Behavioral and emotional problems in infants and young children: Challenges of clinical assessment and intervention

Large numbers of infants and young children are affected by behavioral and emotional problems that pose salient challenges for clinical assessment and management. In meeting such challenges, one of the most important needs for the field is to develop empirical data that support the efficacy and effectiveness of methods of assessment and intervention that are tailored to those behavioral and emotional problems experienced by infants and young children. Contributions to this special issue address this need with respect to attachment problems and disorders, autism and pervasive developmental disorders, self-injurious behavior, feeding problems, and disruptive behavior.