Effects of child characteristics and home environment on caregivers' behavioral intentions regarding placement were examined longitudinally for 100 families of children with severe mental retardation. Prior behavioral intentions significantly predicted actual placement independent of other factors. Among child characteristics, only normative…

Parents (N=3283) of infants and young children with or at-risk for developmental delays completed one of two surveys of learning opportunities, either in the home or in the community. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that both family and community life were each made up of 11 different categories of learning opportunities. Results support…

Examined linkages between congruence in perceptions of family functioning and adolescent competencies in a sample of first-year college students and their parents. Found that congruence analyses portrayed a more complex picture of congruence and divergence than previous studies and highlighted the importance of examining interaction patterns.…

A survey of 118 rural, mostly female, Latino participants in Parents Helping Parents (PHP)--a Kansas network of parenting self-help groups--found high satisfaction with PHP. PHP provided support and information concerning child rearing and child development, improved family communication, and increased the use of alternative means of discipline.…

The authors examined the views of parents and teachers regarding beginning reading instruction using the questionnaire Approaches to Beginning Reading and Reading Instruction (ABRRI). Parents also rated the importance of 9 developmental areas, including literacy, and the extent to which home and school were responsible for each. Two components…

Although much has been written suggesting that stress, grief, and other factors associated with parenting a child with disabilities results in high rates of marital discord, marital dissatisfaction, and divorce, this notion is poorly supported by research. Research demonstrates that parents of children with disabilities have marriages that exhibit…

A sample of 784 children with below-median literacy performance in kindergarten or at the beginning of grade 1 was assessed in 5 areas of psychological and social variables: academic competence, sociodemographic characteristics, social/emotional/behavioral characteristics, school context, and home environment. We examined the contribution of…

Intended for counselors working in schools or residential child care settings, in child welfare and family preservation services, or in juvenile justice, this facilitator's guide outlines a workshop for children and adolescents growing up in single-parent families. The guide first presents a framework for a one-class or five-class workshop…

This report considers preschool children's early literacy-related competencies. The data are from the first 2 years of the Early Childhood Project, a longitudinal investigation following preschool children from different sociocultural groups in Baltimore, Maryland, through their transition into the early years of elementary school. Children were…

A longitudinal study examined the relationship between the emergent literacy knowledge of preschool entrants and their subsequent reading performance, 5 years later. Subjects were selected randomly for the preliminary class lists of 6 separate preschools located in a mid-size midwestern city. Within the first 4 weeks of preschool, 8 informal…

Building on previous research indicating that among first, third, and fifth graders, older children expect affective expressive behavior to be regulated, a study was made of children's beliefs about rationales for and consequences of regulated affective expressive behavior. Children's beliefs were examined in conjunction with their parents' (1)…

Hess and Camara (1979) have shown that it is post-divorce family functioning, rather than family structure, that is most important in influencing the effects of divorce on children. A child's adjustment to divorce should be viewed as a developmental process rather than as a single event. Consequently, it is important to focus on the ways in which…

Examined were antecedents and behavioral correlates of parental perceptions of efficacy, using data from a national survey of 3,000 parents and a study of 65 mother-infant dyads. Survey data were used to determine what factors are predictive of parental perceptions of efficacy. Dyadic data were used primarily to examine the relation between…

This report describes family support through the experiences and testimony of eight families. The eight families, who had children with very difficult health and behavioral problems, were participants in the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center's Family Support Program, near Detroit, Michigan. Interviews were conducted to give voice to the families who…

The reading and writing behavior of nine mentally retarded Black adolescents enrolled in secondary level special education classes in an urban school district were analyzed. Data were collected on 11 language tasks which included drawing, forming letters and numbers, and general print production. Ss were also requested to answer…