Given the theoretical complexity of the processes underlying achievement, it is not surprising to find limited investigation of the relationships between maternal employment and adolescent academic performance. The High School and Beyond 1980 sophomores data was used to assess the impact of maternal employment on seven latent variables: number of…

Provides overview of attachment theory as parented by John Bowlby in "Attachment and Loss". Uses two major concepts from this work to interpret refinements and elaborations of attachment theory attibuted to Mary Ainsworth. Considers how recent insights into development of socioemotional understanding and development of event…

The purpose of this study was to replicate the "basic training" structural model in Patterson's (1982) coercion theory, extending its scope to single-mother families with younger (six- to eight-year-old) boys. Significance of the successful replication was seen to lie in implications for the generalizability of the model across family…

Infant temperamental difficulty was strongly related to mothers' level of postpartum depression, both directly and through the mediation of parenting self-efficacy. Social support appeared to function protectively against depression, primarily through self-efficacy. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed. (Author/RH)

Maternal behaviors within mother-infant games were examined to determine the amount, type, and functional value of maternal helping behaviors. A total of 17 mother-infant pairs were videotaped on monthly visits while playing five separate games. The study employed a skill-centered analysis to examine maternal scaffolding. (Author/RH)

Explores whether transactional/interactional, environmental, or developmental status models best represent growth from infancy to early childhood. Attempts to identify features of the social environment important for specific developmental outcomes. Observations of interactions between 40 mothers and their three-month-old infants were used to…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of social support on parent-child interaction with a group pf 21 adolescent mothers. The subjects participated in a 20-week model demonstration program designed to offer social support through a variety of activities (work-study programs, life-skills classes, child care training, counseling,…

Adopts a longitudinal design to track mother-child developmental change in infant task-related mastery and concomitant maternal behavior. Finds that, as infants gain more mastery across time, mothers gradually withdraw support in terms of concrete, specific and nonverbal means of instruction. Results support a one-step-ahead model for maternal…

Models the survival outcomes of children in developing countries born to women infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who are breast-fed, bottle-fed, and wet-nursed. Uses decision analysis to assess the relative risk of child mortality from HIV transmission and non-HIV causes associated with different methods of feeding. (FMW)

Tested a two-step infant preventive intervention model. Subjects were 147 multiproblem mothers and their infants. Data partially supported the model. Additional analyses explored factors associated with individual differences in delivery of services and response to treatment. (RH)

Evaluation of the interactive intervention model with mothers and young children (n=32) with developmental delays found that treatment mothers became more responsive and less directive and provided clearer linguistic models. Treatment children increased their use of vocal turns but did not make significantly greater improvement in overall…

Uses structural equation modeling to combine traditional ideas from repeated-measures ANOVA with some traditional ideas from longitudinal factor analysis. The model describes a latent growth curve model that permits the estimation of parameters representing individual and group dynamics. (Author/RH)

This study tested a conceptual framework of child physical abuse based on three major determinants of abuse: exposure to aggression, exposure to stressors, and access to resources. The study of 81 physically abusive and 148 nonabusive mothers found that being abused by one's own mother and exposure to domestic violence as an adult were the best…

The single parent who has to assume the role and the responsibilities of both mother and father provides a different sex-role model for the child than that provided in the two-parent family. Research has indicated that single parents are more androgynous than parents in intact families. To investigate the sex roles of 332 college students (213…

Using a nationally representative database of students in grades one through six, this study estimates the effects of number of parents and maternal working on children's school-related achievement. Achievement scores are lower for children from one-parent than from two-parent homes. The effect appears to work primarily through the lower income of…