A key prediction of cognitive theories of gender development concerns developmental trajectories in the relative strength or rigidity of gender typing. To examine these trajectories in early childhood, 229 children (African American, Mexican American, and Dominican American) were followed annually from age 3 to 5 years, and gender-stereotypical…

While research suggests that working more than 20 hr weekly is associated with greater antisocial behavior among middle- and upper-class youth, some have argued that employment benefits at-risk youth and leads to desistance from crime among youthful offenders. This study investigates the relation between hours worked, school attendance, and…

This study tests a model of reciprocal influences between absenteeism and youth psychopathology using 3 longitudinal datasets (Ns = 20,745, 2,311, and 671). Participants in 1st through 12th grades were interviewed annually or biannually. Measures of psychopathology include self-, parent-, and teacher-report questionnaires. Structural cross-lagged…

This third-generation, longitudinal study evaluated a family investment perspective on family socioeconomic status (SES), parental investments in children, and child development. The theoretical framework was tested for first-generation parents (G1), their children (G2), and the children of the second generation (G3). G1 SES was expected to…

Drawing from developmental and cultural adaptation perspectives and using a longitudinal design, this study examined: (a) mean-level changes in Mexican-origin adolescents' cultural orientations and adjustment from early to late adolescence and (b) bidirectional associations between cultural orientations and adjustment using a cross-lag panel…

This study explores the educational achievement of immigrant youth in Spain employing data from 3 waves of the Longitudinal Study of Families and Childhood (Panel de Families i Infancia), a representative sample of children in Catalonia first interviewed at ages 13-16 in 2006 (N = 2,710). Results suggest consistent disadvantage in achievement…

Interviews of 120 British adolescents and their parents (80% of a random sample of antenatal patients drawn from a representative urban population and followed longitudinally) revealed that 40 (33%) had been arrested and/or had a diagnosis of "DSM-IV" conduct disorder by 16 years of age; of those, 18 (45%) had committed violent acts.…

Rural and city subjects ages 10 through 28 were individually interviewed on Kohlberg's moral dilemmas. Responses were analyzed according to a new manual, which calls for matching responses to criteria judgments. Results support the claim for structural universality in moral judgment. Differences between rural and urban subjects are discussed.…

Of 48 male subjects in an initial 2-year interval follow-up interview study of social perspective-taking levels, 41 subjects were reinterviewed 3 years later according to the same interview procedures. Results supported the hypothesized sequential order of developmental levels. (Author/MP)

Mothers were interviewed periodically over the first six years of their same-sex twins' lives and were asked to contrast them on specific behaviors. Intrapair contrasts were moderately stable across age spans for as long as 18 through 36 months. Genotypic similarity was apparently associated with intrapair similarity in emotionality and…

Two field studies of high school students' sense of obligation to nonclass school activities are reported. "Sense of obligation" is conceived of as mediating some relations between the student and the school environment and is defined as a personal feeling of "I ought to..." or "I must...," i.e., a personal constraint, with reference to attending…

Examined psychometric properties of self-perception scales of the Berkeley Puppet Interview (BPI) with children at preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. Found that young children have a multidimensional self-concept that can be reliably measured. The BPI was sensitive to normative change and individual differences. Support for validity was…

Examined relationships among mothers' hostile attribution tendencies regarding their children's ambiguous problem behaviors, mothers' harsh discipline, and children's externalizing behavior problems. Assessments over four years demonstrated that mothers' hostile attributions predicted children's externalizing school behavior problems. The…

Two experiments examined effects of a cognitive interview on 4- and 8-year-olds' correct recall and subsequent reporting of misinformation. Found that a cognitive interview elicited more correct details than a control interview. Eight-year-olds' reports were more complete than 4-year-olds', with more correct person, action, object, and location…