We examined the development of sharing behavior of children (aged 6 to 12) within the unique, minority population of Christian Arab children in Israel (N = 319). Children had the opportunity to share candy with a needy or non-needy recipient. Parents' level of religiosity was assessed using the Duke University Religion Index questionnaire (DUREL).…

Parental mentalization refers to parents' capacity to treat their children as having minds of their own and consider the mental states underlying their behaviors. This study examined the roles of mothers' executive functions (EFs), a group of processes supporting self-regulation, in 2 aspects of parental mentalization--spontaneity as measured by…

Identity formation is a key developmental task in adolescence. Although many adolescents in modern societies face issues of identity, there are substantial individual differences in identity exploration and commitment. Little is known about the origins of these individual differences. The current study investigated the genetic and environmental…

Theories of socialization propose that children's ability to handle conflicts is learned at home through mechanisms of participation and observation--participating in parent-child conflict and observing the conflicts between parents. We assessed modes of conflict resolution in the parent-child, marriage, and peer-group contexts among 141 Israeli…

Guided by theories of cultural participation, the authors examined mother-child, father-child, and triadic interactive behaviors in 141 Israeli and Palestinian couples and their firstborn child at 5 and 33 months as antecedents of children's social competence. Four parent-child measures (parent sensitivity, child social engagement, parental…

A total of 76 male infants in the kibbutz, Bedouin, middle and lower-class environments were observed during the equivalent of a waking day. Data include: total rate of stimulation to which infant is exposed from as many as 8 familiar people; and mother's responses as a percentage of total response rate. (MS)