One symptom of depression is loss of motivation, which can be defined as responsiveness to response-eliciting stimuli and quantified as reward-related behavioral output. Long-term changes in reward-related behavior have been shown to follow early life stress. Most rodent studies investigating the effects of postnatal separation, an early stress,…

Background: Previous studies have found that multiple factors are associated with parent-child relationship quality, but have not distinguished potential sources of between-family and within-family variation in parent-child relationship quality. Methods: Approximately equal numbers of biological (non-stepfamilies), single-mother, stepfather, and…

Background: Previous research suggests that the phenotype associated with Asperger's syndrome (AS) includes difficulties in understanding the mental states of others, leading to difficulties in social communication and social relationships. It has also been suggested that the first-degree relatives of those with AS can demonstrate similar…

Background: Influential studies have cast doubt on the validity of retrospective reports by adults of their own adverse experiences in childhood. Accordingly, many researchers view retrospective reports with scepticism. Method: A computer-based search, supplemented by hand searches, was used to identify studies reported between 1980 and 2001 in…

The objective of this review is to clarify the role of matching in family genetic studies of autism as a way of defining endophenotypes for linkage analysis. The concept of a confounding variable is reviewed and the importance of considering these in family studies of three endophenotypes in autism are considered: cognitive/language impairments,…

In response to United States special education law requirements, this study attempted to differentiate emotionally disturbed and socially maladjusted students using parent ratings on the FACES III and a newly developed interview measure of primarily internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Forty mothers of students in special education and 40…

This study explored social and experiential differences in children's (aged 4 to 14 years) concepts of inheritance. The study utilized semi-structured interviews including four tasks that were designed to elicit judgements and explanations about different aspects of inheritance understanding. A variety of social and experiential factors were…

Objective: To investigate the association between mesial temporal lobe morphology, ratios of prefrontal cortex to amygdala and hippocampus volumes, and psychiatric symptomatology in children and adolescents with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS). Method: Scores on behavioral rating scales and volumetric measures of the amygdala, hippocampus, and…

Objective: To understand to the degree to which a broad variety of victimizations, including child maltreatment, conventional crime, peer, and sexual victimizations, persist for children from 1 year to the next. Design: A national sample of 1467 children aged 2-17 recruited through random digit dialing and assessed via telephone interviews (with…

Evidence that childhood maltreatment is associated with emotional and behavioral problems throughout childhood suggests that maltreatment could lead to impaired academic performance in middle and high school. This article explores these effects using data on siblings. An index measure of the intensity of childhood maltreatment was included as a…

This qualitative study examined the experience of immigrant Jewish Ethiopian youth in Israel and its impact on their identity formation. The study sample comprised 13 high-school students, aged 14 to 17. Data analysis revealed two poles on which these youths negotiate their identity: (1) the temporal pole (past, present, and future), and (2) the…

This study examined both socioeconomic and cultural factors in explaining ethnic differences in monitoring, behavioral control, and warmth--part of a series of coordinated studies presented in this special issue. Socioeconomic variables included mother's and father's educational levels, employment status, home ownership, number of siblings in the…

This volume provides the latest research and theory in the area of children's play with their parents. It includes discussions of the basic processes involved in parent-child play, parent-child play in atypical populations of children, and parent-child play from a cross-cultural perspective. Fifteen chapters follow the introduction, "Parents and…

This study had three aims: (1) to identify stressful situations faced by Indian children and adolescents working on the streets; (2) to study their preference for social support when faced with stress; and (3) to identify gender differences in social support preferences. One hundred 8- to 18-year-olds, working as beggars, vendors, or ragpickers,…

Noting that parenting is one of the most difficult and demanding challenges people face, this book integrates extensive clinical experience, up-to-date research, and personal experience to help parents manage hard-to-handle children more effectively. The book explains hard-to-handle behaviors and helps parents understand what might be normal…