This article synthesizes knowledge on the role of relationships and key macro- and micro-contexts -- poverty, racism, families, communities, schools, and peers - in supporting and/or undermining the healthy development of children and youth, using a relational developmental systems framework. Relationships with parents, siblings, peers,…

Utilizing a developmental-ecological framework, the purpose of this study was to understand the unique impact of multiple maternal risks across time on ethnically diverse, low-income, preschool children's cognitive skills, pro-social behaviors, and behavior problems. Additionally, this study sought to understand the variability of maternal risks…

Children's social skills are an important class of learned behaviors that facilitate success in the classroom; the primary method used in the assessment of social skills involves having parents or teachers complete standardized checklists using judgments of frequency or intensity. Children's (N = 1,102) social skills were modeled as time-varying…

Four theoretical perspectives about why father involvement could have positive consequences for child development are briefly reviewed: attachment theory, social capital theory, Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, and "essential father" theory. Strengths and weaknesses of each perspective are discussed, and the prospects for an integrated…

Programmatic initiatives for fathers have grown rapidly in early childhood settings during the past decade. This article reviews the research literature on attitudes about father involvement in programs, patterns of father involvement, studies about program development, outcome studies, and correlates of father involvement in programs.…

High-quality early care and education (ECE) programs promote positive child outcomes, allow parents to work, and contribute to the local economy. Although extant research takes into account the ECE sector in its entirety, recent economic and policy interest has centered on part-day prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds only. Using an ecological…

We present new evidence on the civic engagement of immigrants and the children of immigrant parents (ages 15 to 25). Utilizing the 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation Survey conducted by CIRCLE, we find that young immigrants report lower levels of civic engagement on most measures compared to natives. However, once observable demographic…

This study will address the initial question: Are there ethnic differences in parenting that remain when contextual variables are controlled "and" are related to culture, focusing on two samples of rural African American families. This study is part of a series of coordinated studies presented in this special issue (Le et al., 2008).…

This study examines the influence of contextual factors on parenting strategies among a sample of 104 Latina, European American, and African American mother-child pairs. The parenting constructs under investigation were selected as part of a collaborative research project among members of the parenting subgroup of the Study Group on Race, Culture,…

Researchers have theorized that programs to promote positive citizenship should begin with an opportunity for adolescents to participate in civic activities, such as community service or political volunteering. In this article we extend the theory by arguing that a more systemic approach is needed, in which a civic context is developed to promote…