In the past few years, people have come to realize that family and child well-being are public health issues. Helping families and children be happy, healthy and resilient helps the larger community. This report will discuss various aspects of family life including the systems that exist to support them, ways families can have more positive…

In a bilingual society like Singapore, home language environment (HLE) of Singaporean children is becoming increasingly concerned, especially for those who are yet to have formal education in schools. The reported rapid shift of family language has increased the tensions among families, schools and communities. This study examined some of the many…

The purpose of this study was to examine how preservice teachers, from a funds of knowledge perspective, in a community-based early childhood teacher preparation programme learned about the language and (bi)literacy development of young English emergent bilinguals. Through a series of in-depth home observations their early childhood education…

Purpose: A longitudinal cohort of adolescents who initiated drinking before age 15 were studied to determine which factors distinguished between early initiators who continued to drink (persisters) from those who stopped drinking (desisters). There were 308 early initiators in the total sample (n = 917); 247 were persisters, and 61 were desisters.…

We examined the effects of family functioning trajectories on sexual risk behaviors and STI in adolescents. A sample of 850 predominantly (80%) Black adolescents from Michigan, United States, was assessed at baseline, 12, 24, and 36 months postbaseline. Adolescents were from working-class families with a mean age of 14.9 years (SD = 0.64, Range =…

This article presents a qualitative study of five monolingual teachers' understandings of the linguistic repertoires of their multilingual students. These teachers deliver the Saskatchewan provincial curricula in English to Hutterite colony students who are users of three languages: (a) spoken Hutterisch as a home and community language, (b)…

This paper examines research that can inform policies aimed at building the capacity of early care and education programs to promote parent engagement in linguistically diverse families. The key questions addressed include: 1) What factors affect linguistically diverse families' access to early care and education programs?; 2) What do we know…

Given the need to enhance the academic language and early literacy skills of young children from low-income homes and the importance of the home literacy environment in supporting children's development, the purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the home literacy environment of low-income African-American and Latino mothers of…

Asthma is the leading chronic health condition among children in the United States and a major cause of childhood disability. It also disproportionately affects low-income and racial and ethnic minorities. Although a wide range of interventions have been implemented to improve asthma-related outcomes among socioeconomically disadvantaged and…

Background: For a majority of the world's children, despite substantial increases in primary school enrollment, academic learning is neither occurring at expected rates nor supplying the basic foundational skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century. The significant lag in academic achievement tells us that simply making formal education…

Broad demographic shifts in marital status, educational attainment and employment have transformed the way young adults in the U.S. are living. This Pew Research Center analysis of census data highlights the implications of these changes for the most basic element of their lives -- where they call home. In 2014, for the first time in more than 130…

Changes in school environments are sources of instability and stress for children. The social, educational, residential, and familial changes that usually accompany school changes are likely to exacerbate this stress and negatively impact academic performance. The full range of these changes that occur with school changes, and their relative…

Many topics of interest to developmental scientists are informed by behavioural genetic findings and their implications. First, behavioural genetic theory and methods will be briefly outlined. Next, findings will be illustrated by considering two disparate areas--general cognitive ability (IQ), and children's self-conceptions. These topics have…

That separation and divorce frequently burden the young child emotionally and developmentally has moved from scientific to common knowledge over the past two decades. Recent cultural changes also moderate or intensify such stress and strain on the parent-child relationship: a divorce rate hovering at about 40% of all marriages, a third of all…

The purpose of the study was to examine the relation between peer victimization and exposure to interparental conflict in the home. Specifically, the study examined whether there was a link between experiencing higher levels of peer victimization in adolescence and exposure to interparental conflict. Further examined was the relation between…