Ability and achievement test scores of children, many of whose mothers continued schooling between births, show that maternal schooling increases the production of children's human capital and suggest benefits to postponing childbearing. (SK)

Attachment to peers, intimacy, and attachment to mother were positively associated with environmental exploration and commitment to career choices in a study of 147 young adults. Both male and female late adolescents may use peer relationships for support and a buffer from the anxiety related to career decision making. (SK)

The influence of different values on adolescent problem behaviors is explored in an 18-year study of 199 families. Drug use, delinquency, dropout, and sexual behavior are identified as risk factors for problem behavior. Maternal, traditional, and humanistic values as predictors of adolescent behaviors were studied. (Author/MMU)

Explored the processes whereby parental socialization practices lead to Filipino adolescents' academic achievement. Family reputation and internal attribution were found to mediate the relation between authoritative parenting and grade-point average. (JPB)

Investigated relationships between collegiate adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) and adult children from dysfunctional families (ACDFs) to determine whether they were at greater risk of stress than non-ACOA and non-ACDF students. Evaluations of students indicated that substantial numbers were ACOAs, ACDFs, or both, and the groups overlapped.…

Examines why exposure to family violence and adolescent dating violence are associated. For both genders, this relationship was mediated by the variables of positive outcome expectations and belief in the conventional rules of society. For males, the relationship was also mediated by the variables of positive outcome expectations and belief in the…

A Norwegian study of socialization into friluftsliv (traditional open-air life) found that factors affecting lifelong interest included parents' and friends' relationship to friluftsliv, proximity to suitable areas, outdoor hobbies, access to a summer home, and owning a dog. Educational experiences outdoors were collectively about as influential…

This study examined, in 102 mother-daughter dyads, whether (a) girls' social skills and loneliness are related to girls' social anxiety, after adjusting for girls' depressive symptoms, and (b) mothers' social functioning (social anxiety, social skills, and loneliness) is related to girls' social anxiety, after accounting for girls' social…

This dissertation reports findings from a reading motivation study conducted in an elementary school serving students, all of whom were American Indian, in the southwestern United States. The school claimed to have more than fifty percent of its students scoring proficient or advanced on the state's high-stakes reading assessment and to value the…

This research brief explains the need for parental involvement in children's literacy activities and development, based on overwhelming evidence about the benefits of parents being involved in their children's education in general, and their children's literacy activities in particular. Parental involvement positively affects children's…

"Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study in basic science or clinical research. This brief reports on the study "Evidence for a Gene-Environment Interaction in Predicting Behavioral Inhibition in Middle Childhood" (N. A. Fox, K E. Nichols, H. A. Henderson, K. Rubin, L. Schmidt, D. Hamer, M. Ernst, and D. S.…

Early adolescents' (11-14 years) responses to marital hostility were examined in a sample of 416 families. The cognitive-contextual perspective and emotional security hypothesis guided the study and 9 adolescent responses were identified. Prospective associations were examined in several structural equation models that included adolescent problems…

The purpose of this research was to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in a model of youths' career choice intentions and parents' recommendation intentions. Specifically, a TPB model was developed for youth-parent dyads and tested with SEM to examine parental influence on youth intentions as well as behavior. Results indicated that a…

Forty infants (mean age 5 months) of depressed mothers and non-depressed mothers were seated in an infant seat and were exposed to four different degrees of animation, including a still-face Raggedy Ann doll (about two-feet tall suspended in front of the infant), the same doll in an animated state talking and head-nodding, an imitative mother and…

Modeling the Dynamics of Paternal Influences on Children over the Life Course Is a heuristic model, which identifies sets of variables that predict father involvement, variables that interact to predict involvement, and variables that influence father characteristics and thereby influence involvement. It also suggests moderators and mediators of…