The central goal of this longitudinal study was to examine behavioral adjustment outcomes in a sample of preschool-age adopted Chinese girls. Research examining the effects of institutional deprivation on post-adoption behavioral outcomes for internationally adopted children has been constrained by the frequent unavailability of data on the…

The objective of this investigation was to examine whether children's responses to peer victimization predict subsequent changes in their social and emotional well-being. Also investigated was whether these associations vary as a function of children's sex and level of victimization. Participants included 420 4th- and 5th-grade students (197…

Filipino adolescents' perceptions regarding the legitimacy of parental control over academic behaviors was investigated. It was assumed that the adolescents would differentiate between the issues inherent in various types or domains of academic behaviors. The results revealed three domains of academic behaviors: learning processes, college major…

The study examined the views of 580 mothers, 333 fathers and 43 primary school teachers about qualities to be developed at home and at school in Estonia--a country in transition with reforms towards child-centered democratic education. The study found that mothers, fathers and teachers shared the dominant family socialization values. Mothers,…

Children with incarcerated parents, and mothers in particular, are at increased risk for academic failure and school dropout. In two studies, we examined teachers' experiences with children with incarcerated parents and their expectations for competence of children with incarcerated mothers. In Study 1, a descriptive, qualitative study, teachers…

This research investigated the contribution of deficits in emotional clarity to children's socioemotional adjustment. Specifically, this study examined the proposal that deficits in emotional clarity are associated with maladaptive interpersonal stress responses, and that maladaptive interpersonal stress responses act as a mechanism linking…

"Kilimani Sesame," a media intervention that employs print, radio, and television, was developed to entertain and educate preschool children in Tanzania. This study examined the effects of a six-week intervention delivering "Kilimani Sesame" material to 223 children in the rural district of Kisarawe and the city of Dar es Salaam. Results offer…

This study compared reactions of mothers and fathers to the risk taking behavior of sons and daughters. Mother-father pairs (N = 52) imagined their 2-year-old boy or girl behaving in risky ways in common home situations that could, and did, result in injury. Emotional and parenting reactions to the behaviors were assessed before and after injury.…

African-American and Anglo-American children's assessments of four disciplinary methods (spanking, reasoning, withdrawing privileges, and time-out) were investigated with 108 children ages 6-10 years old and one of their parents. Children watched videos depicting a child being disciplined and then rated each discipline method. Reasoning was rated…

The current study examines the social information processing and coping styles (SIP) of overweight and average weight adolescents, and whether the associations between friendship quality and SIP differ for these two groups (N = 156, M age = 12.79). On the basis of height and weight assessments, overweight (n = 70) and average weight (n = 86)…

This study tested if parents taught to use an interactive ("dialogic") reading style to promote early vocabulary skills continued to read this way as their children grew older. Approximately half the 78 participants received instruction in dialogic reading when their child was age 2 or 3 years, the other half had no prior instruction. Parent-child…

In this study, farm worker children (N = 40) in 2nd and 5th grade were interviewed about (a) their conceptions and judgments of pesticide exposure and (b) their reasoning about the moral standing of nature. First, results showed that all participants negatively judged pesticide exposure based on moral obligatory criteria. Yet, most children…

This study examined the development of language in low-SES rural Appalachian children from kindergarten through middle childhood. Findings showed that the children's language skills improved significantly between kindergarten and middle childhood, with all middle childhood language means within the average range. However, all areas of language…

This study examined associations between parental cultural orientation, childhood shyness, and anxiety symptoms in a sample of Hispanic American children (N = 127). Parents completed measures of their level of acculturation, collectivism, and socialization goals, while children provided self-reports of anxiety symptoms and both parents and…

This longitudinal study assessed whether maternal behavior and emotional tone moderated the relationship between toddler temperament and preschooler's effortful control. Maternal behavior and emotional tone were observed during a parent-child competing demands task when children were 2 years of age. Child temperament was also assessed at 2 years…