Examined the effect of family use of cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs on teenagers', aged 11-16 years old, later use of these substances. Adult drug use, whether of single substances or several, clearly influenced adolescents to use a variety of substances. Suggests a three-factor model comprising Modeling, Attitude, and Availability to explain the…

Reviews the literature on young children's peer social development. Addresses implications of social learning theory and empirical research. Discusses recurring themes, including child/peer versus child/adult interactions, incorporation of toys and games, influence of mothers, and gender peer preferences. Considers areas lacking empirical support…

A New Zealand program was designed to reduce burn and scald hazards in the home. Seven groups of parents and caregivers of preschool children participated. Three months after the program, selected participants had sustained 68% of the positive practice changes they had made. Evaluation also noted barriers to participant change and strengths and…

Explored different kinds of participation in play and development of joint role play. Observed games and play sessions of a 2-year-old girl in a day care group. Found that the girl proceeded from a feeling of togetherness in a shared space through parallel and successive play actions to reciprocity and equal exchange of play actions. (JPB)

Investigated the relationship between language competence, joint attention, and interaction between mothers and toddlers that fosters joint attention. Found no correlation between joint attention and concurrent language, yet joint attention was related to toddler age when correlated with language. Suggested that nonostensive settings need further…

Discusses the negative effects of neglect and abuse on young children, including the cognitive, neurological, and psychological effects. Considers interventions that can prevent neglect and abuse and foster resiliency in the affected children. Advocates the community, family, and professional support of preventive and therapeutic efforts that…

Evaluated statistically the effect of intranatal and early postnatal period factors on mental development of very low-birth-weight infants. Covariance structure analysis revealed direct influence of birth weight and gestational age in weeks on mental development at age 1, and of opthalmological aberrations and respirator disorder on mental…

Developed a comprehensive sequential family control model to explain the effects of family functioning variables, marital relations, and parent deviant models on early adolescent delinquency. Fourteen constructs were used to build and test the model, including mother's childbearing age, socioeconomic disadvantage, family adversity, onset of…

Two studies investigated effects of a cognitive early education program on teachers' use of mediated learning strategies and kindergartner's cognitive modifiability and task-intrinsic motivation. Study 1 found that teachers with program experience used more mediation than nonexperienced teachers. Study 2 found that program children improved…

Examined parental and staff perceptions of the three-part mission of university-based laboratory preschools and how this mission affects program services. Found that, although parents and staff members viewed lab school functions as having a somewhat positive or minimal impact on program quality, the two groups' perceptions showed significant…

Examined experiences with and opinions on dealing with pediatric AIDS patients among Pediatric and Family Medicine senior residents. Found that residents were willing to certify children to attend group care activities, but differences were observed by physician specialty and child age. Most felt that program administrators should be made aware,…

Argues for a cautious approach to transplanting theory from one culture to another, particularly considering the case for applying Friedrich Froebel's child-centered theory to early childhood education in Pacific Rim cultures. Uses a historical approach to distinguish three distinct versions of the theory, the Christian, the Progressive, and the…

Effects of massage on preschoolers' cognitive performance were assessed. Preschoolers were given Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised subtests before and after receiving 15-minute massage or spending 15 minutes reading stories with the experimenter. Children's performance on Block Design improved following massage, and…

Analyzed relationships between the quality of parental attachment and preschool children's behavioral characteristics, including social skills, productivity, behavior problems, neurosis, anxiety and self-evaluation. Found a positive relationship between parental attachment and the child's adaptation, but failed to confirm the hypothesis regarding…

Examined relationships between adjustment and academic achievement and effects of sociocultural background on parental expectations for primary school students in Italy. Found a significant relationship between adjustment and achievement. Parents were more willing than teachers to excuse poor adjustment or behavior in a high-achieving child.…