Psychosocial adaptations are sometimes affected by experiences that are ordinarily considered to be amusements. In 1974, a field study was undertaken by the Program on Psychosocial Adaptation and the Future to determine if it is possible to measure the effect of television on adult viewers. A sample of 260 couples, controlled for demographic…

The effects of early family and school environments on the language development of young children are explored in this paper on developing literacy. It is stated that children's intellectual development can be detrimentally modified by such home conditions as: (1) poor prenatal nutrition, (2) low socioeconomic status, (3) poor language skills of…

This article reports the results of research carried out in London using five-year-old children of working class and middle class backgrounds. Speech samples were collected and compared on the basis of grammatical categories. It was discovered that working class children used more pronouns than their middle class counterparts in third person…

Both high- and low-readiness low-income Black first graders may play an active role in their own learning. The greatest amount of didactic interactions occurred in the homes of the low-readiness children; however, their mothers appeared not to possess the skills they were trying to teach their children. (BJV)

Based on the view that individual variability is best understood as the result of influences from multiple domains operating over time, this book describes how different domains of influence operate, describes the operating processes in common to the different influences, and shows how these processes meet the criteria for a full-fledged system.…

Parental reports of 585 children's childcare experiences during the year preceding kindergarten were used to index the extent of children's involvement in three types of childcare: center-based (e.g., daycare center, Head Start, preschool), informal (e.g., relative-based or sitter-based) and parental. Childcare choices covaried with household SES,…

School readiness is important for children, for their families, and for society at large. The authors' exploration of school readiness focuses on how the home literacy environment, parenting behavior, and social characteristics affect two aspects of school readiness: basic skills, such as reading and math; and behavior problems, including…

Home visiting programs provide support services to families in their own homes, touching on social services, education, mental health, nutrition, health, or general welfare concerns. Twenty home visiting programs in California were surveyed to determine standards, best practices, areas needing improvement, and to develop training and support…

This longitudinal study examined effects of family socialization on sociomoral reasoning in the context of the peer and parent-child relationships. Subjects were 121 urban Icelandic children. Social class was constructed as a multinominal measure defined by the nature of work, education, authority, and responsibility of the parents in the work…

The world can be a risky place for teenagers in the 1990s. This guide and videotape provide skills for parents who want to help teens move successfully through the steps from childhood to adulthood. Based on extensive research, each of the seven units in the guide includes advice, strategies, and activities for both parents and teens to improve…

Based on the view that parents need to balance nurturing behaviors that demonstrate love and affection with the discipline that children need in order to learn and thrive, this book presents the Common Sense Parenting program from Girls and Boys Town as adapted for parents of toddlers and preschoolers. Offering logical techniques and foundations…

This text is designed to enable parents to become powerful advocates for their gifted children at school and at home. Chapters 1 through 5 focus on becoming an advocate at home. Chapter 1 discusses three broad characteristics of giftedness, the difference between bright and gifted children, and other dimensions of giftedness. Chapter 2 provides a…

This document describes in considerable detail how to promote literacy through a home-reading program for young children. It is asserted that literacy is an ongoing process that benefits from early home involvement of parents, and that parents need to be brought into the process early. A home-reading program based on a lending library is essential…

There has been a recent academic controversy over whether parental child-rearing has any real effect on how offspring turn out. This book is a comprehensive collection of the experimental evidence establishing that parental treatment does affect child outcomes. Also included are natural experiments, as in the case of children raised in…

Based on findings of the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development, this book examines the relationship between early parent-child and teacher-child interactions and children's kindergarten language and literacy skills. Participating in the study were more than 70 young children from diverse backgrounds whose home and school…