A 7-year longitudinal study was conducted as part of the French national cohort ELFE (N = 1095). The aim was to identify how and why early language skills at 2 years might predict later literacy skills assessed successively at 5, 7, and 9 years (LitSk5y; 7y; 9y). Using one and the same model, we also examined the relations between literacy skills…

School refusal is heterogeneous in aetiology and presentation. The heterogeneity in its presentation, the focus of this study, complicates the conceptualisation and assessment of school refusal. The present study documents the development of a descriptive model of school refusal that was used to inform the development of a questionnaire for…

This article looks at the impact of Philippe Aries's classic "L'Enfant et la vie familiale sous l'ancien regime", published in 1960. His well-known idea of the emergence of "Le sentiment de l'enfance" caused a lively debate among historians and social scientists resulting in fundamental contributions to our knowledge about the…

Background: Earlier studies point to the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to be similar around the world. There is, however, a wide variety in estimates. The prevalence of ADHD in youth has never been examined in France. Method: Starting with 18 million telephone numbers, 7,912 numbers are randomly selected. Among the…

This article explores the influence of working conditions on work-family conflict (WFC) among married/cohabiting employees across seven European countries. Using data from the European Social Survey, the paper first investigates the role of working conditions relative to household level characteristics in mediating work-family conflict at the…

The study was aimed at replicating on a Portuguese sample the seven-factor model of life appraisal (physical autonomy, love life, family life, social life, occupational life, finances, and leisure life) that was suggested by Salvatore and Munoz Sastre ["Social Indicators Research" 53:229-255 (2001)]. A sample of 1,111 Portuguese…

Discusses revival of ideas on the family experienced in France after World War II. Describes increase in fertility, marriage, and divorce rates since that time, and the reversal of these trends beginning in 1965. The state attitude concerning families and family policy is traced from the end of World War II to the present. (NB)

Reviews history and content of recent U.S. child care and family legislation comparing it to that of four European nations on five policy objectives: increasing supply, supporting maternal employment, easing burdens of child rearing, permitting parental choice, and raising quality of programs. Recent legislation brings United States slightly…

Compares aspects of the work and private lives of 43 French and 20 Canadian managerial women with careers in essentially male occupations. Issues of socialization, coordination of work and family life, sponsorship in the workplace, sex ratios and division of labor, and equal opportunities are examined. (SK)

This text summarizes the proceedings of a 1975 conference of the Prix Jeunesse Foundation which revolved around the question: "What aids can television offer in order to make it easier for young people to socialize in their family and their environment?" Included are: (1) an introduction and the text of the opening speech; (2) separate…

Increasing numbers of mothers of young children are entering the labor force, resulting in the emergence of new family lifestyles in the United States and five European countries. Expanded child-care services, cash benefits, and extended leave are helping adults manage both work and family life. (Author/SK)

The two principal approaches of the historian and sociologist, one focusing on change and the other focusing on recurrence or continuity, are reconciled for the teacher of French culture to foreign language students. This is accomplished through an examination of the differential time structures of different social levels, an illustration that the…

Compares the results of two surveys of adolescents' views on the quality of family life in five European countries. Results showed a positive view of the family for a large majority of the respondents. (JDH)