This cohort-sequential study assessed family and university environment on identity formation and ego strength. Findings indicated few developmental changes over 2 years. Intellectual and supportive academic departments and democratic family life predicted ego strength. The effect of intellectual and supportive academic departments on psychosocial…

Culture and systemic change are paramount to achieving significant and long-lasting gains in child and youth wellbeing and, in time, securing the future of our nation. This brief, based on a high-level synthesis of eight years of experience and research in place-based family strengthening, makes the case for a national transformation to a society…

The Conflict Cycle model offers a practical strategy for understanding how mutual interactions can create timelines of stress, feeling, and thinking that can easily escalate into undesirable outcomes. This article applies this model to resolving conflicts which arise in family situations. (Contains 1 figure.)

Objective: To examine the persistence of parent-reported social-emotional and behavioral problems in infants and toddlers. Method: The sample comprised 1,082 children ascertained from birth records. Children were 12 to 40 months old in year 1 (1998-1999) and 23 to 48 months old in year 2 (1999-2000). Eighty percent participated in year 1 and 91%…

This training guide is intended to help Head Start staff develop the essential partnership-building skills that contribute to Head Start's overall effectiveness as a supportive, family-centered community. Each of the guide's three modules details module outcomes, key concepts, and background information. Module 1 defines family support in terms of…

The Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986 increased the numbers of families eligible for special needs assistance, yet information concerning these families is minimal. This study explored the needs of families of preschool children with disabilities by comparing their family processes, parenting style, and children's social and…

Data from the longitudinal Berkeley Becoming a Family Project were used to evaluate the possibility that husbands' and wives' working models of attachment are related to the quality of their marital relationship. The main issue investigated was that of whether there are connections between working models of childhood attachment relationships and…

An exploratory study examined the premise that pets provide developmental benefits for young children. Four hypotheses were derived from prior research: (1) children who have a bond with a dog or cat show more maturity in their cognitive, moral, and emotional development than children who do not have such pets; (2) children who have a more…

Intended primarily for professionals, this booklet describes a process of psychosocial restructuring through which, sometimes with help, members of stepfamilies may assimilate the reality of their new situation. Sections of the discussion focus on phases in the restructuring process: fantasy; pretending; panic; and the emergence of a new family…

Research on family relationships has indicated that the family is the primary basis of security for adults in later life. To explore the family environment and interactional experience of multigenerational families in which the elderly grandparent is chronically ill, 12 families (12 grandparents, 13 adult children, and 11 grandchildren) completed…

Ten papers from a May, 1983 seminar on siblings of mentally retarded and developmentally disabled persons are presented. Participants include parents and siblings, and represent a variety of professions including social work, nursing, and psychology. The following papers are included: "Life with an Older Sister" (S. Miller and H. Kalish); "Raising…

A review of research focuses on the autistic child's influence on the functioning and interactions of family members. Resources associated with successful family adaptation to the autistic child include degree of cohesion, expressiveness, and active recreational orientation, as well as the mother's perception of adequacy of family support. (JW)

Interviews with runaways reveals the following stages of a runaway episode: (1) problematic relationships at home, characterized by violence, power struggles, sibling favoritism, and a lack of love; (2) the fight, which includes a transgression and a parental threat; and (3) running away, where the youth must manage fear and handle logistical…

Descriptive and intervention research that includes direct observational measures of social interaction between behaviorally disordered children, their siblings, or parents is reviewed. Topics addressed include degree of deficits in positive interaction exhibited by behavior disordered children (compared with nonhandicapped children), and…

Results provide support for the existence of a relation between school behavior and the home environment of young adolescents, since both academic performance and externalizing problem behaviors in school were related to and predicted by the parent-adolescent relationship and/or maternal depression in the home setting. Data from mothers and,…