This study examined the similarities and differences between adolescents' interactions with romantic partners and those with friends and mothers. Thirty-two adolescents were observed interacting with a romantic partner, a close friend, and their mother. Adolescents and romantic partners engaged in more conflict than adolescents and friends.…

The goal of this study was to examine the links among attachment, child temperament, and the quality and frequency of mother-toddler conflict. Sixty-four mothers and children took part in a series of laboratory tasks when the child was 30 months of age and an audio-recorded home observation when the child was 36 months of age. All episodes of…

Observations of conflictual family interaction have revealed that several distinctive behavior patterns tend to occur during the course of a family dispute. Patterns such as negative reciprocity, positive reciprocity, and coercion have been described and utilized as predictors of marital satisfaction and parent-child relations. This study examined…

To gather information on the role of gender in parent-adolescent interactions, a study was conducted of patterns of alliances formed during disagreements between 28 male and 28 female early adolescents and their parents. Interactions among adolescents and their parents were recorded while they planned an ideal vacation, and the transcripts were…

Studies have shown that improved parenting mediates treatment outcomes for aggressive children, but we lack fine-grained descriptions of how parent-child interactions change with treatment. The current study addresses this gap by applying new dynamic systems methods to study parent-child emotional behavior patterns. These methods tap…

A group of 40 parents were brought into the laboratory with two of their children (one preschool-age, one toddler) and given a cognitive task which competed with child care for their attention. This competing cognitive activity had substantial effects on parental behavior compared to a control phase with no competing task. In general, positive…

To see if mother-child conflict and mother firmness in conflict situations could be predicted from previous measures of the level of young children's attempt to influence their mothers, a study was conducted among 27 boys and 25 girls who were observed at 33 and 45 months of age. Information about the 33-month-old children's influence attempts…

The procedural details of three measures of family problem-solving behavior are presented. These measures are used to code videotapes that are recorded when family members discuss and try to solve a family problem that they consider important. The measures were developed to accompany methods for training parents and their preadolescent and…

Parental reports of disagreements and serious disagreements about rules were examined. A questionnaire was developed and sent to 200 families with seventh-grade boys and girls. No gender differences were found. Disagreements were significantly correlated (positively) with parental reports of child oppositionalism and (negatively) with parents'…

The data for the paper were collected in the spring of 1967. The data were analyzed in the summer and fall of 1967.

Recently, awareness of abuse of parents by their adolescent offspring has increased. Research has not addressed the issue of police involvement in adolescent to parent abuse, even though people in law enforcement have become increasingly involved in mediating family disputes and applying sanctions against abuse activity. This study analyzed police…

Adolescence is the transition from childhood to adulthood, a period during which an individual acquires the skills necessary to survive on his or her own, away from parents or other caregivers. Adolescence can be a very confusing time. They experience changes in sleep, diet, mood, weight and attitude and a decreased pleasure from daily activities.…

The potential for role strain is much greater in single-parent families where one person functions as both caretaker and provider than in the two-parent household where these roles can be shared. Role strain affects the quality of relationshps and the interactions between parent and child(ren). It was hypothesized that the role strain felt by…

Examined the influence of mitigating circumstances on parents' beliefs and intervention behaviors regarding sibling physical aggression. Subjects were 40 Caucasian families. Results indicated that, although parents considered sibling physical aggression to be a serious transgression, they believed that mitigated aggression of both of their…

A total of 136 mothers of preschool-age children participated in interviews about their disciplinary style. Children of power-assertive mothers engaged in more antisocial or disruptive behavior than other children and expected successful instrumental outcomes for hostile methods of resolving peer conflict. (LB)