in children. Types of personality in children; Relation between personality and behavior; Importance of the personality typology for understanding the life course of children.

Presents a study that investigated the precursors to personality types and behavior in children. Methodology; Analysis of the stability and transitions of personality types; Association of risk factors on personality transformation in early childhood.

Introduces a study on personality and development in children using a person-centered approach. Methods of person-centered research; Information on research on personality types in childhood; Controversies in the study of personality types.

Discusses the application of a person-centered approach to the study of personality development in children. Aims and features of the approach; Benefits of the approach; Details on the personality types in children.

Presents a list of books and periodical articles used in the study of personality and development in children. "Personality: A Psychological Interpretation," by G. Allport; "Socioeconomic Status and Child Development," by R.H. Bradley and R.E. Corwyn published in the 2002 issue of the "Annual Review of Psychology"; "The Psychology of Moral Development," by L. Kohlberg.

The article presents author's view on the children's graphic development. It is widely accepted that children explore different approaches to visual representation. These are constructed according to varying rules and serve different representation purposes. The author relates that social setting is one of the key mechanisms that determine which of the various systems of graphic representation will be resurrected and enriched. The child is an explorer of systems of visual representation. The adult world attends selectively to the child's discoveries and selects some for cultivation.

This investigation examines the predictive significance of peer reputation in elementary school for the quality of adaptation in adolescence. A normative sample (N = 207) of third to sixth graders was administered the Revised Class Play (RCP). Each received 3 scores (Sociability-Leadership, Aggression-Disruption, and Sensitivity-Isolation). 7 years later, 88% of these children and their parents participated in a questionnaire follow-up study utilizing a broad range of adolescent outcome measures (e.g., social and athletic competence, academic performance, behavioral symptoms, well-being). The 3 RCP scores were significantly related to both adolescent competence and psychopathology, supporting the predictive validity of the RCP as well as the continuity of general adaptation. Each dimension of peer reputation had a different pattern of prediction depending on the outcome criteria under consideration, suggesting the importance of a multidimensional approach to peer reputation. Positive peer reputation proved to be an important predictor of later adjustment. Sex differences were examined; results suggested somewhat different patterns of prediction for boys and girls, especially for the sensitive-isolated dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]