This monograph contains four reports of studies dealing with the impact of secondary home economics programs in five states on child development and parenting. (The states involved were Ohio, Minnesota, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Iowa.) Chapter 1 details the assessment of child development and parenting programs in the five states that used a…

Conducted from an educational sociologist's point of view, this study explores the relationship of mother's age to the development of her child. A documentary frequency technique was used to investigate four general questions: (1) Do children of younger mothers, ages 16 years and under, have health problems different from the health problems of…

This study reports results of an evaluation of the developmental, parent involvement, staff development, and supportive services components of the Get Set Day Care Program in Philadelphia. During 1978-1979, the program provided day care and educational services to approximately 4,100 children in 70 sites. Developmental Behavior Checklist (DBC)…

Initiating the Rural Child Care Project Monograph Series, this publication details the many factors which affect the selection and operation of a transportation service supporting rural child development centers. Relying upon its 9 years of experience, the Kentucky Youth Research Center (KYRC) presents relative advantages and disadvantages of 4…

This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of a Bulgarian study of six-year-old schoolchildren. Data gathered in a number of countries where children are enrolled at school at the age of six is a sound basis for analytical study; in nations where the enrollment age is seven, such as Bulgaria and the USSR, children's…

Irritability levels and activity reactivity to aversive tactile stimuli were compared for 144 full-term neonates and 191 preterm infants. Irritability ratings increased across the five trials both during and post stimulation for full-term females and males and for preterm females, but not for preterm males. Activity ratings decreased across trials…

Most young children are exuberant and enthusiastic about their futures, believing they can do almost anything. But many eventually lose hope. Efforts to understand at what developmental point children lose hope is the focus of this paper. Students in grades 1 through 12 (N=990) who attend Catholic and public schools were administered the…

This study examined how family structure affected children's delinquency and math test scores, parenting practices as a mediator, and racial differences in these effects. Findings indicated that single parenthood related to reduced well-being among European American children, but not African American children. Cohabitation related to greater…

The perceptions of students toward conservation and nature utilization and their behavior toward the environment were studied with 725 Danish adolescents and a previously studied group of Bavarian adolescents. Following construct validation, comparison of mean within-region factor values reveals substantial differences between countries. (SLD)

Provides background information and a practical guide for including demographic information in developmental research. Describes historic demographic trends reflecting ways family and economic environments have been and continue to be transformed; presents demographic statistics to provide basis for comparison of research populations; and offers…

Provides several contextual and theoretical frameworks through which to make connections between the articles in this special issue, which examine global trends affecting children and their families in rapidly changing environments. Discusses how cross-national perspectives on issues affecting children and their families are becoming increasingly…

Identified three preschool models operating in an urban school district. Compared the mastery of basic skills and the social, motor, language, and adaptive development of 295 children who attended the preschools. Found that children in preschools that allowed child-initiated learning demonstrated the greatest mastery of basic skills. (MM)

Eighteen cases of disintegrative psychosis (DP) were compared with 52 cases of infantile autism (IA) with speech loss and 145 IA cases without speech loss. DP cases showed clearer regression after more satisfactory development than the IA cases with speech loss, and by age seven were more severely retarded but similar in autistic symptomatology to…

Proposes and briefly discusses several hypotheses concerning the unique developmental status of peer relations in the first three years of life. Analyzes the meaning of individual differences in very early peer competencies. Suggests that developmental differences in peer relations might translate into hypotheses regarding early individual…