Examined the social structural conditions under which helpful behavior are elicited, the interrelations of helpfulness and competence across two years of middle adolescence, and whether social circumstances moderate the effects of helpfulness on competence. Found that both boys' and girls' helpfulness in the home was responsive to family need,…

Examines the effects of persistent economic hardship on children. Both black and white children who experienced persistent family economic hardship demonstrated problems in peer relations, showed conduct problems at school, and reported low self-esteem. Connections between persistent economic hardship and psychosocial adjustment were more…

Comments on Belsky, Steinberg, and Draper's article in this issue. Discusses the claim for a connection of stressful childhood environments and early pubertal maturation. Argues that early puberty need not imply a shift from a "quality" toward a "quantity" reproductive strategy and that nonevolutionary factors can account for…

Tested a model of family conflict and coercion that linked economic stress in family life to adolescent symptoms of internalizing and externalizing emotions and behaviors. Subjects were 378 seventh graders and their families in rural Iowa. Found that spousal irritability and hostile exchanges over money matters increased the likelihood of…

Examined the expression of shame and pride in maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Subjects were 84 4- and 5-year-olds and their mothers. Found that maltreated girls showed more shame when they failed and less pride when they succeeded than nonmaltreated girls. (MOK)

Examines the relationship of parental agreement in child rearing during early childhood and the psychological characteristics of adolescents. Results suggest that early family socialization experiences are important but different for boys and girls with respect to psychological content and the developmental timing of effects. (RJC)

Explored the roles of genes and environment in masculinity and femininity during pre- and early adolescence in 70 twins of 8-14 years. Results revealed significant genetic influences in all measures. Environmental influences were specific to each individual and not shared by members of the same twin pair. (RJC)

Social behaviors of 10- and 12-month-old infants were studied as a function of experimental context (home and laboratory) and experimental history (home rearing and day care). Results suggested that the experimental context influenced infant social behaviors. No differences attributable to rearing condition as a main effect were found. (Author/SB)

Significant correlations were obtained between Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory scores and two clusters of items from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development: goal directedness and language use. HOME assessments were made when children were 6 and 12 months old; the Bayley was administered at 12 months.…

Parents of Swedish twin pairs ages 7 to 9 years and of British twin pairs ages 8 to 16 years completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Found that genetic factors influenced aggressive antisocial behavior to a greater extent than nonaggressive antisocial behavior, which was also significantly influenced by the shared environment. There was a…

The furnishings and toys of boys' and girls' rooms were canvassed on the assumption that differences, if found, would indicate parental ideas about sex-appropriateness. The children were 48 boys and 48 girls under 6 years of age; each child had his own room. (Author/CS)

Firstborn children's reaction to sibling birth assessed in 41 families via family interviews at 1 month prepartum and 1, 4, 8, and 12 months postpartum. Familial interaction patterns were observed in semistructured play sessions. Time since the birth of the sibling and sibling gender had significant effects on firstborn children's adjustment.…

Examines the effect of three types of school environment (informal, intermediate, and formal) on changes in figural creativity over a school year for first- and second-grade children. (Author/RH)

The distressed vocalizations of six-month-old infants interacting with peers in a playroom were statistically independent of the peer's vocalizations of distress. Absence of toys reliably predicted the extent of the infant's distress, whereas psychomotor development and sex did not. (Author/ DB)