Forty British parents of two-year-olds were asked about gender-related adult roles, beliefs about gender differences in children's behavior, and whether they perceived their own child in terms of gender-specific behavior. The majority of children were perceived as conforming to gender stereotypes. (Author/BJV)

This document reports a study investigating the effects of father absence on measures of cognitive, social, and motivational development in infancy. The sample included 54 black infants, 27 of whom were classified "father-absent." This classification was based on two indices, (1) a dichotomy of father-absent or father-present based on…

Examined continuity, stability, and change in behaviors reflecting infant reactivity and regulation. Subjects were 100 infants of 5 and 10 months old. Found that infant behaviors during frustrating situations showed both change and continuity, but the relationship between reactivity and regulation changed in that both factors became more…

The conditions of day care quality under which infants direct secure attachment behaviors toward their day care providers were examined. Two groups of 12- to 18-month-old infants, who were experiencing either 1:4 or 1:7 caregiver-to-infant ratios, and their day care providers, were observed while they interacted in their day care centers.…

A longitudinal study was made of women and their first-born children who have different employment and day care experiences during the child's first three years of life. Specific aims of the study were (1) to gain full account of the history and experience of women who return to full-time employment while their first child is still young and of…

Reports an analyses of ratings on Bayley's Infant Behavior Record and test scores from the Bayley Mental Scale for 60 female and 50 male infants at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months of age. Results are discussed in terms of rank-order correlations, behavioral composite scores and study implications. (Author/SDH)

The acquisition of imitative responses without reinforcement was investigated with infants by eliminating contingent reinforcement through the use of videotaped models. Twenty-nine male and female infants were randomly assigned to one of two groups, a Rhythmic Vocalization Group or a Conversation Control Group. Infants in the first group were…

This paper reports the effects of one hour of extra post-partum contact between mother and infant on the quality of the attachment observed when the infant was one year old. It was hypothesized that infants in the extra contact condition would be classified as securely attached while regular contact infants would be less frequently classified as…

This paper briefly reviews studies of infant-peer and infant-mother interaction, and describes a study which compares the effects of mothers and peers on toddler play. Twenty-six toddlers (13 males and 13 females) aged 21 to 24 months were observed in two social situations each: playing with his/her mother, and playing with a familiar peer (after…

This longitudinal study examined the interrelationship between sex of the child and sex of the parent on the expression of attachment behaviors during the child's first 2 years. Special consideration was given developmental changes in the attachment structure and the relationship of attachment to cognitive development. Ten boys and 10 girls were…

A survey of assessment procedures of the newborn and of the infant during the first month of life was conducted; the survey indicated that there were instruments for evaluating the newborn and for evaluating the four-week-old infant, but there was no single procedure which included an evaluation of both the newborn and the four-week-old infant.…

Based on findings that report differences between cries of normal and clinically abnormal infants, this study examined the relationship between birthweight and behavioral and acoustic features of neonatal cry because of the long-standing association between birthweight, perinatal trauma, and subsequent development. Subjects were 88 neonates…

Qualitatively, the more suppressive and critical the mother, the less responsive the baby was in social play with her. The more the baby responded to his mother, the less he responded to a stranger. (Author)

Tests the hypothesis that, while the difference in rate of smiling to O degree v non-O degree orientations will diminish with increasing age with silent and/or unfamiliar faces, infants over 14 weeks of age should continue to discriminate between a talking familiar 0 degree face, and all other combinations of orientation, familiarity, and silent…

Explores the possibility of sex and socioeducational differences in young infants' patterns of vocal interaction with mothers and strangers at two and three months of age. Infants at both ages vocalized more to mothers than to strangers. (BB)