Many global settings lack indigenous measures of child development, making the adaptation of available instruments necessary. The aim of this study was to reliably adapt the core subtests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III (WPPSI-III) to assess cognitive abilities in young children in rural Pakistan. A systematic…

There is growing evidence that cumulative exposure to highly responsive parenting styles throughout the early childhood period may provide a variety of important child benefits in terms of language, cognitive, social, and emotional development. We view maternal responsivity as a dynamic construct of central importance to the development of…

Recent research has found that maternal employment is associated with worse child performance on tests of cognitive ability. This paper explores mechanisms for that correlation. We estimate models of instrumental variables using a unique dataset, the American Time Use Survey, that measure the effect of maternal employment on the mother's…

Statistically, women, particularly pregnant women and new mothers, are at heightened risk for depression. The present review describes the current state of the research linking maternal depressed mood and children's cognitive and language development. Exposure to maternal depressive symptoms, whether during the prenatal period, postpartum period,…

Concern exists that a constellation of negative maternal emotions during pregnancy generates persistent negative consequences for child development. Maternal reports of anxiety, pregnancy-specific and nonspecific stress, and depressive symptoms were collected during mid-pregnancy and at 6 weeks and 24 months after birth in a sample of healthy…

Development and use of a rating scale to code videotaped mother-child interactions involving 1-year-olds with Down's syndrome are described. It is explained that the ratings were developed to describe individual differences in directiveness and sensitivity in mothers and social and cognitive maturity in the children, with a measure of mutuality or…

Initial research on maternal reminiscing style established clear and consistent individual differences that vary along a dimension of maternal elaboration and that are related to children's developing autobiographical skills. More recent research has linked maternal elaborative reminiscing to strategic memory development, language and literacy…

This Yugoslavian study aimed to describe the ways in which mothers are (or are not) using the opportunity, created by interacting with their children on tasks which are in the child's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), to foster the child's metacognitive development. The underlying assumption of this study on metacognition is derived from the…

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) is designed to provide detailed information on children's development, health, and early learning experiences in the years leading up to entry into school. The ECLS-B is the first nationally representative study within the United States to directly assess children's early mental and…

Thirty mothers of Title 1 children (5-11) were matched for marital status, sex of children, ethnic background, age, and level of formal education. They were randomly assigned to a waiting-list control group, a parent treatment group, and a parent-and-significant-others treatment group. The dependent measures were the following: (a) "the way I feel…

The effectiveness of the Mother-as-Teacher home intervention program is examined. The goal of this program is to enhance lower socioeconomic status mothers' teaching style. The extent to which enhanced maternal strategies affect the cognitive performance is assessed. (JMF)

Describes intervention approach designed to enhance intersubjectivity between adolescent mothers and children. Proposes that model based on the theory of guided participation enhances mothers' sensitivity to children's learning processes. Based on observation during implementation of the model, claims that engaging parents and children in mutual…

This document describes the Mother-Child Home Program (MCHP) for prevention of educational disadvantage, prepared by the Verbal Interaction Project. The MCHP consisted of 92 semi-weekly, half hour home sessions spread over two years by interviewers called "Toy Demonstrators". The latter were trained in non-didactic techniques to show a…

This paper provides a description and evaluation of the Mother-Child Program (developed by the Verbal Interaction Project) for prevention of educational disadvantage. The program consists of 46 semi-weekly home visits by "Toy Demonstrators" in each of two seven month program years, following the local school calendar. Toy Demonstrators…

The New Orleans Parent-Child Development Center (NOPCDC) was funded four years ago to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a model of parent education. The ultimate goal was to prevent the effects of poverty on human development. The parent education program was designed to increase the mother's knowledge and understanding about child…