The theoretical orientation of this study of the extended, black, middle-class, is two-fold: (1) the socialization of children in black families differs from other families because of their nonsupportive wider environment, and (2) the extended kin network facilitates upward mobility. To test these hypotheses, 305 black parents were questionned…

Despite the fact that mobility or financial stability was clearly tied into the occupation and income of the father, an investigation of upwardly mobile black families in a mid-Atlantic metropolitan area indicates that this middle income group did not have to reject the reciprocal obligations of their extended kin networks in order to realize…

Urges a focus on the positive, rather than negative, aspects of African-American family patterns and emphasizes a recollection of the past positive coping strategies, such as a strong oral tradition of proverbs for passing on positive values to next or future generations. (JB)

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to examine factors related to the achievement and adjustment of 378 African American children in the early elementary grades. Consistent with past research, there was a positive relationship between the number of risk factors children were exposed to and the probability that they were…

The impact of family situations on the health of children is examined along the dimensions of (1) the growing povertization of parents who are of color; (2) health risks for children in poverty; and (3) consequences of placement in the foster care system. (SLD)

Examined frequency with which children were exposed to various parental actions, materials, events, and conditions as part of their home environments, and how these exposures related to well-being. Found the most consistent relations between learning stimulation and children's developmental status, with relations for parental responsiveness and…