Results show individual differences in intelligence progressively stabilizing by school age, with each child following a distinct pattern of mental development. Monozygotic twins became increasingly concordant over an Hes and were closely matched on developmental trends. (Author/RH)

Examines the relationship of birth order to sociability with an unfamiliar peer in a group of 101 children, 33 months of age. Differences were found favoring sociability in children with one or no siblings. Assertiveness followed the same pattern. Family influences which may account for these birth order differences are discussed. (Author/DB)

Subjects (n=216) reported observations of, or participation in, violence involving parents or siblings, and predicted their own violent behavior in hypothetical situations. Results indicated that recollections of familial violence are significant predictors of self- reported violence and of self-predicted violence in hypothetical situations.…

Interaction between mother and first-born child before and after the birth of a second child was studied in 41 families, using home observations and interview techniques. (MP)

Using a toy preference technique, boys and girls between 42 and 64 months were tested for sex role stereotyping. Analysis indicated the developmental nature of such stereotyping in both sexes and the finding that older siblings are much more important in the development of such stereotyping than are sexist parents. (Author/GC)

Presents a model for analysis and intervention with melded families that have children of the same or similar ages in order to help these children develop their relationships with each other. Integration, differentiation, and balance are the basic components. Principles are listed to help parents understand these relationships. (Author/BEF)

Observed parent-child relationships, sibling relationships, and family problem solving, and obtained parent-reported child temperament assessments. Found that links among mother-older child relationship quality, father-older child relationship quality, and sibling relationship quality were moderated by the older sibling's temperament. The…

Examined the relationship between sibling interactions and the social adjustment of children with behavior problems. Subjects were 53 aggressive first- and second-grade children, their mothers, and their siblings. Found that children in sibling relationships with moderate levels of warmth and conflict showed better adjustment than did children in…

Examines family-based variables as predictors of adolescent substance use. Overall, this study supported prior research, indicating certain family variables as predictors of adolescent substance use. Sibling marijuana use, family involvement, and religious affiliation were predictors of adolescent tobacco use. Family involvement, sibling tobacco…

This 1950 lecture contrasts images of the "little red school house" of the past, the "deprecated and worried-over" city school, and the private academy, explaining that all three themes are interwoven in contemporary U.S. culture. Examines the contrasts and comparisons provided by primitive societies on the relationships…

Genetic and environmental influences on academic achievement were studied for 314 pairs of white full siblings and 53 pairs of half siblings and 161 pairs of black full siblings and 106 half-sibling pairs (National Longitudinal Survey of Youth). Results support a common heritage view of the growth of academic knowledge. (SLD)

Administered three false belief tests to preschoolers. Found that the factors that accounted for most of the variance in children's performance on the tests were the number of adult kin available to the child, child's age, number of a child's older siblings, and number of older children the child interacted with daily. (BC)

Evaluates the psychiatric sequelae of parents and siblings following the loss of a family member to suicide. Siblings showed no increased risk for depression despite a prolonged elevated level of grief symptomatology. Mothers experienced an increased rate of recurrence of depression, whereas fathers did not show an increased incidence of disorder.…