In 2007, the Autism Society of America (ASA) estimated that 1.5 million Americans and their families were affected by autism. As the current Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) prevalence rates continue to rise (10%-17% each year) so does the awareness that ASD is no respecter of persons. ASD touches children of every racial, ethnic, and…

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, this edition of "The State of the World's Children" calls for brave and fresh thinking to address age-old problems that still affect the world's most disadvantaged children. The report is inspired by the work of innovators around the world--who are pushing…

Examined the combined influence of child characteristics and parent characteristics on parental perceptions. Results revealed a significant interaction, indicating that the combination of high maternal depression with high levels of child noncompliant behavior was associated with more perceived child maladjustment. (Author/BL)

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…

This study examined the effects of aid from mother and older sibling on the problem-solving behaviors of 120 first graders. Children with older sisters showed more advanced problem solving after aid, while those with older brothers did not. Interpretations in terms of family interaction patterns are offered. (JMB)

Results suggest that mothers of both learning-disabled and nondisabled children engage in conversational buffering, although there were few differences between the mothers and the learning-disabled and nondisabled children. Learning-disabled Ss were more likely to agree with and less likely to disagree with their mothers than were nondisabled Ss.…

Administered Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) to biological mothers of children aged 6-13 (N=100). Found conduct disordered (CD) children (N=13) had mothers with higher MMPI antisocial, histrionic, and disturbed adjustment scores; attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADD/H) children (N=22) had no significant association…

Examined were consistencies over time of maternal reports, observations of nursery and elementary school behavior, and teacher ratings of problems for 20 hyperactive Ss and 21 controls (2 year followup) and 15 hyperactive Ss and 16 controls (3 year followup). (Author/CL)

Provides a case study of the responses of children and their parents to distal violence (i.e., violence that is experienced as real but was not witnessed). Describes how parents took action both collectively and individually to manage their children's fear and to find meaning in a brutal act. (RJM)

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…

Investigated effect of father presence or absence in the home in New York City families: welfare AFDC families and lower-middle income families. Results indicated that children of surrogate fathers revealed significantly more behavioral difficulties. Cross-section children and mothers were more adversely affected by father absence than others.…

Investigates changes in mothers' perceptions of their children's behavior through participation in the Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) program, including program steps. Analysis of pretest and posttest scores indicate multimedia parent education can be effective in promoting positive changes. (Author)

Parents' reports of their child-rearing expectations and intentions were measured for 184 low-income urban families when children were in the third and fifth grades. Parenting strategies were stable over time. Parenting strategies were related to measures of adjustment at school, behavior problems in the home, academic achievement, and…

Eight school-aged boys with learning disabilities (LD) with a discrepancy between verbal and performance IQ and with more language difficulties were less successful on a mother/child problem-solving task. Their mothers exhibited lower communication clarity in their instructions to the children than the mothers of the eight boys with LD who did not…

The contributions in this volume grew out of a conference at the University of Minnesota in the fall of 1989. They examine issues that promote a longer range perspective on preventing disabling conditions and intervening early in the lives of children with disabilities. The range of preventable disabling conditions, perinatal influences on…