REPORTED IS A STUDY OF THE ASPIRATIONS OF 202 NEGRO MOTHERS FOR THEIR CHILDREN'S FUTURE. AN INTERVIEW SCHEDULE WAS ADMINISTERED BY TWO NEGRO WOMEN TO FOUR SUBGROUPS OF LOW AND HIGH STATUS MOTHERS. SUBGROUPS WERE DEFINED ON THE BASIS OF EDUCATION AND NUMBER OF CHILDREN. THE ASPIRATION OF THE RESPONDENTS WERE EXAMINED WITHIN THREE CATEGORIES--(1)…

Even though enrollment in elementary schools and national literacy rates have increased greatly in India since its independence in 1949, the number of dropouts and illiterate individuals will also continue to increase unless the needs of the socially disadvantaged are identified and met. The majority of the dropouts and the illiterates belong to…

This study was conducted to observe the effects of social class on the interaction of mothers and their 12-week-old infants. Data on the infants' cognitive and attentive behavior was also obtained. Each of 32 white and black infants from five different levels of social class was observed at home for two full hours of waking time. Observed infant…

Personal narratives of 20 middle-class Japanese preschoolers, half of them 4 years old and half 5 years old, and their mothers were analyzed using stanza analysis and high point analysis. The patterning in stanzas yielded the following: (1) with regard to the proportion of three-verse stanzas, there were no differences between the groups of…

Do sampling biases introduced in studies requiring a large amount of time make those samples less representative than the samples in studies requiring less subject involvement? This question was explored in the context of mother-infant interaction studies by comparing maternal attitudes of two groups of primiparous mothers: 20 mothers who…

A useful resource for child care agencies is the cooperative, mother-run preschool, which offers mothers perspective, identity, emotional support, and socially approved respite from their children. The association with other mothers has the greatest positive effect. (MH)

This report is based on a longitudinal analysis of physical-contact interaction of mother-infant pairs throughout the first year of life. The sample consisted of 26 middle-class mother-infant pairs who were observed in their homes for four hours once every three weeks. During each visit, the observer made a running record of everything that…

A study explored changing family patterns among married middle and upper middle class women students over thirty with family intact. Eighty-seven homemaker-students enrolled at the Universlty of Maryland, College Park campus, during the spring semester, 1975, responded to a written questionnaire regarding their family patterns of decision making…

This study analyzes the perceptions of family of orientation and family of procreation of a white middle- and lower-middle-class sample at four transitional stages. The findings suggest that perceptions of one's parents, spouse and children are strongly influenced by transitional stage and sex. (Author)

A prospective study in the area of developmental psychopathology and depression was conducted to determine whether an additive pathological effect upon offspring existed when psychosocial disadvantage and maternal depression were combined. Differences in psychiatric epidemiology and psychological outcome were investigated in 27 children of latency…

To better understand the role of wives in families in which fathers raise the children, data were analyzed from a previously conducted study of partial role reversals in two-parent families. The sample consisted almost exclusively of 59 white, middle-class families with a child 3 to 6 years of age. Data gathered in separate interviews with mothers…

Reports on the relation between childcare attitudes and mother-infant interaction, using the Maternal Attitude Scale and observation in the home. (Author)

Comparison of low and middle socioeconomic-status mothers shows distinct differences in teaching styles, and indicates why low income children often have difficulty adapting to the middle income school system. (Author/SP)

This article discusses a program in education and mental health set up for young mothers who would like to resume their studies but find inherent difficulties. Evaluation of the project's first year revealed that these women were capable of integrating their various life roles and had achieved a sense of competence. (Author/BW)