This study examined the effectiveness of the PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) curriculum the emotional development of school-aged children. PATHS, a school-based preventive intervention model was designed to improve children's ability to discuss and understand emotions and emotion concepts. The intervention field trial included 30 classrooms in a randomized design and involved the assessment of 286 children from grades 2 and 3. Approximately 30% of the children were in self-contained special needs classrooms, with the remainder in regular education. Teachers were trained in the intervention model and provided PATHS lessons during most of the one school year. Results indicated that the intervention was effective for both low- and high-risk (special needs) children in improving their range of vocabulary and fluency in discussing emotional experiences, their efficacy beliefs regarding the management of emotions, and their developmental understanding of some aspects of emotions. In some instances, greater improvement was shown in children with higher teacher ratings of psychopathology. Discussion focused on the nature of change school-based prevention trials.

No self-report measure of attachment is well validated for middle-childhood. This study examined the validity and factor structure of the People in My Life (PIML) measure in 320 urban, fifth and sixth graders. Validity analyses consisted of correlational analyses between PIML subscales and the Child Behavior Checklist, Delinquency Rating Scale for Self and Others, Heath Resources Inventory, and Reynolds Child Depression Scale. Validity correlations were consistent with a-priori hypotheses. Confirmatory factor analyses consisted of comparison of model fit indices between seven models. Two models fit the data well and both models were consistent with the traditionally used PIML scoring protocol. Moreover, both models were consistent with the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), on which the PIML is modeled, as well as the theoretical underpinnings of attachment in childhood. The PIML and IPPA provide instruments for obtaining a continuous selfreport measure of attachment from middle-childhood through adulthood. KeywordsPeople in my life; Attachment; Late childhood; Factor analysis; Validity Attachment, defined as the type of enduring emotional bond that an individual has toward significant others such as family, friends, and close associates, has long been considered an important factor in social and psychological healthiness (Ainsworth et al., 1978; Bowlby, 1969 Bowlby, /1982Bowlby, /1973Hinde, 1982;Sroufe, 1978). Secure attachment with parents and/or peers in NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript adolescents is associated with life satisfaction, school achievement, self-esteem, and psychological adjustment (Armsden and Greenberg, 1987;Buhrmester, 1990;Bukowski et al., 1993;Hartup, 1996;Nickerson and Nagle, 2004). Children who form insecure attachments are at greater risk for experiencing psychopathology when they are older, even into adulthood (Allen and Land, 1999;Dozier et al., 1999). Hence, children's quality of attachment to others is associated with emotional and behavioral well-being in critical ways. Parental attachmentAttachment theory and research describe types of emotional bonds between parents and children, individuals and their friends and significant others. Some of the central goals of attachment theory and research are to specify the ideal types of attachments, how attachment to others might evolve developmentally as people mature, and the consequences of optimal and non-optimal attachments (Ainsworth, 1991; Bowlby, 1969 Bowlby, /1982Bowlby, /1973 Elicker et al., 1992). A child's attachment to a parent appears to serve as a model for other close relationships (Ainsworth, 1989;Bowlby, 1973;Hazan and Shaver, 1994). Secure attachment to a parent often is a prelude to successful interpersonal skills and intimate relationships (Black and McCartney, 1997;Madden-Derdich et al., 2002) and attachment to a parent remains even after attachments to peers are established (Hazan and Shaver, 1994;Hazan and Zeifman, 1994).However, the association betw...

This study examined individual differences in children's emotional understanding and behavioral adjustment. Participants included 220 first- and second-grade children (75% regular education, 25% special education) who were individually interviewed using the Kusche Affective Interview--Revised. Dependent measures of emotional understanding and experience included the ability to provide personal examples of 10 different emotions and the cues used for recognition of five emotions in oneself and other persons. Children were also administered the WISC-R Vocabulary, Block Design, and Coding subtests. One parent independently completed an Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist for each child. Results indicated that children who were rated as higher in behavior problems showed deficits in emotional understanding. Intellectual functioning was negatively associated with behavior problems and attenuated the effects of behavior problems on emotional understanding. Implications of the current findings for prevention and treatment programs for children with behavior problems are discussed.

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