Assessed the impact of parents' marriages on the parenting of firstborn three-month-olds. Concluded that mothers are warmer and more sensitive with infants than fathers are. Fathers hold more positive attitudes toward their infants and their roles as parents when they are in close, confiding marriages. (RH)

Studied whether disturbances in mothers' metabolism (N=139) during pregnancy may exert long-range effects on neurobehavioral development of singleton progeny. Examined detailed pregnancy and perinatal records of mothers who experienced diabetes in pregnancy and intelligence tests of their offspring, administered at ages 7 to 11 years. All…

Presented are a literature review and new data on correlates of newborn auditory brainstem evoked responses (ABRs). Concludes that disorders of the central components of the ABR may be more of prenatal than of postnatal origin. The I-V interval had low but reliable correlations with four of 11 Brazelton scale variables. (RH)

Presents longitudinal data regarding detrimental effects through 36 months of age on intellectual, behavioral, and social-interactional development in a nonsupportive caregiving environment, and the continuing amelioration of those effects in a supportive caregiving environment. Suggests that mothers of fetally malnourished infants may have had…

Findings indicate that high-risk infants are not exposed to greater exogenous stress during the prenatal and perinatal periods, although subsequent caregiving provided by disturbed mothers may not be optimal. Several findings point to the existence of a constitutionally vulnerable subgroup of high-risk infants. (Author/RH)