Investigates ability of nine-month-old infants to imitate simple actions with novel objects. Looks at both immediate and deferred imitation. Findings show that imitation in early infancy can span wide enough delays to be of potential service in social development. (Author/RWB)

Examines the nonverbal communication competence of 18- to 48-month-old Down Syndrome children. Results indicate that Downs children display strengths and weaknesses in nonverbal communication skills. Further, results suggest a deficit in expressive language is associated with a deficit in nonverbal requesting skill that had developed earlier among…

Examines differences in habituation in a visual attention task as a function of chronological age, mental age, and handicapping condition. Subjects were 102 children who ranged in age from 3 to 36 months and who were classified as Down Syndrome, cerebral palsied, developmentally delayed, or multiply handicapped. (Author/RH)

Assesses the effects of gestational age, race, and sex on neurobehavorial responses of 510 singleton infants who were evaluated at term conceptual age using a modified Prechtl Neurologic Examination. Results suggest that gestational age at birth is the most influential variable; race is also important, but gender has minimum impact. (Author/CB)

Investigating relationship between infants' visual and tactual exploration, looking and touching responses of 6-month-olds to objects only visually or tactually novel were observed. Results indicated infants were capable of tactual recognition memory, that temperature was salient object property, and that visual and tactual exploration are not…

Eight-week-old infants learned to execute an operant footkick to produce crib mobile movement in one of two conditions: training duration on (1) varied within single session and (2) consistent across multiple sessions. Results, in contrast with data from 3-month-olds, demonstrated that conditions of original learning influence immediate and…

As parents rely on an increasingly complex patchwork of care giving arrangements, one aspect of children's early care experiences that may be associated with both children's and parent's well being is the complexity of the child care arrangements. Participants in a low-income sample and in a migrant farm working family sample participated in…

Intended for use by childcare center directors, this guide presents the Quick Quality Check, a practical method for measuring and improving the quality of care in infant/toddler classrooms. The four chapters of the guide discuss the specifics of the Quick Quality Check method for both infants and toddlers, including the instrument development, as…

A total of 52 pairs of mothers and premature infants and 53 pairs of mothers and full-term infants participated in structured home interviews at one month and observations of behavioral interactions at four months. Although no group differences were found, both stress and support significantly predicted maternal attitudes at one month and…

Reviews literature on reactions of parents and siblings to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The prospects for prolonged, adverse reactions are considered, and professional concerns regarding abnormal adaptation are noted. (Author/DB)

Describes research with 12- to 18-month-old infants (N=108) determining whether the quality of an infant's attachment to his/her primary caregiver could predict the nature of his/her emerging personality. (CS)