Cognitive functioning in 8- to 18-month-old drug-exposed infants.

This study examined the cognitive functioning in 236 infants at 8 and 18 months of age. Thirty-seven infants were heavily exposed to cocaine in-utero, 30 were lightly exposed, and 169 were not exposed to cocaine. Cognitive functioning was evaluated with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (2nd ed.; N. Bayley, 1993) at both ages. Infant information processing was also assessed with an infant-controlled habituation procedure. Results indicated that (a) infants of cocaine-abusing women had higher neonatal medical and environmental risk scores; (b) at 8 months, exposure groups did not differ in Psychomotor Development Index, Mental Development Index (MDI) scores, or recovery to a novel stimulus; and (c) infants heavily exposed to cocaine or high environmental risk had a decrease in MDI scores from 8 to 18 months. These results were obtained when neonatal medical and environmental risk, as well as polydrug exposure, were controlled.

Differences in pride and shame in maltreated and nonmaltreated preschoolers.

This study examined the expression of shame and pride in maltreated and nonmaltreated preschool children. 84 4-5-year-old children and their mothers participated in the study: 42 had a history of child maltreatment and 42 served as matched controls. Children were presented with easy and difficult tasks and their emotional responses of shame and pride were observed. No shame was shown when subjects succeeded on the tasks and no pride was shown when they failed. Maltreating mothers offered more negative feedback, particularly to their daughters, than nonmaltreating mothers. Maltreated girls showed more shame when they failed and less pride when they succeeded than nonmaltreated girls. The relation between differential socialization practices and the self-conscious emotions is explored as it relates to observed gender differences in emotionality and self-concept.

Differences in shame and pride as a function of children's gender and task difficulty.

3-year-old children were presented with easy and difficult tasks and their emotional responses of shame and pride were observed. No shame was shown when subjects succeeded on the tasks and no pride was shown when they failed. Significantly more shame was shown when subjects failed easy tasks than when they failed difficult tasks, and significantly more pride was shown when subjects succeeded on difficult than on easy tasks. While there were no sex differences in task failures, girls showed more shame than boys. There were no sex differences in pride when subjects succeeded.

Attention, play, and social behavior in ADHD preschoolers.

We investigated attention, play and nonplay behavior in preschool children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a matched control group of non-ADHD children. Forty 4- to 5-year-old children (20 ADHD and 20 matched control) participated. Across a 6-week-period, children's social and play interactions as well as nonplay behaviors were videotaped in the classroom. Videotape recordings were analyzed for the level of attention, cognitive play, and social participation. In addition, children's level of attention and cooperative behavior were observed during two group activities. Findings indicated that ADHD, relative to non-ADHD, children engaged in less overall play and greater functional or sensorimotor play. ADHD children also engaged in more transitional behavior, were less competent with peers, and were less attentive and cooperative during group activities.

Effects of dextroamphetamine on the cognitive and social play of a preschooler with ADHD.

This study investigates how deficits in attention and impulse control are reflected in the social and cognitive play of a 4-year-old boy with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. In addition, an A-B-A-B reversal design was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of dextroamphetamine (2.5 mg, twice a day) for treatment of preschool attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The most dramatic effects of medication were observed on the level of sustained attention and the pattern of cognitive play. Sustained attention during play and in a structured group activity improved, and play became more sequentially organized and symbolic. Results are discussed with respect to the following: 1) attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and preschool play; 2) the efficacy of psychostimulant medication; and 3) the adequacy of teacher ratings versus direct observation in measuring medication response.

The child's awareness of adult beliefs concerning the child: The effects of gender and subculture.

Patterns of agreement among mothers' and teachers' beliefs about their children, children's self-beliefs, and children's beliefs about adults' beliefs were investigated among Afro-American inner city matrifocal families. Findings were compared to those previously obtained with Italian-American families. Twenty-four mothers, their 10-12-year-old children, and their children's teachers were administered the Family Belief Interview Schedule assessing adult beliefs about the child and the child's beliefs about adult beliefs. Findings indicated that children were more accurate in predicting teachers' than mothers' beliefs. Among Afro-American children and in the combined Afro-American and Italian-American samples, girls, relative to boys, were more accurate in predicting mothers' beliefs, assumed greater similarity of mothers' beliefs to their own, and assumed greater consistency between mothers' and teachers' beliefs. Among boys, relative to Italian-Americans, Afro-Americans assumed significantly less similarity of mothers' beliefs to their own. These findings are interpreted within a subcultural family socialization framework.

Continuity and change in intrafamilial agreement in beliefs concerning the adolescent: a follow-up study.

In a 2-year follow-up investigation of parent-child agreement in beliefs concerning the child and of the child's awareness of parental beliefs in families with children in transition to early (ages 10-11 to 12-13) and mid-adolescence (ages 15-16 to 17-18), 42 families were reinterviewed with the Family Belief Interview Schedule. Major results indicated that over the follow-up interval: (1) accuracy of the child's prediction of parental beliefs increased sharply between 10-11 and 12-13 but not between 15-16 and 17-18 years; (2) congruence of both mothers' and fathers' beliefs with the child's self-beliefs increased; and (3) between families, overall levels of intrafamilial agreement in belief concerning the child remained remarkably stable. Findings support the notion that changes in adolescents' understanding of their own development and of their changing relationships to parents occur within a framework of overall consistency in level of intrafamilial agreement in belief.