Parental stress and supports, child temperament and mother-child interaction in free play were assessed in three groups of families of delayed preschoolers: 40 children with Down's Syndrome, 29 children with neurological impairments, and 40 children with delayed development of unknown etiology. In addition to a number of instruments completed by…

This study investigated the diverse family systems of Head Start children, specifically: (1) Do families of Caucasian and African American Head Start children experience parenting stress?; (2) Is perceived lack of parental competence associated with child-related stress in families of African American and Caucasian Head Start children?; and (3) Is…

The role of play in disabled and nondisabled toddlers was investigated and the impact of maternal stress on the dynamics of mother-child interactions was evaluated in a study involving 20 mother-toddler dyads (10 of which consisted of physically disabled toddlers and their mothers). Results of interviews revealed that mothers of disabled children…

This paper discusses the issue of children's rights and describes a study in which a 300-item attitude scale was constructed and administered to several groups of adult subjects. Major content areas, dealing with the rights of children aged 10-14 included: health, safety/care, education and information, economics, and legal, judicial, and…

The Parenting Alliance Inventory (PAI) was administered to 186 mothers and 75 fathers with a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds who had at least one child between 2 and 6 years of age. Subjects were recruited from child care facilities, pediatric practices, and public recreational facilities in central Virginia. Extrafamilial child caregivers…

This series of discussion sessions and suggestions for further reading, was designed to serve as a guide for discussion groups made up of parents of preschool children. The first chapter discusses the organization of groups, leaders' qualifications, the general format of sessions, recordkeeping, and suggestions for the first and final sessions.…

To estimate the influence of maternal stress, marital conflict, and psychosocial risk on the interaction between mothers and their children, this study observed 97 mother-child pairs in a laboratory setting in the presence of another unfamiliar mother-child pair. All families were francophone families from the Montreal, Canada, region; children…

This study investigated the effect of long-term professional social agency support on the level of stress perceived by mothers (N=65) of preschoolers with disabilities. Mothers completed the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS-F) and the Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale. The hypothesis that stress is greater for mothers of…

This study examined the short-term association between daily parental job stress and subsequent patterns of interaction between parent and child. Subjects were 30 mothers each with a preschool child between the ages of 3 and 5 years. Mothers were employed in a variety of white-collar occupations. For 5 consecutive days, mothers completed a…

Many parents find that the daily stress of coping with the demanding realities of their work lives leaves them with little personal and family time; playing with their children may therefore fall to the bottom of the "to-do list." One of the tasks of early childhood professionals thus becomes helping parents understand the nature and…

These three papers report preliminary findings of an early intervention collaboration study on developmentally vulnerable infants and their families in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Subjects, 190 infants with Down syndrome, motor impairment, or developmental delays of unknown etiology, were recruited from 29 community-based early intervention…

Problems encountered in cross-cultural research are discussed in this report which describes a study of the relationship between social class differences and maternal teaching patterns of 2- and 3-year-old children. The study involved a total of 63 mother-child dyads from middle- and working-class groups in Bristol, England and 34 Kuwaiti…

Directors, teachers, parents, and mental health professionals in child care centers were interviewed about aggressive behavior of preverbal children to determine the caregivers' level of understanding about children's emotional development. The definition of aggressive behavior included hitting, biting, pushing, scratching, pinching, grabbing,…

A program for severely handicapped preschool children in Camden, New Jersey, provides a supportive environment to the families in response to urban stress factors. Staff members, sensitized to working with a multicultural population, act as parent advocates. Family contacts begin with explaining the child's diagnosis, establishing a supportive…

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…