This Special Issue of Development and Psychopathology is devoted to the legacy of Nicki R. Crick. At the time of her passing on October 28, 2012, Nicki was a Distinguished McKnight Professor and Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychology at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota. Crick served as the director of the Institute of Child Development from January 2005 to Jun...

OBJECTIVE Childhood aggression may lead to severe social disorders in adolescence and adulthood. Different psychiatric approaches are focused on preschool aged aggressive children. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and associated factors of childhood direct and indirect aggression. METHODS In this cross sectional study a total of 1403 children attending 43 kindergartens wer...

Peer influence has long been recognized as one of the key factors in many of the social health issues that affect young people. To study peer relationships, scientists use self-report surveys that impose limitations on what can be concluded from the data and that do not allow for immediate intervention. Nowadays, the increase in use of computers for communication provides new ways of studying g...

Callous unemotional (CU) behaviors are linked to aggression, behavior problems, and difficulties in peer relationships in children and adolescents. However, few studies have examined whether early childhood CU behaviors predict aggression or peer-rejection during late-childhood or potential moderation of this relationship by executive function. The current study examined whether the interaction...

Psychosocial consequences of relational aggression have garnered significant attention. Although most adolescents are targets of relational aggression at some point, only a sub-group experience significant psychological distress and impaired functioning, with research linking experiential avoidance to negative outcomes. The present study sought to develop and pilot a school-based risk-reduction...

Previous research has indicated that executive function (EF) is negatively associated with aggressive behavior in childhood. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies that have examined the effect of deficits in EF on aggression over time and taken into account different forms and functions of aggression at the same time. Furthermore, only few studies have analyzed the role of underlying...