Examined relationships among mothers' hostile attribution tendencies regarding their children's ambiguous problem behaviors, mothers' harsh discipline, and children's externalizing behavior problems. Assessments over four years demonstrated that mothers' hostile attributions predicted children's externalizing school behavior problems. The…

Describes research that applied the Input-Environment-Outcome Assessment Model to the study of two specific outcomes, student satisfaction with college and bachelor's degree completion, in order to evaluate the unique contributions of entering student characteristics and specific school experiences. Examines effects of academic and…

Investigates the extent to which four theoretically relevant variables moderate the perceived racism-mental health relationship. Findings reveal that greater experience with racism socialization messages attenuated the link between reports of racist events and poorer mental health. Overall, results indicate that individual differences shape the…

Secondary school teachers participating (n=371) and not participating (n=422) in continuing education in Hong Kong were surveyed. Such variables as situations, dispositions, attitudes, beliefs, and social norms did not distinguish participants from nonparticipants. The only significant factors were socioeconomic status and motivations. (SK)

Examined relations between alternative representations of poverty cofactors and promotion processes, and problem behaviors of 6- and 7-year-olds from disadvantaged families. Found that single-index risk representations and promotion variables predicted aggression but not anxiety/depression. An additive model of individual risk indicators performed…

Examined the relationship between attachment cognitions and social support in a community sample of 129 late-adolescent women. Found that attachment cognitions representing greater security in close relationships were associated with higher levels of perceived and enacted social support. Differences between subjects reporting secure and insecure…

Administers 23 psychometric measures of reading, writing, and related language processes to 102 elementary students and their parents. Notes results are consistent with claim of functional systems theory that the same language processes are orchestrated flexibly depending on task at hand. Finds number of language deficits uniquely predicted…

Examined contributions of dimensions of maternal responsiveness to timing of milestones in early expressive language development. Found that maternal responsiveness at 9 and 13 months predicted timing of language milestones over and above children's observed behaviors. Responsiveness at 13 months was a stronger predictor of timing than…

This longitudinal study examined reciprocal growth in negative emotions between parents and adolescents, and their potential influence on the development of social relationships during early adulthood. Findings showed that both parents' and adolescents' initial levels of negative emotion toward each other predicted the rate of growth and rate of…

Analyzed relationships between child-care experience and preschoolers' attachment. Found that maternal sensitivity was the strongest predictor of preschoolers' attachment. When maternal sensitivity was low, more hours per week in child care at 15 months somewhat increased the risk of the insecure-ambivalent classification at 36 months. Found…

Examined role of pubertal and social transitions in emergence of gender differences in depressive symptoms. Found that differences emerged during eighth grade. Seventh-grade pubertal status related to depressive symptoms. Recent stressful life events related to increased depressive symptoms. Early-maturing girls with higher levels of initial…

Examined peer relations of young people from nuclear families, step families, and single-parent families. Findings suggest peer relations were affected by parental separation only to a minor extent as compared to, e.g. gender- or age-specific effects. A central aspect of friendship quality, however, namely admiration by friends, clearly suffered…

Three longitudinal studies involving kindergartners are presented that attempt to measure variance in the quality of phonological structures within lexical items using three tasks: non-word repetition, cued word fluency, and a gated auditory word recognition task. Nonword repetition was a consistent predictor of later phonological awareness.…

This study examined the role of language, attention/impulse control, and mother-child play in predicting later peer competence by assessing 252 children at ages 3 and 8 years. Children born term (n = 90) or preterm (n = 162) were included to examine the question of how variability in skills influenced social outcomes and whether relations were…

Objective: Several studies with small and ''high risk'' samples have demonstrated that a history of childhood or adolescent sexual abuse (CASA) is associated with sexual risk behaviors (SRBs). However, few studies with large random samples from the general population have specifically examined the relationship between CASA and SRBs with a…