This study tested implications of new genetic discoveries for understanding the association between parental investment and children's educational attainment. A novel design matched genetic data from 860 British mothers and their children with home-visit measures of parenting: the E-Risk Study. Three findings emerged. First, both mothers' and…

This study examined the biological processes associated with foster mother-infant bonding. In an examination of foster mother-infant dyads ("N" = 41, mean infant age = 8.5 months), foster mothers' oxytocin production was associated with their expressions of behavioral delight toward their foster infant and their average P3 response to…

Suggests that each dimension of perceived family environment appears to be influenced by a different combination of underlying factors: acceptance-rejection by genetic and specific environmental factors and restrictiveness-permissiveness by shared and specific environmental factors. (RH)

Proposes a theory of development in which experience is directed by genotypes and in which genotypic differences affect phenotypic differences, both directly and through experience, via three kinds of genotype-environment effects. The theory adapts the three kinds of genotype-environment correlations in a developmental model used to explain…

Twice during the neonatal period, the behavioral organization of 42 newborns was assessed by the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS), and the newborns' cortisol response to the NBAS procedure was determined. Newborns with low orientation showed a higher increase in cortisol during the NABS than newborns with high orientation. (MDM)

The behavior of 10 newborn babies given pacifiers in response to spontaneous empty sucking, rooting, and mouthing was compared to that of 10 controls. Observations, conducted at 24-hour intervals for four days, began 2 hours before and concluded 1 hour after feedings. (RH)

Evidence from cross cultural studies and observational studies are provided to support the contentions that males are more aggressive than females and that this sex difference is evident as early as the preschool years. (Author/MP)

Examined the relationship between temperament and craniofacial variation in 372 infants observed at ages 4, 14, and 21 months. Found that high-reactive 4-month olds, who are predisposed to becoming timid, inhibited toddlers, had smaller bizygomatic ratios (narrower faces) at both 14 and 21 months compared to their low-reactive peers. (MDM)

Examines reactions to menarche and the subsequent effects of this experience as a function of preparation for and timing of menarche. A questionnaire including measures of responses about first menstruation, current symptoms, and self-image was completed by 639 girls in fifth through twelfth grades. (Author/MP)

Measures of general cognitive ability in one- and two-year-old adopted and nonadopted infants and their parents were subjected to path analysis to estimate the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to short-term stability of mental ability. (Author/RH)

Related blood levels of testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin in pregnant women to gender role behavior among 342 male and 337 female offspring at 3.5 years. Found that testosterone levels related linearly to girls' gender role behavior. Neither hormone related to boys' gender role behavior. Other factors, including older brothers or…

Discusses ways in which Myron Hofer's work (1987), which draws on studies of rodents and primates, alters the traditional perspective on human attachment. Emphasizes the importance of the component of attachment that does not develop in explaining attachment in the first six months of life. (PCB)

Reports two studies in which 12- to 13-year-old girls, half of whom were premenarcheal and half postmenarcheal, responded to pictures of infants. Concurrent assessments of interest in motherhood, cognitive sophistication about the relationship between menarche and childbearing, attitudes toward menarche, and sex-role self-image did not…

The behaviors of narcotics-addicted and nonaddicted newborns in the first 2 days of life were assessed and compared. (JMB)