Prosocial behavior in early childhood is a precursor to later adaptive social functioning. This investigation leveraged mother-reported, physiological, and observational data to examine children's prosocial development from age 2 to age 4 (N = 125). Maternal emotion socialization (ES) strategies and children's parasympathetic regulation have each…

This study examined how parents respond when their children encounter values outside the home that conflict with family values. Forty-eight middle-class European American parents completed questionnaires consisting of 11 vignettes asking how they would respond to hypothetical situations where outside sources posed potential conflicts with parental…

Research on characteristics of Down Syndrome infants affecting the interaction between mother and child is reviewed. Differences in the development of the social communication behaviors of state control (sleep and awake); gaze patterns; coordination of gesture, gaze, and vocalization; and frequency of vocalization have implications for parental…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of group size on toddlers' peer interactions and social interactions with mothers. In particular, the study sought to answer the following questions: (1) When both mothers and peers are available to the child, with whom does he/she prefer to play? and (2) Are there differences in the types of…

Identifies reliable mother action-child reaction patterns and assesses the effect of maternal consequences for those patterns on the probability of their subsequent occurrence. (HOD)

A total of 51 mothers and their newborn infants were studied in order to evaluate the relationship between neonatal style and the early mother-infant relationship. The procedure included an infant assessment with the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale, a mother-infant interaction observation during feeding, and an interview concerning maternal…

Discusses observations of sets of infant twins, aged 6 to 24 months, as they interacted with one another and with an unfamiliar peer. Assesses quality of infant-mother attachment. Finds twins are more likely to react with one another than with a peer. Results are discussed in relation to early peer relationships and attachment. (Author/RWB)

Replicated the Clarke-Stewart (1973) cross-dimensional study of mother-child interaction using different children at different ages and in a series of four different samples. Variables included measures of children's cognitive, language, and social development and mothers' attitudes, ability, and behavior, assessed in standardized tests,…

A commentary on the articles in this special issue addresses the themes of the origins and consequences of children's adversarial social roles and behaviors; children's peer relationships as a context for social learning and development; and linkages between the family and peer systems. (LB)

The possibility that child behavior could affect parental choice of socialization technique was examined. Girls, age nine, (N=3) were trained to act high and low in person-orientation, and served as confederates. Female college students (N-24), who were unaware that the children were trained, each participated in one session. Results demonstrated…

This review of the literature on the "only child" indicates that the single child is likely to be oriented more toward adults than towards peers, to be subjected more to an adult culture, to be an achiever who strikes out on his own, and to have a heightened sense of responsibility compared with children who have siblings. Statistics…

Observes parents' socialization practices in 24 homes of families with first-born infants at 11, 14, and 17 months of age. Four kinds of socializing practices were observed and compared by parents' sex, infants' age, and infants' sex. (HOD)

In this paper some behavioral indices of attachment are defined and some of the factors that affect its development are considered. (Editor)