Individual differences in infants' native phonological development have been linked to the quantity and quality of infant-directed speech (IDS). The effects of parental and infant bilingualism on this relation in 131 five- and nine-month-old monolingual and bilingual Spanish and Basque infants (72 male; 59 female; from white middle-class…

A total of 122 parent–infant dyads were observed as they watched a familiar or novel infant-directed video in a laboratory setting. Infants were between 12-15 and 18-21 months old. Infants were more likely to look toward the TV immediately following their parents' look toward the TV. This apparent social influence on infant looking at television…

Links between children's attachment security with mothers and fathers, assessed in Strange Situation with each parent at 15 months ("N" = 101), and their future behavior problems were examined. Mothers and fathers rated children's behavior problems, and children reported their own behavior problems at age 8 ("N" = 86). Teachers…

Children vary widely in the rate at which they acquire words--some start slow and speed up, others start fast and continue at a steady pace. Do early developmental variations of this sort help predict vocabulary skill just prior to kindergarten entry? This longitudinal study starts by examining important predictors (socioeconomic status [SES],…

In the United States, racial-ethnic differences on tests of school readiness and academic achievement continue. A complete understanding of the origins of racial-ethnic achievement gaps is still lacking. This article describes social equity theory (SET), which proposes that racial-ethnic achievement gaps originate from two kinds of social process,…

This study charted the development of gendered personality qualities and activity interests from age 7 to age 19 in 364 first- and second-born siblings from 185 White, middle/working-class families, assessed links between time in gendered social contexts (with mother, father, female peers, and male peers) and gender development, and tested whether…

The current study examined whether parental and contextual risk factors contribute to mothers' and fathers' differential treatment (MDT/FDT) when accounting for sibling dyad characteristics. Also explored was whether family type (single mothers vs. 2 parents) moderated the links between the parental and contextual correlates and MDT. One hundred…

Examines whether parents of children ages 5 through 13 are able to recognize the impact various socialization techniques have on their own child's interpretations of prosocial behavior. Additionally investigates parents' beliefs about causal attributions made by their children. (MP)

The extent to which maternal behavior, children's temperament, age, and family structure variables are associated with dimensions of sibling relationships was investigated with a sample of 96 families with younger siblings aged 3-6 years and older siblings aged 5-10 years. (PCB)

Study examined the hypotheses that adults do not speak to children as they speak to other adults and that the speech addressed to a child becomes more adult-like as the child increases in linguistic competence. (Author/CB)

In a longitudinal study, infants 6 to 18 months of age were observed in their homes playing with their mothers and with peers to determine how they coordinated attention to people and objects. Person engagement declined with age, while coordinated joint engagement increased; both passive and coordinated joint engagement were much more likely when…

While controlling for overall intellectual level, this study assessed the interpersonal problem-solving skills of 150 families via written tests and behavioral performances. Interrelationships between written and behavioral interpersonal cognitive problem-solving skills were examined, as were the relationships of each problem-solving measure to…

The results of both studies indicated that harsh'' parental practices predict subsequent social desirability responding. (Authors)

Examined links between parental knowledge and adolescent delinquent behavior for correlated rates of developmental change and reciprocal associations from age 14 to 18. Found that parent knowledge was negatively correlated with delinquent behaviors at age 14 and knowledge increases over time were negatively correlated with increases in…

Adolescents 10 to 18 years of age were interviewed 4.5 years after their parents' divorce. Adolescents' feeling of being caught between parents was related to high parental conflict and low parental cooperation. Closeness to both parents was related to low feelings of being caught between parents. Feeling caught was related to poor adjustment…