Although abundant research has demonstrated associations between psychologically controlling parenting and adolescent problem behavior, little is known about the moderating role of adolescent personality herein. This study examined whether adolescent personality moderates the associations between parental psychological control and internalizing…

According to several developmental theories some children are more sensitive to the quality of their environment than others, but most supporting empirical evidence is based on relatively distal markers of hypothesized sensitivity. This study provides evidence for the validity of behaviorally observed Environmental Sensitivity as a moderator of…

In the present investigation, we studied the development of 6 physically aggressive behaviors in infancy and toddlerhood, posing 3 questions (a) How do the prevalences of individual physically aggressive behaviors change from 8, 15, and 24 months? (b) Are there groups of children who show distinctive patterns in the way individual physically…

Most research exploring the interplay between context and adolescent separation and detachment has focused on the family; in contrast, this investigation directs its attention outside of the family to peers. Utilizing a latent variable approach for modeling interactions and incorporating reports of behavioral adjustment from 14-year-old…

The current study examined the stability of temperament over time. Observers and mothers rated child behavior at eight timepoints across three assessment waves (8, 15, and 30 months of age). Internal consistency reliability of aggregates of the eight observer reports and eight mother reports were high. When considering single timepoint…

Children who experience early and extensive child care, especially center-based care, are rated by teachers as having more externalizing behavior problems than are other children. This association is reduced, but not eliminated, when care is of high quality, and it varies by socioeconomic disadvantage and the type of behavior assessed. We examine…

This study investigated the following questions: (1) Are newborn individual differences relevant for infant developmental outcomes?; (2) Can any continuity be found between neonatal and infant behavioral characteristics?; (3) Are maternal behavioral styles influenced by the newborn's individual characteristics?; and (4) Do initial maternal…

The aim of this study was to examine the normative developmental trajectories of aggressive and delinquent behavior in young children. Cohort-sequential univariate latent growth modeling (LGM) analyses were employed to conceptualize and analyze intraindividual changes in children's aggressive and delinquent behavior and interindividual differences…

Compared exploratory, symbolic, and social play and interaction of Argentine and U.S. 20-month olds and their mothers. Found patterns of cultural similarity in sex differences and differences in the use of exploratory and symbolic play. Overall, Argentine and U.S. dyads used different modes of exploration, representation, and interaction,…

Examined the concordance between mother-infant attachment behavior and patterns of mother-child reunion responses when the children were age six. Found that concordance between four types of attachment status was 82%. Also found a correlation between children's observed social competence at age five and their reunion patterns at age six. (MDM)

This study examined the associations between preschoolers' behavior in their family and a couple level index of parenting style. This index is defined as the difference in the amount of emotional interaction between mothers and fathers with their children. Thirty-eight families with a preschool-aged child took part in a laboratory visit, and…

Background: Parent-child mutuality is comprised of emotional reciprocity, co-responsiveness, and cooperation, which together represent aspects of co-regulation of emotion and behavior that may be important in the etiology of children's behavior problems. Furthermore, individual differences in children's mutuality and behavior problems involve…

This study examined relations between mothers' and fathers' behavior and characteristics, and individual differences in masculine and feminine activities and interests of their early school-aged children. Subjects were 57 intact families with an eldest child aged 6 to 7 years for a total of 29 boys and 28 girls. Data collection involved four…