Social and Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents

Professional Resource Guide

Introduction

This professional resource guide directs readers to a selection of current, high-quality resources about promoting healthy social and emotional development in children and adolescents. Resources tap into the health, education, and social services literature. Separate sections present resources by age group and cover topics such as developmental stages; factors that impact social and emotional development; policies and programs to promote social and emotional well-being in homes and community settings; and strategies for integrating health, developmental, and educational services. This professional resource guide is aimed at health professionals, program administrators, policymakers, and community advocates. Separate briefs present resources for families and schools. This professional resource guide has been developed by the MCH Digital Library at Georgetown University and will be updated periodically.

Overview

See the Bright Futures materials, What to Expect and When to Seek Help: Bright Futures Developmental Tools for Families and Providers (2006). This set of four tools in English and Spanish aims to help professionals and families begin important conversations together on how best to support the social and emotional development of infants, children, and adolescents.

Resources for Professionals

General Resources

Websites

• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Policy statements, guidelines, schedules, health-education materials, and other resources for health professionals about healthy development in children and adolescents. Tools and initiatives include
  
  Bright Futures. Practice guides, PowerPoint presentations, handouts, implementation materials, and family resources for this national health promotion and disease prevention initiative that addresses children's health needs in the context of family and community. Promoting child development is a key theme. Materials include
  
  
  • Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 3rd ed. (2007).
    
    
  • Performing Preventive Services: A Bright Futures Handbook. (2010).
    
    
  Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (SODBP). Resources for health professionals about child development and behavior, especially in the medical setting. Includes forms, checklists, and other screening tools; online tutorials; and articles to support improvement in developmental and behavioral screening, surveillance, and identification of disabilities.
  
  Also see the Healthy Child Care America Resource Library.
  
  
• Bright Futures at Georgetown University. Guidelines, distance-education resources, and training tools for a practical developmental approach to providing health supervision for infants, children, and adolescents, including those with special health care needs. Topics include general health and development, mental health, nutrition, oral health, and physical activity. Some materials are available in Spanish. Bright Futures is funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Also see What to Expect and When to Seek Help: Bright Futures Developmental Tools for Families and Providers (2006).
  
  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Child Development. Background information, screening tools, and recommendations for developmental screening. Includes information about and resources to support the role of primary care health professionals in children's developmental health. Also see CDC's Learn the Signs. Act Early, and Healthy Youth!.
  
  
• Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Webinars, issue briefs, reports, articles, and research news about the well-being of children and adolescents, particularly the most vulnerable, with the goal of helping policymakers and health, education, and social services professionals create policies and programs that will help children and adolescents develop into healthy, educated, and productive adults. Research areas are child welfare and foster care systems, community change, early childhood initiatives, economic supports for families, home visitation and maltreatment prevention, schools, work force development, adolescent crime and justice, and adolescent development and after-school initiatives. Chapin Hall is an independent policy research center.
  
  
• Child Trends. Research briefs, fact sheets, and other publications for health and social services professionals and policymakers on topics that include early childhood, positive development, school readiness, and adolescent development. Includes a series of briefs on evaluation methods and measuring program outcomes for adolescent development, child welfare, early childhood, education, adolescent pregnancy prevention, parenting, and fatherhood programs. Child Trends presents research and data using a holistic, ecological, and developmental framework to monitor the well-being of children to inform decision-making that affects families. Also see the Child Trends DataBank and What Works/Lifecourse Interventions to Nurture Kids Successfully (LINKS).
  
  
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): Child Development and Behavior Branch. Research and grant information, publications, and other resources for health professionals, educators, and researchers about psychological, psychobiological, and educational development from conception through adolescence.
  
  
• Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (GUCCHD). Program, conference, and training information; publications; and other resources to improve quality of life for all children and adolescents, especially those with special health care needs and those at risk for poor outcomes. Promoting early childhood development and school readiness; building culturally and linguistically competent service delivery systems; and enhancing partnerships between primary health care and mental health practices to identify children at risk for poor outcomes are among the issues addressed. GUCCHD is a division of Georgetown University's Department of Pediatrics. Also see the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (CECMHC).
  
  
• Healthy People 2030. Information about this national health-promotion and disease-prevention initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services. View the overview, objectives, and recommended interventions and resources for early and middle childhood, adolescents, and the social determinants of health.
  
  
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): Maternal and Child Health Training Program. Information about and resources to support university-based centers funded to train the next generation of leaders in maternal and child health (MCH) with an emphasis on interdisciplinary, family-centered, culturally competent care with a population-focused, public health approach. Disciplines include developmental-behavioral pediatrics and adolescent health.
  
  
• MDRC: Families and Children. Program information and reports about how the life chances of children and adolescents from families with low incomes are influenced by policies that affect their families' economic circumstances, family relationships, or the opportunities available for child and adolescent development in settings such as child care, preschool, and after-school programs.
  
  
• Urban Institute (UI): Children and Youth. Research and analysis about issues affecting the well-being of children and adolescents, including child care and child development, child health, child welfare, juvenile justice, economic well-being, and neighborhoods and adolescents. UI is a nonpartisan economic and social policy research organization.
  

Reports, Briefs, and Other Resources

The MCH Digital Library has a collection of resources about social and emotional development in children and adolescents. To identify them, search the library's online catalog MCHLine® using the online search form. In the keyword field, type social development. Click on Search MCHLine to get your results. Conduct another search by typing emotional development in the keyword field. Click on in Search MCHLine to get your results. There will be some overlap in the two sets of search results. Narrow your searches by adding keywords, such as "early childhood", school, adolescent. Include quotation marks as indicated.

Infants and Young Children

This section presents resources that address scientific research about early child development; early childhood social, emotional, and communication milestones; developmental screening; early literacy and school readiness; strategies for integrating health, developmental, and educational services for young children and families; and state policy approaches for promoting early childhood care and education.

• Brazelton Touchpoints Center®. Information about training workshops for professionals that serve children from birth to age 3 in health, education, child care, and social services settings to help them build strong family-child relationships and optimize children's development.
  
  
• Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (CECMHC). Online tutorials, webinars, teaching tools, and guides to finding screening tools, curricula, and programs about healthy mental development for Head Start administrators, staff, training and technical assistance providers, mental health consultants, and families. Includes evidence-based strategies to promote mental wellness in the classroom, ideas for promoting social and emotional development in the classroom and at home, and audio clips of relaxation exercises in English and Spanish to promote staff wellness. CECMHC was created through a grant from the Office of Head Start (OHS) and is part of the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (GUCCHD).
  
  
• Center on the Developing Child. Reports, working papers, research briefs, and video clips that translate and communicate the science of early childhood and early brain development to help inform policies that promote successful learning, adaptive behavior, and sound physical and mental health for all young children. Initiatives include the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (NSCDC), a multidisciplinary collaboration of leading scholars in neuroscience, early child development, pediatrics, and economics from universities across the United States and Canada, and the National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs, which complements the Council's work by explaining why public investments should be made in the early childhood years. The Center is part of Harvard University.
  
  
• Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL). Training modules, research briefs, video clips, and practical strategies for teachers and child care professionals for promoting children's social and emotional development. With funding from the Office of Head Start and Office of Child Care, CSEFEL aims to strengthen the capacity of child care and Head Start programs to promote social and emotional outcomes and enhance school readiness for children from birth to age 5 from families with low incomes.
  
  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Child Development.
  
  Learn the Signs. Act Early. Materials in English and Spanish for health professionals, early childhood educators, and parents about child development and the warning signs of autism and other developmental delays. Includes fact sheets, a video clip, and a tracking tool on developmental milestones for infants and children from birth to age 5.
  
  Developmental Monitoring and Screening for Health Professionals. Information for health professionals on effective, validated, developmental screening practices and implementing into their practices. Resources include efficiency, cost, and coordination of care.
  
  
• Department of Education (ED): Early Learning Initiative. Information about ED's investments in early learning programs, resources and publications, technical assistance, and interagency work.
  
  
• Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) Initiative. Information about this grant program to assist states and communities in their efforts to build and integrate early childhood service systems that address the critical components of access to comprehensive health services and medical homes; social and emotional development and mental health of young children; early care and education; parenting education; and family support. Includes links to ECCS state plans and logic models and resources to support each ECCS component area. EECS is funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
  
  
• Healthy Child Care America: Resource Library. Information about materials for health professionals and child care providers on early education and child care. Under Topic, select Social & Emotional Health and click on Submit. Healthy Child Care America is administered by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
  
  
• National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP): Assuring Better Child Health and Development (ABCD) Resource Center. Program information to help states improve the delivery of early child development services for children with low incomes and their families. Includes resources for health and social services professionals to promote early childhood health and development.
  
  
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Teaching materials, online tutorials, position statements, and other resources for early childhood professionals and families about child development, school readiness, and social and emotional learning. Includes information about its accreditation programs.
  
  
• National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP). Program information and publications about NCCP's early childhood public policy and education initiatives . Includes data tools and state early childhood policy profiles. Located at the Bank Street College of Education, NCCP works to identify and promote strategies that prevent child poverty and improve the lives of children and families with low incomes in the United States.
  
  
• National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). Policy briefs, fact sheets, reports, and working papers on early-education issues including child development, school readiness, and the benefits and costs of quality preschool education. Also offers an annual report on state preschool-education initiatives.
  
  
• HeadStart.gov. (formerly, Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC)) Information about Head Start, a national program that serves the development needs of infants and children from birth through age 5 and their families with low incomes through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services. In addition to policy, program, and training information for Head Start program staff, the site includes resources and information about early childhood development and health, including social and emotional development, family and community partnerships, and program design and management. A search box to find a Head Start program in your city or state can be found on the homepage. Also see the Early Head Start National Resource Center (EHSNRC) at Zero to Three.
  
  
• Start Early. (formerly known as The Ounce of Prevention Fund) Program and training information, advocacy tools, and reports to help foster the healthy development of children from birth through age 5 and their families with low incomes. Start Early serves children and families in its birth-to-5 programs in Chicago, through a network of home visiting and doula programs in Illinois, and via partnerships with colleagues in 15 states to build research-based programs and advocate for increased public investment in the first years of life.
  
  
• Parents as Teachers (PAT). Information about this parent-education and family-support program that serves families throughout pregnancy and until their child enters kindergarten. The program is designed to enhance child development and school readiness. Program services include home visits; child health, hearing, vision, and developmental screenings; parent group meetings; and a resource network that links families with needed community resources.
  
  
• Reach Out and Read (ROR). Program information and materials for this national initiative to promote early literacy by making books and reading aloud part of pediatric primary care.
  
  
• Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). Policy briefs, reports, and briefings about child development. Includes updates about federal funding opportunities, legislation, and programs that impact developmental science.
  
  
• Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI). Policy briefs, research syntheses, presentations, and training tools for early childhood professionals about evidence-based recommendations for improving social and emotional outcomes for young children with, or at risk for, delays or disabilities. TACSEI is funded by the Department of Education.
  
  
• Zero to Three. A wealth of research-based resources for professionals, policymakers, and parents to promote the healthy development of infants and toddlers. See Promoting Social-Emotional Development for tips, tools, and additional resources. See State and Local Policy for resources about broader policy issues that impact social and emotional development in early childhood. Resources and initiatives include
  
  Early Childhood Resource Center. A selection of early childhood resources for families, professionals and advocates to support child development, infant mental health, and early literacy in infants and toddlers.
  
  
• Also see the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL).
  
  
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). 2014. Early Brain and Child Development (EBCD) Education and Training Modules. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The five modules and accompanying guides cover early brain development, toxic stress, adverse childhood experiences, supporting parents and cultivating community relationships, and advocacy.
  
  
• Shonkoff J, Phillips D, eds. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. [Report].
  
  
• See the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) report, Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel (2010).
  

School-Age Children

This section presents resources about promoting the social and emotional development of school-age children and includes resources that address social and emotional learning as part of school and after-school programs. Several resources are applicable to adolescents, as well.

• Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL). Information about and materials to support evidence-based social, emotional, and academic learning as an essential part of education, from preschool through high school. Presents research demonstrating the positive impacts of social and emotional practices on students' academic achievement, on reducing high-risk behaviors, and on promoting positive adolescent development. Resources include issue briefs, reports, program guides, PowerPoint presentations, and tools for working with families.
  
  
• Harvard Family Research Project. Research information and publications to promote the well-being of children, adolescents, families, and their communities by supporting children's learning and development. Research areas include complementary learning, family involvement, and out-of-school time.
  
  
• National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention. Program information, webinars, research briefs, evidence-based intervention fact sheets, and other resources. The center provides technical assistance and training to school districts and communities as they plan, implement, and sustain federally funded initiatives to foster resilience, promote mental health, and prevent adolescent violence and mental health and behavioral challenges.
  
  
• Several resources in the Adolescents section are applicable to school-age children.
  

Adolescents

This section presents resources that address scientific research about adolescent development; interdisciplinary models of physical and behavioral health care for adolescents; and approaches for developing, supporting, and sustaining youth development programs. Several resources are applicable to school-age children, as well.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Adolescent and School Health. Information about school environments, community connections and societal influences on adolescents. Also see the Guide to Community Preventive Services: Adolescent Health for recommendations on population-based interventions that focus on adolescent alcohol and drug use, violence, and sexual behaviors. See too the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS).
  
  
• Forum for Youth Investment. Issue briefs, webinars, articles, and news about efforts to improve education, out-of-school time, adolescent development, and policy and planning to ensure that adolescents have the supports, opportunities, and services needed to prosper and contribute where they live, learn, work, and play. The forum is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping communities and the nation make sure all adolescents are ready for college, work, and life. Initiatives include
  
  Ready by 21. A framework for child and adolescent-focused planning and decision-making and tools to help change makers—from parents to program directors to policy makers—optimize resources and streamline strategies to improve outcomes for infants, children, and adolescents.
  
  
• National Adolescent and Young Adult Health Information Center (NAHIC). Fact sheets, policy briefs, reports, and other materials about adolescent health on topics that include positive adolescent development, particularly for adolescent males. NAHIC is based at the University of California, San Francisco.
  
  
• National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health. Fact sheets, issue briefs, reports, and journal article citations about health care topics important to adolescents, such as health insurance and access to care; development of adolescent-friendly, interdisciplinary models of care; and assurance of confidential care. The alliance provides education, research, policy analysis, and technical assistance to support improvements in the way that adolescent health care is structured and financed.
  
  
• Note: Several resources in the School-Age Children section are applicable to adolescents.
  

Data and Statistics

Search the following databases for access to data and statistics about social and emotional development and well-being in children and adolescents. The MCH Digital Library resource brief, Maternal and Child Health Data and Statistics, describes these databases and offers tips for searching them.
Census Bureau
Child Care and Early Education Research Connections: Datasets
ChildStats.gov
Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DRC)
Healthy People 2030: Data
KIDS COUNT Data Center
National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP): Data Tools
Office of Population Affairs (OPA): Adolescent Health Data
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS): Youth Online

Journal Articles and Other Literature and Research

Search the following databases for access to journal articles and other literature and research about social and emotional development in children and adolescents. The MCH Digital Library resource brief, Maternal and Child Health Literature and Research Databases, describes these databases and offers tips for searching them.
Child Care and Early Education Research Connections: Research Library
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Database
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Foster Care: Resources from the American Academy of Pediatrics
Healthy People 2030 Evidence-Based Resources
Maternal and Child Health Research Program: Funded Projects Search
PubMed

Programs Databases

Search the following databases to identify additional programs focusing on social and emotional development in children and adolescents. The MCH Digital Library resource brief, Maternal and Child Health Programs Databases, describes these databases and offers tips for searching them.
Community Health and Advocacy: Find and Compare Grants
Discretionary Grant Information System (DGIS)

Resources for Families

• See the MCH Digital Library family resource brief Social and Emotional Development in Kids and Teens.
  

Resources for Schools

• See the MCH Digital Library school resource brief Social and Emotional Development.
  

Related MCH Digital Library Resources

• Bullying resource brief
• Children and Adolescents Exposed to Violence resource brief
• Community Services Locator: An Online Directory for Finding Community Services for Children and Families professional resource guide
• Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Children and Adolescents professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
• Home Visiting resource brief
• Life Course and Social Determinants resource brief
• Maternal Distress in the Perinatal Period and Child Outcomes professional resource guide
• Screening resource brief
• Sleep in Infants, Children, Adolescents, and Pregnant Women professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief