This ex post facto, causal-comparative research study examined student reading performance data within a school district before and after a school district-wide decision to alter the reading curriculum in response to local political pressure from parents. Data analysis revealed that test scores dropped to a significantly lower level, especially…

Aim: Many mothers of children with developmental disabilities are known to experience high levels of stress, and compromised mental health. Research is crucial to better understand and assist mothers with compromised mental health, and ultimately better service families raising and supporting a child with a disability. Method: Data were collected…

We examined the associations between parent and child anxious and depressive symptoms controlling for co-occurring symptoms in both. One hundred and four families participated, including 131 9-15 year old children considered at risk for anxiety and/or depression due to a history of depression in a parent. Parents and children completed…

The importance and influence of grandparents in the lives of infants and toddlers is reflected in the results of the recent ZERO TO THREE "Parenting Infants and Toddlers Today" survey. In this article, the authors explore the changing role of grandparents in today's society and how the quality of the relationships between grandparents and their…

Higher education curriculum is as varied as the institutions themselves. Familiarizing parents with college curriculum may assist them in their college students' selection and academic success. This article provides school administrators, teachers, counselors, public relations personnel, and college professors with examples of learning modes and…

Although parents experience growing concerns about their children's excessive internet use, little is known about the role parents can play to prevent their children from developing Compulsive Internet Use (CIU). The present study addresses associations between internet-specific parenting practices and CIU among adolescents, as well as the…

Prior research showed that 5- to 13-month-old infants of chronically depressed mothers did not learn to associate a segment of infant-directed speech produced by their own mothers or an unfamiliar nondepressed mother with a smiling female face, but showed better-than-normal learning when a segment of infant-directed speech produced by an…

This study investigated the impact of literacy influences and perceived reading ability on the self-rated health (SRH) of 244 middle school students. Five literacy influences and reading ability independent variables resulted in moderate to substantial test-retest reliability [Kappas 46.6 to 63.8] over a two-week period. SRH served as the…

This longitudinal study assessed whether maternal behavior and emotional tone moderated the relationship between toddler temperament and preschooler's effortful control. Maternal behavior and emotional tone were observed during a parent-child competing demands task when children were 2 years of age. Child temperament was also assessed at 2 years…

Using a risk and resiliency theoretical framework, the association between interparental conflict and academic achievement was examined. The sample consisted of 2,297 6th grade youth with a mean age of 11.92. Participants were mostly European American (81.8%) and 52% were girls. Results demonstrated that interparental conflict is a risk factor for…

The author examined purposes for doing homework as perceived by 969 eighth-grade students from 52 classes and 831 11th-grade students from 45 classes. Through an exploratory factor analysis, 15 homework purposes were reduced to a 3-factor structure: peer-oriented, adult-oriented, and learning-oriented reasons. A series of 3 multilevel models were…

It is now well acknowledged that parents can have a central role in supporting sensible alcohol use and reducing alcohol misuse amongst young people. However, little research has considered how communication and supervision in relation to alcohol actually takes place within the family. Drawing upon interviews with the parents of young people aged…

Background: This study explored school personnel's perceptions of school refusal, as it has been described as a "common educational and public health problem" that is less tolerated due to increasing awareness of the potential socioeconomic consequences of this phenomenon. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with school personnel…

Maternal dysphoria predicts behavioral difficulties in preschool-aged children, and may contribute to negative child outcomes by exacerbating parenting stress. Parenting stress increases the likelihood of maladaptive parenting practices, especially when mothers face multiple contextual stressors. We explored maternal experiential avoidance (EA) as…

African American adolescents from families with low levels of human capital (i.e., caregiver level of education) are at risk for poor early adult outcomes. The current study examined the relationships among 48 African American high school students' literacy performance (e.g., reading and vocabulary), their implicit views of intelligence, their…