Parenting stress among dual-earner mothers and fathers: Are there gender differences?

Stress in the parenting role has been found to be related to family functioning and parenting behavior. However, most research in this area has been conducted with clinical samples and has not compared parenting stress of mothers and fathers. In this study, 589 married couples with young children (12 to 60 months old) completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (Abidin, 1990) and measures of child-rearing behaviors and attitudes, social support, and child behavior. The validity of Abidin's measure and theoretical model was tested, and results were mixed. Small effects were found for mothers and fathers, and these were moderated by child age and marital happiness. Stress as a normal consequence of parenting is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing for children: Assessment and the many determinants of intellectual competence.

Schools have a responsibility to each child and to society to match curricula to each child's needs and talents. While cognitive functioning is usually assessed to determine this match, the author presents arguments that motivation and adjustment are equally important determinants of what is termed "intellectual competence." It is felt that the poor learning histories of children labeled disadvantaged are probably due more to motivational insufficiencies and adjustment difficulties than to cognitive insufficiencies. By taking into account the interactive contributions of environments and genotypes to motivation and adjustment, a more accurate, less biased assessment of each child can be directed explicitly to the child's needs. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The early childhood enterprise: Care and education of the young.

Reviews the historical development of early education and childcare in the US and suggests that young children and their families have many unmet needs. Psychology's contributions to the development of early education programs and its role in understanding the influence of these programs on later intellectual and social development are described. It is posited that the changing roles of women and the changing structure of family life have fostered new attitudes toward childcare. Given the fact that single-parent and dual-career families are the majority family forms in the 1980's, it is argued that there needs to be improved coordination among professionals concerned with childcare and education and that there is a need to develop a national policy for young children. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child-care quality and children's social development.

This study examined the influence on children's social development of variation in the quality of their child-care environments. The sample consisted of 166 children attending representative child-care centers that varied widely in quality. Possible relations associated with age, child-care experience, and family background were controlled using hierarchical multiple regression. Both global estimates of child-care quality and specific program features, such as director experience, ratios, and verbal interactions, were obtained from observational measures and staff questionnaires. Measures of social development were derived from parent and caregiver ratings of the children. Of greatest importance is the finding that overall quality, caregiver–child verbal interactions, and director experience were each highly predictive of the children's social development in child care. Family background measures were also significantly predictive of several of the social outcomes, whereas child-care experience showed few significant effects. The implications for social policies and future research in child care are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working mothers and their families.

The topic of maternal employment and its effects on the family is receiving considerable attention as more and more mothers enter the work force when their children are very young. This article reviews the effects of mothers' employment on marital relations, on the development of their children, and on mothers themselves. Research shows that maternal employment per se is not the major issue in either marital relations or child development. Rather, the circumstances of the family, the attitudes and expectations of fathers and mothers, and the distribution of time available have important effects. The needs of working mothers for social supports, such as parental leave, spouse support, child care, and better wages are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactive computer program for the selection of interference fits

A procedure and an interactive computer program that allow the computer-aided selection of standard manufacturing limits for interference fit joints are presented in detail. The mathematical model describing the problem is outlined together with the algorithms developed for its solution. The relative merits of the computer-aided selection compared with existing manual methods are discussed. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed computer program.     

Constructing psychology: Making facts and fables for our times.

Contends, based on a constructionist position on epistemology, that scientific knowledge (and knowledge of all kinds) is a construction of the human mind. Meaning is attributed to sensory data in theoretically guided inventions of "facts." At different times and places, facts invented in one theory become different facts in another. In each generation, psychologists have favored variables that serve loyally within the theoretical boundaries of the scientific wisdom of that time. It is argued that favored variables can blind scientists to other theories and other variables that could compete for favor. What makes theories and facts plausible is examined, and a continuum of persuasion, determined by the contexts of the theorists is proposed. Contemporary research on lead exposure and on parent–child interaction are examined as examples of facts that can become different facts in other theories. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special issue.

Introduces a special issue of American Psychologist in honor of the International Year of the Child. Themes of the issue include the necessity of studying children's behavior in context, the embeddedness of psychology in social-cultural-historical context, the importance of developmental changes across childhood, and the interplay of knowledge and application. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)