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Research on Emotional and Cognitive Development in Children
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Research on Emotional and Cognitive Development in Children

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Behavioral and Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2025) | Viewed by 9085

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Noemi Faedda

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Human Neuroscience, Section of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Sabelli, 108-00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: cognitive psychology; pediatric headache; children psychotherapy; children psychopathology; neurodevelopmental disorders
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During the course of life, cognitive and emotional development go hand in hand. A delay or impairment in one can affect the development of the other. For example, a motor delay may impair a child's ability to explore the environment, and a language delay may affect a child's ability to relate appropriately, causing a reduction in the child's opportunities to experience and train social skills. 

Understanding how cognitive and emotional development influence each other during development is crucial in order to plan effective interventions that take into account a child's difficulties in a comprehensive manner. Treating a cognitive difficulty without taking into account the emotional component and vice versa may result in a failure to achieve the therapeutic objective and affect the individual's quality of life.

This Research Topic welcomes original research articles that report unpublished studies regarding emotional and cognitive development in children with typical and atypical development. Case report articles that report particular cases of children and adolescents that present impairments and difficulties in emotional and cognitive abilities will be welcomed. I also encourage the submission of systematic review articles that present a synthesis of previous research regarding emotional and cognitive development that uses systematic and clearly defined methods to identify, categorize, analyze, and report aggregated evidence on this specific topic. Finally, review and mini review articles focused on aspects of a current area of investigation and its recent developments that present a complete overview of the state of the art are welcomed.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Healthcare.

Dr. Noemi Faedda
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • children
  • adolescents
  • emotional development
  • cognitive development
  • neurodevelopmental disorder
  • typical development
 

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 250 KiB  
Article
Parent Perceptions of an Anxiety Prevention Manual for Young Children
by Olutosin Sanyaolu, Ava Robertson, Tabitha Naa Akuyea Addy and Laura Anne Nabors
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(6), 833; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22060833 - 26 May 2025
Viewed by 112
Abstract
Parents are primary “supporters” for helping their children cope with feelings of anxiety, a significant concern for many young children. The current study examined parents’ perceptions of an anxiety management manual. Parents reviewed an anxiety coping manual for elementary school-aged children. This manual [...] Read more.
Parents are primary “supporters” for helping their children cope with feelings of anxiety, a significant concern for many young children. The current study examined parents’ perceptions of an anxiety management manual. Parents reviewed an anxiety coping manual for elementary school-aged children. This manual explained how anxiety influences the body and emotions, as well as presenting cognitive-behavioral anxiety management strategies. The strategies included breathing, imagery (superhero to fight worries and imagine your favorite place), relaxation, talking to supportive others, and using distraction. Convenience samples of 15 parents completed virtual interviews and 6 completed in-person interviews to determine their perceptions of the manual and of worry for today’s children. Qualitative analyses were performed to determine themes in the data. Results indicated that parents would use the manual and key themes, which were (1) learning new strategies for helping their child, (2) discussing children’s worries, and (3) sharing why the worry strategies would be useful (e.g., for emotion regulation). Parents felt that today’s children are worrying more about serious things like school performance and family stressors. Future research needs to examine parent implementation of the strategies over time to determine if the use of anxiety management strategies is related to lower levels of worry for young children, if the strategies reduce anxiety-related stress, and if prevention minimizes the impact of anxiety on emotional functioning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Emotional and Cognitive Development in Children)
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13 pages, 553 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Emotion Regulation Skills in High-Risk Adolescents Due to the Existence of Psychopathology in the Family: Feasibility and Uncontrolled Pilot Study of a Group Intervention in a Naturalistic School Setting
by Christiana Theodorou, Maria Karekla and Georgia Panayiotou
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(6), 738; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21060738 - 5 Jun 2024
Viewed by 3041
Abstract
Background: Emotion regulation skills form part of many interventions for youth with internalizing and externalizing difficulties. This pilot study examines a prevention program delivered at school to improve adolescents’ emotion regulation skills, focusing on those at risk for mental health problems. Methods: Adolescents [...] Read more.
Background: Emotion regulation skills form part of many interventions for youth with internalizing and externalizing difficulties. This pilot study examines a prevention program delivered at school to improve adolescents’ emotion regulation skills, focusing on those at risk for mental health problems. Methods: Adolescents 12–18 years old were referred to a six-session group program by their school counselors, based on inclusion criteria related to family sociodemographic and mental health characteristics. Group sessions took place during school hours to facilitate participation and reduce dropout. The intervention targeted emotion regulation skills, drawing from central components of different cognitive behavioral approaches. To assess clinical outcomes, participants answered questionnaires before and after the program, which covered emotion regulation strategies, addictive behaviors, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The acceptability of the program was also assessed. Results: Emotion regulation skills improved after the program, and there was a significant reduction in internalizing and externalizing problems. The program was evaluated as useful by participants. Counsellors reported satisfaction with the program. Conclusions: Targeted emotion regulation skills training is a potentially useful transdiagnostic intervention to prevent mental health problems in youth. Bringing the intervention to the school setting and involving counsellors in referring at-risk students can facilitate uptake and reduce dropout. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Emotional and Cognitive Development in Children)
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11 pages, 825 KiB  
Article
The Judgments and Emotion Attributions in Peer Exclusion Situations among Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Graders in Japan
by Mari Hasegawa
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(7), 5306; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20075306 - 29 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1794
Abstract
This study examined the judgments and emotion attributions in peer exclusion situations among Japanese middle-childhood children (fourth graders and sixth graders) and adolescents (eighth graders). In total, 371 participants were presented with one of three bystander conditions—no bystander, passive bystander, or active bystander—and [...] Read more.
This study examined the judgments and emotion attributions in peer exclusion situations among Japanese middle-childhood children (fourth graders and sixth graders) and adolescents (eighth graders). In total, 371 participants were presented with one of three bystander conditions—no bystander, passive bystander, or active bystander—and asked to judge the excluders’ behavior and attribute emotions toward excluders. Here, excluders are children who physically or emotionally separate other children from social groups. All scenarios involved a child wishing to join a peer group but was rejected (that is, excluded from the group), and there were three types of situations: one in which there were no bystanders, one in which the bystanders did not respond, and one in which the bystanders allowed the excluded child into their group. The excluded target was presented as either violent or shy. Furthermore, the participants assessed their own bullying and bystander behaviors in their daily lives. Adolescents judged excluders as less immoral and as having positive emotions more often than did children. Both children and adolescents judged the exclusion of violent targets to be less serious than the exclusion of shy targets. There were no differences in judgments and attributions according to bystander types. There was weak evidence of a relationship between self-reported bullying/bystander behavior, and judgment in fictitious settings was obtained. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Emotional and Cognitive Development in Children)
15 pages, 1226 KiB  
Article
Social Avoidance and Social Adjustment in Chinese Preschool Migrant Children: The Moderating Role of Household Chaos and Gender
by Jingjing Zhu, Xiaoqi Yin, Guangheng Wang, Yaoqin Jiang and Yan Li
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16769; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416769 - 14 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2932
Abstract
The present study explored the moderating role of household chaos and gender in the relation between social avoidance and social adjustment among Chinese preschool migrant children. Participants were 148 children (82 boys, Mage = 62.63 months, SD = 0.05) from two kindergartens, [...] Read more.
The present study explored the moderating role of household chaos and gender in the relation between social avoidance and social adjustment among Chinese preschool migrant children. Participants were 148 children (82 boys, Mage = 62.63 months, SD = 0.05) from two kindergartens, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. Multi-source assessments included: (1) mother ratings of children’s social avoidance; (2) mother ratings of families’ household chaos; (3) teacher ratings of children’s prosocial behavior, peer exclusion, interpersonal skills, and internalizing problems. Results showed that social avoidance significantly predicted peer exclusion among Chinese migrant preschoolers. Moreover, household chaos moderated the relationship between social avoidance and social adjustment. Specifically, at higher levels of household chaos, social avoidance was negatively associated with interpersonal skills. In contrast, social avoidance was not associated with interpersonal skills at a lower level of household chaos. In addition, social avoidance was positively associated with peer exclusion among boys but not girls. The current findings inform us of the importance of reducing household chaos to buffer the negative adjustment among socially avoidant young children who migrated from rural to urban China. The findings also highlight the need to pay particular attention to migrant socially avoidant boys’ development in early childhood and the importance of considering the meaning and implication of social avoidance for migrant preschoolers in Chinese culture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Emotional and Cognitive Development in Children)
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