The purpose of this article is to critically review the literature on parent-implemented interventions aimed at promoting and enhancing the social and communicative behavior of young children with autism spectrum disorders. Twelve parent-implemented intervention studies that were conducted, at least in part, in home environments and were published…

Describes a new observational study of home television viewing by young children which involved placement of time-lapse video cameras in the homes of five-year-olds from middle-class families for a 10-day period. Families maintained TV viewing diaries, and control groups of families were employed to assess the impact of observational equipment in…

Reports a combined interview and observation study of parent-child relationships in families with an eldest child aged six to seven years. Interview data focused on time spent with children, performance of child-need tasks, and frequency of parent-child interactions. (PCB)

Studied 40 parents and their children aged 18-23 months to determine whether parents encouraged involvement with sex-stereotyped toys or avoidance of cross-sex-stereotyped toys, and whether masculine and feminine toys led to different patterns of parent-child interactions. Children showed greater involvement with same-sex than with cross-sex toys.…

A sample of 951 children was assessed at age 7 to examine the prevalence, nature, and stability of behavior problems. About 30 percent of the sample were identified by parent and/or teacher as having a high level of problem behavior. Most reported (especially among boys) was antisocial behavior. (RH)

This study sought to assess the social validity of teacher and parent implemented assessment-based intervention for challenging behaviour in young children. The Behavior Intervention Rating Scale was completed by adults at the end of intervention for each participant. Overall ratings were high for both intervention acceptability and intervention…

Families in which one or both parents are diagnosed as being depressed are observed in this ongoing study of how the behavior of depressed parents relates to the child's present and long-term development. Each family which enters the study has a child approximately two years old and a child between five and seven years old. Families are initially…

The influence of prior information on attitudes towards physical affection between adults and children was studied. Results showed that (1) prior information and expectations can influence attitudes toward adult-child physical affection; and (2) group differences in attitudes toward affectionate behavior exist among parents, nonparents, and early…

A study examined young children's learning from selected television program content in varied subject matter and the relationship between that learning and the amount of time a child watches television with and without adults. A 28-item learning test based on instructional design principles was developed from selected television segments and…

Data from 108 university students who intended to become parents and teachers showed that the gender of a young child elicited differential academic beliefs, and that female and male aspiring parents and teachers tended to have different academic beliefs about young children. Discusses the relationship between socialization practices and…