Judy Dunn

A study of children's understanding of the feelings and behavior of others in their family world.

Developmental studies are beginning to bring together previously separate areas of research on emotion and cognition, making this a particularly exciting time for a special issue of Cognition and Emotion focusing on developmental research. Three themes, each central in current developmental studies, are brought together in this special issue, in which leaders in developmental research describe their most recent studies. These themes are the nature and developmental course of children's understanding of emotion; the development of children's understanding of mind; and the influence of a range of socialisation experiences, including emotional expression, on children's social relationships and behaviour. The studies in this issue bridge the gaps between these domains: they illuminate the connections, but also show us some of the differences in the pattern of children's development in emotion and understanding. Cutting across the studies described are a number of common themes: an interest in individual differences; in using natural language data and observational methods as well as experimental approaches; in gender differences in emotional expression and experiences and their implications; and, perhaps most striking of all, in framing developmental questions in terms of both cognitive and emotional development. The generative potential of the research described is unquestionable and the innovative combinations of interest in both cognitive and emotional aspects of development greatly to be welcomed.

Why do two children reared in the same family turn out to be so different? Through lively research examples the authors examine the cause of sisbling differences and, in the process, overturn much of the prevailing wisdom on the roles of nature and nurture in development.

This book is concerned with the question of how families matter in young people's development - a question of obvious interest and importance to a wide range of readers, which has serious policy implication. A series of key current topics concerning families are examined by the top international scholars in the field, including the key risks affecting children, individual differences in their resilience, links between families and peers, the connections between parental work and children's family lives, the impact of childcare, divorce, and parental separation, grandparents, and new family forms such as lesbian and surrogate mother families. The latest research findings are brought together with discussion of policy issues raised.

This book, which is a result of a two year investigation by the Children's Society and draws upon the work of the UK's leading experts in many fields, explores the main stresses and influences to which every child is exposed including family, friends, youth culture, values, and schooling.