This study deconstructs cumulative risk to probe unique relations to basal cortisol for family income and four distinct aspects of poverty-related instability. Participants were 288 children aged 3-5 years who attended Head Start preschool. Parents reported on poverty risks. Children provided samples of salivary cortisol at four times of day on…

This study examined spillover between daily family stressors and school problems among 589 ninth-grade students (mean age = 14.9 years) from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Spillover was examined using a daily diary methodology in which adolescents reported on their school and family experiences each day for 2 weeks. Analyses using…

Used data from a longitudinal study of 16-year-old girls to test predictions about psychosocial factors in the onset of menarche. Found that family conflict and father's absence in childhood predicted an earlier age of menarche, and these factors in combination with weight showed some evidence of an additive influence on menarche. (Author/GLR)

Examines parental, adolescent, and family system characteristics that place a family at risk of destructive parent/child relations during the child's adolescence. Maladjusted youth from 10 through 16 years of age and both of their parents were visited at home by a team of researchers, who administered a battery of questionnaire, interview, and…

Examined the relationship between sibling conflict and marital satisfaction, spousal conflict, family emotional climate, and family problem-solving processes that involve siblings. Results indicated that equal treatment by parents, family harmony in family discussions of sibling problems, and parent perceptions of family cohesiveness were…

Examined within-family differences in parenting and problem behavior in 95 nondivorced and 421 remarried families. Within-family differences in parenting and problem behavior were greatest in remarried families where siblings did not share the same biological parent. Differential treatment was also more strongly related to problem behavior in this…

Examined how peer acceptance and friendships moderated the link between family adversity and child externalizing behavioral problems. Found that peer acceptance in kindergarten and Grade 1 moderated the relationship between family adversity measures and externalizing behavior problems in Grade 2; friendship served as a moderator for harsh…

For 152 children, intelligence scores were assessed at 4 and 13 years of age, and the number of factors out of 10 social and family risk factors was counted. The presence of multiple risk factors in children's lives explained up to half the variance of children's IQ scores at 4 and 13 years. (MDM)

Used observations and family reports to examine the relationships between family economic stress factors and adjustment of adolescent boys. Economic pressures were associated with parental demoralization, which was related to marital conflict and disruptions in parenting. Disruptions in child-rearing behavior had adverse consequences for…

Evaluated a family economic stress model that links economic well-being to child well-being among African American and Hispanic children from low-income families, mostly headed by single mothers. Found that lower economic well-being adversely impacted parent's psychological well-being; these parents felt less effective in disciplinary interactions…

Results of 2 studies suggested that 11- and 12-year-old children's appraisals of marital conflict are influenced by the content, intensity, and cause of the conflict; and that the meaning of marital conflict to children is an important determinant of its impact on them. (MDM)

A concept of seductive mother-toddler relationships was initially validated. Subsequent research showed "seductiveness" was stable, though transformed, from 24 to 42 months; the same mothers were not found to be seductive with male or female siblings; mothers seductive with boys were derisively hostile toward daughters. (Author/RH)

Attachment outcomes of 31 maltreatment cases (involving extreme neglect or abuse), selected from a total poverty sample of 267 high-risk mothers and their children, were compared to those of a subsample of 33 cases with a history of excellent care. Attachment was assessed when infants were 12 and 18 months old. (Author/MP)

Investigates whether the hypothesis that the mother's work situation influences parents' perceptions of their three-year-old children can explain reported differences in effects of maternal employment on the child. The sample consisted of 152 white, two-parent families. Results support the generalization that maternal employment may entail both…

Results suggested that preadolescents and adolescents understand but reject or subordinate parents' conventional interpretations of family conflict, and reinterpret them as issues of personal jurisdiction. Parents understand but reject children's claims to personal jurisdiction, and state the issues in conventional terms. (RH)