Evidence that the transition to parenthood is occurring at older ages in the Western world, that older parents provide more growth-facilitating care than do younger ones, and that most prospective studies of the intergenerational transmission of parenting have focused on relatively young parents led us to evaluate whether parental age might…

Longitudinal analysis of data on 658 children/families from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development addressed two issues regarding children's sleep problems (measured by maternal report in third and sixth grades when the child was 8 and 11 years old, respectively) and family…

Examined interrelation of marital and parent-child relationship subsystems among 100 families with 3-year-old child who were participating in Pennsylvania Infant and Family Development Project. Results revealed more systematic associations between marital change patterns and father-child interaction than between marital change patterns and…

Findings suggest that infant temperament affects the manner in which security or insecurity is expressed, but does not determine whether an infant develops a secure or insecure attachment to parent. (PCB)

Investigates infant preferences for interaction with mother v father, similarities and differences in maternal and paternal behavior, and the influence of a second parent's presence on parent-infant interaction. Families with infants 15 months of age were observed in their own homes. (Author/SS)

Examined the stability of infant-parent attachment security in samples of 90 infant-mother and 120 infant-father dyads who completed the Ainsworth and Wittig Strange Situation procedure at 6- to 7-month intervals. Significant stability was not discerned in attachment security, with rates of stability ranging from 46% to 55%. (MDM)

Examined the antecedents of infant-father attachment among 136 father-son dyads using the Ainsworth and Wittig Strange Situation procedure and questionnaires. Found that fathers of secure infants were more extroverted and agreeable than fathers of insecure infants, tended to have more positive marriages, and experienced more positive emotional…

Examined characteristics of fathers, infants, and marital relationships as antecedents of secure and insecure infant-father attachments in dual- and single-earner families. Change in perceived infant temperament, fathers' recollections of child rearing, and the division of labor distinguished families with secure or insecure infant-father…

Assessments of parent and sibling attachments were made when the firstborn child of a two-child family was one, three, and six years old. Sibling conflict and aggression were related to maternal conflict with both children at six years. Affectionate fathering was associated with prosocial sibling interaction. (BC)

Investigates patterns of father involvement and the influence of acculturation in a sample of Indian immigrant families. Results, based on naturalistic observations of 40 families, revealed three types of fathers: engaged, caretaker, and disengaged. Disengaged belonged to the least acculturated families, whereas the most acculturated were the most…

More than 200 New Zealand men and women studied repeatedly since age 3 were videotaped interacting with their own 3-year-old children to determine (a) whether childrearing and family climate experienced in 3 distinct developmental periods while growing up (i.e., early childhood, middle childhood, early adolescence) predicted parenting and (b)…

Examined how parenting style and inter-parental conflict lead to changes in toddler boys' inhibition between ages 1 and 3. Found that boys who are less inhibited than expected at age 3 have parents who are relatively more insensitive, intrusive, and negative in parenting style than are parents of children who remain more consistent over time.…

Studied personality change in 34 men across the transition to parenthood to determine if measurable change in men's personalities coincides with adoption of father role, and whether this change is mediated by actual involvement in fathering. Fathers' level of involvement with sons was correlated with decreased self-esteem; level of involvement…

Patterns of mothering and fathering in 72 families were observed longitudinally and from the perspective of the family system when infants were 1, 3, and 9 months old. Findings suggested similarities and differences in mothering and fathering. (Author/RH)

Combines and examines evidence from two longitudinal studies of infant and family development to determine whether experience of extensive nonmaternal care in the first year is associated with heightened risk of insecure infant-mother attachment and, in the case of sons, infant-father attachment. (Author/RWB)