bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE EFFECTS OF MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT ON CHILDREN*
Authors: Wallston Barbara
Published: December 2006

Various effects of maternal employment on infants, preschool children, school age children and adolescents were reviewed. The importance of differential effects according to sex and social class was noted, although many studies by failing to control for these variables may have obscured effects. Adequate substitute care is important in alleviating possible ill effects, and satisfaction of the mother whether or not she works, is crucial in determining effects. Future work should deal more with additional processes which may mediate effects of maternal employment. Neglected mediators which might be studied further include the cultural milieu, maternal characteristics such as achievement motivation and sex‐role typing, and the family interaction process, including the husband's attitude toward the wife's work.
ATTACHMENT AND MOTHER‐INFANT INTERACTION: SOME RESEARCH IMPASSÉ AND A SUGGESTED CHANGE IN ORIENTATION
Authors: Rosenthal Miriam K.
Published: December 2006

This paper suggests that a change in the conceptualization of attachment is required in order to avoid certain research impasses. In particular, problems arising from work on the “stability” of attachment and on the relationship between its various “indices” are discussed. Attachment should be viewed as patterns of interaction between two human beings and not as a “thing” which results from such interactions. It is suggested that regarding it as certain characteristics of person‐child interaction rather than as a “summary‐construct” attributed to a child, may lead to more meaningful investigation of the psychological processes involved in attachment.
DESIGN‐CRITERIA RELATIONSHIPS IN BEHAVIOR THERAPY RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN
Authors: MacDonough Tome S. , McNamara J. Regis
Published: December 2006

Distorted underestimates (Pawlicki, 1970) of the scientific adequacy of behavior therapy research with children has resulted because appropriate design‐criteria relationships were not considered in evaluating studies in this area. Eighty percent of the studies have appropriately incorporated the criteria of control group, baseline, and systematic variation of treatment into their designs. However, even when design‐criteria relationships are considered, a number of criteria have been inadequately controlled for in a large percentage of studies. In fact, the criteria of unbiased observer and follow‐up have, on the average, been controlled for in only 46 per cent of the studies reviewed. If the scientific merit of research in this area is to be accepted, then more attention to tightening controls on these variables is needed.
SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT OF SELECTIVE LANGUAGE LISTENING DEFICIT IN EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED PRE‐SCHOOL CHILDREN *
Authors: Friedlander Bernard Z. , Wetstone Harriet S. , McPeek Donna L.
Published: December 2006

In an automated free‐play T.V. game, normal and disturbed children were‐ allowed to select their preference for either the‐ natural T.V. soundtrack or a soundtrack progressively degraded by addition of regulated noise interference. The normal children decisively rejected the less intelligible soundtrack, hut the disturbed children listened to the less intelligible speech almost as much as to the natural soundtrack. The data suggest that non‐selective listening in the disturbed children indicates a primary dysfunction of receptive language organization, measurable by this technique in objective numerical terms. The discussion considers implications in terms of etiology, systematic evaluation, and further research.
CO‐OPERATIVE CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN INSTITUTIONALISED BOY DYADS
Authors: Bauer Natasa , Krivohlavy Jaro
Published: December 2006

Two groups of boys made a series of 200 decisions in a non‐zero sum game called the Prisoners' Dilemma. The boys in the experimental group were selected from a children's home, and the control group from normal families; institutionalisation was the sole differential dimension.

A stooge played three different pre‐determined strategies against the naive boys. The stooge either replicated, was more benevolent, or more malevolent, than the naive boy. The results showed an overall higher level of co‐operation in the “own home” boys as compared to the “institutionalised” boys, especially when the stooge played a benevolent strategy. Under all strategies, the “institutionalised” boys showed marked resistance to change from competitive to co‐operative choices. They were often unable to cope with a situation when there was a disagreement between the strategic context, and the individual choice of die partner. Also the “institutionalised” boys were less easily taken in than the “own home” boys by the seemingly co‐operative behaviour of the stooge.
CHILD PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY *
Authors: Graham Philip
Published: December 2006

The introduction into child psychiatry of new methods of treatment, especially behaviour modification, drug medication and conjoint family therapy, calls for a re‐appraisal of traditional methods. Psychotherapy bawd on a psychoanalytic theoretical framework needs to be carefully combined with other approaches so that the needs of individual children and their families can lie met. Some examples of such combined therapy, which itself needs careful evaluation, arc given. Al the present time no appropriate training is available in the United Kingdom for psychotherapists (medical or non‐medical) who wish to gain expertise in a variety of approaches. It is suggested that this is an area which clinical psychologists, who up till recently have broadly contented themselves with a diagnostic role, might well wish to develop as part of their own professional discipline.
THE INCREASE AND CONTROL OF VERBAL SIGNALS IN THE BLADDER TRAINING OF A SEVENTEEN MONTH OLD CHILD—A CASE STUDY *
Authors: Brown R. Michael , Brown Norma L.
Published: December 2006

This investigation attempted to increase the frequency and accuracy of verbal signaling prior to urination in a young child. The child was a seventeen month old female whose signalling behavior was observed to be intermittent and inconsistent. Operant procedures were introduced by the parents that consisted of reinforcing signalling and signalled urinations with candy and praise. When the reinforcing contingencies were present, signal frequency and accuracy increased above baseline level. The withdrawal of the reinforcers resulted in a rapid decline in responding and reinstatement of reinforcement was accompanied by an increase in signal frequency and accuracy above baseline. These findings indicate that under conditions of contingent reinforcement, the child withheld urination until she had signalled and was placed on her potty chair. It is suggested that parents can increase the efficiency of toilet training when the appropriate procedures are used.
CRISIS INTERVENTION GUIDED BY ATTACHMENT CONCEPTS—A CASE STUDY
Authors: Heard D. H.
Published: December 2006

Caplan's concepts of crisis and crisis intervention arc summarized and compared with Parkes' concept of psychosocial transition, which embodies attachment concepts (Bowlby) and an elaboration of Cantril's concept of the Assumptive Form World.

This latter concept, taken further is presented as a metaphor in which to discuss events, experiences and behaviour commonly seen in crisis situations.

The case study of a suicide bid by a young adolescent boy, illustrates the way attachment concepts, expressed through the metaphor of personal assumptive worlds, may be used to guide intervention in crisis situations in child and adolescent psychiatry.
SKELETAL IMMATURITY IN PSYCHIATRICALLY DISTURBED ADOLESCENTS
Authors: Littlemore Doreen , Metcalfe Maryse , Johnson Anthony L.
Published: December 2006

One‐hundred and thirty‐two adolescents suffering from severe psychiatric disturbance were examined, and their skeletal maturity was assessed from an X‐ray of their left hand and wrist. The skeletal maturity of this group was compared with standards set out by Tanner, Whitehouse and Healy. The comparison indicated that after the age of fourteen there was a lag in the maturity of the psychiatrically disturbed group. The significance of these results is discussed.
THE COMPONENTS OF “AFFECTIONLESS PSYCHOPATHY” IN INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILDREN
Authors: Wolkind S. N.
Published: December 2006

Classical “affectionless psychopathy” of institutionalization is no longer a commonly found syndrome in residential care. The individual clinical features which make up the syndrome, however, are each described as occurring very commonly. A psychiatric study of a group of children in long stay residential care suggests that the main features of the syndrome have a different aetiology. Antisocial behaviour is found to relate to aspects in the child's family, and relationship difficulties to an early admission to care. The implications of these findings are discussed.
EMOTIONAL AND MEDICAL FACTORS IN CHILD DENTAL ANXIETY
Authors: Sermet O.
Published: December 2006

This paper reports part of an investigation into the aetiology of child dental anxiety, and in particular considers the role of emotional and medical factors in this respect.

One hundred dentally anxious children and 100 dentally non‐anxious children were seen and information about them obtained through a semi‐structured interview with the mother and by her completion of Rutter's Child Scale A Questionnaire.

The results showed significant differences between the two groups of children in their emotional disorders and their medical experiences.
47, XYY CHROMOSOME CONSTITUTION, PHYSICAL GROWTH AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTURBANCE–A CASE STUDY
Authors: Field Michael A. S. , Faed Michael J. W.
Published: December 2006

A case is presented in which a multiplicity of factors, among them an XYY chromosome constitution, may have contributed to disturbed behaviour. These factors were inter‐related and included rate of growth, emotional immaturity, school difficulties and family illness. Social responses to the patient's appearance and behaviour made management difficult. This situation has responded in part to psychiatric and social intervention.
PREVALENCE OF BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS IN 3‐YEAR‐OLD CHILDREN: AN EP1DEMIOLOGICAL STUDY IN A LONDON BOROUGH
Authors: Richman N. , Stevenson J. E. , Graham P. J.
Published: December 2006

Summary In an epidemiological study of the behaviour of a 1 in 4 sample of 3‐year‐old children living in a North London Borough, it was found that 7 per cent had a behaviour problem winch was moderate or severe. A further 15 per cent had mild behaviour problems. There were no significant social class differences. Boys were significantly more likely to be overactive, to be wetting at night and during the day, to be soiling and to have relapsed in sphincter control after a period of being clean or dry. Girls were more likely to be fearful: there were no other sex differences in the frequency of problem behaviour.
ASPECTS OF DEPENDENCE‐INDEPENDENCE CONFLICT IN CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA
Authors: Williams John S.
Published: December 2006

The study set out to verify by the experimental method several hypotheses arising out of the analytic Literature concerning the dynamics of the asthmatic child.

Two groups of asthmatic children, differing in severity, were matched and compared with two control groups, one normal and the other with chronic chest disease. The asthmatic and normal children were drawn from random samples of the 10‐yr‐old population within the Melbourne (Australia) Metropolitan Area. The asthmatic children demonstrated an excessive dependence‐independence conflict with an intensive mother‐child bond and core anxiety around the threat of separation. Under such a threat “claustral” themes were more predominant. It was tentatively concluded that this complex of variables was specific to asthma.
THE INTERPRETATION OF CONSERVATION INSTRUCTIONS BY FIVE‐YEAR‐OLD CHILDREN
Authors: Russell James
Published: December 2006

This paper presents an attempt to test Piaget's notion that the child's language reflects his cognitive level, by examining how five‐year‐olds interpret the conservation expression “same amount of room” and then attempting to re‐educate their semantics. Interpretations were generally in terms of height or shape, depending on whether children produced or selected the comparison, implying that failure at the classic conservation task is due to misinterpretation of the instruction rather than to witnessing the perceptual transformation. Correct interpretations were common when neither shape nor height variables were perceptually salient. Semantic re‐education corrected “shape” but not “height” interpretations, implying that failure to conserve is not a purely semantic failure.
ON DESCRIBING RELATIONSHIPS*
Authors: Hinde Robert A.
Published: December 2006

Summary (1) The study of inter‐individual relationships requires a descriptive basis. Description, however, must be guided with respect to the ultimate goals of the investigator‐understanding the dynamics of relationships, prognosis, specification of necessary conditions, etc.(2) The nature of inter‐individual relationships, how they can be described, and the nature of their stability, are discussed briefly.(3) The following aspects of relationships are discussed: (i) Content of the component interactions; (ii) Diversity of interactions; (iii) Reciprocity vs Complementarity: Control and Power; (iv) Qualities of component interactions; (v) Relative frequency and patterning of interactions; (vi) Multidimensional qualities; (vii) Cognitive and moral levels: Levels of perspective; (viii) Penetration.
EYEBROW‐RAISING, EYE WIDENING AND VISUAL SEARCH IN NURSERY SCHOOL CHILDREN
Authors: Wheldall Kevin , Mittler Peter
Published: December 2006

Summary Small groups of nursery school children were videotaped listening to a story during the course of which they were exposed to the sound of a loud horn hidden from view. It was hypothesised that this would elicit eyebrow‐raising but this was not confirmed. However, a number of children displayed an eye widening response. The results are interpreted in terms of previous research and theory regarding the function of brow‐raising/eye widening in terms of searching behaviour.
AN OBSERVATION SCHEME FOR RECORDINGCHILDREN'S IMAGINATIVE DOLL PLAY
Authors: Jeffree Dorothy M. , McConkey Roy
Published: December 2006

Summary A methodology for recording and quantifying children's imaginative doll play was evaluated with a group of 10 normal children, aged 18–42 months and a group of 9 ESNS children, aged 57–103 months. With both groups there was high inter‐rater reliability and the measures used to quantify the play showed an expected positive correlation with Developmental Age. Furthermore the measures were sensitive to changes in the play brought about by different play materials and experimenter modelled doll play.
A NOTE ON THE EATING BEHAVIOUR OF CHILDREN VARYING IN WEIGHT
Authors: Marston A. R. , London P. , Cooper L. M.
Published: December 2006

Summary Eight pairs of six to fourteen year old children, one member obese and one nonobese (matched on age group, sex, and number of children eating together), were observed unobtrusively as they ate lunch in a school cafeteria. A pattern of eating found in obese adults (faster rate of biting, less chewing, and more extraneous responses during eating) was found in similar form in these mildly obese children. The results were discussed in terms of early onset of behaviour patterns relevant for the prevention and treatment of obesity.
GANG CHARACTERISTICS: AN EMPIRICAL SURVEY
Authors: O'Hangan F. J.
Published: December 2006

This research report is concerned with the organization of delinquent gangs, the stains of individuals within the gang, junior groups associated with the dominant gang and the activities of the members themselves. It suggests that a broadly based approach to the various theoretical models of delinquent subcultures is essential as no single model explains the wide variety of delinquent groupings which can exist in a large urban area.
CONTEXT AND THE EXPRESSED ETHNIC PREFERENCES OF INFANT SCHOOL CHILDREN
Authors: Madge Nicola J. H.
Published: December 2006

Forty‐four children–white and black, boys and girls–from the top classes of a London multi‐racial infants’school were given several tests designed to reveal racial awareness and racial preferences. Ii was Found that the children were aware of ethnic differences but that the extent and direction of their expressed ethnic preferences were strongly influenced by that situational contest and by the competing variables upon which their choices of figures could alternatively be based.
AMITRIPTYLINE AND METHYLPHENIDATE TREATMENT OF BEHAVIORALLY DISORDERED CHILDREN
Authors: Yepes L. E. , Balka Elinor B. , Winsberg Bertrand G. , Bialer Irv
Published: December 2006

A controlled investigation was conducted to assess the relative effectiveness of amitriptyline and methylphenidate for treating hyperactive/aggressive behavior in children originally referred to a learning clinic. Behavioral change was measured through parent and teacher ratings. Drug effects on attention, short term memory, and impulsivity were evaluated with laboratory tasks. It was found that both drugs were largely comparable in attenuating hyperactivity and aggression. Of the laboratory measures, only attention was improved by both drugs. However, neither medication interfered with functioning on the other laboratory tests. With the exception of and trip by line‐induced sedation, side effects were of minor degree. Findings raised questions concerning measuring and improving attentiveness. Differences between results of this and other studies were discussed, as were issues regarding pharmacotherapy with amitriptyline in children.
ASSESSMENT OF CHILDHOOD GENDER BEHAVIOR CHANGE*
Authors: Rekers George A. , Willis Thomas J. , Yates Cindy E. , Rosen Alexander C. , Low Benson P.
Published: December 2006

Behavioral assessment and diagnostic testing procedures were developed to evaluate the treatment of an 8‐yr‐old boy with a pronounced gender disturbance. When a combined response‐cost and verbal prompt contingency was applied, the single target mannerism of limping‐the‐wrist markedly decreased and response generalization of the treatment effect occurred to other mannerisms. Behavior therapy procedures successfully suppressed feminine voice inflections, doll‐play, and predominant play with girls, and increased masculine play. The treatment effects were replicated in a multiple‐baseline intrasubject design. The 2‐yr independent follow‐up found a marked shift to normal gender‐role adjustment.
ALTERNATION AND SEQUENCING BEHAVIOUR, AND RESPONSE TO NOVELTY IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN
Authors: Boucher Jill
Published: December 2006

A group of relatively able autistic children were compared with controls paired with the experimental subjects for sex, age, and nonverbal ability in a test of alternation and sequencing behaviour, and response to novelty. The autistic children showed reduced alternation and response to novelty. Their sequences also showed a tendency to follow strict rules at all ages and ability levels, which was not the case in the control group, and rulebound sequencing correlated negatively with response to novelty by the autistic children, which, again, was not the case in the control group. Results are discussed primarily in relation to the possibility of perseveration as a fundamental disturbance in autism. The potential relevance of the findings to hypotheses concerning the neuropathology of autism was also discussed.
DISTURBANCE OF ATTENTION AMONG SCHIZOPHRENIC, DEPRESSED AND WELL MOTHERS AND THEIR YOUNG CHILDREN
Authors: Cohler Bertram J. , Grunebaum Henry U. , Weiss Justin L. , Gamer Enid , Gallant David H.
Published: December 2006

Comparing two groups of psychotic mothers (schizophrenic, depressed), and well mothers and their children aged 5–6 on the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) and Continuous Performance Test (CPT), these attention measures were less inter‐correlated within the depressed group. Partialling both mother and child I.Q., there were no significant intergenerational relationships within any of the three diagnostic groups. Although schizophrenic mothers performed less well than mothers in the two other groups on the EFT, children of depressed mothers showed the greatest impairment in intelligence, and, covarying for intelligence, greater impairment than children in either of the two other groups on the EFT.
A REVIEW OF STIMULANT DRUG RESEARCH WITH HYPERACTIVE CHILDREN
Authors: Barkley Russell A.
Published: December 2006

A number of studies using stimulant drugs with hyperactive children are reviewed. Results indicated that most children are judged as improved on the drugs while a small percentage are not. Although most side effects are transitory, suppressed weight and height gain may remain problematic throughout treatment. The drugs appear to energize the central nervous system of these children while increasing their ability to concentrate without responding impulsively. Changes in other abilities are occasionally observed but appear to result from improvement in attentional processes. In contrast, follow‐up studies find the long‐term psycho‐social adjustment of these children to be essentially unaffected by stimulant drug treatment.
SYMBOLIC PLAY IN SEVERELY MENTALLY RETARDED AND IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN
Authors: Wing Lorna , Gould Judith , Yeates Sybil R. , Brierly Lorna M.
Published: December 2006

Children aged 3–14 on one census day, known to the services for severe mental retardation, or having items of behaviour found in early childhood autism, were identified from the Camberwell register. The children can be divided into 3 groups: (a) 42 with no symbolic play; (b) 23 with stereotyped, repetitive, copying play, (c) 43 who have flexible, varied symbolic play. The last occurs only in children with language comprehension age above the 19 month level, and is seen in less than half of the school‐age severely retarded children.

The majority of children with no symbolic play, or with stereotyped play, have marked autistic features or the full autistic syndrome. Only 2 of those with true symbolic play have any behaviour like that found in autism and none has the full syndrome. A small group of children with “repetitive” speech and stereotyped play is identified and the relationship with childhood autism is considered.

The educational implications of the findings are discussed.
WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN “IN CARE”‐PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL STATUS DURING PREGNANCY
Authors: Wolkind S.N.
Published: December 2006

In a sample of British born primiparous women attending an ante‐natal dink 7% were found to have been admitted to the residential care of a local authority for at least one month. The group admitted were found to be more likely to be teenagers and unmarried, have poor housing conditions and to have moved into the district served by the clinic. They had a higher score on a “malaise” inventory and were more likely to describe their health as having deteriorated during the pregnancy. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
CONDITIONAL MATCHING LEARNING SET PERFORMANCE IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN
Authors: Prior Margot R.
Published: December 2006

The performance of a group of autistic children in a conditional matching learning set task was shown to be significantly inferior to that of groups of normal and retarded children matched for mental age. This task involves the use of conditional cues for correct solution of the problems and it is suggested that autistic children suffer from a particular cognitive deficit which is exposed in their inability in this task to make use of symbolic information.
CHILDREN'S KNOWLEDGE OF LEFT AND RIGHT: RESEARCH NOTE
Authors: Irwin R. J. , Newland Jacqueline K.
Published: December 2006

Children's knowledge of left and right was compared with their knowledge of up and down by asking them to state in which direction the black half of a circle was facing: up, clown, left, or right. For 27 boys between 6J and 11 years, the percentage of correct identifications of up and down exceeded the percentage correct of left and right, especially for the younger children. This result was also found for eight other boys who were poor readers but of normal intelligence. The poor readers did not differ from the normal readers in their ability to tell left from right or up from down, although, if an error were made, the poor readers were more likely than the normal readers to make a mirror‐image error.
INFANTILE AUTISM: A GENETIC STUDY OF 21 TWIN PAIRS
Authors: Folstein Susan , Rutter Michael
Published: December 2006

A systematic study was made of a representative group of 21 same‐sexed twin pairs (11 MZ and 10 DZ) in which at least one twin showed the syndrome of infantile autism. There was a 36 per cent pair‐wise concordance rate for autism in MZ pairs compared with o per cent concordance in DZ pairs. The concordance for cognitive abnormalities was 82 per cent in MZ pairs and 10 per cent in DZ pairs. It was concluded that there were important hereditary influences concerning a cognitive deficit which included but was not restricted to autism. In 12 out of 17 pairs discordant for autism, the presence of autism was associated with a biological hazard liable to cause brain damage. It was concluded that brain injury in the infancy period may lead to autism on its own or in combination with a genetic predisposition. Uncertainty remains on both the mode of inheritance and exactly what is inherited.
RESPONSES TO READING AS PERCEIVED BY BOYS WITH AND WITHOUT SPECIFIC READING RETARDATION AND BEHAVIOURAL DISORDERS: A REPERTORY GRID STUDY
Authors: Ryle Anthony , MacDonald Janet
Published: December 2006

A sample of 16 boys, with specific reading retardation and behavioural disorders, was compared with a sample of 16 boys without these problems, using a form of repertory grid testing. Problem boys saw less positive responses to reading from self, adult and peer‐group figures; their own judgements of their behaviours were closer to the peer‐groups', and further from those of adult figures, than was the case with controls; but they did not see any greater discrepancy between the judgements of adults and peer‐group figures, nor between the judgements of parents and teachers, than did control boys. Lesser identification with adult values may contribute to the cause and persistence of reading and behavioural difficulties.
A NOTE ON A RAPID RETRIEVAL FILING SYSTEM FOR CHILD PSYCHIATRY AND RELATED DISCIPLINES
Authors: Rivinus T. M. , Gutheil Thomas G.
Published: December 2006

A method for obtaining, filing and rapid retrieval of the literature of the specialties of child psychiatry and related fields of child development, child neurology, child psychology and education is described. A filing index is suggested as a model for those building a library in these fields. We believe that the active use of a topic filing system breeds a working familiarity with the literature more valuable than random reading. To “read it when you need it” is far more useful than to officiate at the live burial of a good paper in the intact journal whose month has come and gone.
CHILDREN'S VIGILANCE PERFORMANCE AND INATTENTIVENESS IN THE CLASSROOM
Authors: Kupietz Samuel S. , Richardson Ellis
Published: December 2006

The current study was conducted in order to test the hypothesis that vigilance performance is related to children's attentiveness in a classroom setting. Sixteen children were administered an auditory and visual vigilance task, and their performance related to their “off‐task” behavior in the classroom. In addition, the relationship of vigilance performance to teacher ratings of the children's behavior, and to reading achievement scores was also assessed. Vigilance errors (omission and commission errors) were significantly positively correlated with off‐task behavior, but were only weakly correlated with the other two variables. The findings support the general hypothesis that vigilance performance relates to a child's ability to remain attentive in the classroom.
ECHOIC MEMORY CAPACITY IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN
Authors: Boucher Jill
Published: December 2006

Capacity of echoic memory, or recency effect capacity, was assessed in a group of relatively able autistic children and normal age‐matched controls. Capacity was found to be the same for both groups and echoic memory may therefore be said to represent a peak ability in more able autistic children. This finding is discussed in relation to another known peak ability, namely the digit span and in relation to echoic and non‐echoic components of autistic children's free recall scores.
CRITICAL NOTICE
Authors: Rutter Michael
Published: December 2006

The Psychology of Sex Differences. Eleanor Emmons Maccoby and Carol Nagy Jacklin.
LONG TERM EFFECTS OF EARLY INSTITUTIONAL CARE: A PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDY
Authors: Bohman Michael , Sigvardsson Söuren
Published: December 2006

The aim of this prospective, longitudinal study has been to investigate the possible long‐term effects of early institutional care. The proband series consists of 579 children whose mothers had registered them for adoption. About two‐thirds had been in infants’ homes from soon after birth up to the age of twelve months. At the age of 15 there were no significant differences between those who had been cared for and those who had not been cared for in infants’homes concerning their adjustment or performance at school.

An analysis of the relation between length of stay in an institution and school‐performance or adjustment showed no association among children who had been restored to their biological mothers. On the other hand those children who had been subsequently placed in an adoptive or foster home had slightly lower performance or were less well adjusted if they had stayed in a home for more than six months before placement. It is conceivable that these contradictory findings reflect selective factors in the placement of children who went to non‐biological homes.
PRE‐. PERI‐, AND NEONATAL FACTORS AND INFANTILE AUTISM
Authors: Finegan Jo‐Anne , Quarrington Bruce
Published: December 2006

Unfavourable pre‐, peri‐ and neonatal events in the birth records of autistic children were examined. The rate of those factors was compared with the expected rate in the general population and the rate in their non‐autistic siblings. Several potentially neuropathogenic factors occurred at a significantly high rate in the autistic group, including breech delivery, the presence of amniotic meconium, low birth weight, low Apgar score, elevated serum bilirubin, haemolytic disease and Respiratory Distress Syndrome. The autistic children had significantly more unfavourable factors than did their siblings. The study supports the findings of investigations which concluded that autistic children have suffered a high rate of obstetrical events which may have caused brain damage.
SELF‐BLAME AND COMMUNICATION FAILURE IN RETARDED ADOLESCENTS
Authors: Beveridge Michael , Spencer Jenny , Mittler Peter
Published: December 2006

This study identities a group of severely retarded adolescents who make little use of their relatively high level of linguistic ability in the initiation of social interactions.

This group are then compared to a similar group, who do initiate more frequently, on an experimental measure of self‐blaming for communication failure. No differences were found between the two groups in respect of frequency with which they blamed themselves; however, the low interacting group did improve the clarity of their communicative messages in the failure condition.
RECORDING CHILDREN'S CONVERSATIONS AT HOME AND AT NURSERY SCHOOL: A TECHNIQUE AND SOME METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Authors: Hughes Martin , Carmichael Helen , Pinkerton Gill , Tizard Barbara
Published: December 2006

A technique is described for radio‐recording adult‐child conversations at home and at nursery school, with an observer present to record the context. It was found that the amount of adult‐child talk at school varied systematically over the four days, with the least amount of talk on the first day. At home there were no effects in the amount or kind of mother‐child talk due to either order of visits or time of day. Observer‐related behaviour was greatest in both settings on the first day.
A TEACHER'S QUESTIONNAIRE FOR INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Authors: Roper R. , Hinde R. A.
Published: December 2006

A questionnaire suitable for completion by teachers of nursery school children is described. Evidence is presented for the reliability of the instrument and its validity is assessed by some comparisons with contemporaneous direct observation of the children. Principal component analyses of the questionnaire data and of the observational measures reveal differences in factor structure. It is concluded that although agreement between observation and questionnaire on many individual items is high, the teachers used an implicit personality theory when completing the questionnaire which does not correspond with the structure revealed by direct observation, but does correspond with that of other raters.
PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS FOR THEIR EPILEPTIC CHILDREN
Authors: Long Clive G. , Moore John R.
Published: December 2006

Parental expectations for their epileptic children were compared with those held for their non‐epileptic children. Parents were found to be less optimistic about their epileptic child's future achievements. These findings were linked with greater restrictiveness on the parents’ part, and the epileptic child's lower self‐esteem and academic achievement. The disparity between parent and teacher ratings of behaviour was discussed.
SCHIZOID PERSONALITY IN CHILDHOOD: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SCHIZOID, AUTISTIC AND NORMAL CHILDREN
Authors: Wolff Sula , Barlow Anne
Published: December 2006

Schizoid children (clinically resembling Asperger's autistic psychopaths), high‐grade, speaking autistic children and normal children individually matched for age, sex and intelligence were compared on a variety of tests.

The results suggest that children with schizoid personality disorder are distinct from autistic children on the one hand and from normal children on the other. In all cognitive, language and memory tests the schizoid children were more distractable than, the normal group. In language function they showed similar disabilities to the autistic group, though to a lesser extent. Unlike autistic children, they were not perseverative. On two tests of affect, the schizoid group used even fewer emotional constructs when describing people than did the autistics.
HYPERACTIVITY, IMPULSIVITY AND REFLECTIVITY AN EXAMINATION OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY
Authors: Sergeant J. A. , Van Velthoven R. , Virginia A.
Published: December 2006

By employing groups of subjects classified by the MFF test and groups of subjects concordantly judged by two independent sources to exhibit symptoms of hyperactivity, an evaluation was made between perceived hyperactivity and the dimension impulsivity‐reflectivity. No significant relationship was found. Direct observational variables scored by observers blind to the group identity of subjects gave substantial support to the group structure derived from behavioural ratings but had only a moderate relationship with specific perceived symptoms. The necessity for developing a valid and reliable instrumentation in hyperactivity research is indicated.
A CRITICAL NOTE ON THE PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF “THE HYPERKINETIC SYNDROME”
Authors: Shaffer David , Greenhill Laurence
Published: December 2006

It is argued that the diagnosis of “Hyperactivity Syndrome” tells little about aetiology and does not permit generalizations to be made about clinical state. Its usefulness in predicting response to drug or other forms of treatment has yet to be demonstrated. A series of follow‐up studies have been reviewed in order to determine whether a diagnosis of hyperactivity syndrome will allow predictions to be made about natural history. The literature reveals widely differing outcome in different samples. It may be that this inconsistency simply reflects methodological variation between the studies. However, it can also be taken that the lack of consistency further weakens the validity or clinical usefulness of this diagnostic concept.
THE CLASSIFICATION AND CORRELATES OF CHILDREN'S ACADEMIC AND RECREATIONAL INTERESTS
Authors: Nias David K. B.
Published: December 2006

Hobbies, school subjects, TV programmes, reading topics and sports were rated for degree of interest by 1152 school children, aged 12–16 years. Twelve factors concerned with specific areas, such as entertainment and academic matters, were obtained by principal component methods. Except for obvious links, such as interest in sport with ability, the factors were relatively independent of such other variables as personality and social class. Apart from indicating that interests constitute a source of information not covered by personality scales, this evidence implies that the acquisition of a particular interest is largely a matter of chance.
QUESTIONNAIRES FOR MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERAMENT IN ONE‐ AND TWO‐YEAR‐OLD CHILDREN: DEVELOPMENT AND STANDARDIZATION
Authors: Persson‐Blennow Inger , Mcneil Thomas F.
Published: December 2006

Parental questionnaires were developed for measurement of temperament in one‐ and two‐year‐old children. Nine temperament dimensions, previously studied in the New York Longitudinal Study, were represented here by questions concerning the children's actual behavior in everyday activities and specified situations. The questionnaires consist of 55 and 50 questions, respectively, and each takes approximately 15 minutes to complete and five minutes to sore. With a few exceptions, test‐retest reliabilities were found to be generally satisfactory. A representative sample of children originally chosen from Swedish Well‐Baby clinics constituted the standardization sample and was studied at about one year of age (N= 151) and at about two years of age (N= 149), For both questionnaires, the sample's scores on the variables showed acceptable ranges and distributions, providing good differentiation among individual children with respect to temperament characteristics. At one year, only one statistically significant sex difference was found among the nine variables, girls being less Adaptable than boys. No significant differences in temperament were found between the sexes at two years of age.
BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN PRE‐SCHOOL CHILDREN OF WEST INDIAN‐BORN PARENTS: A RE‐EXAMINATION OF FAMILY AND SOCIAL FACTORS
Authors: Earls Felton , Richman Naomi
Published: December 2006

A one‐year follow‐up of 48 pre‐school children of West Indian‐born parents was carried out to examine in greater detail the pattern of behavior problems occurring in these children, and family and social characteristics of their home environments that might be associated with the presence of behavior problems. A comparison group of children of British‐born parents drawn from the same sampling frame representing the general population of a single outer London borough, was matched for social class and proximity of residence within the borough.

The findings indicate that the prevalence and pattern of behavior problems, and their associated social and familial characteristics, are similar in the two ethnic groups. The global rating of severity of behavior adjustment suggests that behavior problems may be more frequent as well as more severe for the children of British‐born parents. That this may be a reflection of cultural bias or differences in family organization is discussed.
AN OBSERVATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CHANGE IN TWO GROUPS OF BEHAVIOURALLY DISTURBED BOYS
Authors: Abramovitch Rona , Konstantareas Mary , Sloman Leon
Published: December 2006

Two groups of 5–7‐year‐old behaviourally disturbed boys involved in a group therapy programme were observed on several occasions near the beginning and near the end of the programme. Observers recorded occurrences of aggressive, prosocial and imitative behaviours. In both groups and for all but one individual the ratio of prosocial to aggressive behaviours increased over the two observation periods. The rate of imitation remained stable. It is suggested that observational techniques may be quite useful in assessing the effectiveness of therapy in promoting changes in social behaviour and social process.
IMPACT OF HAEMOPHILIA ON CHILD‐REARING PRACTICES AND PARENTAL CO‐OPERATION
Authors: Markova Ivana , Macdonald Kathleen , Forbes C.
Published: December 2006

The parents of eight 3–5‐yr‐old haemophilic boys and of eight 3–5‐yr‐old non‐haemophilic boys were interviewed on their child‐rearing practices and on various aspects of their Family life. The parents of eight 8–13‐yr‐old haemophilic boys were also interviewed on these issues and the parents of all 16 haemophilic boys were interviewed on a number of questions related to their sons' disease. Significant differences with respect to child‐rearing and parental co‐operation were found between haemophilic and non‐haemophilic families generally and within families with different degrees of the severity of haemophilia in particular. The mothers of the haemophilic boys were more anxious with respect to their sons' absence and schooling. More advice and counselling on genetic and non‐medical factors related to haemophilia is required for parents at an early stage of child development.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT AMONG PEDIATRIC CANCER SURVIVORS
Authors: Koocher Gerald P. , O'Malley John E. , Gogan Janis L. , Foster Diana J.
Published: December 2006

A significant number of children who survive pediatric cancer experience residual psychosocial sequelae. The most noteworthy of these include residual depression, anxiety, and poor self‐esteem. As a group, those patients who have the most difficulty in psychosocial adjustment also have less effective socialization and self‐help skills and less effective intellectual functioning than do those patients who have “Good Adjustment”. The developmental disruptions engendered by cancer treatment seem more marked and persistent when occurring in middle childhood or adolescence as opposed to during infancy. As one gets further in time from the onset of the illness, one is less likely to suffer psychosocial adjustment problems (assuming that a disease‐free remission state exists and that active treatment is no longer in progress). A number of important factors remain to be explored, including psychosocial adjustment as a function of residual physical disfigurement, mobility handicaps, and similar potential blows to a patient's sell‐esteem.
TEACHERS' RESPONSES TO SEVERELY MENTALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN'S INITIATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM
Authors: Beveridge Michael , Hurrell Pauline
Published: December 2006

This study investigates teachers' responses to initiations of interaction by severely mentally handicapped children who were rated as extremely excitable or inhibitable. The teachers' responses were categorised according to whether they maintained the interaction, expanded the ideational content of the child's initiation, and whether they did so verbally or non‐verbally. Results showed that teachers maintained significantly less initiations than they non‐maintained. Furthermore, the type of response given by the teachers was related to the child's being excitable or inhibitable as well as to the teacher's own personality as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory.
PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER IN THE PARENTS OF HYPERACTIVE BOYS AND THOSE WITH CONDUCT DISORDER
Authors: Stewart Mark A. , Susan deBlois C. , Cummings Claudette
Published: December 2006

Psychiatric diagnoses were made on parents of 126 boys attending a child psychiatric clink with information from structured interviews. Antisocial personality and alcoholism were commoner in natural fathers of aggressive, antisocial boys than in fathers of the remaining boys but the prevalence of these disorders did not distinguish fathers of hyperactive boys from fathers of those who were not hyperactive. The failure to find any association between parental disorder and hyperactivity argues against the specificity of the relationships between hyperactivity in children and alcoholism, antisocial personality and hysteria in their relatives which were discovered in earlier family studies.
HYPERKINETIC AND CONDUCT PROBLEM CHILDREN IN A PRIMARY SCHOOL POPULATION: SOME EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Authors: Sandberg Seija T. , Wieselberg Michael , Shaffer David
Published: December 2006

An epidemiological survey designed to investigate the possible causal influence of biological and psychological factors on hyperactivity and conduct disturbance among 226 primary school boys is provided. The background variables investigated were: adverse perinatal events, neurodevelopmental abnormalities, minor physical anomalies and a combination of psychosocial disadvantage factors. Hyperactivity and conduct disturbance were measured by parent and teacher questionnaires, the disturbed groups being taken as the top 10 per cent. Teachers and parents largely identified separate children as disturbed. The teacher questionnaires failed to distinguish between the two conditions but disturbance was significantly related to high social disadvantage. The parent questionnaire distinguished the two groups better and disturbance of either kind was markedly associated with maternal mental distress, and this far outweighed the contribution of any other background variable.
THE PERFORMANCE OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN ON THREE LEARNING SET TASKS
Authors: Prior Margot , McGillivray Jane
Published: December 2006

Learning set, matching learning set and conditional matching learning set tasks were presented to matched groups of autistic, retarded and normal children. The majority of autistic children were able to solve these problems and to acquire set and their performance was similar to that of MA matched controls. It is suggested that (a) performance was directly related to developmental level rather than to autism per se, (b) that learning was enhanced by the use of concrete stimuli since conditional cues were successfully used here, in contrast to failure in an earlier experiment using abstract cues, and (c) overselectivity was not characteristic of the performance of these autistic children.
THE OVERLAP BETWEEN HYPERACTIVE AND UNSOCIALIZED AGGRESSIVE CHILDREN
Authors: Stewart Mark A. , Cummings Claudette , Singer Sandra , DeBlois C. Susan
Published: December 2006

Data were collected on 175 admissions to a child psychiatry clinic, primarily through interviews with mothers, Forty‐nine per cent of the children were diagnosed as hyperactive and 46 per cent as unsocialized aggressive; 34 per cert had both disorders. Comparisons were made between the children who were hyperactive only, unsocialized aggressive only, hyperactive and unsocialized aggressive, and those with other diagnoses, on behavioral Males which were derived from the interview data but were relatively independent of the diagnostic criteria. On the scales of antisocial behaviour, egocentricity and reactivity, hyperactive and unsocialized aggressive children resembled those who were only unsocialized aggressive more than those who were only hyperactive. These results support earlier critisms of a broadly defined syndrome of hyperactivity. However, evidence was also found for a more specific hyperactive syndrome such as that proposed by Sandberg, Rutter and Taylor (1978).
RESEARCH NOTE: INTERACTION IN THE FAMILIES OF EPILEPTIC CHILDREN
Authors: Ritchie Karen
Published: December 2006

The study describes on‐going family interaction patterns in 15 epileptic‐ member and 15 control families with a view to isolating differences which may be responsible for behaviour disorders in epileptic children. Categorisation of the speeches of family tetrads in a problem‐solving situation revealed that epileptic ‐member families tended towards an autocractic matriarchal structure which is more efficient in problem‐solving. The epileptic child was found to withdraw from family interaction. That form of organisation would appear to equip the family with a more secure structure to meet the family crisis while simultaneously meeting the dependency needs of the “sick” child. However, the relationship between this type of functioning and disturbed behaviour leads to speculation as to the long‐term effects of such coping strategies.