Kindness Makes a Difference

High quality interventions, which employ an extended contact model, wherein stories, roleplaying, and other appealing informational media are used to promote more positive intergroup attitudes, tend to be effective at enhancing the attitudes, intentions, and interests of typical children toward their peers with differences. The following four studies assess the efficacy of The Realabilities comic book series and the Addy & Uno off-Broadway musical, which promote kindness, empathy, and a stop-bullying platform while teaching about disabilities and/or mental health disorders. The studies include 1) a qualitative study of 19 fourth grade students from an elementary school in Paramus, NJ, who viewed the Addy & Uno off-Broadway musical and participated in the full Realabilities educational comic book series intervention; 2) a qualitative study of 20 high school students with diverse disabilities, who participated in the full Realabilities comic book series intervention; 3) a quantitative study of 76 students from a high school in Long Island City, NY, who read the first mental health-based Realabilities comic book; and finally, 4) a quantitative study of 66 students from a high school in Long Island City, NY, who read the first and second mental-health based Realabilities comics. The researchers used a coding system to find principal themes in the qualitative data and used modified versions of the adjective checklist (ACL) and shared activities questionnaire (SAQ), along with a knowledge measure, to assess quantitative changes from pre to post-testing of the comic book series. Study findings help support the efficacy of an extended contact model and suggest that programs like these may serve as useful antidotes to counter negative attitudes of children and adolescents towards disabilities and mental health disorders, respectively.

Cultivating Flow and Happiness in Children

This chapter emphasizes the interrelatedness of three important concepts: flow, creativity, and happiness. In positive psychology, “flow” is identified as a state of consciousness that involves an energized focus as one presently engages in an enjoyed activity. This chapter will help readers understand how to cultivate flow and creativity in their everyday lives and explain why doing so can lead to an enhancement in wellbeing and personal development. The important role of parenting in a child's life will also be addressed as children absorb a vast amount of information from their parents who innately are their first mirroring role models. The authors will also provide insight into personal and societal barriers that may hinder creative expression and the sustainment of happiness.

Conduct Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder

This chapter investigates the psychological, physiological, and social aspects of conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). These disorders are classified in the disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders class in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (2013). This chapter will consider the symptoms of ODD and CD and their effect on a child's social and biological development. The most common consequences of the disorders will be discussed: for example, the risk for other psychopathologies, social adversities, delinquency, and aggression. These severe outcomes signal the need for therapy options for children and adolescents and the assessment of their efficacy.

Key Ingredients for Fostering Emotional Intelligence in Children

This chapter delves into the history of emotional intelligence, from early allusions in the 1920s to contemporary times. It describes the various facets and components of emotional intelligence, discusses how it can be measured, and will discriminate between the emotional quotient (EQ) and the intelligence quotient (IQ) in terms of predicting future life success. The chapter then delineates key ingredients for becoming an emotionally intelligent parent and for promoting emotionally intelligent strategies in the home. Finally, the chapter concludes with comprehensive sections of how to foster emotional intelligence in the workplace and in the school system. The benefits of infusing emotional intelligence in the home, the school, and the workplace are emphasized and discussed.

Grit, Goal Setting, and Social Support as It Pertains to Family Dynamics and Romantic Relationships

This chapter explores interpersonal relationships in family dynamics and romantic relationships as they pertain to grit, goal setting, and social support. Individuals in various types of relationships will be explored, such as married and non-married couples, couples with children, and couples without children. In addition, this chapter will examine the influence that partners and family members have on one another and the several outcomes that result in different kinds of family and relational supports. The chapter will also explore the importance of using all three methods (grit, goal setting, social support) in conjunction with one another, since the three are vital to long-term success in interpersonal relationships and positive family dynamics, regardless of environmental or socio-economic differences in each case. Examples with evidentiary and anecdotal support will be used to explain the benefits or detriments of having or not having these traits in interpersonal relationships and family dynamics. These examples were selected to be inclusive and to relate to family, parental, and spousal relationship structures.

The History and Evolution of Infant-Parental Attachment Security

From an ethological viewpoint, the term “attachment” refers to the affectional tie developed between two animals that creates a lasting bond. While the term generally refers to animals, for the purpose of this chapter, this term will be used to describe bonds among humans. Mainly, the word attachment will be used to analyze and describe the bond between an infant and his/her primary caregiver. One of the primary characteristics of attachment is the desire to maintain close proximity. This is accomplished through attachment behaviors, which are behaviors that support proximity to the attachment figure.

The Art of Consumption

This chapter addresses the many different ways children consume both food and media, and the diverse effects these consumption habits have. This chapter also addresses how the consumption of these two variables are related and have reciprocal effects, which can be damaging, to one another. The negative effects of certain consumption habits can be detrimental for the child and family as a whole. Furthermore, the author discusses the most beneficial practices for children to cultivate in order to develop an overall healthy food and media diet.

In the Pursuit of Happiness

How can we foster happiness in a child and what happens if it is not done properly? Newborns have to rely on their parents and others to teach them this emotion from the beginning, and there are some that fail to do so. This chapter discusses the theories and methods used in fostering happiness in children from a young age as well as understanding other challenges. Positive psychology, discovered by Martin Seligman, is currently a new industrialized way of catalyzing a more focused view on infusing life with positive qualities. Other topics concerning happiness stem from positive psychology. It is imperative to understand them and consider them throughout a child's life. Children's minds are constantly developing to understand new things around them. Children aren't going to be happy at all times, and there will be moments when they throw tantrums or have other issues. When these moments occur, it is important for parents, teachers, and other adults to handle them the right way.

Parenting Practices in Botswana

As in other Sub-Saharan countries, the legal reforms that occur in Botswana have significant effects on family functioning and how parenting occurs. Parenting practices such as strategies for supporting, monitoring, and disciplining children have significant effects on children's physical, social, psychological, emotional, and behavioral wellbeing. An important section of the structural system that affects parenting practices is the law. Botswana's Children's Act is an overriding law that informs any children's policy and program as well as parenting behaviors. Children's laws in the country are influenced by both socio-cultural discourses as well as the international bodies that Botswana is signatory to such as the Convention for the Rights of the Child (CRC). The authors adopt a critical discourse analysis (CDA) to examine how Botswana's Children's Act of 2009 contributes to parenting practices in the country and the impact of socio-cultural discourses in understanding and implementing the act. Implications for social work practice, research, and policy are highlighted.

How Children Fail

In recent years, there has been widespread interest across both the research and public sectors in understanding how to promote children's lifelong success in a range of domains. While a focus on promoting success in children remains salient, equally salient in the research is how children fail—specifically, how children prevail in the face of failure, adversity, and other challenges over time. The chapter explores parenting and family factors that predict grit. This chapter investigates a range of parenting and family factors, including demographic characteristics, parenting behaviors and styles, and family cultural and environmental factors. Based on this research, the chapter provides overarching recommendations to researchers seeking to understand grit in a family context.