Investigated children's understanding of their research rights during participation in a peer provocation study. Found that students assented freely, reporting no pressure to participate. Older children were more likely to understand the conditions of participation, confidentiality, and the study's purpose. Following debriefing, children's…

Investigated the role of emotionality and self-regulation in understanding 3rd- through 5th- graders' adjustment responses to multiple risk. Found that negative emotionality predicted adjustment problems, positive emotionality predicted positive adjustment, and self-regulation predicted both. Children low in self-regulation were more vulnerable to…

Examined genetic and environmental contribution to self-reported peer-group characteristics among adoptive and nonadoptive adolescent sibling pairs. Found that although peer preference is influenced, in large part, by nonshared environment factors, genetic influence is present. Substantial genetic influence emerged for college orientation, and…

Examined three theories for predicting risk for delinquency during adolescence with sixth- and seventh-grade students: an individual difference perspective, social interactional model, and social contextual approach. Found that lack of nurturant and involved parenting indirectly predicted delinquency by increasing antisocial behavior and deviant…

Investigated the relationship between peer group identification and similarity between individuals involved in problem behavior, and whether group identification moderated group influence on development of delinquent behavior among Italian sixth- and seventh-graders. Found that group behavior interacted with reciprocity of group nominations in…

Examined the everyday lives of adolescents with low, middle, or high levels of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as assessed by either parent or teen. Found that adolescents with high ADHD levels recorded more negative moods, lower alertness, more entertaining activities relative to achievement-oriented pursuits, more time with…

Examined infants' emotionality, inside and outside of the relationship with the mother, and mothers' responsiveness as predictors of reunion behaviors in the Strange Situation. Found that children's separation distress mediated influence of predictors and itself predicted reunion behaviors. When distress was controlled, some responses generally…

Examined patterns of correlations among selected parental, contextual, and child characteristics accounting for variance in observed quality of parent-infant interaction and infant development with 15-month-olds and their families. Found that parental ego-resiliency and education, partner support, and infant social fearfulness explained…

Examined contributions parenting and classroom processes make to 7- to 15-year-olds' self-regulation and adjustment among single-parent Black families. Found that parenting and classroom processes contributed uniquely to children's adjustment through the development of self-regulation, and that each process could serve a protective or stabilizing…

Examined the utility of parent socialization models for understanding effects of middle school teachers on student adjustment. Found that five teaching dimensions (modeling of motivation, and parenting dimensions of control, maturity demands, democratic communication, and nurturance) predicted student motivation, social behavior, and achievement.…

Examined extent to which Chinese-American adolescents assist and spend time with their families. Found that adolescents were more likely to balance family obligations with academic demands than with peer relationships. Girls showed slightly more conflict between activities, but neither family obligations nor balancing activities were associated…

Examined benefits of the federal Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) as a function of socioeconomic and welfare status. Found that more families in the CCDP left Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) than control families. The CCDP produced benefits for children whose parents were not receiving AFDC, who tended to choose…

Studied perceptions of self-competence and task values, documenting domain-specific growth trajectories for 761 children from grade 1 through 12. Found that self- perceptions of competence and subjective task values declined as children got older, although extent and rate of decline varied across domains. Found significant gender differences in…

Used stick-figure cartoons depicting various peer social situations to investigate meanings given by children in 14 countries to native terms cognate to bullying. Found that 8-year- olds primarily discriminated nonaggressive and aggressive situations; 14-year-olds discriminated fighting versus physical bullying and verbal bullying versus social…

In global terms, 2005 was not much different from the years before, as it was again not a happy time for the world's children. The trend of many countries sinking further back into poverty continued, with people living shorter lives, fewer children going to school and more children dying than ever before. Wars keep raging on, taking heavy tolls on…