Discusses which families are more likely to participate in school choice programs, if liberalized rules spark the creation of innovative schools, and if student achievement rises if students attend the school of their choice. (MKR)

Two surveys measured parents' marital satisfaction and children's perception (as adolescents) of family closeness or cohesion and, six years later, feelings (as young adults) of closeness to parents. Found that mothers' marital satisfaction significantly affected adaptation of grown offspring, whereas fathers' satisfaction did not. Family…

Investigated gender role socialization as a function of parenting experience in a toy play situation and as a function of adults' perceptions of gender-stereotyped toys. Children played individually with their parent, another child's parent, and a nonparent. Overall, adults acted in similar ways regardless of their parenting experiences. Gender…

Examined the relationship between language spoken at home and school and health risks and behaviors of Asian American adolescents. Data from the World Health Organization Study of Health Behavior in School Children indicated increased risk for physical, psychosocial, and school health problems among these students. The risks were greater for the…

Administered smoking behavior questionnaire to 3,786 college students during 1963-64 school year and to 863 college students in 1986-87. Results indicated variables which increased smoking probability in 1963-64 did not increase probability in 1986-87 and characteristics of family members had significantly less influence on smoking behavior of…

Considers six questions relating to effects of parental depression on parent-child interaction and on children's psychological functions. (RH)

Naturalistic and experimental study of the extent to which the use of the vocal prosody typical of motherese improved the responsiveness of children with severe developmental delays suggested that the use of such vocal prosody could help remediate unresponsiveness in severely handicapped learners. (RH)

Addresses the parental alienation syndrome, which is the process by which one parent overtly or covertly speaks or acts in a derogatory manner to or about the other parent during or subsequent to a divorce proceeding, in an attempt to alienate the child or children from that other parent. (Author)

Examined parental influence as retrospectively constructed through narratives of young adults (n=50). Identified five narrative types: progressive narrative with dramatic turning point, progressive narrative within positive evaluation frame, progressive narrative with negatively evaluated stages, anticipated regressive narrative, and sad…

Study of 937 children, grades 3-8, showed that authoritative parenting (balancing responsiveness and control) increased child competence; low self-esteem, confidence, and achievement were associated with beginning and continuing smoking; authoritative parenting was inversely related to child smoking; and children were more likely to smoke if…

Ability and achievement test scores of children, many of whose mothers continued schooling between births, show that maternal schooling increases the production of children's human capital and suggest benefits to postponing childbearing. (SK)

Attachment to peers, intimacy, and attachment to mother were positively associated with environmental exploration and commitment to career choices in a study of 147 young adults. Both male and female late adolescents may use peer relationships for support and a buffer from the anxiety related to career decision making. (SK)

The influence of different values on adolescent problem behaviors is explored in an 18-year study of 199 families. Drug use, delinquency, dropout, and sexual behavior are identified as risk factors for problem behavior. Maternal, traditional, and humanistic values as predictors of adolescent behaviors were studied. (Author/MMU)

Explored the processes whereby parental socialization practices lead to Filipino adolescents' academic achievement. Family reputation and internal attribution were found to mediate the relation between authoritative parenting and grade-point average. (JPB)

Investigated relationships between collegiate adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) and adult children from dysfunctional families (ACDFs) to determine whether they were at greater risk of stress than non-ACOA and non-ACDF students. Evaluations of students indicated that substantial numbers were ACOAs, ACDFs, or both, and the groups overlapped.…