Positive Affectivity and Fear Trajectories in Infancy: Contributions of Mother–Child Interaction Factors

Fear and positive emotionality were considered in a growth modeling context. Mothers, primarily Caucasian (91.9%) and of middle socioeconomic status, participated in play interactions with infants at 4 months (N = 148). Infant fear and positive affectivity were evaluated at 6, 8, 10, and 12 months of age. A linear trajectory was superior in explaining growth for parent report and observation‐based indicators of positive affectivity and parent report of fearfulness; a piecewise model explained the nonlinear growth of observation‐based fear. Responsiveness in mother–infant interactions emerged as a significant predictor of the fear trajectory, with higher sensitivity predicting lower levels of observed fear. Reciprocity, tempo, emotional tone, and intensity of mother–infant interactions also made significant contributions to temperament development; however, analyses addressing these were exploratory.     

Links Between School Absenteeism and Child Poverty

This article reports a study, undertaken in London Boroughs, which aimed to explore the link between school absenteeism and child poverty. The writer begins by exploring issues of definitions of child poverty and school absenteeism in the last fifty years. He then goes on to describe the design of this study and to report his findings. His conclusions are that school absenteeism is strongly associated with child poverty, with pupils at primary school being much more likely to be affected by an area's economics and employment deprivation than their counterparts at secondary schools. School absentees normally start the habit of non–attendance when they are at primary school, with child poverty as a main associated factor. Addressing family welfare issues early is seen as a key intervention.     

Mother–Child Attachment From Infancy to the Preschool Years: Predicting Security and Stability

Relations between maternal mind‐mindedness (appropriate and nonattuned mind‐related comments), children's age‐2 perspective‐taking abilities, and attachment security at 44 (n = 165) and 51 (n = 128) months were investigated. Nonattuned comments predicted insecure preschool attachment, via insecure 15‐month attachment security (44‐month attachment) and poorer age‐2 perspective‐taking abilities (51‐month attachment). With regard to attachment stability, higher perspective‐taking abilities distinguished the stable secure groups from (a) the stable insecure groups and (b) children who changed from secure to insecure (at trend level). These effects were independent of child gender, stressful life events, and socioeconomic status (SES). The contribution of these findings to our understanding of stability and change in attachment security from infancy to the preschool years is discussed.     

Transactional Links Between Teacher–Child Relationship Quality and Perceived Versus Sociometric Popularity: A Three‐Wave Longitudinal Study

This study examined how peer relationships (i.e., sociometric and perceived popularity) and teacher–child relationships (i.e., support and conflict) impact one another throughout late childhood. The sample included 586 children (46% boys), followed annually from Grades 4 to 6 (M_age.wave1 = 9.26 years). Autoregressive cross‐lagged modeling was applied. Results stress the importance of peer relationships in shaping teacher–child relationships and vice versa. Higher sociometric popularity predicted more teacher–child support, which in turn predicted higher sociometric popularity, beyond changes in children's prosocial behavior. Higher perceived popularity predicted more teacher–child conflict (driven by children's aggressive behavior), which, in turn and in itself, predicted higher perceived popularity. The influence of the “invisible hand” of both teachers and peers in classrooms has been made visible.     

Parenting and Children's Behavior at 36 Months: Equivalence Between African American and European American Mother - Child Dyads

Objective. This study examines the similarity of parenting and the associations between maternal behavior and child problem and prosocial behavior across two racial groups. Design. Using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (SECC), analyses included an examination of the comparability of maternal and child behavior between African American (n = 123) and European American (n = 953) families using multiple-group mean and covariance structures analysis (MACS). Observational data from two mother - child activities and maternal report of child behavior were used to construct three parenting and four child latent constructs. Results. Comparable measures of parenting (Responsive, Harsh, and Intrusive), child problem behavior (Externalizing and Internalizing), and child prosocial behavior (Compliance and Expressiveness) were found using partial invariance methods across racial groups. The associations between harsh, intrusive and responsive parenting and child behaviors were found to be similar across racial groups. Conclusions. Generality in the organization of parenting and similarity in their association to child behavior obtain across racial groups.     

God–Mother–Baby: What Children Think They Know

This study tested one hundred and nine 3‐ to 6‐year‐old children on a knowledge‐ignorance task about knowledge in humans (mother, baby) and God. In their responses, participants not reliably grasping that seeing leads to knowing in humans (pre‐representational) were significantly influenced by own knowledge and marginally by question format. Moreover, knowledge was attributed significantly more often to mother than baby and explained by agent‐based characteristics. Of participants mastering the task for humans (representational), God was largely conceived as ignorant “man in the sky” by younger and increasingly as “supernatural agent in the sky” by older children. Evidence for egocentrism and for anthropomorphizing God lends support to an anthropomorphism hypothesis. First‐time evidence for an agent‐based conception of others' knowledge in pre‐representational children is presented.     

Longitudinal Associations Among Child Maltreatment,Resting Frontal Electroencephalogram Asymmetry,and Adolescent Shyness

Child maltreatment is linked to distinct neurophysiological patterns and social‐emotional vulnerability. Relations among maltreatment, relative resting frontal alpha asymmetry, shyness, and psychopathology were examined prospectively. Adolescent girls (age 14–16) who experienced child maltreatment (N = 55) were compared to nonmaltreated controls (N = 25), and returned for 6‐ and 12‐month follow‐ups. Among participants exhibiting relative right frontal asymmetry, maltreated adolescents reported higher shyness than controls at Time 1. Low‐stable and high‐stable shyness trajectories were observed for maltreated participants. Compared to low shy, participants in high‐shy trajectory reported at Time 3: higher neuroticism and generalized anxiety; and lower extraversion if they also exhibited relative right frontal asymmetry. Thus, right frontal brain activity and shyness are involved in social‐emotional vulnerability of adolescents who experienced child maltreatment.     

A Process Model of Attachment–Friend Linkages: Hostile Attribution Biases,Language Ability,and Mother–Child Affective Mutuality as Intervening Mechanisms

This study identified mechanisms through which child–mother attachment security at 36 months was associated with mother‐ and teacher‐reported friendship quality at 3rd grade. Data from a subsample of 1,071 children (536 boys) participating in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were used. Separate structural equation models were tested for mother and teacher reports of peer functioning. For both models, the total indirect effect between attachment security and friendship quality was significant. Tests of specific indirect effects indicated that attachment security was associated with friendship quality via greater mother–child affective mutuality and better language ability at 54 months and fewer hostile attributions (teacher model only) and greater peer competence at first grade. The findings highlight interpersonal and intrapersonal mechanisms of attachment–friend linkages.     

Direct and Indirect Links Between the Couple Relationship and Child School Outcomes

This study measured aspects of the couple relationship to examine direct and indirect relations with parental involvement in education and children's school outcomes. The sample (n = 100) consisted of families that have at least one child between the ages of 8 and 11 in urban central Taiwan. Findings indicated that couple relationship quality is related to parent involvement and parent involvement is related to child school outcomes. Aspects of the couple relationship were also related to children's negative attitudes toward school. Path analyses showed a direct path from dyadic consensus to school success and an indirect path from coparenting strategy use to child school success through parental involvement in education. Bootstrap analyses confirmed the reliability of the models.     

母子交流对儿童语言能力发展的影响

儿童语言能力的发展,与家庭早期的语言环境关系如何?母子交流怎样影响儿童的语言能力的发展?为解决这些问题,我们儿童语言与识字能力家庭--学校研究课题组,设计了四项活动,分别在儿童三岁和四岁两次深入家庭访谈,取得了第一手资料,现予以报告分析.     

Links Between Preschoolers' Behavioral Regulation and School Readiness Skills: The Role of Child Gender

Research Findings: We examined relations among preschoolers' behavioral regulation, gender, and school readiness outcomes in preacademic and classroom skills using a sample of South Korean preschoolers aged 3–5 (N = 229). Behavioral regulation was assessed using a direct measure, the Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulders task, which requires children to switch rules by responding in the opposite way to 4 different oral commands. Results demonstrated nonsignificant gender differences in behavioral regulation and academic skills but significant gender differences in classroom work-related skills and social skills, with higher scores for girls. Multilevel path modeling revealed that behavioral regulation predicted none of the preacademic skills and classroom behaviors after child age, gender, verbal intelligence, maternal education, and classroom nesting were controlled. However, there was an interaction effect of behavioral regulation and gender for early reading; the contribution of behavioral regulation to early reading was positive and stronger for boys. Practice or Policy: These results suggest that behavioral regulation is not an overall strong predictor of school readiness in South Korean children. Early educators need to support the development of behavioral regulation skills, especially for boys, as these skills may work as an important path to school readiness when children lack other classroom social strategies and resources.     

英语语境知识和母语共有知识的互动

在国内外的外语教学中,"语境知识"和"共有知识"的作用和影响是许多从事外语教学或二语习得专家学者探索较多的话题。在基础英语教学中人们倾向"语境知识"的作用,忽视"母语共有知识"在外语教学特殊阶段的积极作用,导致学生对课文知识学而不用、用而不专,知识面狭窄。笔者提出在社会建构主义大框架下用英语语境知识和母语共有知识的互动关系来组织基础英语教学,为全面提高学生英语水平打下坚实基础。     

Modalities of Infant–Mother Interaction in Japanese,Japanese American Immigrant,and European American Dyads

Cultural variation in relations and moment‐to‐moment contingencies of infant–mother person‐oriented and object‐oriented interactions were compared in 118 Japanese, Japanese American immigrant, and European American dyads with 5.5‐month‐olds. Infant and mother person‐oriented behaviors were related in all cultural groups, but infant and mother object‐oriented behaviors were related only among European Americans. Infant and mother behaviors within each modality were mutually contingent in all groups. Culture moderated lead–lag relations: Japanese infants were more likely than their mothers to respond in object‐oriented interactions; European American mothers were more likely than their infants to respond in person‐oriented interactions. Japanese American dyads behaved like European American dyads. Interactions, infant effects, and parent socialization findings are set in cultural and accultural models of infant–mother transactions.     

Foster Mother–Infant Bonding: Associations Between Foster Mothers' Oxytocin Production,Electrophysiological Brain Activity,Feelings of Commitment,and Caregiving Quality

This study examined the biological processes associated with foster mother–infant bonding. In an examination of foster mother–infant dyads (N = 41, mean infant age = 8.5 months), foster mothers' oxytocin production was associated with their expressions of behavioral delight toward their foster infant and their average P3 response to images of all infant faces in the first 2 months of the relationship. Three months later, foster mothers' oxytocin production was still associated with delight toward their foster infant and was also specifically associated with their P3 response to an image of their foster infant. Similar to biologically related mothers and infants, oxytocin appears to be associated with foster mothers' brain activity and caregiving behavior, with patterns suggestive of bond formation.     

Preschool‐Age Problem Behavior and Teacher–Child Conflict in School: Direct and Moderation Effects by Preschool Organization

The hypothesis was tested that the new open‐group Norwegian day‐care centers would more than traditionally organized centers negatively affect (a) current and (b) future teacher–child relationships, and (c) the developmental legacy of preschool problem behavior. The focus was on eight hundred and fifty 4‐year‐olds from 153 centers who were followed up in first grade. Results of this natural quasi‐experiment revealed that children from open‐group centers (a) experienced less teacher–child closeness in preschool and (b) more teacher–child conflict in first grade, and (c) that high levels of preschool problem behavior forecast especially high levels of future teacher–child conflict, but only for children from open‐group centers. Results highlight the importance of spatial and social organization of day care and their translational implications.     

Mother–child joint writing in Chinese kindergarteners: metalinguistic awareness,maternal mediation and literacy acquisition

The present study examined the relations of Chinese word reading and writing to both maternal mediation of writing and a number of metalinguistic and cognitive skills in 63 Hong Kong Chinese kindergarteners. The whole process of maternal mediation of writing, in which mothers individually facilitated their children's writing of 12 two‐character words in their own ways, was videotaped. This study replicated and extended previous work on the cognitive strategies mothers use to help children in writing Chinese words. Mothers' typical mediation strategies were positively and significantly associated with both children's independent word reading and writing. In addition, maternal mediation of writing was uniquely associated with Chinese word reading, but not word writing, even with metalinguistic and cognitive skills, including phonological awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic processing and visual knowledge, statistically controlled. Findings underscore the importance of mothers' early scaffolding in facilitating children's literacy acquisition.     

Associations Between Family Structure Change and Child Behavior Problems: The Moderating Effect of Family Income

This study investigated conditions under which family structure matters most for child well‐being. Using data from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (n = 3,936), a national sample of U.S. families, it was estimated how changes in family structure related to changes in children's behavior between age 3 and 12 separately by household income level to determine whether associations depended on families' resources. Early changes in family structure, particularly from a two‐biological‐parent to single‐parent family, predicted increases in behavior problems more than later changes, and movements into single and stepparent families mattered more for children of higher versus lower income parents. Results suggest that for children of higher income parents, moving into a stepfamily may improve, not undermine, behavior.     

政社互动与社会工作机构行为策略

随着国家大力推动社会治理创新,政府与社会工作机构之间的互动关系已发生深刻变化,社会工作机构的行为策略也随之改变。在政府与社会工作机构互动博弈的过程中,社会工作机构往往采取"既合作,又竞争"、"有所为,有所不为"的策略。在政府加大购买社会服务的当下,要进一步强化政社互动,转变服务理念,优化执行策略。