Separation of home intellectual environment and maternal IQ as determinants of child IQ.

Measured both parental and child IQs with the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test; Ss included 80 mothers, 35 fathers, and 80 children (mean age 12 yrs). Home intellectual environment was assessed through a 2-hr interview with the mother. Multiple regression analyses showed that for each IQ test and for the 2 scores combined, the addition of home environment ratings to the regression equations did not add a significant increment to the prediction of child IQ from that provided by maternal IQ, whereas the addition of maternal IQ to the regression equation did add a significant increment to that provided by home environment ratings. Thus, the correlation of home environment and child IQ is considerably overestimated when maternal IQ is allowed to covary. When maternal IQ was statistically controlled, the correlation between home environment ratings and child IQ was attenuated to nonsignificance. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do early talkers become early readers? Linguistic precocity, preschool language, and emergent literacy.

25 children, selected for verbal precocity at 20 mo of age, participated in a longitudinal study investigating predictors of later language and literacy skills. Although children remained verbally precocious, there was a low incidence of precocious reading. Exposure to instruction in letter names and sounds was a significant predictor of children's knowledge of print conventions, invented spelling, and phonological awareness at age 4? yrs. Frequency of story reading in the home and child engagement in a story reading episode at age 24 mo were significant predictors of children's language ability at age 2? yrs and 4? yrs and knowledge of print conventions at age 4? yrs. It is concluded that story reading with parents as well as literacy instruction contributes to the development of emergent literacy in verbally precocious children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's cognitive ability from 4 to 9 years old as a function of prenatal cocaine exposure, environmental risk, and maternal verbal intelligence.

This study examined the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure, environmental risk, and maternal verbal intelligence on children's cognitive ability. Gender and age were examined as moderators of potential cocaine exposure effects. The Stanford-Binet IV intelligence test was administered to 231 children (91 cocaine exposed, 140 unexposed) at ages 4, 6, and 9 years. Neonatal medical risk and other prenatal exposures (alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana) were also examined for their unique effects on child IQ. Mixed models analysis indicated that prenatal cocaine exposure interacted with gender, as cocaine-exposed boys had lower composite IQ scores. Age at assessment did not moderate this relation, indicating that cocaine-exposed boys had lower IQs across this age period. A stimulating home environment and high maternal verbal IQ also predicted higher composite IQ scores. Cocaine-exposed boys had lower scores on the Abstract/Visual Reasoning subscale, with trends for lower scores on the Short-Term Memory and Verbal Reasoning subscales, as exposure effects were observed across domains. The findings indicate that cocaine exposure continues to place children at risk for mild cognitive deficits into preadolescence. Possible mechanisms for the Exposure × Gender interaction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Développement langagier et cognitif de l'enfant durant les trois premières années en relation avec la durée des vocalisations maternelles et les jouets présents dans l'environment: étude longitudinale auprès de populations á risque.

This study compares language and cognitive development of children from different socio-economic backgrounds, during the first three years of their life, in relation to the duration of maternal vocalizations and to the number of toys available to the child in his/her environment. A total of 209 mother–child dyads participated in the study. The sample was divided in three groups of mothers: 65 teenage mothers (aged 14–19 yrs), 91 mothers of low socioeconomic status (LSES; aged 20–37 yrs), and 53 mothers of higher socioeconomic status (HSES; aged 22–37 yrs). Results showed that children of teenage mothers and children of LSES mothers had a language development and a cognitive development inferior to those of children of HSES mothers. The duration of maternal vocalization at 6 and at 18 mo of age was related to measures of child development, particularly to child language development at 18 and 24 mo. Furthermore, the number of linguistic and social toys in the child's environment was correlated with some measures of language and cognitive development. Variability in children's language and cognitive development is related to environmental factors which seem more significant at certain times than others in the child's development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Potthoff bias analyses of K-ABC MPC and Nonverbal Scale IQs among Anglo, Black, and Puerto Rican kindergarten children.

Bias analyses, via R. F. Potthoff's (1966) regression technique, were conducted to investigate the predictive utility of Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) Mental Processing Composite (MPC) and Nonverbal scale IQs using 65 Anglo, 24 Black, 27 English-dominant Puerto Rican, and 30 Spanish-dominant Puerto Rican kindergarten children (aged 5 yrs through 5 yrs 11 mo) on 4 achievement criteria. Nonverbal scale IQs were poor predictors for English-dominant Puerto Rican Ss. MPC slope and intercept differences underestimated low-scoring Blacks on the teacher-assigned-grades criterion. When significant differences were found during other comparisons, results consistently showed that K-ABC IQs overestimated achievement for the minority Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk and resilience in early mental development.

Examined mental development scores for 2 groups of at-risk twins throughout their childhood, those classified as small for gestational age (SGA), and those twins falling below 1,750 g birthweight. The Ss were recruited as newborns—about 30 new pairs were added each year—and the total sample included 450 pairs of twins. Ss were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at age 24 mo and the WPPSI at age 6 yrs. Results show that the SGA Ss showed only a modest deficit in IQ scores as compared to the full twin Ss, and thus these small-for-date Ss did not appear to be at special risk. The Ss below 1,750 g, however, did show a very significant deficit in IQ scores throughout childhood. When the recovery patterns were examined for this group, upper SES Ss appeared to recover completely, whereas lower SES Ss remained significantly depressed. Mother's education was significantly related to recovery from 24 mo onward, which suggests that maternal intelligence plays a prominent role in determining the level of recovery. When monozygotic Ss of markedly unequal birth weight were compared, the twins who weighed less than 1,750 g attained the same level of IQ scores at 6 yrs as did their heavier co-twins. Among these genetic replicates, the initially powerful effects of low birth weight did not exert a long-term handicapping effect on mental development. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents' book-reading habits with their children.

Investigated the extent to which parents' teaching of children becomes less directive as a function of children's age and communicative status and relations between parents' interaction styles and children's verbal IQ. 120 families participated in the study. Each family included a target child between the ages of 3 yrs 6 mo and 5 yrs 8 mo, a mother, and a father. 60 families included a communicatively handicapped target child (CH), and 60 matched families had a noncommunicatively handicapped target child (NCH). Target children were divided into 2 age groups: 4-yr-olds and 5-yr-olds. Each parent engaged in a book-reading task with the target child. Parents' interactions with children were classified according to levels of cognitive demand and directiveness. The WPPSI was administered to all children. The Verbal IQ scale subscore was used as the criterion variable in the regression analyses. Results indicate that parents were generally more directive and less demanding with younger CH children than they were with older NCH children. Further, different types of parental interaction styles predicted CH and NCH children's IQ. Results are discussed in terms of L. Vygotsky's (1978) theory of the zone of proximal development. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The adopted child's IQ: A critical review.

Summarizes all reliable published data about the nature and nurture of adopted children's IQs, and draws conclusions about the relative importance of heredity and environment on children's mental development. Any study that compares the central tendency of adopted children's IQs with a group mean of 100 IQ points for a normal population cannot be taken seriously until several methodological criteria have been met: (a) representative sampling, (b) no differential loss of Ss over time, (c) accurate, age-corrected information on biological and adoptive parents, (d) careful attention to early separation and placement of children, and (e) elimination of practice effects and regression to the mean artifacts. Analysis of the resemblance between individual adopted children's IQ scores and their adoptive and biological parents' mental abilities shows that the adoptive parents' home environment has only a modest effect on their adopted children's intellectual growth, while heredity and environment of the biological parents have a strong effect on their own children's intellectual growth. At present there is disagreement about the precise values of genetic and environmental effects on IQ, and several assumptions must be made before accurate statistics can be derived. But, the available data strongly suggest that under existing circumstances, heredity is much more important than environment in producing individual differences in IQ. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents' acceptance of control needs and preschoolers' social behaviour: A longitudinal study.

Examined concurrent and longitudinal associations between parents' acceptance of their preschoolers' control needs and the preschoolers' social behavior (SB) vis-à-vis their parents. 30 videotapes of mother–child and father–child interaction in the child's home at age 2 yrs were scored, using the Rothbaum and Schneider-Rosen Parental Acceptance Measure (F. Rothbaum; see record 1988-26069-001). Child SB was assessed at ages 2 and 5 yrs using global ratings of Social Adaptation (SA; F. K. Grossman et al, 1980). There were no significant correlations between Parental Acceptance scores and concurrent SA. There was a significant correlation between maternal acceptance (MA) of control needs assessed when children were age 2 yrs and SA at age 5 yrs. The correlation of MA and children's SA was of greater longitudinal than concurrent significance. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pre- and postbirth antecedents of 2-year-old attention, capacity for relationships, and verbal expressiveness.

46 families were followed from midpregnancy to child age 2 yrs. At midpregnancy mothers were interviewed and completed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Various forms of data were collected at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 mo postbirth, including observations in the home and infant assessment, using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Results indicate that the pattern of antecedents and correlates differed as a function of the criteria chosen. Thus, the 2-yr-olds' attention was not significantly influenced by the concurrent parent stimulation of cognitive and verbal experiences, but the most impressive determinants consisted of 2 forms of early child behavior, 1-mo positive vocalization and 6-mo attention, as well as prebirth maternal IQ. By contrast, the 2-yr-olds' modulation of aggression was not only an integral part of a concurrent set of relationship variables but the significant antecedents stressed prebirth parent characteristics having a high potential for promoting a positive, emotionally responsive relationship with the child (warmth, adaptation–competence, husband–wife adaptation), whereas the postbirth antecedents were highlighted by parents responding successfully to the needs of an increasingly soothable infant. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associations among family environment, sustained attention, and school readiness for low-income children.

In this study, we examined the developmental pathways from children's family environment to school readiness within a low-income sample (N = 1,046), with a specific focus on the role of sustained attention. Six distinct factors of the family environment representing maternal parenting behaviors, the physical home environment, and maternal mental health at 3 years of age were explored as independent predictors of children's observed sustained attention as well as cognitive and behavioral outcomes at 5 years of age. Children were grouped by poverty status (poor vs. near-poor). Results suggest specificity in the associations among attention (focused attention and lack of impulsivity) and its correlates, with different patterns emerging by poverty status group. Overall, the family environment was largely unrelated to children's sustained attention. For both groups, focused attention was associated with receptive vocabulary; however, it partially mediated the association between maternal lack of hostility and receptive vocabulary only among the near-poor. In addition, lack of impulsivity was associated with both receptive vocabulary and externalizing behaviors but only for the poor group. Findings indicate sustained attention as a potential target for efforts aimed at enhancing school readiness among predominantly poor children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors affecting young children's mental development and their significance in intervention

Factors affecting their developmental quotients (DQ) in 48 normal young children, who were involved in regular development assessments at child health care outpatient visits and whose parents received child-rearing guidance at Chaoyangmen Subdistrict of Dongcheng District, Beijing, and 43 controls aged 36 months were analyzed. Factors, such as their parents' receiving child-rearing guidance, paternal education, maternal education, paternal occupation, type of nursery schools, home environment quality score (HEQS) at 24 and 36 months of age, and mothers' knowledge of child-rearing were associated with children's DQ at their age of 36 months, with statistical significance at a level of 0.05 in univariate analysis. With multiple regression analysis, HEQS at the age of 36 months, family size at the age of 24 months, paternal education, children's sex, and mothers' age had influences on DQ at age of 36 months with statistical significance, and the degree of correlation of HEQS with DQ at 36 months was much higher than that of other factors, and it suggested that HEQS was an important link in child developmental intervention.     

Correlates and consequences of harsh discipline for young children

OBJECTIVE: To examine the incidence, predictors, and consequences of harsh discipline in a sample of low-birth-weight children at 1 and 3 years of age. DESIGN: Analysis of data from the Infant Health and Development Program, an 8-site randomized clinical trial of low-birth-weight infants. The sample for analysis consisted of 715 children who were 3 years of age. The independent measurements of primary interest were the mother's hitting and scolding of her child as disciplinary practice. Analyses were run separately for boys and girls. Bivariate and logistic analyses were used to examine the predictors of the mother's hitting and scolding behavior. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine the consequences of the mother's harsh discipline on a child's IQ measured at age 3 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The mother's self-report of whether she used more than 1 physical punishment in the past week, as well as an observer's report from 2 home visits of whether the mother hit or scolded the child during the 2-hour home visit. In addition, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale was used to examine the consequences of persistent harsh discipline on child well-being. RESULTS: Findings demonstrate child, maternal, and environmental factors that might aggravate a parent's use of corporal punishment. Boys received higher amounts of harsh discipline on all outcome measures. For boys, growing up in an impoverished home was predictive of the greater likelihood of receiving harsh punishment. Using IQ at age 3 years as the outcome measure, girls were found to be vulnerable to persistent harsh discipline and lack of maternal warmth. Maternal harsh discipline in a context of low maternal warmth was associated with IQ scores for girls that are 12 points lower than the IQ scores of girls who received low punishment and high warmth.     

Effects of maternal age on parenting role.

Examined the proposition that maternal age influences parental role performance and satisfaction. Mothers, ranging in age from 16 to 38 yrs, comprised 53 full-term and 52 preterm dyads. Perceptions of parenting role were assessed 1 mo after hospital discharge of infancts using the Satisfaction with Parenting Scale; interactive behaviors were observed when infants were 4 mo old. When other demographic factors and psychosocial variables were controlled, increased maternal age was significantly related to greater satisfaction with parenting, to greater time commitment to that role, and to more optimal observed behavior. Effects of maternal age on observed behavior were stronger in the term sample, whereas effects of maternal age on role satisfaction were stronger in the preterm group. Results indicate that maternal age should be accounted for in studies of mother–infant interaction and child outcomes; the suggestion of linear age effects argues against popular beliefs that adolescent and late childbearing represent unique categories of risk for poor parenting outcomes. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prevention of child injury: An overview of targets, methods, and tactics for psychologists.

Uses an epidemiological model of host, agent, and environment to describe areas of child accident risk and proposes a conceptual model of prevention intervention that was tested with 8 children (aged 7 yrs 7 mo to 9 yrs 7 mo). The model describes prevention's targets (harmful agent, caretaker, and child), methods (legislative/mandated or educational/persuasive), and tactics (populationwide, milestone, and high-risk group). Ss (6 of whom were children of single mothers) were trained weekly at home by 8 undergraduates using a safe-at-home game or similar material presented in the problem-solving approach of P. C. Kendall (1981). Ss were also assessed weekly at home by 1 of 6 undergraduate observers. Results show that Ss in both groups acquired a large variety of safe responses. The program, utilizing paraprofessional volunteers, was cost effective. However, training did not generalize to untrained areas. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental Issues in StepFamilies Research Project: Family relationships and parent-child interactions.

An overview of previous findings on children's adjustment in stepfamilies, nonresidential parent–child relationships, and steproles and new results on family relationships from the Developmental Issues in StepFamilies Research Project is presented. A multimethod, multimeasure, cross-sectional, and longitudinal design was used to study 97 1st-marriage, nuclear families, and 98 stepfamilies after 6 mo, 2.5 yrs, and 5 yrs of remarriage and, longitudinally, 3–4 yrs later. Differences in family relationships and parent–child interactions were found in stepfather families and nuclear families during the early months of remarriage and after 5 yrs. Marital and family relationships were significant predictors of parent–child interactions, although they were moderated by family group, and some relationships varied with the length of remarriage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infant physiological regulation and maternal risks as predictors of dyadic interaction trajectories in families with a preterm infant.

This longitudinal study examined predictors of rates of growth in dyadic interaction quality in children born preterm who did not experience significant neurological findings during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization. Multiple methods were used to collect data from 120 preterm infants (48% girls, 52% boys) and their mothers. Infant heart rate variability (HRV), gestational age, neonatal health, feeding route, and maternal socioeconomic (SES) risks were assessed at NICU discharge (mean of 36 weeks postconception). Mother–child interactions were observed at 4, 9, 16, and 24 months postterm and analyzed with hierarchical linear modeling. On average, children's quality of play, interest, and attention increased over time while their dysregulation and irritability decreased, whereas average maternal positive affect and involvement declined in quality (ps     

Lexical development during middle infancy: A mutually driven infant-caregiver process.

Individual differences in mothers' tendencies to describe aspects of the environment occupying their infants' current focus of attention were measured during interactions with their 13-mo-old infants. The frequency of these current maternal utterances was then correlated with measures of their infants' productive lexical development at 13 and 24 mo of age. In 19 dyads in which mothers had been employed outside of the home during their infants' 1st 2 yrs, the correlations between the maternal input measures and infant lexical development were significantly lower than those observed in 19 dyads in which the mothers were at home as full-time caregivers during this period of development. The dissociation of this relationship in dyads with mothers employed outside of the home suggests that early maternal input accounts for some of the variance in subsequent infant lexical development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of the Luria-Nebraska Intellectual Processes Scale as a measure of adult intelligence.

Luria-Nebraska Intellectual Processes Scale (IPS) scores were correlated with the 3 WAIS IQs of 33 right-handed psychiatric patients (mean age 41 yrs), and regression equations were computed to obtain estimated Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, and Full Scale IQ using the IPS as the predictor variable. Mean differences between estimated IQs and the WAIS IQs were nonsignificant. There was high agreement with respect to the classification into normal vs subnormal levels of intelligence. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)