A test was used to assess the degree to which pediatricians and nurses specializing in perinatal care believe in a just world in which good is rewarded and evil is punished. Results indicate that the cause of some perinatal problems are more likely to be attributed to parents by health providers with a greater belief in a just world. (JMD)

The results of research into problems of living in stepfamilies are discussed in this article. Insights gained from leading and coordinating groups of stepparents are related, and preventive and therapeutic approaches that may be helpful for clinicians, counselors and other professionals when working with stepfamilies are suggested. (RMH)

Evaluates three programs designed to prepare young children from educationally disadvantaged homes for school. (DB)

The guidance of the youngster towards appropriate behavioral models is one of the greatest challenges and responsibilities of teachers and parents; children of school age need models yet are unable to discriminate fully among the potential models vying for attention. (CJ)

Parental modeling and reinforcement antecedents of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated sex role orientations were tested for a group of college men and women. (Author)

Presents a survey of family television viewing habits in relation to the so-called "family hour." Evidence supports the assumption that children's viewing subsides after the end of this period; however, substantial numbers of children continue to view television beyond this period. Program preferences of parents and children were also surveyed.…

Of 52 children who rated their mothers' child rearing behaviors and completed self-esteem inventories, the children who viewed their mothers as using psychological pressure techniques to discipline them had low self-esteem, while children who viewed their mothers as being accepting had high self-esteem. (RL)

A comprehensive school management system plan that includes parent participation and staff development is described. The staff development program is influenced by parents' input through surveys and through their direct involvement on site councils. (JMF)

Reports findings of a survey of school children in the fourth through ninth grades designed to determine what guidance parents provide to children on viewing specific television programs during and after the family viewing period, how perceptions of such guidance compare, and what demographic differences influence provision of guidance. (CWM)

Investigates two models of career development using 276 seventh- and eighth-grade girls and their mothers. Results indicate that in both models, adolescents' agentic characteristics (e.g., independence, assertiveness, willingness to take a stand) and maternal variables (e.g., education, employment, etc.) contributed significantly to adolescents'…

Proposes a model of parent and teacher influences on the science attitudes of eighth-grade students using data from the base year survey of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88). Utilizes structural equation modeling methodology for analysis of categorical data. Contains 61 references. (DDR)

Two studies examined the influence of maternal discourse style and security of attachment on preschoolers' emotion understanding. Findings indicated that neither predicted 3-year-olds' emotion understanding. Secure attachment predicted higher emotion understanding among 5-year-olds, especially in the context of maternal use of elaborative…

Used interviews and questionnaires to assess preschool teachers' beliefs about the importance of young children's social competence. Found that teachers valued peer competence in early childhood, but academic goals were more frequently valued than social goals. Teachers felt peer competencies were influenced more by the child's inherent nature…

Analysis of National Youth Survey data supports a symbolic interactionist model of gender and delinquency. For both males and females, parental appraisals significantly affected youths' reflected appraisals, which in turn predicted delinquency. However, for males, parental labeling and reflected appraisals had a greater effect on delinquency, and…