3-189 - Using Indicators of Social-Emotional Development to Inform Practice

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

High numbers of children suffer from behavioral difficulties and the consequences of peer victimization, and there is consensus among developmental scientists that there is an urgent need to implement evidence-based strategies as early and effectively as possible in order to address these challenges. While a plethora of intervention programs exist to combat aggression and nurture prosociality, it is not fully understood how the field should use research-based knowledge about social-emotional development systematically to inform attempts to assess and address behavior challenges, and how to tailor practices based on children’s social-emotional capacities. Yet, providing responses to these questions is essential to improve the translation of research-based knowledge into effective intervention for children.
Against this background, the main aim of this symposium is to discuss how information on social-emotional development can be coordinated for use as the basis for decision-making and intervention planning. The symposium will bring together presenters from the US, Canada, and Italy to address questions regarding the assessment of social-emotional capacities, their role in pro- and antisocial behavior outcomes used to inform decision-making, as well as the coordination of frameworks to conceptualize social-emotional skills that inform intervention practices targeting children. The discussant, an internationally leading expert in this research area, will discuss how to create a research-to-practice cycle that rigorously assesses and nurtures social-emotional capacities, focusing on conceptual and methodological challenges, progress in the implementation of evidence-based measures and approaches to enhance social-emotional development and decrease problem behaviors and victimization in children, and implications for future research.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Tina Malti, University of Toronto

Discussant

• Debra Pepler, York University

Individual Presentations

• Children’s Social-Emotional Development: Links with Pro- and Antisocial Behavior - Presenting Author: Linlin Zhang, University of Toronto; Non-Presenting Author: Tina Malti, University of Toronto

• Guilt in Probullying and in Provictim Roles: What are the Mechanisms? - Presenting Author: Annalaura Nocentini, University of Florence; Non-Presenting Author: Ersilia Menesini, University of Florence; Non-Presenting Author: Tina Malti, University of Toronto

• Looking Inside and Across Frameworks: Findings from Preliminary Analysis of the Taxonomy Project - Presenting Author: Bryan Nelson, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Non-Presenting Author: Katharine Elizabeth Brush, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Non-Presenting Author: Rebecca Bailey, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Non-Presenting Author: Stephanie Jones, Harvard Graduate School of Education