This study examined home environment conditions (housing quality, material resources, formal and informal learning materials) and their relations with the Human Development Index (HDI) in 28 developing countries. Home environment conditions in these countries varied widely. The quality of housing and availability of material resources at home were…

This study examined the moderating effects of family conflict and gender on the relationship between community violence and psychosocial development at age 18. The study sample consisted of 728 children and families who were part of the Infant Health and Development Program study of low-birth-weight, pre-term infants. In this sample, adolescent…

This study examined early observed parenting and child-care experiences in relation to functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis over the long term. Consistent with the attenuation hypothesis, individuals (n = 863) who experienced: (a) higher levels of maternal insensitivity and (b) more time in child-care centers in the first…

We examined the impact of parenting behaviors on preschool children's social development in low-income families from three cultural groups: European American (n = 286), African American (n = 399), and Hispanic American (n = 164) using Spanish as the primary language in the home. Observed parenting behaviors of stimulation, responsivity, and…

Residential crowding in both U.S. and U.K. samples of 36-month-old children is related concurrently to the Bracken scale, a standard index of early cognitive development skills including letter and color identification, shape recognition, and elementary numeric comprehension. In the U.S. sample, these effects also replicate prospectively.…

This study examines the usefulness of a screening process implemented in the context of a Head Start home visit and compares families who screened positive for substance abuse with those who did not on an array of child and family indicators important for healthy child development. The sample included 1,105 low-income families with preschool-age…

The attainment of self-regulatory skills during the toddler years is an understudied issue, especially among low-income children. The present study used growth modeling to examine the change over time and the final status in children's abilities to self-regulate, in a sample of 2,441 low-income children aged 14 to 36 months. Positive growth in…

Modeling the Dynamics of Paternal Influences on Children over the Life Course Is a heuristic model, which identifies sets of variables that predict father involvement, variables that interact to predict involvement, and variables that influence father characteristics and thereby influence involvement. It also suggests moderators and mediators of…

This study used data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to examine relations between parenting, self-control, and externalizing behavior from infancy through 5th grade. Results indicate that self-control measured during middle childhood mediates relations between…

Research established a moderate relation between toy availability and children's development throughout early childhood. Several aspects of psychological theory appear to describe part of the relation: cognitive developmental theory, relating learning and development, script theory, theories of intrinsic motivation, and theories relating play to…

The development of environmental process measures marks a significant step forward in the assessment of environment quality. As Bloom (1964) predicted, these measures have made it possible to more clearly delineate the relationship between environment and development. Although factorial structure of many process instruments is open to question,…

Study examined the cross-racial comparability of maternal quality of assistance and supportive presence coded from a video protocol using data from the Infant Health and Development Program for low birth weight, premature 30-month-olds and their mothers. Comparisons across groups indicated similar variances and correlation between child and…

Examines the early development of low birthweight infants and its relationship to five categories of medical and environmental variables: (1) health; (2) family status; (3) family context; (4) family process; and (5) parenting. Results indicated that scores on the Bayley Mental Development Index at 18 months were related to all five categories of…

Replies to the commentary by McCartney and Black (PS 523 017) on an article by Bradley and Caldwell (PS 523 016), both reported in this issue. Argues that scientifically useful descriptions of caregiving environments can be attained using a systematic, objective approach to classifying acts and conditions of the environment while recognizing that…

A randomized clinical trial procedure was used at eight program sites to determine the impact of the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP), a parental education and support and child care program, on the home environment of 985 infants. Differences favoring intervention were apparent at three years, suggesting favorable program impact. (SLD)