The present paper compared drinking and drug use in Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOAs), compared to non-ACOAs, among college students. Participants were 572 undergraduates. ACOAs were more likely to be current drug users than non-ACOAs. ACOAs reported initiating alcohol use earlier than non-ACOAs; however, ACOAs did not drink more often or more…

Students' motivation is known to be influenced by both internally referenced and externally referenced factors. Internally referenced factors include self-processes (sense of competence and affect), whereas externally referenced factors include significant others (parents, peers and teachers). Using the Facilitating Conditions Questionnaire, the…

"Two and Two Make Zero" considers children's acquisition of numerical concepts from a wide range of perspectives including topics that are often overlooked, most notably: the principal properties of the counting numbers in and of themselves; the role that numerical symbols play in number acquisition; the underlying conceptual structure of number…

This paper explores the importance of the home and school environments in explaining the gender gap in disruptive behavior. We document large differences in the gender gap across key features of the home environment--boys do especially poorly in broken families. In contrast, we find little impact of the early school environment on non-cognitive…

This qualitative study explored the perceptions of 10 African American women concerning their thoughts and beliefs about the intangible cost(s) and/or benefit(s) of a post-baccalaureate education and/or professional career choices. The narratives told by the participants, revealed nothing new when it came to childhood dreams. It is not uncommon…

Studies have examined the impact of parents' educational level on their child's emergent literacy skills and have found positive associations (Korat, 2009). However, a review of the literature indicates that previous studies have not investigated whether parents' oral and written language skills relate to their child's emergent oral and written…

College retention rates are a growing problem for many universities. Previous researchers focused on the inconsistencies between high school exit exams and college entrance exams, marginalized groups, and students with disabilities. However, a gap remains in the current literature regarding other external variables that may affect college…

In this article, the continuity in music taste from parents to their children is discussed via a multi-actor design. In our models music preferences of 325 adolescents and both their parents were linked, with parental and adolescent educational level as covariates. Parents' preferences for different types of music that had been popular when they…

Using a prosopographical methodology this study examines common leadership influences that might have existed among Genghis Khan, George Washington, and Nelson Mandela. Shoup (2005) suggests that the following seven influences have contributed to nurturing the leadership of 12 renowned individuals: involved parents, happy childhood, formal,…

Background: A growing number of studies indicate that low income, African American men and women living in urban environments are at high risk for trauma exposure, which may have intergenerational effects. The current study employed psychophysiological methods to describe biomarkers of anxiety in children of traumatized mothers. Methods: Study…

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the developmental risk pathway to depression by 16 years in offspring of postnatally depressed mothers. Method: This was a prospective longitudinal study of offspring of postnatally depressed and nondepressed mothers; child and family assessments were made from infancy to 16 years. A total of 702…

We examined associations between children's sociometric status and (a) observed parental feedback as well as (b) child aggression. Participants were 94 children ages 6-10 (64 male; 44 with ADHD) and their parents. Children's peer status, parental feedback to their children, and child aggression were all assessed during lab-based playgroups of four…

Research has documented a negative relationship between religion and risky sexual behavior. Few studies, however, have examined the processes whereby religion exerts this effect. The present study develops and tests a model of various mechanisms whereby parental religiosity reduces the likelihood of adolescents' participation in risky sexual…

The current study was designed to investigate how the quality of stimulation and support available to children in the home interacts with participation in Early Head Start to determine children's development. Data were obtained as part of the national evaluation of Early Head Start (EHSRE), a randomized trial involving 3,001 children and families…

The prevalence of autism has increased precipitously--roughly 10-fold in the past 40 years--yet no one knows exactly what caused this dramatic rise. Using a large and representative dataset that spans the California birth cohorts from 1992 through 2000, we examine individual and community resources associated with the likelihood of an autism…