Profiles Archer Poor, a self-taught amateur archaeologist and camp manager in rural Maine. Describes his archeological work on Indian artifacts and its significance to professional scientists. Describes his discovery-learning approach to raising children. Emphasizes importance of patience, persistence, parent influence, and library research in…

Examined salary and work hour expectations of business students and influence of parents on development of expectations. Findings from 260 business students showed that fathers had more influence than mothers on both sons' and daughters' salary and work hour expectations. Males expected to earn higher salaries and thought it was reasonable to work…

This study, involving 15 deaf parents, their hearing children, and the children's hearing grandparents, examined the content validity of the Parental Strengths and Needs Inventory for evaluating the child-rearing performance of deaf adults. The inventory was found to be inadequate for assessing the strengths and needs of deaf parents. (Author/JDD)

A survey determined the extent to which selected pediatric dental behavior management techniques are taught both didactically and clinically in 46 predoctoral and 45 postdoctoral programs. Results and trends are reported within the four categories of sedation, restraint, parental presence, and communications behavior management. (GLR)

Observed neglecting and nonneglecting mothers and their one- to three-year-old children during unstructured play interaction in their homes. Neglecting mothers were less positive in their responsiveness to their children and less competent in the developmental appropriateness of their play interactions than nonneglecting mothers. (MM)

The children of the Southeast Asian boat people excel in the U.S. school system. A review of the factors underlying this achievement suggests that the U.S. educational crisis is more social than academic. (KR)

This study examined the effect of parental attitudes and child's age on 60 children's attitudes toward children with physical disabilities. Results showed that children aged 11-12 demonstrated more positive attitudes than children aged 5-6. Mothers' attitudes appeared to have a differential impact on their children's attitudes depending on the…

Used longitudinal data from 76 adolescent girls and their parents to investigate effects of parental warmth and supportiveness on adolescents' depressed affect, attitudes about sexuality, peer influence, and sexual experience. Girls with more emotionally distant parents were more likely to manifest symptoms of depression. Depressed affect was…

This study, involving 904 adolescents, examined the influence from parents and friends on adolescents' self-reported level of leisure-time physical activity. Survey responses revealed that, although no one type of parental/friend influence was greater than another, parental and peer physical activity and support did influence adolescent physical…

Data from 6 samples of 822 parents tested the validity of Parent Health Locus of Control scales, which measure parental beliefs in child, divine, fate, media, parental, and professional influences on child health. Results generally agreed with predicted differences, supporting validity of the scales. (SK)

Examined effects of parental involvement on achievement of eighth-grade students. Analyzed data from 21,814 students and their parents. Results suggest that parental involvement in students' academic lives is powerful influence on eighth-grade students' achievement. Effect held for all academic areas and appeared to result in part from increased…

A study of 214 sixth- and seventh-graders (50% girls) found that boys had lower anxiety and depression and higher self-worth and satisfaction with physical appearance. For girls, parental acceptance significantly predicted girls' self-worth, perceived attractiveness, and social and school competence. (SK)

Discusses the controversy concerning "The Nurture Assumption," a book that suggests children are shaped by their peers more than their parents. The message runs counter to decades of child development research and recent findings that parents are crucial in children's emotional and intellectual development. This paper examines criticism of the…

Using data on sibling pairs, this study shows that families are closely linked to the educational aspirations of children. About three quarters of the variance lies between families, but is not explained by socioeconomic status. Sex and ordinal position of siblings do not alter this relationship. (Author/EMK)

Investigates the characteristics of the intrafamily environment that change the intellectual environment of the children and interact with the factor of birth order. Concludes that the effect of birth order is linked: (1) with the gender configuration of sibling relationships; and (2) with various cognitive and personal characteristics of the…