Latent class logistic regression analysis was used to investigate sources of individual differences in profiles of prosocial behavior. Eighty-seven 18-month-olds were observed in tasks assessing sharing with a neutral adult, instrumentally helping a neutral adult, and instrumentally helping a sad adult. Maternal mental state language (MSL) and…

Generics ("'Dogs' bark") convey important information about categories and facilitate children's learning. Two studies with parents and their 2- or 4-year-old children (N = 104 dyads) examined whether individual differences in generic language use are as follows: (a) stable over time, contexts, and domains, and (b) linked…

J. E. Grusec and M. Davidov's article (this issue) about domains of parenting and their links with different aspects of childhood outcome raises both interesting questions and challenges. Four of these concerns are discussed in relation to early childhood. First is the issue of bidirectionality. Recent studies highlight the contribution of…

Adolescents' beliefs about the legitimacy of parental authority and obligation to obey were examined in 568 Chilean adolescents (11-14 years old at Wave 1), followed once a year for 4 years. Adolescents' beliefs about parental legitimacy and obligation to obey declined with age. The steepest decline occurred during early adolescence, particularly…

Examined relationship between temporal contingency of maternal behavior and interactional quality. Found that although prompt responding was typical, the existence of individual differences indicated that this tendency was expressed in different communicative channels. The relationship between contingency and ratings of interactional quality was…

Discusses implications of a study of middle-class infants seen in the Ainsworth strange situation at 12.5 and 19.5 months; the investigation produced results inconsistent with the corpus of previous findings. (Author/RH)

Data support three conclusions: (1) that notable individual differences in the interaction patterns of mothers and Down syndrome children exist, (two) that maternal directiveness and sensitivity are separable dimensions of maternal style, and (3) that individual differences in mother/child interaction patterns may be related to mental development…

Asserts (1) that contrary to Waters, findings affirm the importance of viewing mother-infant attachment as a dynamic relationship, responsive to family conditions, and (2) that these findings are consistent with those of other researchers. (Author/RH)

Investigated continuities in mother-infant interaction observed at home, maternally perceived infant difficulties, and infant developmental competency. Also assessed were background characteristics and possible variables moderating maternal report of satisfaction with adjustment. A total of 128 dyads were assessed when infants were 6 and 13 months…

Demonstrated that time sampling is inaccurate for estimating durations or frequencies of behaviors. Also concluded that (1) individual or group differences can change depending on whether time sampling or continuous sampling is used; and (2) error rates are high when bout lengths of behaviors are short or when interval length is long. (BC)

Investigated predominant kinds of parent-infant play and individual differences in play style. Participants were 24 families of healthy, full-term, firstborn infants, four boys and four girls at each of three ages: 7, 10, and 13 months. (RH)

Aimed (1) to determine whether a time sampling, frequency-count procedure for assessing mother-infant interaction could capture a set of theoretically important dimensions, and (2) to chronicle both ability and change within the mother-infant relationship. A total of 74 dyads were observed when infants were 1, 3, and 9 months of age. (Author/RH)

Data indicate that the interventions provided differed in their effectiveness in calming newborns to a highly significant degree. (Authors)

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)