The social functioning of 64 young adolescents (10- to 12-year olds) was examined in relation to negative emotionality and regulation during early adolescence, as well as two, four, and six years earlier. Young adolescents who were viewed as relatively high in social functioning (i.e., high teacher-rated school social competence; low mother- or…

Potential costs and benefits associated with fathers' participation in household chores and child care, here called "family work," were explored in this study. More specifically, the extent to which fathers' participation in family work was related to fathers' experience of stress and father-child reations were examined. The study involved 91…

Gender differences in self-esteem across time were investigated by means of a comparison of the extent of congruence between an individual's self Q-sort and his or her Q-sort of the ideal self. Self Q-sorts were done when subjects were 11, 14, 18, and 23 years of age; they were done on separate occasions, at least a week apart. Ideal self Q-sorts…

Reports that mothers' responsiveness to young infants' distress predicts language capacity at two years. Mothers' responsiveness to older infants' nondistress vocalizations predicts cognitive performance, perceived self-esteem, social competence, and family relations in preadolescents. (PCB)

Findings from 1,027 subjects followed longitudinally from age 10 through age 26 revealed strong connection between aggressiveness ratings at early ages and adult delinquency for boys. Aggressiveness was not predictive of later crime for girls until they reached age 13. For both genders, relation between aggressiveness and crime was largely…

Mothers' and fathers' subjective distress and self-restraint when their sons were preadolescents were related to 14 measures of sons' outcomes 4 years later. Subjects were 82 adolescent boys. Sons of fathers prone to low self-restraint were uniformly found to have subsequent difficulties across domains, including poor academic achievement, poor…

Children, mothers, and mothers' parents completed questionnaires about the children's involvement with their grandparents. Grandparents were more involved with grandchildren from single-parent than from two-parent families. As grandchildren's pubertal development progressed, grandparents became more involved with grandsons, and grandfathers became…

Children whose mothers were consistently more responsive during the children's infancy and early adolescence achieved higher IQ and arithmetic scores, had more positive self-esteem, and were reported by teachers to exhibit fewer behavior problems than children of mothers who were consistently less responsive. (BC)

This study followed 206 adolescent boys and their families from the fourth through eighth grade to test a model for conduct-related school failure. Results indicated that low parental academic achievement was associated with ineffective discipline practices and child antisocial behavior in the sixth grade and that ineffective discipline had a…

This study drew on four cycles of longitudinal data from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth to examine the academic and behavioural trajectories of youth between 10 and 15 years of age as a function of maternal age at childbearing. The analyses controlled for several family characteristics and examined the mediating…

Black (N=95) and White (N=52) low socioeconomic children assigned to special education classes were initially given the Stanford-Binet and, three years later, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). Correlations between Stanford-Binet and WISC-R Full Scale IQs were significant in both ethnic groups, with r=.60 for the total…

Presents evidence that differences among adolescents' behavior in romantic relationships are imbedded in both earlier and concurrent relationship experiences that foster a capacity for intimacy. Summarizes a 20-year longitudinal study based on this view, with particular attention to links between relationships with parents and interactions with…

A 16-item questionnaire concerning independence and 3 divergent thinking tests were administered to 3 groups of preadolescent boys (N=91) and their mothers as part of an ongoing longitudinal study of exceptional giftedness. Results indicate significant correlation of mothers' and boys' independence scores with divergent thinking test scores. (TJH)

Structural equation modeling was used to test a conceptual model and alternative models of competence in 191 children. Found that competence had at least three distinct dimensions in childhood and five in adolescence. These dimensions reflect developmental tasks related to academic achievement, social competence, and conduct important to both age…

Investigated maternal/preschool child functioning in families of solo mothers. Solo mothers differed from married counterparts in stress and social support, yet no differences in child outcome were observed. Reassessed 28 families as children entered preadolescence. Teachers reported preadolescents of solo mothers had more behavior problems, lower…