Standard procedures for teaching child management skills to parents may be inadequate for disadvantaged populations. The Parent/Child Early Education Program was developed to serve parents at risk of child abuse. Parent and child variables were measured at pretest in 41 families referred to this program. A profile of the families revealed that, in…

Maintains that the prevalent view of multiculturalism assumes that culture is portable and transferable from generation to generation within each cultural group. Argues that this view poses a narrowly defined cultural identity. Describes one child's attraction to and understanding of other cultural groups through visual art. (CFR)

Examines interaction and gender role socialization for 20 parent-child dyads in intact families. Play patterns of parents and children were not typically gender stereotyped. Results suggest a change in parents' perceptions about what is acceptable gender-typing behavior, possibly reflecting a realization that some toys are more socially acceptable…

Explores the impact of cultural change on home patterns of communicative interaction between Inuit caregivers and their young children in two communities of northern Quebec, Canada. A longitudinal, ethnographic study of two children with young mothers and two adopted children with older mothers illustrates many changes in the Inuit culture and…

Investigated whether low-income mothers learned to interact with their preschoolers in ways that fostered narrative skills. Mothers of intervention children were encouraged to elicit questions, encourage longer narratives, and participate in narrative conversation. Assessment of children's pre- and post-intervention narrative and vocabulary skills…

Investigates roles of parents in transmitting political values and attitudes to their children. Collected data from 275 households (n=275 adults and n=387 children) participating in a 1994 political values and attitudes study. Parents' gender, political activity, socioeconomic status, and family environment have an impact on degree of parent-child…

The study identified independent individual, family, and neighborhood correlates of children's physical aggression and prosocial behavior. Participants were 2,745-11-year olds nested in 1,982 families, which were themselves nested in 96 Canadian neighborhoods. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that the total variation explained by the…

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of the Natural Teaching Strategies (NTS) parent training intervention on parent and child behaviour during free play. A pretest/posttest experimental design was used with families recruited from Head Start programs. Measures of observed behaviour were used to determine the use of contingent…

This issue of the Canadian quarterly "Transition," in French and English language versions, examines issues related to the role of parents in shaping the future of their children. It is suggested that a holistic view of the role of parents should include not only the daily art of parenting as practiced in the homes of individual mothers…

This issue of the Canadian journal "Transitions" in both English and French versions, examines the role of grandparents in the family, with a specific focus on activities, trends, and research in Canada. The six feature articles are: (1) "Native Elders Can Help Mend Family Circle" (Dianne Meili), which discusses the role of…

Reviews literature and research on child abuse, emphasizing correlation between abuse and exceptionality of the child. States child abuse is not linked with poverty or socioeconomic level; the role of conditions in prompting abuse is hard to assess; a child's special needs may create the stressful environment prompting abuse. (LC)

Assessed family perceptions of parent-adolescent conflict four times from grade six to summer following grade eight. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents from 80 families reported on parent-adolescent conflict. Conflict over chores, appearance, and politeness decreased over 2.5 years whereas conflict over finances increased. Substance-use conflict…

The role of cultural context in the communicative interaction of young Inuit children, their caregivers, and their non-Inuit teachers was examined in a longitudinal ethnographic study conducted in two small communities of arctic Quebec. Focus was on discourse features of primary language socialization of Inuit families. (32 references) (Author/LB)

Two studies examined conversations between mothers and children from three different groups to determine culturally preferred narrative elicitation patterns: (1) Japanese-speaking mother-child pairs living in Japan; (2) Japanese-speaking mother-child pairs living in the United States; and (3) English-speaking Canadian mother-child pairs.…

A study investigated the impact of a school-based family literacy program located in an urban, working-class Ontario, Canada neighborhood on parents enrolled with their toddlers. Subjects, 15 white female parents between the ages of 17.6 and 33 years who had not completed secondary education, were interviewed, wrote journals, and participated in…