Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological model proposes that events in higher order social ecosystems should influence human development through their impact on events in lower order social ecosystems. This proposition was tested with respect to ecological violence and the development of children's aggression via analyses of 3 waves of data (1 wave…

The stability of sex-typed behavior from the preschool to the middle school years was examined. The Preschool Activities Inventory, a measure of within-sex variation in sex-typed behavior, was completed by the primary caregiver when the child was 2.5, 3.5, and 5 years, and a modified version, the Child Activities Inventory, was completed by the…

This longitudinal study examined links between disorganization and atypical maternal behavior at 12 and 24 months in 71 adolescent mother-child dyads. Organized attachment and maternal not disrupted behavior were more stable than disorganization and disrupted behavior, respectively. At both ages, disorganization and maternal disrupted behavior…

Explores particulars that may partially account for the remedial influence on development of interactions between infants and caregivers. Videotaped interactions between 20 prematurely born toddlers and their mothers were described in terms of dyadic joint attention to features of the environment. (Author/RH)

This article describes the average and group-based developmental trajectories of aggression, opposition, property violations, and status violations using parent reports of externalizing behaviors on a longitudinal multiple birth cohort study of 2,076 children aged 4 to 18 years. Trajectories were estimated from multilevel growth curve analyses and…

Examined continuity, stability, and change in behaviors reflecting infant reactivity and regulation. Subjects were 100 infants of 5 and 10 months old. Found that infant behaviors during frustrating situations showed both change and continuity, but the relationship between reactivity and regulation changed in that both factors became more…

Examined mother-child interaction predictors of initial levels and changes in child aggressive and disruptive behavior at school from kindergarten to third grade in 585 mother-child dyads. Found that for boys, high coercion and nonaffection were particularly associated with the high-increasing-aggression trajectory, but for girls, high levels of…

Studied whether behavioral styles at age 3 are linked to personality traits at age 18 after identifying 5 temperament groups (undercontrolled, inhibited, confident, reserved, and well-adjusted). Results pointed to continuities across time. (DR)

In a longitudinal study of sibling interaction, same-sex and mixed-sex pairs of siblings were observed twice in their homes. Interaction patterns remained stable over the 18 months separating the two observations. Older children initiated prosocial and combative behavior more often than younger children and submitted less often to dominant…

Convergence between temperament ratings from two different sources (mothers and observers) and observer codings of peer-peer interaction was assessed. (Author/MP)

Determined whether individual neonate characteristics could be detected and reliably measured in preterm infants. Results showed that preterms were highly self-consistent in their reactions to stimuli from neurobehavioral assessments. Highly reliable individual differences among infants were also seen. Individual consistencies and differences in…

Determined whether there are developmental precursors to accidents and resulting physical impairment. Data collected at ages 8 and 14 (147 males and 142 females) were related to the number of types of accidents and impairment by the age of 27. Accidents and impairment were most frequent among individuals whose behavior had been characterized by…

A 4-wave longitudinal design was used to examine protective links from child competence to behavioral problems in first- (M=10.97 years) and second- (M=8.27 years) born rural African American children. At 1-year intervals, teachers assessed child behavioral problems, mothers reported their psychological functioning, and both mothers and children…

Using a longitudinal design, investigates the interactive behaviors of mothers of normal infants and mothers of infants who are known to differ on a host of cognitive, behavioral, and biological parameters. Examines the developmental course of emotional expressivity in these infants. (HOD)