A developmental dialectical approach to understanding and working with lower and middle class damaged parents--those identified as abusive and neglectful--has specific features and implications. The approach suggests that (1) the personality characteristics and interpersonal relations of parents are inseparable from their social conditions; (2)…

This paper presents a study of lower socioeconomic status children who were exposed to a Parent-Child Center stimulation program from infancy to age 3. Center children (N=10) were compared to a control group (N=10) having a group care experience, another control group (N=10) with no prior experience of any kind, and a middle socioeconomic status…

Fifty-four middle and lower class, black and white adolescents were observed interacting with their mothers during a discussion of seven child rearing problems. Maternal references to a range of disciplinary measures were identified, analyzed, and related to the subjects' scholastic performances. A factor analysis of process measures confirmed…

This paper, part of a long term study, reports the effect of a modified Montessori preschool experience on cognitive development, school-related behaviors, and social interactions and perceptions of disadvantaged children. Each of thirty-five disadvantaged Negro children (31 in nursery classes and 4 in elementary classes) was pair-matched with a…

Project Know-How, a small intensive early childhood intervention program, stresses family involvement in attempting to maximize the development of children. Three main components are involved: a preschool program, a mothers' program, and a fathers' program. Project goals are addressed through a three-fold intervention plan involving cooperative…