Peer play,emotion understanding,and socio‐moral explanation: The role of gender

Engagement in peer play is an important factor in young children's adjustment as they make the transition to school. We evaluated individual differences in peer play within a sample of 58 children aged 4–5 years. Among boys, but not among girls, emotion understanding and verbal ability independently served as positive predictors of interactive peer play and negative predictors of disconnected play. Among girls, but not among boys, interactive peer play and socio‐moral reasoning about peer conflict situations independently predicted sociometric most‐like nominations. The results provide a foundation for further research on divergence in the early peer play of girls and boys.     

The World of the Abused Child: A Phenomenological Report

ABSTRACT: A verbatim interview of one 21-year-old suicidal woman, who had a long history of abuse by her mother, is presented. Some theoretical issues concerning the scientific and clinical usefulness of phenomenological reports in the understanding of child abuse (and other aberrant behavior) are briefly discussed.