First-borns who were only children (onlies) and first-borns who had a sibling were compared on measures of intelligence from late adolescence at 18 years of age to late middle age at 60. The sample was composed of 38 female and 33 male first-born subjects from one- and two-child families. Wechsler Bellevue Intelligence Scale scores at late…

This investigation explored relationships between parenting stress, dyadic adjustment, and social support in families with normal healthy infants of 18 months of age. It was expected that parenting stress would be high when social support was absent and that this would be related to poor marital relationships. Participants were 34 families…

This paper discusses the utility of a general systems theory paradigm for psychology. The paradigm can be used for conceptualizing such complex phenomena as change over time in living systems, person-society interactions, and the epistemology of multiply determined changes. Consideration is also given to applications of the approach to…

To evaluate outcomes in infants of very low birth weight born in 1982-83 to families of extremely low socioeconomic status (SES), 33 infants who weighed less than 1001 grams at birth and survived the nursery period were followed for 1 year. The sample was 79 percent Hispanic and 58 percent female. Mean birth weight was 868 grams and mean…

Universal and culture-specific aspects of caregiver contributions to children's emerging play activities during the one-word period were studied in research designed to meet criteria for ecological validity. The sample included seven Mexican caregiver/child pairs in a major urban setting and eight pairs in a rural setting. All caregivers came from…

Using findings on the unstability of previously stable physical activity levels of young children as a kind of case study to aid thought about the trait-dimensional approach to developmental continuity and discontinuity, this discussion explores the applicability of a dual theory of concept formation to the problem of personal stability and…

Written to assist managers of child health programs, this publication explains the features and uses of a simple visual chart for monitoring childhood growth and detecting changes in nutritional and health status. The first part of the book introduces the basic principles and procedures for measuring changes in growth and knowing when these…

The dynamics of human development are somehow programmed to produce failure for black male children. On tests of academic achievement black male ninth graders perform less well than peers: the black male child is more likely to be suspended from and/or to drop out of school. Data indicate that most black male elementary school students, while…

Examined are developmental changes in infants' strategies for using adults instrumentally to achieve goals. Data were derived from longitudinal observations of 1 girl and 1 boy twin individually interacting with 21 somewhat or totally unfamiliar adults at 2- or 3-week intervals from the age of 4 to 15 months, inclusive. Videotapes of interactions…

The Professional Growth and Staff Development Program of the Mehlville School District in St. Louis, Missouri, is comprehensive in nature and has four distinct but complementary components. (1) The districtwide instructional improvement component focuses upon research-based teaching, and provides teachers and administrators with a common body of…

Intended for teachers and others interested in exploring and cultivating the processes of mental imagery, this annotated bibliography includes citations from scholarly journals, popular magazines, doctoral dissertations, works on learning disabilities, and how-to books. The following topics are included among the entries listed in the paper: (1)…

This guide was developed by the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools to assist elementary school teachers in implementing the instructional program in health education for kindergarten through sixth grade. Instructional objectives for teaching Family Life and Human Development and Safety during social studies time are organized by grade…

With changes in sex role expectations in marriage, family researchers have begun to examine the concept of machismo. Two characteristics dominant in the study of machismo are aggressiveness and hypersexuality. A biological model of machismo asserts that males everywhere tend to be more aggressive than females, a sex difference which appears to…

The purpose of this paper is to review the intellectual traits of egocentrism and perception dominance in young children 2 through 7 years of age and to explain, in a concrete way, how these two characteristics interact to greatly influence their ability to form logical and stable concepts. A secondary purpose is to suggest activities that may…

Discussed are aspects of sex-role development in Japanese adolescents and some related problems, such as self-concept and socialization processes. Various studies on Japanese adolescents have revealed substantial sex differences in self-esteem, which is significantly low in girls. In addition to differences in self-esteem, greater discrepancy…