Ethnographic methods are used to investigate infant--toddlers relationships in an early childhood setting. The metaphorical and emotionally based concepts of holding [Winnicott, D. W. (1960). "The theory of the parent-infant relationship." "International Journal of Psychoanalysis," 41, 585-595.] and container: contained [Bion,…

This study examined the public behavior between adults and children in 557 groups and evaluated the effects of group size, number of children (16 years of age and younger), and number of adults on the cross-age interactions. For a 10-second period, all social interactions between members of a group were recorded using an unobtrusive observational…

This study sought to explore the pattern of self-disclosure in parent discussion groups. Subjects were 16 parents. Patterns of self-disclosure to occur contiguously, suggesting that reciprocity in self-disclosure is a general phenomenon operating in a variety of group settings. (NG)

Examines conversational interaction in mother-twin-twin triads during play. Findings, paralleling those for mother-infant-sibling triads, reveal that these conversations are five times longer and elicit more turns from all speakers than dyadic conversations between a mother and a single twin and that the unique effects of triadic exchanges are not…

This monograph serves as an overview of theory and technique for parent training, most specifically through the implementation of programs led by the elementary school counselor and the school psychologist. This document explores the history, basic assumptions, goals, training procedures, training of trainers, and references and resources from a…

Relationships between patterns of family interaction and child development are investigated in this study on how family environment and quality of interaction relate to an adolescent's psychological and social functioning. A sample of 99 white middle-class families participated in a 2-hour structured interview in their homes. The interview…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 18 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: a comparison of mother/child and father/child interactions; state anxiety responses in high and low speech anxious subjects; variables that predict listening…

This project was designed to study the process of parents teaching preschool age children using a direct observational method. Six mothers and their own three-year-old sons from seven ethnic groups participated: middle-class Anglo, lower-class Anglo, English-speaking Mexican-American, bilingual Mexican-American; Spanish-Speaking Mexican-American,…