Findings of a study that examined the relationship of students' perceptions of parents' and teachers' involvement and autonomy support to student motivation are presented in this paper. Based on a larger process model of academic achievement (Ryan and Stiller 1991), students' perceptions of parent and teacher autonomy support and involvement were…

Parent enabling policies that have been initiated in five states are described in this report. In addition to the strong link between parental involvement and improvements in their children's educational performance, further evidence suggests that differences in child-rearing styles also affect child development and academic achievement. Policy…

Despite little empirical evidence, many psychotherapists believe that parental alcoholism inevitably results in codependence among alcoholics' offspring. The present study examines the hypothesis that intervening factors, such as abusive parenting, mediate the development of codependence. To test this premise, 247 undergraduates completed…

This study examined the factors that influence parents' provision of opportunity for their children. In particular, it focused on the roles of the sex of the parent and the child in the provision of opportunities in two sex-stereotyped domains, sports and music. Data were collected from about 500 mothers and 300 fathers of second, third, and fifth…

A total of 48 mother-infant pairs were observed and rated in face-to-face interaction when the infant was 4 months old, and in the Ainsworth Strange Situation when the infant was 12 months old. Mothers' marital satisfaction and social support, and the involvement and support of the child's father, were assessed. The mothers constituted a low…

This study examined infants' reactions to new people by manipulating the social context in which infants became acquainted with new people. Infants (N=48) met someone new in the presence of another unfamiliar adult and their mothers. The new acquaintance either: (1) chatted and worked on a puzzle with the mother; (2) remained silent and worked on…

This paper reviews the evidence for various biological mechanisms in autism and discusses implications of these mechanisms for treatment. A brief introductory discussion examines the history of research on autism. Then the literature is reviewed and treatment implications are drawn for the following biological mechanisms: genetic disorders;…

This study was undertaken to investigate the relative importance of childhood experiences in determining adult reading and public library use. Data were gathered via a nationally representative telephone interview conducted by the Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan. The interview contained 25 questions relating to current reading…

Studied the influences on the transition of a sample of Australian children from elementary school to high school. Showed that the attitudes and ambitions of parents contribute to the student's achievement in science and mathematics, and that the peer group contributed to the student's attitude toward science and mathematics. (MLH)

The parental antecedents of overt child compliance were investigated by home observation of 136, 2 1/2-year-old male twins and singletons. The findings stress the impact of "power assertion" in the immediate situation, but an analysis of long-term effects support a cognitive view of child rearing. (JMB)

A theory relates amount of conflict in the sibling relationship to norms of distributive justice, or equity, within the family. The theory is limited to the parental referee role, and the consistency and congruity with which this role is enacted is hypothesized to directly influence the degree of sibling conflict. (Author)

Considering the family as an important agent of political socialization, the influence of parents on their children and the sources of parents' views are examined. Three-generational data on political party identification, drawn from a national survey of high school seniors, their parents, and their grandparents, is analyzed. (Author/ND)

The author describes an Israeli parent-teacher group discussion designed to build confidence in disadvantaged parents of their role as parents and human beings. As a result teachers developed a new sensitivity towards parents' interaction with their children. (DE)

Parents are the primary agents in the development and definition of the self. Previous research has reported nurturance as the most notable parental factor in global self-esteem. This study examined the relationship of parental nurturance to self-esteem for the first time with subjects older than high school students. College students (N=333)…

Offering a research-oriented perspective on the interdependence of children and their environments and the role of caregivers in children's development, the theoretical system discussed in this paper consists of four main ideas. These ideas concern (1) independent dependence; (2) zones of free movement, proximal development, and promoted action;…