We observed infant siblings of children with autism later diagnosed with ASD (ASD siblings; n = 17), infant siblings of children with autism with and without other delays (Other Delays and No Delays siblings; n = 12 and n = 19, respectively) and typically developing controls (TD controls; n = 19) during a free-play task at 18 months of age.…

The relationships between parenting stress and self-perceived parenting behaviors in 138 parents of children with autistic spectrum conditions were studied over 9-10 months. Apart from perceived communication being attenuated, there were no major areas of self-perceived parenting weakness. Parenting stress closely interacted with self-perceived…

Temperamental shyness in children is characterized by avoidance of faces and eye contact, beginning in infancy. We conducted two studies to determine whether temperamental shyness was associated with deficits in sensitivity to some cues to facial identity. In Study 1, 40 typically developing 10-year-old children made same/different judgments about…

Differences in sibling social, behavioral, and academic adjustment and maternal well-being in families with (n = 20) and without (n = 23) a preschooler with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were explored. Results are interpreted to suggest that mothers of children with autism report more daily hassles, life stress, and depression than mothers…

The purpose of the current study was to examine the role of theory of mind in fairness-related behavior in preschoolers and to introduce a tool for examining fairness-related behavior in children. A total of 68 preschoolers played the Ultimatum Game in a face-to-face setting. Acquisition of theory of mind was defined as the understanding of false…

The impacts of violence for young children and their caregivers are multidimensional. The story of 2-year-old Tyronne, his mother, Josephine, and his father, James, illustrates the use of a relationship-focused treatment, child-parent psychotherapy (CPP), in addressing the traumatic consequences of exposure to violence. This family's story…

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and mathematics ability are associated, but little is known about the genetic and environmental influences underlying this association. Methods: Data came from more than 6,000 twelve-year-old twin pairs from the UK population-representative Twins Early Development Study. Parents…

This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of a multifocused (child-, teacher- and parent-focused) prevention program for Romanian preschoolers, targeting social--emotional competence development, as well as reduction of behavior problems. Fourteen classrooms were randomly assigned to the intervention and control conditions. Subsequent…

This study adopted various methods such as qualitative research, observation, interviews, and document collection to examine the emotional responses, behavior changes, and counseling effects on a single-parent child in a skipped-generation family before or after a series of painting activities. The participant was asked to take part in 50-minute…

Katherine Magnuson's research focuses on the well-being and development of economically disadvantaged children and their families. In the first half of this brief Magnuson pulls together scholarship on the effects of poverty and inequality on children, especially from infancy to age five. Her scope goes beyond the social sciences to include new…

In 2009, Vanderbilt University's Peabody Research Institute, with the assistance of the Tennessee Department of Education's Division of Curriculum and Instruction, initiated a rigorous, independent evaluation of the state's Voluntary Prekindergarten program (TN- VPK). TN-VPK is a full-day prekindergarten program for four-year-old children expected…

The overall aim of this multi-informant study was to examine pre-post treatment changes, and maintenance at 3-year follow-up, for multiple dimensions of the family context, for a modular intervention that has previously demonstrated significant clinical improvements in child behavior and maintenance of these effects. Family outcomes included…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) present unique challenges to the families and educators supporting them. Even though families and educators report that behavioral issues can be identified by age 3 (Walker, Ramsey, & Gresham, 2004), the commonly used wait-and-see approach to intervening results in children with E/BD not…

Research suggests that child maltreatment predicts juvenile violence, but it is uncertain whether the effects of victimization persist into adulthood or differ across gender. Furthermore, we know little about the mechanisms underlying the victim-perpetrator cycle for males and females. Consequently, this study analyzed associations between child…

Forty-six mothers at psychosocial risk who had undergone interaction treatment when their children were babies were studied with respect to experienced negative life events, social network, and behavior problems in children. One reference group comprising 45 nontreated mothers at psychosocial risk and one comprising 56 mothers without psychosocial…