This paper reports on an action research project undertaken in 1972-1973, to determine whether a parent education program with a focus on the mother/child system could be developed effectively with urban Aboriginal families. A discussion of the importance of the home as a factor shaping children's school progress is followed by a description of…

This report describes the development, implementation and evaluation of a pilot early intervention program for parents and their infants 1 to 36 months old. Parents were trained by paraprofessionals (under the direction of professionals) to increase their psychomotor areas. The pilot project included 90 families with children under three years of…

In 1968 the Demonstration and Research Center for Early Education (DARCEE) initiated a small study to build and utilize mothers' skills (established in an earlier and major study) and to begin to construct and explore the feasibility of a "career ladder" for persons interested in early education. Subjects were 12 Negro preschoolers and their…

This short paper describes the Parent Readiness Education Project (PREP), a successful innovative effort to ameliorate the deficiencies of preschool children by training parents to enrich their home environment and improve interactions with their children through a specific program of daily home activities. PREP identifies 4-year-old children with…

Evaluates a two-year intervention program for low income families in which a toy demonstrator modeled verbal interactions with children ages two to four. Contrary to earlier results, finds no detectable program effects in children's IQ, achievement, or school adjustment three years post-program. Considers problems of ensuring that samples are…

Presents a model--consistent with formulations in developmental psychology and psychopathology--that extends attachment theory to late adolescence. Discusses attachment in the context of life-span development, stress, coping, and adjustment. Favors addressing methodological challenges in order to validate attachment-based developmental and…

Data shows couples in low-risk circumstances experience individual and marital distress after having a baby; however, no services exist to ease this transition. Interventions have been offered to high-risk mothers, but few are based on before-to-after parenthood studies that would identify risk factors. Describes interventions in both populations…

Young children develop social and emotional competence through interactions with others in the two major contexts in which they spend time: home and preschool. This study examined whether parenting stress in the home context is related to the children's behaviour while in preschool. Previous research has suggested that parenting stress negatively…

Background: Recognition has grown over recent years of the need for economic information on the impacts of child and adolescent mental health problems and the cost-effectiveness of interventions. Methods: A range of electronic databases were examined using a predefined search strategy to identify economic studies which focused on services,…

In this article, the author describes the two types of street children: (1) those children whose vagrancy was forced upon them by families and circumstances; and (2) those children who have an urge to go wandering, not because they are unhappy and have been abused but because they have an urge for it. Even though these children do run away from…

Background: To test effectiveness of a parenting intervention, delivered in a community-based voluntary-sector organisation, for reducing conduct problems in clinically-referred children. Methods: Randomised controlled trial, follow-up at 6, 18 months, assessors blind to treatment status. Participants--76 children referred for conduct problems,…

In spite of the most adverse circumstances, some children manage to survive and even thrive, academically and socially, into adulthood. A complex array of individual, family, and community factors has been identified that best explains resilience and lays the foundation for programs and interventions targeted at fostering the development and…

This study sought to determine if general parent education, in the form of books and workshops, was an effective intervention in cases of moderate parental distress due to difficult child temperament. The parents of six "difficult" children answered questionnaires and were interviewed over several years concerning their child's temperament and its…

The present study investigated the independent and combined effects of perceived parental support and social problem-solving skills on children's emotional adjustment. Thirty-six fourth- and fifth-grade children completed measures of perceived parental support, social problem-solving skills, self-perceived competence and self-worth, and recent…

Adolescent use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs is currently increasing. Three out of four adolescents report regular drinking. Significant alcohol, inhalant, and cigarette use is reported as early as fourth grade, and alcohol experimentation increases from 6 to 17 percent between fourth and sixth grades. Adolescence is a high risk stage for…