Examined how peer acceptance and friendships moderated the link between family adversity and child externalizing behavioral problems. Found that peer acceptance in kindergarten and Grade 1 moderated the relationship between family adversity measures and externalizing behavior problems in Grade 2; friendship served as a moderator for harsh…

This study examined the exposure to multiple physical and psychosocial stressors among low-income, rural, white 8- to 10- year-olds. Findings indicated that low-income children confronted a wider array of multiple physical and psychosocial stressors than did middle-income counterparts. Children showed evidence of higher levels of self- and…

This study examined how family structure affected children's delinquency and math test scores, parenting practices as a mediator, and racial differences in these effects. Findings indicated that single parenthood related to reduced well-being among European American children, but not African American children. Cohabitation related to greater…

This study examined how parent, school, and peer support differentially affected resilience among urban sixth-, eighth-, and tenth-graders. Findings indicated that both parent and school support factors positively related to resilience in children who had been exposed to community violence; however, peer support negatively related to resilience in…

This study assessed how schools, neighborhoods, nuclear families, and friendship groups jointly contribute to positive change during early adolescence. Analyses showed that the four context indices modestly intercorrelated at the individual student level, but clustered more tightly at the school and neighborhood levels. Joint influence of all four…

This study investigated how stressful environmental conditions influence the relation between mothers' social support and parenting strategies among poor, African American single mothers and their young adolescent children. Findings indicated that as neighborhood conditions worsened, the positive relation between emotional support and mothers'…

This study investigated the role of racial identity and maternal support in reducing psychological distress among African American twelfth-graders. Results provided little support for a direct association between racial identity or maternal support and depressive symptoms and anxiety within a multivariate context. Influence of racial identity and…

Reviews research on the effects of nature, nurture, and developmental processes on psychological functioning. Considers real advances in knowledge, outlines some of the misleading claims, and notes the potential for research and science-led improvements in policies and practice, emphasizing the need for a better interpretation of genetic,…

Examined 2-month-old infants' perception of sparse random-dot displays depicting an illusory shape against a background in three experiments in which background texture, luminance cues, and relative motion information were added or deleted. Found that infants preferred novel stimuli in each condition, revealing an early capacity to perceive shape…

Investigated early determinants of infants' self--other discrimination when presented with a live image of themselves or another person that was either contingent or contingent with delay. Found that infants 4 months and older perceived and acted differently when facing the image of themselves compared to that of another; 9-month-olds showed more…

Examined developmental change and stability of visual expectation and reaction times among 5-, 7-, and 12-month-old term and preterm infants. Found that reaction times declined with age while anticipations increased. Infants with faster reaction times were more likely to anticipate upcoming events; this effect disappeared when time between stimuli…

Investigated the relationship between sleep patterns and behavioral adjustment with 4- to 5-year-old children from low-income families. Found that disrupted child sleep patterns, including variability in parentally reported amount of sleep, variability in bedtime, and lateness of bedtime, predicted less optimal adjustment in preschool, even after…

Examined whether activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system, as indexed by average home afternoon levels of cortisol in children age 4.5 years, would predict socioemotional adjustment measured a year and a half later. Found that higher cortisol levels were associated with withdrawal-type behaviors of internalizing and social…

Three experiments investigated whether preschoolers attend to actions or object when learning a novel verb. Findings showed that children learning nouns in the context of novel, moving objects attended exclusively to appearances of objects. Children learning verbs attended equally to appearances and motions. With familiar objects, children…

Examined effect, after 1 year, of parental cognitive stimulation, emotional support, and intrusiveness on verbal and nonverbal abilities of low-income children in Head Start programs. Found that children of parents who provide the highest cognitive stimulation and emotional support coupled with no intrusive behavior fared best in later perceptual…