A year-long qualitative study of 10 families of gifted children (grades 5 to 8) found 4 levels of parental reasoning concerning their child's social and emotional development: (1) no framework; (2) an intellectual framework only; (3) a full intellectual and partial social-emotional framework; and (4) a comprehensive framework recognizing both…

Intelligence tests were administered twice to 426 members of 93 transracial adoptive families, once when the adopted children's ages averaged 7 years and again when they averaged 17 years. Correlations suggest that influences on intellectual development in this sample of black and interracial adoptees reared in white families are similar to those…

Reviews the literature on delinquency that shows key early childhood factors which are associated with later antisocial or delinquent behavior. The review focuses on programs which have demonstrated long-term effects on antisocial behavior or delinquency, as well as their cost effectiveness. The article reveals that programs combining family…

Supports expanding children's understanding of gender roles through children's literature. Describes the understanding of gender at different ages and developmental levels. Suggests the development of a classroom library collection that reflects a variety of gender roles and recommends titles for children of different age groups. Encourages…

Early literacy involves daily reading aloud as well as writing or dictating activities. Preschoolers learn that reading is enjoyable, pictures provide story clues, and print goes from left to right and represents words and meaning. Listening, watching, and asking questions increase vocabulary and comprehension. Sidebars include tips, a book list,…

Maintains that the study of peer relations has focused heavily on children's dyadic experiences. Argues that an analysis of children's experiences at the network or group level provides an equally compelling perspective on their relations within their peer system. Shows how the dynamics of peer networks determine social experiences and influence…

Discusses how social trends changed father involvement and family life, and in turn affected children's and fathers' developmental trajectories. Examines how today's children will construct expectations about fathers' and mothers' roles. Maintains that a life-span approach considers the broader sociohistorical context in which fatherhood develops.…

Examined relationship between paternal roles and 3-year olds' well-being in low income, African-American families. Found that children's cognition, receptive language, behavior, and home environment were not related to father presence. Controlled for maternal age, education, and parenting satisfaction; found that paternal roles related to indices…

Explores fears and phobias of childhood from a behavioral perspective. Maintains that many childhood fears are mild, age-specific, and transitory, whereas others persist beyond normal developmental limits. Maintains that severe school phobia is difficult to manage. Notes that reports of successful behavioral treatments of fears/phobias are rare in…

Verifies observations made of the American Indian population, who appear to demonstrate a high incidence of chronic hoarseness. Examines hoarseness in the general population, American Indian communication styles, causes of Indian voice disorders, study methods, and study results. Speculates that one possibility for the hoarseness is the…

A multidimensional model is presented for understanding an ecological perspective to the study of development in language minority children. Socioeconomic and sociocultural factors influencing language minority child development are discussed, with emphasis on the effects of cultural familial factors and home language use. Recommendations for…

Examined ethical concepts in children's stories derived from Swedish, Hungarian, and Chinese cultures. Identified 12 qualitative categories of ethical meaning. Examined deeper, underlying psychological consequences from the standpoint of prevailing notions. (Author)

This article compares different claims that have been made concerning acquisition by transitional rule-based derivation theories and by optimality theory. Case studies of children with phonological delays are examined. Error patterns are argued to be implicationally related and optimality theory is shown to offer a principled explanation.…

This article focuses on the problem of overage children populating some of South Africa's primary schools, particularly poor rural communities. The exploratory case study aimed to investigate the various barriers to learning and development that result in the enrolment of overage children in two primary schools in a rural district in…

Piaget noted that "punishment renders the autonomy of conscience impossible". Yet in the Caribbean, most common folk believe that beating is an indispensable part of discipline. To understand the role that discipline or the connotations of that word play in the society, culture, economy and politics of Saint Lucia, it is indispensable to…