Two autistic children were treated for specific fears. Children were exposed gradually to fearful situations, with mothers serving as therapists and reinforcers. Five-month and one-year follow-up assessments with one child showed maintenance of treatment effects. (Author/DB)

Presents 14 ideas for reaching nonparticipating parents and involving them with the reading program at their child's school. (MG)

The study with 100 families found that parents of highly creative adolescents tended to be very interested in their children's behavior but seldom proscribed rules to govern it. Other results suggested the critical importance of environment, the existence of critical periods, and the importance of humor. (DB)

A total of 69 male and 132 female undergraduate students rated the extent of their experience in a variety of child-rearing activities that involved routine physical care and play. Males reported lower levels of experience than did females. The discrepancy was greater with care activities than with play activities. (RJC)

A nationwide study examined relationships between 201 prelingually deaf adolescents' reading comprehension scores and their hearing mothers' communication strategies and skills. A potential relationship was found between reading scores and signing skill levels of mothers, but no significant relationship between mothers' communication methods and…

The literature on the critical role of parents in the education of children with severe learning difficulties is discussed in the context of playgroups and nursery schools, language training, home-school contacts, teaching by parents, and school leaving. (DB)

Examines relationship between changing family living arrangements and psychological well-being of childrearing women. Finds long-term single parenting may be considered a chronic stressor. Reports death of a family member or close friend, unemployment, and residence change are associated with increased distress while friendship and church…

Supports a partnership between school and community in child sexual abuse prevention. Parents and other adult caretakers can play a crucial role in such efforts if they are treated as partners with unique skills. Raises a number of issues that concern family definition and potential roles for parents. (BJV)

Forty British parents of two-year-olds were asked about gender-related adult roles, beliefs about gender differences in children's behavior, and whether they perceived their own child in terms of gender-specific behavior. The majority of children were perceived as conforming to gender stereotypes. (Author/BJV)

Describes a communication activities workshop designed to improve communication skills on any subject. The workshop involves discussing the five critical steps in effective communication, then, in groups, practicing and presenting an improved performance which the other groups evaluate. A parent-child scenario on sexual promiscuity is included.…

Examined variations in mother and father involvement in 100 families whose oldest children were between 3 and 5 years of age. Found that mothers participated in childrearing activities at a significantly higher rate than fathers in both single-earner and dual-earner families. Mothers spent a high proportion of their interaction time in functional…

Argues that research on father-adolescent relationships must move beyond demonstrations of links between father behavior and adolescent outcomes (phase 1 findings) to research in which the pathway or processes linking father variables to adolescent variables are explicitly spelled out and examined (phase 2 findings). Suggests areas of future…

Educator Robert Coles argues that there is a need for a basis on which to teach and cultivate moral awareness in parents and children. Active parenting requires both inner-directed and outer-directed focuses to take advantage of the everyday events through which morality is developed. (SLD)

This study examined bias in intelligibility judgments based on judges' personal familiarity with subjects. Four speech-delayed children (ages four and seven) were audiotaped at intervals during therapy, and intelligibility was assessed by their parents and unfamiliar adults. Mothers were significantly better at identifying words being spoken. An…

Analyzes children's own descriptions and interpretations of what family life is like or could be like. The research was designed to determine the children's perspective on childhood and parenthood. The article focuses on four girls and discusses their narratives using concepts from literary theory. The woman in control of family life is the…