On the Psychological Well-Being of Children and Evidence-Based Family Support Practices – in the New Issue of the Journal "Social Sciences and Childhood"

The first issue of the journal "Social Sciences and Childhood" for 2026 (No. 1, 2026) has been published. It presents research dedicated to current problems of social and psychological development of children, institutional transformations in inclusive education, as well as evidence-based approaches to diagnostics and family counseling.

The "Social Psychology" section features two articles. The first is dedicated to the specificity of parents' attitudes toward affective tactile contact with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Using a parent sample, the authors identified a cognitive-affective dissonance characteristic of this group: while acknowledging the theoretical value of close tactile interaction, parents in practice often doubt its effectiveness for their own children. Special attention is paid to the phenomenon of "tactile fatigue," interpreted as a manifestation of parental burnout, which requires targeted psychological support. The study emphasizes the need to develop programs focused on restoring parental resources and forming conscious tactile strategies considering the sensory characteristics of the child with ASD.

This section also features a large-scale work analyzing the processes of growing up in conditions of social vulnerability using the example of the inclusive education system. Based on data from an all-Russian survey (over 2,200 children and young adults, more than 1,000 parents, and 300 specialists) and official statistics from 2020-2025, the authors demonstrate how macro-level institutional changes interact with the micro-level of subjective family experiences. It was revealed that children's perception of growing up is emotionally ambiguous, while parents show a heightened level of anxiety. The research results substantiate the need for a comprehensive approach that considers structural conditions and personal experience, which is important for developing targeted support measures for vulnerable categories of children and their families.

The "Developmental Psychology" section presents two works. The first article is dedicated to the diagnosis of emotional well-being in older preschool children. The authors present a modified set of methods, including assessment of personal characteristics, emotional-volitional sphere, communication skills, and neurotic manifestations. Empirical testing on a sample of preschoolers, teachers, and parents confirmed the high reliability of the tool and its ability to reliably differentiate groups of children by level of emotional well-being. The work addresses the growing demand from practicing psychologists and researchers for valid diagnostic tools for early risk detection and timely support of preschoolers in educational settings.

Concluding the issue is an analytical review of modern foreign approaches to the application of attachment theory in family counseling for parent-child and marital dyads. Based on a systematization of empirical studies from 2000-2024, it is shown that the integration of attachment principles significantly enhances the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions in working with adolescent depression, suicidal risk, and marital distress. It is established that meeting basic needs for safety and emotional availability serves as a key mediator of therapeutic change. The authors recommend integrating attachment style diagnostics into standard family counseling protocols to increase the precision of intervention targets and strengthen the psychological well-being of all family members.

The materials presented in this issue form a holistic picture of contemporary challenges in the study of childhood: from overcoming parental burnout and adapting inclusive environments to implementing reliable diagnostic tools and theoretically sound family psychotherapy practices. All articles share the authors' commitment to connecting fundamental theoretical foundations with empirical data and practical recommendations for psychologists, educators, and social workers.

The full issue of the journal is published in open access on the PsyJournals.ru portal.