The predictive ability of early consonant inventory and intentional communication on later expressive language was examined in 36 boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS). Autism symptom severity was included as a potential moderator. Participants were visited in their homes twice over a 6-year period, and mother-child interactions were videotaped,…

This study examined both the frequency and type of noncompliant behavior in 14 boys with co-occurring Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant (OD) behavior, 24 boys with only ADHD, and 33 nonproblem boys. Mothers rated boys' noncompliant behavior on the Response Style Questionnaire (RSQ) and observers coded…

Effects of the ethnicity of observers on Chicano mothers and sons were evaluated using four female observers, two Anglos and two Chicanas. Verbal interaction, child prosocial and undesirable behaviors, and use of Spanish were recorded in the homes of ten Chicano mother-son pairs. Effects of observer ethnicity were negligible. (Author/NQ)

Investigates factors associated with outcomes in attachment relationships between 30 well-educated, full-time working mothers and their 18-month-old firstborn sons. Suggests maternal employment effects on mother-son attachment are mediated primarily by a woman's affective state, which becomes manifested in her style of caregiving and child-care…

Acting on the premise that she was teaching her son a task, each of 30 mothers selected consequences for her child's errors. In actuality, feedback to the mother regarding her son's performance was experimentally manipulated. Results showed that differential conditioning of both high and low maternal punitiveness could be achieved by using the…

A developmental model for paranoid behavior has been proposed which postulates that the attempt to adapt to sustained aversive maternal control by manipulative social approach behaviors (open adaptive style) leaves the person vulnerable to emerging paranoid tendencies. (Author)

Sex differences in verbal family interactions were investigated in a group of 79 adolescents and parents from normal and psychiatric settings. Individual speech in interactions was observed and scored using the Constraining and Enabling Coding System. Findings showed strikingly higher levels of cognitive enabling speeches expressed by fathers and…

Three issues are addressed relating to the role of family experience in adolescents' self concept: the extent of sex differences in adolescents' friendship and dating identity, how links between family experience and friendship and dating identity might differ for males and females, and whether mothers and fathers play distinctive roles in such…

Addressing methodological limitations, Study One compared parent-child interactions of normal and language-delayed children; Study Two investigated whether mothers adjust the length of their utterances to the child's ability to comprehend or to produce language; Study Three probed interactional variables associated with variations in the…

Examined linkages between child disruptive behavior disorder, quality of mother-child interactions, and mothers' recollections/attitudes toward their parents. Preschool boys (N=25) referred to a psychiatric clinic were matched with normally functioning boys. Mothers and sons were videotaped during a separation-reunion sequence, the Adult…

Studied multigenerational links between maternal history of problem behavior, mother's age at birth of first child, and child conduct disorder in boys. Found that maternal age at first birth was associated with child's conduct disorder, and maternal history of problem behavior was also associated with early maternal age at first birth and the…