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,…

Guided by the biopsychosocial model, we examined (a) the prevalence of weight control behaviors (WCBs; i.e., trying to stay the same weight, lose weight, gain weight, or do nothing about weight) among early adolescent boys by race/ethnicity and grade level, and (b) how the boys' perceptions of sociocultural pressures (from parents, peers, and…

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…

The adaptive style theory proposes that given a sustained aversive maternal control experience children will come to adopt one of two perceptual orientations toward evaluative cues. This postulate was tested by exposing 78 late adolescent males to an array of evaluative words which they were told came from a maternal source. As predicted,…

Investigated differences between father absence and father presence among 433 male African-American adolescents in a Midwestern city. Results for the 74.1% who were "father absent" support the importance of the father's presence, although the mother's involvement was a buffer for some delinquent behaviors. (SLD)

Observations of parent-child interaction indicate that mother's positive feeling is correlated with her child's sociability, curiosity, attentiveness, manipulation, and offering information. (AJ)

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…

The results indicated that normal Ss generally perceived their parents as exhibiting sex-appropriate behaviors to a greater extent than did disturbed Ss; a smaller proportion of individuals in the disturbed groups viewed their fathers as possessing masculine-instrumental traits, and their mothers as having feminine-expressive characteristics.…

A limited comparative study of undergraduate homosexual males and control males were compared on referral source, therapy referral, academic interest and achievement, ordinal position, perceived relationship with parents, and personality adjustment as measured by the MMPI. Several differences were found and implications for treatment were…

This study addresses two specific questions: (1) can changes in infant behavior and maternal attitudes be observed as a function of the child's sex, and (2) if so, at what age do the sex differences become observable? (Author/AM)

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)

Attitudes of young adult males and their parents toward the father position were measured in a cross-generational study. Sons expected fathers to be more nurturing and recreational than parent groups. There was no difference in problem solving. Items measured what fathers should do, not what the subjects' fathers did. (Author/BEF)