Abstract
Psychological stress reactions of preschool children have been paid very little attention, compared to those of school age children. However, in order to encourage stable mental and physical development at early stages of our lives, it is necessary to study the meaning of psychological stress reactions of preschool children. In this paper, conceptual difficulties behind the problem are discussed, reviewing the findings in the areas of child care and education, developmental psychology, and developmental psychopathology. The following concepts are suggested for further study: 1) A comparison of daily stress reactions and specific stress reactions of preschool children; 2) Mothers and preschool teachers as multiple sources of data; 3) The application of the concept of resilience.
