The Children of Alcoholics Project (COAP) offers a preschool curriculum designed to increase the survival skills of children of alcoholics and help these children adjust to problems in an alcoholic home. The program goals address cognitive, social and emotional, and physical development. Children are selected for the program based on…

For people in the United States, the risk of dependency upon social and economic support systems is generally associated with demographic characteristics--age, sex, race or ethnicity, geographic location, marital status, family composition, education, and income. In order to address the needs of dependent populations both now and in the century…

Although the events associated with divorce can have negative effects on children who are involved, child maladjustment is not the inevitable consequence of divorce. To investigate the factors which may account for observed variation in children's response to divorce, 46 elementary school children (22 boys, 24 girls), residing with their mothers,…

A sample of 214 rural citizens in Iowa's Crawford and Ida Counties were surveyed to gather information on community attitudes towards the care of children and other family members. The sampled group closely paralleled the area's 1980 census norms, except in the proportion of males to females. Respondents perceived community problems with…

The Parenting Stress Index (PSI) is a clinical and research self-report instrument (101 items) designed as a screening and diagnostic assessment technique to identify parent and child systems which are under stress, and in which deviant development of the child is likely to take place, or where dysfunctional parenting is likely to occur. The PSI…

This digest describes brief family consultation, a short-term strategy that enlists the home and school in an attempt to solve childhood behavior problems. Five criteria are given for assessing the functional status of a family: (1) parental resources; (2) chronicity; (3) communication between family members; (4) parental authority; and (5)…

The literature review examines the relationship of neurological impairment in young children with their social and emotional development. It identifies disorders of interaction and/or attachment and disorders of independence/dependence as specific maladaptive social and emotional states associated with neurological impairment. Three theoretical…

This assessment of the needs of homeless runaway youth in Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) indicates the need for a cooperative intergovernmental, interdepartmental, and interagency initiative incorporating prevention, intervention and protection, and repatriation. Information was gathered from the Winnipeg Police Department, interviews with 127…

Marriage and the family traditionally have been structured around the key functions of the nurturing and socialization of children. This report looks closely at how effectively and competently various family types manage these tasks. Containing a brief overview of the "Australian Children in Families Study," this report concentrates on…

Duty related separation for military family members demands family support programs to help alleviate the stresses produced by separation. Not only is performance of the military member affected, but so is the emotional stability of the spouse and children. Three phases of emotion and behavior can be delineated in the sequence-reaction to the loss…

This guide for expectant and new working parents addresses practical and emotional issues that complicate the task of balancing work and family. Chapter 1, which addresses maternity and paternity leave, and the Pregnancy Disability Act, provides information regarding preparation for maternity leave after childbirth. Included are a worksheet to aid…

This practicum was designed to decrease single parent and latency age child stress associated with child and noncustodial parent visitations, and to improve children's school behaviors. A 9-session, 12-week education and training program for single mothers (N=6) and their elementary school age children (N=15), designed to reduce stress by…

The study examined family support services currently utilized by families of individuals with developmental disabilities, and family support services seen as important by respondent families in the state of Hawaii. A total of 625 questionnaires were distributed via 24 agencies; 234 useable surveys were returned for a 39% response rate. The survey…

The psychometric integrity of a measure of ecological stress in families with children who are handicapped was investigated using bootstrap factor analytic logic and the FACSTRAP program. The instrument is known as the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress--Friedrich short form. Subjects included both parents (N=132) in each of 66 intact families.…

This is a report on help-seeking behavior among a diverse sample of 451 black adults residing in Richmond, Virginia. The report defines "help-seeking behavior" as any communication about a problem or troublesome event that is directed toward obtaining support, advice or assistance in times of distress. The use of two types of…