To determine whether support systems ameliorated the impact of divorce on family stress and child adjustment, the present study examined the availability to divorced families of various support systems, including the extended family, church, work, and community groups. Specifically, the study addressed the impact of parental support systems on…

Patterns of attachment in preschool-age children were investigated in a nonexperimental, naturally occurring stressful situation. The sample included 86 families with at least one child 18 to 54 months of age. In each family, the mother planned to deliver another child in a hospital birthing center. Separation from the mother during admission was…

The interpersonal linkages between adult children, their parents, and society are complex. In order to measure the levels of stress and satisfaction present in the relationship of young-adult daughters and their mothers, the Parent-Adult Child Relationships Inventory was administered to 163 mother-daughter pairs. The daughters were 18 to 25 years…

Children's responses toward strangers, qualities of mother-child interaction, and maternal stresses were examined in 38 mother-child pairs, with children from single and two-parent families. Responses to female and male strangers were observed in a modified Strange Situation. Mother-child interaction was assessed with a modified version of…

The paper explores the impact of child variables, parent variables, and family resources (professional and informal supports) on the family's ability to cope with a child with special needs. Child variables include child gender, birth order, severity of handicap, degree of child dependency, extent of attachment, age of the child, and presence of…

This study examined ways in which 42 low income mothers used a multifaceted neighborhood-based parent education program. Two different patterns of sequential relationship between use of staff services, verbal participation in a discussion group, attendance, and formation of peer ties were identified. These patterns were shown to be related to…

A new psychometric instrument for measuring the impact of divorce on elementary school age children was developed: the Child's Report of the Impact of Separation by Parents (CRISP). This structured projective test was specifically designed to assess children's postdivorce stress/adjustment. An initial version of the CRISP was administered to 99…

This longitudinal study identified hard-to-manage older toddlers and younger preschoolers, assessed the developmental course and prognostic significance of their difficult behavior, and delineated family factors possibly associated with early and persistent problems. Obtained from parents, teachers, and observers, cross-situational and…

The nation-wide study assessed the effectiveness of the various delivery systems providing early intervention services to handicapped young children. The Battelle Developmental Inventory was the primary measure of child development. A series of parent measures were used and demographic information was also collected. Data from project sites…

Exploring possible similarities and differences between mothers who work outside the home and mothers who do not, this study provides a preliminary investigation of maternal reactions to mother-child separation when children have reached school age. A total of 41 women working outside the home and 48 mothers staying at home responded to a…

Although the events associated with divorce can have negative effects on children who are involved, child maladjustment is not the inevitable consequence of divorce. To investigate the factors which may account for observed variation in children's response to divorce, 46 elementary school children (22 boys, 24 girls), residing with their mothers,…

The psychological stress produced by life events is actively researched because of the effects this stress has on physical and psychological functioning. Bereavement may be the most stressful of these events and therefore it is the subject of this study. A sample of adults from three different geographical areas of Kentucky was assembled and 71.5…

Although alcoholism is increasingly recognized as a family disease, most research looks solely at the alcoholic, or occasionally at the alcoholic's spouse. However, there are a multitude of potential studies regarding the alcoholic family system, parent-child communication, marital communication, and sibling communication in the alcoholic home. To…

Substitute care for a child at risk has been been associated with psychological distress in the child and his family and a drain on public finances. To investigate the cost effectiveness and ultimate influence on family intactness of home-based family crisis intervention, 77 low income, inner city families with an adolescent child at risk of…

This bibliography of 185 books, journal articles, government and private agency reports, literature reviews, and conference papers was prepared for the "At-Risk" Task Force of the American Council on Rural Special Education. The general problem is one of children and youth who are placed, by the actions of self or others, in situations where they…