In a study of ways of preventing mental retardation in the population of a city slum, surveys were conducted. The major finding was that the variable of maternal intelligence was the best single predictor of the level and character of intellectual development in the offspring. The survey also showed that the lower the maternal IQ, the greater the…

Progress during the first two years (1967-1968 and 1968-1969) of a three-year home-based, mother-child intervention program called the Verbal Interaction Project is described. The project was planned for the cognitive enrichment of preschoolers 2 to 4 years old, from lower income families. The program utilized specially trained home visitors,…

Evaluates a comprehensive intervention program for deaf children under age three in Vancouver, British Columbia. Twelve subjects were compared with a matched sample of children undergoing less-systematic intervention. Results indicated more developmentally mature communication and higher quality interaction in families who had received…

Ways in which adults can work with noncompliant, defiant, or oppositional children are presented in this manual. The program presented here was designed to help children having at least a two-year level of language or general cognitive developmental level and who fall between the ages of 2 and 12 years. The methods are meant for use by experienced…

The first step in dealing with an attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) child's difficult behavior is to understand its origins. This book presents behavior management techniques to help parents care for their ADD child while ensuring that the child continues to develop positive, healthy self-esteem. The guide shows how to: (1) ensure an accurate…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Community Awareness Motivation Partnership (C.A.M.P.) theater program, a one-hour sex education program for adolescents. Four hundred and twenty adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 participated in a repeated measures pre/post test design study. The majority of this sample is Latino. Results…

This paper summarizes the proceedings of a 1999 symposium on mental health in infants and toddlers, particularly the role of attachment, held at the University of Minnesota. Presentations by Kathryn Barnard of the University of Washington and Anne Gearity of the University of Minnesota are included. Following an introduction and conference…

Examined factors related to the quality of home environments that 83 teenage mothers provided for their 12-month-old infants. Findings show that teens who fostered supportive environments were less depressed and more empathic, had infants who were heavier at birth, received more support from the father, and lived in relatively safe neighborhoods.…

Reviews research relevant to family-based adolescent health promotion, focusing on efforts to prevent problems and encourage healthy development. Discusses family processes that appear central to healthy adolescent functioning, including attachment, reducing disharmony, and encouraging responsibility. Describes selected family interventions,…

Parents of four nonverbal and four echolalic autistic children, aged five-nine, were trained to increase their children's speech by using the Natural Language Paradigm. Following training, parents increased the frequency with which they required their children to speak, and children increased the frequency of their verbalizations in three…

Discussed are principles of nonverbal therapy for deaf children with disorders in the development of self, and the possible existence of a relationship between lack of auditory experiences in deaf children and disorders in mother-child bonding. A case study presents a three-year-old deaf boy successfully treated through a nonverbal…

Reviews recent literature on attentional problems with an eye toward functional conclusions and linkages between assessment and intervention. Provides a problem-solving model that integrates parents' or teachers' referral concerns and reasons for these concerns, assessment methods, and intervention strategies. Draws conclusions and emphasizes the…

A controlled, parent-targeted intervention followed two cohorts of students (1,034 fifth graders and 1,244 seventh graders) to determine the effects of encouraging parents to intervene in risk factors for adolescent tobacco and alcohol use. Such programs should focus on protective factors rather than on control of risk factors. (SLD)

The development of communicative competence and the role of cultural context in the communicative interaction of four young Inuit children and their caregivers was studied ethnographically. Caregiver accommodations to Inuit children differed in many ways from those reported for White middle class North Americans. The paper calls for culturally…

Key components of human behavioral genetics and Sandra Scarr's work of the past two decades are critically reviewed based on scholarship in animal neuropsychology and clinical and educational psychology. Scarr's opinion that interventions to enhance intellectual development are ineffectual for children from abuse- and neglect-free backgrounds is…