Social Cognition and Behavior Among Children and Adolescents

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to propose this Special Issue to bring together scholars' research on well-being and adjustment in childhood and adolescence. In particular, we would like to encourage an approach to this area of research from a social–psychological perspective, aiming to explore the social–psychological processes through which children and adolescents make sense of the world, respond to the social environment, and regulate cognition, emotion, and behavior. This perspective is particularly important for studying the experiences of children and adolescents, in which social context plays a crucial role. In particular, children must establish and maintain healthy and functional social relationships at school and in their families that promote their psychological well-being and social adjustment. At school, in particular, positive relationships with peers and teachers are a source of emotional and instrumental support and are associated with good academic performance and, more generally, psychological and social well-being. The family also plays a crucial role in this context, as parents' involvement has a crucial impact on students’ attitudes, beliefs, motivations, goals, expectations, and outcomes. Most importantly, the role of social context is particularly essential in situations that hinder adaptive developmental trajectories, such as belonging to various disadvantaged groups, e.g., culturally and economically deprived groups.

Given the importance of social relationships for the cognitive, emotional, and social development of children and adolescents, this Special Issue aims to encourage the in-depth exploration of the role that the characteristics and dynamics of social environments play in the life experiences of children and adolescents, especially those who are vulnerable.

We are interested in articles that address the following topics, but we are open to other suggestions:

• Motivation, expectations, and goals;
• Self-concept;
• Social and relational development;
• Emotions and learning;
• Social behavior and judgment;
• Stereotypes and prejudice;
• Bullying and antisocial behavior;
• Prosocial behavior;
• Social networks;
• Group dynamics;
• Inclusion and marginalization within group.

Prof. Dr. Stefano Livi
Guest Editor

Dr. Mara Marini
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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• motivation, expectations, goals
• self-concept
• social and relational development
• emotions and learning
• social behaviour and judgment
• stereotypes and prejudice
• bullying and antisocial behaviour
• prosocial behaviour
• social networks
• group dynamics
• inclusion and marginalization within groups