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Social and Emotional Development Definitions and Characteristics:

  1. Definition of Social and Emotional Development 1
    • Social and emotional development in young children has to do with:
      • How young children feel about themselves (e.g., confident, always scared, eager to learn, proud of their culture, afraid of being wrong)
      • How they behave (e.g., constantly fighting, easily upset, able to deal with conflict)
      • How they relate to others, especially people who matter to them (e.g., parents, teachers, and friends).
    • Sometimes the terms infant and early childhood mental health are also used instead of social emotional development.
  2. Definition of Emotional Disturbance 3
    • Various terms are used to describe emotional, behavioral or mental disorder. Based on Individuals with Disabilities Education Act it includes: "...condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree adversely affects a child's educational performance:
      • An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
      • An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers or teachers)
      • Inappropriate types of behavior or feeling under normal circumstances.
      • A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
      • A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
  3. Definition of Early Childhood Social Emotional Development 28
    • Experience, manage and express the full range of positive and negative emotions;
    • Develop close, satisfying relationships with other children and adults;
    • Actively explore their environment and learn.
  4. Characteristics: 3
    • Children with emotional disturbances may exhibit some of the following characteristics and behaviors:
      • Hyperactivity (e.g., short attention span, impulsiveness)
      • Aggression/self-injurious behavior (e.g., acting out, fighting)
      • Withdrawal (e.g., failure to initiate interactions with others, retreat from exchanges of social interaction, excessive fear or anxiety)
      • Immaturity (e.g., inappropriate crying, temper tantrums, poor coping skills)
      • Learning difficulties (e.g., academically performing below grade level)
    • Children with the most serious emotional disturbances may exhibit distorted thinking, excessive anxiety, bizarre motor acts, and abnormal mood swings. Some are identified as children who have severe psychosis or schizophrenia. When children have an emotional disturbance, these behaviors continue over long periods of time. Their behavior thus signals that they are not coping with their environment or peers.

Data on Child Well-Being:

Recent research reveals that childhood stress can damage the early architecture of the brain thereby affecting a child’s future. Stress may come in different forms, including: family tension over job loss; divorce; death of a loved one; inconsistent caregivers; effects of poverty; poor nutrition; repeated exposure to inappropriate behavior; substance abuse; violence, abuse, and neglect. 4

Consider, among children ages 0-17 in North Dakota:

In addition:

  • 2,314 North Dakota children ages 0-18 were in foster care in 2005 14
    See NDKC's page on Foster Care
  • 257 children and youth were found to be homeless in 2005 2
    See NDKC's page on Homeless

Concrete Solutions and Policy Strategies:

  • Positive Behavior Support Program from the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction
    • Positive Behavior Support is a statewide initiative that provides a framework for strategies for achieving social and learning outcomes and preventing problem student behavior. It uses positive teaching methods, consistent behavior and academic skills, interventions, and reinforcement. PBS is a data driven program that provides teachers with accurate data to make discipline decisions. Professional Development for educators and staff on student behavior management is provided. Positive Behavior Support addresses the impulsive and behavior management of students with special needs, and socialization issues.
    • DPI Contacts are:
  • National Center for Early Development & Learning (NCEDL) 27
    • NCEDL focuses on enhancing the cognitive, social and emotional development of children from birth through age eight. Goals include to: research critical issues in early childhood practices; develop partnerships with diverse constituencies; synthesize knowledge and recommend future directions; and translate research into practice and disseminate information to diverse audiences.
  • Helping Young Children Succeed (2005) 28
    • A joint research and policy report developed by ZERO TO THREE and the National Conference of State Legislatures, describes how state policymakers can support the healthy social-emotional development of young children from birth to age five. The brief defines early childhood social-emotional development, describes what can happen when children face emotional and behavioral problems, and outlines what actions can be taken at the state level to support healthy social-emotional development in babies and young children.
  • Spending Smarter: A Funding Guide for Policymakers and Advocates to Promote Social and Emotional Health and School Readiness (2005) 29
    • This resource is available through the National Center for Children in Poverty. This document is part of a policy series intended to improve social, emotional, and learning outcomes for young children. Spending Smarter describes effective programs, highlights policy opportunities, and offers fiscal strategies to promote the emotional health of young children and their families. The analyses in this series will help state officials, community leaders, and advocates take actions to ensure the healthy development of children and their families. Spending Smarter focuses on strategies to maximize existing funding streams by building on federal programs. Resources to Promote Social and Emotional Health and School Readiness in Young Children and Families: A Community Guide describes targeted interventions that can help parents and other early care providers (e.g., home visitors and teachers) be more effective in promoting healthy relationships and reducing challenging behavior in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
  • Benefits and Costs of Prevention and Early Intervention Programs for Youth (2004) 30
    • Does prevention pay? Can an ounce of prevention avoid (at least) an ounce of cure? More specifically for public policy purposes, is there credible scientific evidence that for each dollar a legislature spends on "research-based" prevention or early intervention programs for youth, more than a dollar's worth of benefits will be generated? If so, what are the policy options that offer taxpayers the best return on their dollar? These are among the questions asked by the Washington State Institute of Public Policy to ascertain whether specific programs result in savings of taxpayer dollars. The results can be downloaded here.
  • Making Dollars Follow Sense: Financing Early Childhood Mental Health Services to Promote Healthy Social and Emotional Development in Young Children 31
    • Drawing on lessons from six case studies, this policy paper highlights the most innovative approaches states and communities are currently using to finance early childhood mental health services and explores what else might be done to mix, match, and leverage all available resources. The focus is on prevention and early intervention services to not only help children directly, but equally important, to help their families and other caregivers address the social and emotional challenges children face. The case studies are based on interviews with policy and program leaders in the states of Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Vermont, as well as two metropolitan areas—San Francisco and Cuyahoga County, Ohio
      (where Cleveland is located).
  • The Effects of Investing in Early Education on Economic Growth 32
    • This Policy Brief (#153) analyzes the investment that a high-quality preschool policy has on economic growth.
  • “Out of the Box” Training Kits 33
    • Training kits on a wide array of early childhood topics (i.e. environments, early care and education, infants and toddlers – brain research, positive discipline). In a thought-provoking article entitled "The Value of Real Work with Children Exhibiting Challenging Behavior," Linda Ranson Jacobs made a convincing case for helping children with challenging behaviors mediate their behavior by involving them in real work. Jacobs' article, along with a David Elkind article, formed the basis for the Out of the Box Training Kit "Meaningful Work for Young Children." Jacobs observed...
      • "When a child had to be removed from the classroom he or she was brought to the office; our goal was to change the child’s outlook and give the child an opportunity to feel good about himself. Many times angry children have excessive energy. Using the energy constructively helps a child channel all of the energy into being helpful. What worked particularly well for children under stress was anything having to do with water, such as washing toys, washing dishes, and washing windows. Children that stomped or kicked were encouraged to vacuum the carpets. Depending on the child and the situation, choices might be offered, and the child allowed to pick what would help them get their body in control. By performing these jobs, the children began having positive experiences. They began to feel better about themselves and this transferred to better connections in their own world. Their world began to make sense; relationships began to flourish. Order and organization on the outside brought a sense of control with their emotions on the inside."
  • Success By 6® 34
    • United Way Success By 6® began at the United Way of Minneapolis Area in 1988. Today, United Way Success By 6® has deep roots, with more than 350 initiatives across the United States and Canada. United Way Success By 6® is creating effective community-based solutions that contribute to a positive quality of life for young children. Success By 6® is rooted in the belief that a community working together toward a common vision can generate an effective plan to improve the outcomes for children. The chosen strategies for this community focus on change in three areas:
      • Increasing access to services
      • Raising awareness of children's issues and available services
      • Advocacy that influences public policy to the benefit of children and families.
    • Success By 6® is an initiative and this differs from a program. Program outcomes are the benefits received by individuals from one-to-one services and are essential to our community. Initiative work, on the other hand, alters the environment of the entire community to achieve outcomes for a whole population. In the outcome focused planning process of Success By 6®, questions are asked about populations of children and the environments that affect them. See below how programs differ from initiatives:

      Programs Initiatives
      Mission/vision for client base Vision for all children/outcome for target group of children
      Single service area Community-wide
      Direct service Advocate for changes in community environment
      Affects child and family Influence community systems to affect child and parents
      Board determines policy/practice Multi-sector collaborative determines policy/practice
      Funding to individual clients Leveraged resources to implement multiple strategies
      Affect client base Potential to affect all children in a neighborhood/county/state
      Seeks change(s) for clients Seeks change(s) for community environment and entire systems to benefit all children

Resources:

  1. National Center for Children in Poverty. "Resources to Promote Social and Emotional Health and School Readiness." www.nccp.org/pub_rps05.html.
  2. North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. 1993-2005 data (enrollment). 2005 data (homeless). www.dpi.state.nd.us.
  3. National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. "Emotional Disturbance." www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs5.pdf.
  4. Frameworks Institute. www.frameworksinstitute.org/.
  5. International Resilience Project. "A Guide to Promoting Resilience in Children: Strengthening the Human Spirit." www.resilnet.uiuc.edu/library/grotb95b.html.
  6. National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. "Children's Emotional Health is Built Into the Architecture of Their Brains." www.developingchild.net/papers/emotional_development_is_built.pdf.
  7. “Remissions in Maternal Depression and Child Psychopathology.” March 22/29, 2006. Vol. 295, No. 12. jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/295/12/1389.
  8. Head Start Bureau. “Pathways to Prevention: A Comprehensive Guide for Supporting Infant and Toddler Mental Health.” www.headstartinfo.org/pdf/Pathwaysto.pdf.
  9. The Commonwealth Fund. "State Approaches to Promoting Young Children's Healthy Mental Development." www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=325120.
  10. WebMD. "Emotional and Behavioral Problems Have Ripple Effect on Children's Health and Families." www.webmd.com/content/Article/113/110675.htm.
  11. National Mental Health Association, Children's Mental Health Matters. www.nmha.org/children/children_mh_matters/index.cfm.
  12. U.S. Census Bureau. 2000 data. www.census.gov/.
  13. KIDS COUNT State-Level Data Online. 2003 data. www.aecf.org/kidscount/sld/.
  14. North Dakota Department of Human Services, Division of Child & Family Services. 2004 data (child abuse); 2005 data (foster care). www.nd.gov/humanservices/services/childfamily/.
  15. North Dakota Council on Abused Women’s Services. 2002 data. www.ndcaws.org/.
  16. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. “Facts for Families.”
    www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/index.htm.
  17. National Academy for State Health Policy. www.nashp.org.
  18. The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools. "Mental Health Services in Schools." www.healthinschools.org/mentalhealth.asp.
  19. National Center for Infant and Early Childhood Health Policy.
    www.healthychild.ucla.edu/NationalCenter.
  20. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Mental Health Work Group." www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/.
  21. National Institutes of Health. "ClinicalTrials.gov." www.clinicaltrials.gov.
  22. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. www.samhsa.gov.
  23. National Institute of Mental Health. www.nimh.nih.gov.
  24. Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health. www.brightfutures.org/mentalhealth.
  25. Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learningf (CASEL). "Sustainable Schoolwide Social and Emotional Learning (SEL): Implementation Guide and Toolkit." www.casel.org/projects_products/toolkit.php
  26. Healthy North Dakota. www.health.state.nd.us/HealthyND/.
  27. National Center for Early Development & Learning (NCEDL). www.fpg.unc.edu/~ncedl/index.cfm.
  28. Zero to Three. "Helping Young Children Succeed: Strategies to Promote Early Childhood Social and Emotional Development."
  29. National Center for Children in Poverty. "Spending Smarter: A Funding Guide for Policymakers and Advocates to Promote Social and Emotional Health and School Readiness." www.nccp.org/pub_ssf.html.
  30. Washington State Institute for Public Policy. "Benefits and Costs of Prevention and Early Intervention Programs for Youth." www.wsipp.wa.gov/pub.asp?docid=04-07-3901.
  31. National Center for Children in Poverty. "Making Dollars Follow Sense: Financing Early Childhood Mental Health Services to Promote Healthy Social and Emotional Development in Young Children." www.nccp.org/pub_pew02d.html.
  32. Brookings Institution. "The Effects of Investing in Early Education on Economic Growth.” www.brookings.edu/comm/policybriefs/pb153.htm.
  33. Child Care Exchange. "Out of the Box" Training Kits. https://secure.ccie.com/catalog/cciecatalog.php?cPath=44
  34. United Way - Success by 6. www.uwbg.org/initiatives/successbysix.
  35. Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center. eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc.

Data and Discussions:

Publication Resources for Development:

Interactive Data Resources for Development:

Other Data on the Web:

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