Examined the stress vulnerability of infants with disorganized/disoriented attachment patterns by measuring salivatory cortisol levels in 19-month olds following the Ainsworth Strange Situation procedure. Indicates that infants' disorganized attachment behavior reflects a vulnerability to stressful stimulation, suggesting a model of stress…

Assessed parent and child emotional expressiveness in a laboratory game, parent expressiveness at home, and children's understanding of emotions. Parent expressiveness at home and fathers' expressiveness in the laboratory were associated with children's peer relations. Children's understanding of emotions predicted their peer relations. (BC)

Posits that an evolutionary perspective can unite the study of the typical development for and individual variation within a species and that environments within the normal range for a species are required for species-normal development. Individual differences in children reared in normal environments arise primarily from genetic variation and…

A study of sixth grade boys and their families hypothesized that boys who were prone to high levels of distress but low or moderate levels of self-restraint would be particularly unlikely to agree to make considerable efforts to complete tasks that were not especially enjoyable. Results supported the hypothesis. (RH)

Observers used two Q-sorts to describe mothers' and infants' behavior at home. Mothers of more difficult children were less sensitive than other mothers. There was a strong relation between maternal sensitivity and infant attachment. Mothers of more secure infants noticed and enjoyed their babies more than mothers of less secure infants. (BC)

Evaluated respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and heart period in 5-month-olds during interaction challenges. Found that during object-mediated challenge, RSA increases were uniquely related to positive engagement. During person-mediated challenge, subjects showed more complex integration of autonomic and behavioral responses such that only infants…

Several propositions about the relationships between and among environmental variables of relevance to IQ were tested. Environmental variables hypothesized to be related to IQ were measured longitudinally across three time periods in childhood (0-3, 4-6, 7-10 years) on a sample of 110 subjects. (Author/CS)

Studied the sex-role concepts, personality adjustment, and academic achievement of 223 10-year-old girls and boys with either full-time employed or nonemployed mothers from working-class or middle-class families. (Author/JMB)

Explores the hypothesis that parenting practices of abusive mothers are characterized by (1) greater use of power-assertive strategies, (2) less flexible behavior with respect to child compliance attempts, (3) more inconsistent use of parenting techniques, and (4) diminished affective quality. (HOD)

The single best predictor of maternal teaching, or child response, was ethnicity. Children in this study experienced different learning environments which may result in different skills and expectations brought by them into the classroom. (Authors)

Executive competence is defined as the child's ability to initiate and sustain locomotor, manipulative, and visually regarding activities at a given level of complexity and intensity, and with a given degree of self-sufficiency. (Author)

Twenty preschoolers and 10 student teachers were asked to reconstruct the complete layout of their classroom by using a small-scale model as well as by using life-size furniture in the classroom itself. Children's performances were significantly better in the classroom than they were on the model. (Author/MP)

Assesses ability of infant tests to predict language and cognitive development and to detect infants at risk for developmental problems. The Bayley Mental Development Index was particularly capable of detecting infants at risk for developmental delay. The Caldwell Inventory of Home Stimulation identified home environment as a key factor in…