While poor parental bonding has been linked with psychological distress, few studies have assessed bonding with mothers and fathers separately among adolescents and whether there are gender differences in the relationships between bonding and psychological distress. Additionally, low self-esteem has been shown to predict psychological distress,…

Australia's National Quality Framework identifies responsibilities for early childhood educators who work with infants to plan for and assess their learning. Educators are urged to be "responsive to children's ideas and play" and to "assess, anticipate and extend children's learning". Responsiveness in relation to infants is…

Self-determination theorists argue that parents can support or thwart their children's psychological needs for relatedness, autonomy, and competence. The first aim of this study was to develop a measure to assess six dimensions of parenting theoretically linked to meeting toddlers' needs. The second aim was to examine the associations of these…

Previous research has investigated caregiver attachment relationships in children with autism during early childhood, with few differences found from matched control groups. However, little is known of this relationship during middle childhood (ages 8-12 years). In this study, the aim was to establish whether there are differences in the security…

Maternal support is known as a protective factor during infancy, childhood, and adolescence. However, less is known about the conditions leading to support-seeking behaviors toward mothers in early adolescence. In comparison with younger children, it is assumed that the specific nature of these conditions changes with continuing cognitive…

Two experiments investigated the effects of a music and movement (M&M) programme on healthy first-time mothers and their 2-6-month-old infants over a five-week period. Experiment 1 (N?=?96) examined the effects of the M&M activities and the face-to-face (F2F) social contact of a group instruction method on the perception of mothers'…

Developmental outcomes for children whose primary caregivers are misattuned but not considered abusive are unclear. This paper argues that if by the pre-school years, insecure patterns of attachment are evident then a continuing dysfunctional attachment relationship is indicated and the likelihood of later difficulties is increased. The current…

Asperger syndrome (AS) is a disorder resembling autism in its problems with social interaction and cognitive flexibility. Today, a number of adults with AS marry and rear children. Yet there has been little research into the quality of their marital and parental relationships. This study explored romantic attachment style, marital satisfaction and…

Boarding school has been a feature of education systems for centuries. Minimal large-scale quantitative data have been collected to examine its association with important educational and other outcomes. The present study represents one of the largest studies into boarding school conducted to date. It investigates boarding school and students'…

The aim of this prospective study was to identify preschool factors that are associated with children's classroom engagement during their 1st school year. The study was guided by a social-motivational process model that highlights the importance of parent-child and teacher-child relationships in promoting engagement. In preschool, parents and…

This paper explores the ability of five- to six-year-old children to remember past experiences. A set of stimuli cards modelled on adaptations of the Separation Anxiety Test was generated. Interview transcripts are scored for the child's ability to recall past experience in episodic form. The quality of episodic recall is compared with attachment…

This article describes a procedure which has proven useful in facilitating narratives about experience of everyday family situations in order to provide insights into the inner world of children around five-seven years. The Windows to Attachment in Young Children (WAYC) consists of the procedure itself and scoring frameworks through which the…

The issue of whether or not the basic principle guiding the placement of Australian children in need of care is applied in practice is addressed in this expanded seminar paper. It is pointed out that the principle stating that the child's welfare should be of paramount concern has been incorporated into Australian legislation in the Adoption Act…

Examined the effect on father-infant relationships of a parent training program on infant massage and bathing. Infants in the treatment group greeted fathers with more eye contact, smiles, vocalizing, reaching, and orienting responses and showed less avoidance behavior than did control group infants. Fathers in the treatment group showed greater…

Reviews research from several disciplines to examine impact of stillbirth and infant death on parents, and the effect of various socio-demographic, pregnancy-related, and postbirth factors upon parents' grieving and adjustment. Reports that one-third of mothers reported serious physical and emotional deterioration. Notes that care and emotional…