This study reanalyzes data presented by Ritchie, Bates, and Plomin (2015) who used a cross-lagged monozygotic twin differences design to test whether reading ability caused changes in intelligence. The authors used data from a sample of 1,890 monozygotic twin pairs tested on reading ability and intelligence at five occasions between the ages of 7…

Few studies have examined the relation between maternal caloric intake during pregnancy and growth in child academic achievement while controlling for important confounding influences. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the current study examined the effects of reduced prenatal caloric intake on growth in scores on the…

Two models of vulnerability to socioenvironmental risk were examined in 337 African American children (M = 7.8 years) recruited to overrepresent prenatal alcohol or cocaine exposure: The cumulative risk model predicted synergistic effects from exposure to multiple risk factors, and the fetal patterning of disease model predicted that prenatal…

To determine whether adolescents interpret parental behavioral and psychological control differently, type, level, and domain of control were manipulated across 3 interpretations (adolescents' competence, mattering to parents, and parental intrusiveness). As expected, adolescents (N = 67, M = 14.25 years) generally interpreted high levels of…

Argues that extant research assessing relations between contextual factors and psychological disturbance has confused two different roles of context. Suggests that environmental factors are nonspecific stressors and elicit psychopathology, with specificity of expressed psychopathology governed by individual differences, and that context is…

Findings indicate that high-risk infants are not exposed to greater exogenous stress during the prenatal and perinatal periods, although subsequent caregiving provided by disturbed mothers may not be optimal. Several findings point to the existence of a constitutionally vulnerable subgroup of high-risk infants. (Author/RH)

This study explores the ecological correlates of child abuse and maltreatment using a model which focuses on the degree to which mothers are given support for the parent function. (BRT)

The influence of peer models' food selections and eating behaviors on preschoolers' food preferences was investigated. Thirty-nine preschool children's preferences for vegetables were assessed. (Author/MP)

Describes the slot-filler model of taxonomic knowledge development in which preschoolers derive "slot-filler" categories from event schemas. Maintains that the model has received considerable support across methodologies, ages, and sociocultural contexts. Argues that Krackow and Gordon's theorizing and methods could not lead to reliable,…

Emphasizes the benefits of cooperation between researchers in developing a comprehensive model of cognitive development that considers the constraints of human brain structures and the interplay of general laws of development and individual differences in developmental pathways within the context of social and cultural environments. (Author)

This study examined the power of nonshared environment to differentiate adolescent monozygotic twin development and the extent to which this power varied across social structural contexts. Findings indicated that differences in maternal closeness, teacher bonding, and religious participation differentiated twins on emotional distress. Family…

Discusses responsibility of developmental scientists to convey the complexity of development lest oversimplified popular accounts gain credibility. Presents a model of development elaborating on the role of experience in relation to constitutional, cultural, economic, and social factors contributing to children's development. Discusses importance…

Argues that child socialization is directed toward the development of instrumental competencies related to imperatives that vary across cultures. Criticizes the use of White middle-class standards in developmental research and proposes a cultural ecological model which studies competence in the context of the cultural imperatives of a given…

Tested four different theoretical models (risk, protective, potentiator, and person-environment fit) describing ways that geographical neighborhoods might be associated with aggression and peer relationship problems in 1,271 elementary school children. Results suggest a protective effect of middle-SES neighborhoods on the aggressive behavior among…

Self-reports about 70 masculine and feminine behaviors were collected from 177 undergraduates and their families and were correlated within family pairs to assess family resemblances in masculine or feminine preferences. The obtained family correlations were compared with those predicted by three theoretical models of gender-identity acquisition.…