General Background:

Hauser-Cram, P., & Shonkoff, J. P. (1988). Rethinking the assessment of child-focused outcomes. In H. B. Weiss & F. H. Jacobs (Eds.), Evaluating family programs (73-94). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
 

This chapter provides an overview of issues to be considered in evaluating community-based programs for children.  The authors note the historical tendency to focus almost exclusively on intellectual outcomes such as IQ scores, and argue strongly for considering social outcomes.  Discussion of assessment of social competence in children includes general methodology issues, and reviews some measures. 

Ysseldyke, J. E., & Thurlow, M. (1993, October). Developing a model of educational outcomes (NCEO Report No. 1). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, College of Education, National Center on Educational Outcomes.
 

Describes a conceptual model of outcomes and indicators for children developed by the National Center on Educational Outcomes which has been adopted by the Children's National Outcome Workgroup as an organizing framework.  Although designed with public education in mind, the model is adaptable to informal and community-based programs.  The eight outcome domains identified in the model are Physical Health, Responsibility and Independence, Contribution and Citizenship, Academic and Functional Literacy, Personal and Social Adjustment, Family Involvement /Accommodation and Adaptation, Satisfaction, and Presence and Participation.

Component 1: Copes Effectively With Personal Challenges, Frustrations and Stressors

Compas, B. E. (1987).  Coping and stress during childhood and adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 393-403.
 

This review article provides a thorough overview of basic research and theoretical issues related to coping in childhood.

Garmezy, N., & Rutter, M. (Eds.). (1988/1983).  Stress, coping, and development in children.  Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
 

For a long time, research and theory related to stress and coping was focused on adults. This edited volume provides a solid overview of the basic theoretical and methodological issues, with special attention to adapting the adult literature to apply to children. 

Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping.  New York: Springer Associates.
 

This is a classic work in the field of stress and coping in adults.  The model proposed by Lazarus and Folkman has also been a powerful influence on theory and models applied to children.  A key contribution is the recognition that the coping responses we choose (both as children and as adults) may be more influenced by our appraisals of the threat and the resources available to us than they do with an “objective” reality. 

Werner, E., & Smith, R. (1992).  Overcoming the odds: High risk children from birth to adulthood.  Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
 

Summarizes findings from the well-known Kauai study, a 30-year longitudinal study of high risk infants in Hawaii.  A classic in the field of resiliency research, Werner and Smith’s work highlights factors that enabled children to overcome negative life circumstances and become productive adults.  Many program developers and evaluators have found it applicable to community-based interventions.

Wills, T. A., Blechman, A., & McNamara, G. (1996). Family support, coping, and competence.  In E. M. Hetherington & E. A. Blechman (Eds.), Stress, coping, and resiliency in children and families (p. 107-133). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
 

A good follow-up to the Garmezy and Rutter volume, this book is a good way to catch up on recent work in the field, and get a sense of the directions taken in current research.

Component 2: Has a Good Self-Image

Harter, S. (1993).  Causes and consequences of low self-esteem in children and adolescents. In R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), Self-esteem: The puzzle of low self-regard (pp. 87-116). New York: Plenum Press.
 

Susan Harter reviews theory and research related to self-esteem and perceived competence, which are two important aspects of self-image.  Although some aspects of self-esteem are difficult to change because of real limitations (not every child can be the best athlete, the smartest, or the most attractive in the class), self-esteem can be enhanced by increasing actual competence, by validating their efforts, and by encouraging children to value the domains in which they are most skilled.
 

Katz, L. G. (1993). All about self-esteem:  Are we developing our children's self-esteem or their narcissism? American Educator, 17 (2), 18-23.

A noted early childhood educator expresses concerns about methods that many educational programs are using to promote self-esteem in children.  Unless classroom methods are tied to actually helping children build self-confidence through their own individual and group efforts, the result may be that children learn to expect applause that they haven’t earned, and ultimately won’t value.

Marsh, H. W., Craven, R., & Debus, R. (1998).  Structure, stability, and development of young children’s self-concepts: A multicohort-multioccasion study.  Child Development, 69 (4), 1030-1053.

Marsh and colleagues review theoretical and measurement issues related to self-concept in children, and argue that children’s self-concepts may become multidimensional at an earlier age than previously thought if measurement issues are addressed.  In particular, young children may be confused by mixed response formats (pictures and words together), respond best to an individual interview format, and actually give more valid responses on longer questionnaires than on ones with few items because they have the opportunity to practice on earlier items.  Psychometric data are presented for a measure (the Self-Description Questionnaire or SDQ-I) that attempts to address these issues.

Component 3: Gets Along with OtherPeople
 

Bukowski, W. M., Newcomb, A. R., & Hartup, W. W. (1996).  The company they keep: Friendship in childhood and adolescence.  New York: Cambridge University Press.

This recent edited volume includes chapters by key peer relations researchers, and addresses current thinking on conceptual, intervention, and assessment issues.

Ladd, G. W. (1990). Having friends, keeping friends, making friends, and being liked by peers in the classroom: Predictors of children's early school adjustment?  Child Development, 61, 1081-1100.

In this study of school adjustment in kindergarten children over the course of the school year, early rejection by peers was associated with lower performance, more school avoidance, and less positive perceptions of school as the year progressed.  Making new friends at school was associated with gains in school performance.

Component 4: Respects Cultural and Individual Differences
 

Eisenberg, N. (1992).  The caring child.  Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

A prominent researcher in the field of the development of prosocial behavior reviews nearly twenty years of work in the field.

Ramsey, P. G. (1995).  Growing up with the contradictions of race and class.  Young Children, 50 (6), 18-22.

Helpful review of recent research regarding young children’s awareness, understanding, and attitudes toward race and class differences, with special attention to how this awareness plays out in group and classroom situations.

Roberts, W., & Strayer, J. (1996). Empathy, emotional expressiveness, and prosocial behavior. Child Development, 67(2), 449-470.

Describes and tests a model of the relationship between emotional expressiveness, empathy and pro-social behavior in children of three age groups ranging from 5 to 13 years.  Emotional expressiveness, emotional insight, and role taking were strong predictors of empathy.  Some differences were noted between girls and boys in the relationship between empathy and pro-social behavior. 

Rotheram, M. J., & Phinney, J. (Eds.) (1987).  Children’s ethnic socialization: Pluralism and development.  Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

This edited volume on ethnic identity formation and ethnic socialization includes chapters on both conceptual and assessment issues.

Zahn-Waxler, C., & Radke-Yarrow, M. (1990).  The origins of empathic concern. Motivation and Emotion, 14(2), 107-130.

A review of research indicating that children as young as two years old have the emotional and cognitive capacities to interpret and respond to the emotional states of others, and may attempt to alleviate their discomfort.  Along with temperament, early socialization experiences contribute to development of adaptive patterns of responsiveness in individual children.  Environmental conditions that place the child at risk for developing maladaptive response patterns include parental depression, marital discord, and maltreatment by parents.

Personal and Social Adjustment

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