For the nearly 2 million children in the United States whose parents are in prison, caretaking necessary for optimal development is disrupted. These vulnerable youth--a population that has shot up 80 percent in the last 20 years--are more likely to experience learning difficulties, poor health, and substance abuse, and eventually be incarcerated…

Uses a control group study to compare the effectiveness of contingency management training and communication skills training for training parents to manage children with conduct disorders. Concludes that more subjects in the contingency management group met a criterion of clinical success than in either the communication skills or the control…

Investigated the effects of caregiving experience on adults' thinking about a child-rearing problem. Study 1 found that, of 192 adults, parents were better than nonparents at diagnosing the cause of a baby's crying. Study 2 extended the first study's findings to 42 mothers and 42 nonmothers. (SKC)

This study of the stability of parent behaviors toward toddlers over a 3-week period used both aggregated and nonaggregated data. Comparison of stability correlations indicated higher stabilities for aggregated scores, with the level of stability increasing as scores from additional single sessions were aggregated. (PCB)

Parents of 601 children and adolescents with mental retardation rated their children on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC). Factor analysis revealed a factor structure similar to the original ABC but without the inappropriate speech factor. Analysis of subject variables revealed main effects for gender, age, and classroom assignment…

Parent training has been successfully used in the treatment of a wide variety of childhood disorders, but interpretation of the literature has been plagued by the large number of families who discontinue treatment prematurely. To compare parents who discontinued treatment with those who completed parent training, 39 families with externalizing…

This study of depression and anxiety found (1) no significant differences between parents with (n=49) and without (n=47) children having mental retardation; (2) higher anxiety levels in women than men; and (3) higher anxiety levels in parents with shorter experience with the child. (DB)

A sample of 951 children was assessed at age 7 to examine the prevalence, nature, and stability of behavior problems. About 30 percent of the sample were identified by parent and/or teacher as having a high level of problem behavior. Most reported (especially among boys) was antisocial behavior. (RH)

Interviews 100 first borns (12-14 years) and their parents, where both were Australian-born and where parents were Italian-born and children Australian-born, to separate family transmission effects from generational similarities in culture. Proposes that studies across generations should distinguish between actual and perceived agreement and…

In an effort to describe parent-teacher conferences and assess their influence on the curriculum, three researchers interviewed children, parents, teachers, and the principal of a midwestern elementary school and observed various school and Parent Teacher Association functions. High school and elementary school parents were mailed a survey.…

This resource list on adolescent parenting includes both a bibliography of books, periodical articles, and research reports, and a directory of resource organizations. Part 1, "Books and Articles," is comprised of an 11-page unannotated list of monographs and journal articles published between 1973 and 1987. A wide range of topics is covered,…

Special education is now an established part of public education in the United States--by law and by custom. However, it is still widely misunderstood and continues to be dogged by controversies related to such things as categorization, grouping, assessment, placement, funding, instruction, and a variety of legal issues. The purpose of this…