Focuses on systems theory as the paradigm underlying family therapy and considers the implications of this framework for conceptions of the individual, the study of parent-child interaction, and new research formulations and areas of study. Considers trends in the developmental field that move toward such formulations. (RH)

Compares the characteristics of adult children who provide comfort and sympathy and serve as confidants to parents with those whom parents perceive as disappointing. Interview information from 117 couples having children who had left home was analyzed using aggregate and intrafamilial strategies. Differences in the findings from the two techniques…

A concept of seductive mother-toddler relationships was initially validated. Subsequent research showed "seductiveness" was stable, though transformed, from 24 to 42 months; the same mothers were not found to be seductive with male or female siblings; mothers seductive with boys were derisively hostile toward daughters. (Author/RH)

Uses a representative national sample of adolescents to study the interrelationships among family structure, patterns of family decision making, and deviant behavior among adolescents. Mother-only households are shown to be associated with particular patterns of family decision making and adolescent deviance, even when family income and parental…

Indicates that husband-wife differences in evaluations of marital adjustment increased over time when individuals recalled being reared in a cold/rejecting as opposed to warm/supportive manner, particularly when individuals also recalled their own parents as not having an especially harmonious marital relationship. (Author/RH)

The relationships between features of the maternal employment situation and mothers' positive descriptions of their three-year-old children were investigated in a sample of 152 White, two-parent families. Employed mothers' positive motivation for working, low role conflict, and gains in self-worth were all associated with mothers' favorable…

Used newly developed codes for parenting behavior during the Great Depression reported in the Oakland Growth Study. Results indicated that economic hardship adversely influenced the psychosocial well-being of adolescent girls, but not boys, by increasing the rejecting behavior of fathers. This effect was particularly strong for unattractive girls.…

The delivery to impoverished mothers of medical and social services, including day care for their children, had effects that were evident 10 years later. These effects included higher socioeconomic status and educational attainment and smaller families for the mothers, and better school attendance and fewer academic problems for their children.…

Reviews research concerning fathers' birth attendance, early contact, and extended contact with newborn infants. Discusses relationships between fathers' early history with infants and subsequent patterns of involvement. Considers methodological challenges of studying these relationships and finds that no conclusive statements can be made about…

Families were compared at one, three, and nine months to examine the effects of active or passive exposure to the Brazelton Neonatal Behavior Assessment. Either the mother or both parents were the target of the intervention. Assessments of interaction behavior between parents and infants revealed no effects of the experimental intervention.…

Developed a model of individuation in family relationships focused on communicative processes. Expressions of four dimensions of the model (self-esteem, separateness, permeability, and mutuality) were predicted to be positively associated with identity exploration in adolescents. Analysis of observations of families in a Family Interaction Task…

Effective family problem solving was studied in 97 families of elementary-school-aged children with definite- and indefinite-solution tasks. Incentive and task independence were manipulated. It was found that definitions of effective problem solving based on directly observed measures of group interaction were more valid than definitions based on…

Used fathers, mothers, and adolescents from 426 "normal" families in a study of the Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems. Results indicated generational differences between how communication was perceived, but findings at the family level indicated a linear relationship between parent-adolescent communication and cohesion and…

Developed a framework for describing and assessing the qualities of sibling relationships by interviewing upper elementary school children and administering a self-report questionnaire to fifth- and sixth-grade children. Component analysis yielded four underlying factors: warmth/closeness, relative status/power, conflict, and rivalry. Relative…

Examines the reliability and validity of the scores of diverse informants from the Child's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory (CRPBI). Also considers the utility of aggregating scores of parental behavior derived from multiple observers. CRPBI items were adapted to obtain mother's, father's, sibling's, and subject's ratings of parental behavior…