The association among mothers', fathers', and infants' risk and cognitive and social behaviors at 24 months was examined using structual equation modeling and data on 4,200 on toddlers and their parents from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. There were 3 main findings. First, for cognitive outcomes, maternal risk was directly…

The Child Development & Behavior (CDB) Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) seeks to improve the health and well-being of individuals from infancy through early adulthood by supporting research into healthy growth and development, including all aspects of child development. The study of typical child…

An analysis is made of the reciprocal relationship between play and three areas of interaction between the brain and human development: (1) the affective characteristics of play and the brain; (2) developmental theories of cognition and play; and (3) creativity as a continuation of the brain's need for play. (JN)

Younger preschoolers had significantly more difficulty than older ones in making an appearance-reality distinction between a person's apparent character, as indicated by his or her facial expression, and the person's real character, as evidenced by his or her behavior. (BB)

Describes four kinds of pretend play inhibition observed in children from three to nine years of age. Proposes hypotheses regarding potential causes and developmental sequelae of pretend play difficulties, in both cognitive and socioaffective realms. Discusses the implications of children's pretend play inhibition for examining relationships…

An overview of some of the recent developments in experimental research on early infantile autism considers related issues such as language impairments, cognitive and affective deficits, nonverbal communication, social behavior, and therapeutic interventions. Research indicates that difficulty with abstract use of language and with pragmatic…

Examines effects of the structure and content of television on children's cognitive, motor, and affective development, and discusses relationships between family life style and television viewing. Suggests that current television programs can have harmful effects on children, and presents proposals for interventions to expose children to more…

This study reports on differences in children's interactional behaviors in traditional and nontraditional classrooms. The Differentiated Child Behavior Observational System which provides for systematic recording of group behavior in ongoing classroom activities, was applied in two days of observation in each of 17 classrooms (grades 1 to 3, ages…