“Are You My Friend?”: How Two Young Children Learned To Get Along with Others

Abstract

This study recorded and analyzed the process of emotional socialization that occurred during a primary prevention program conducted in an urban day care center with 4-year-old children considered at risk for academic failure. A case study approach monitored the progress of two children through the yearlong course of the primary prevention project, using qualitative observation and interview methods. The purpose of the project was to isolate and describe the key factors in the primary prevention program that appeared particularly influential in the emotional socialization process. The study described the changes in social skills and emotional expression in the two children over the course of the intervention. The study also described and examined how the different components of the program interacted to effect change.