The effects of father absence on children's achievement motivation,ego-strength,and locus-of-control orientation: A five-year longitudinal assessment

Predictions of reductions in children's achievement motivation, educational aspirations and interpersonal orientation due to early and prolonged father absence were investigated. To test these predictions, 120 father-present and 120 father-absent male and female children (aged 10 years) were assessed on measures of achievement motivation and related interpersonal orientation scales. A five-year longitudinal follow-up of 85 father-absent and 85 father-present subjects was carried out to assess subjects' later development. A multivariate analysis using a repeated measures design showed that father-absent subjects, compared to father-present subjects, declined in achievement motivation dimensions of competitiveness, desire for mastery, perseverance and willingness to endure negative consequences. They showed a corresponding increase in negative ego-strength dimensions of social alienation and self-centredness. The results indicated that father-absent boys and girls changed differently in psychosocial dimensions over time and father absence had more adverse effects on boys than girls. Educational and developmental implications of the longitudinal analysis are discussed.     

Crawling in and out of sleep

The goal of the study was to examine the link between motor attainments and sleep–wake regulation by comparing the sleep characteristics of infants who are crawling with the sleep of same‐age infants who have not yet acquired the locomotion milestone. The participants were 59 healthy 8‐month‐old infants with no developmental delays, who were recruited through well‐baby clinics and childcare centers. The measurements included objective sleep recordings (actigraphy), sleep questionnaire, and motor milestones checklist. The main finding was that the sleep of crawlers was more fragmented in comparison to the sleep of pre‐crawlers. While the findings of this report give support to the hypothesized link between sleep regulation and motor development, more studies are needed to clarify why crawling might provide a marker of nightwaking. In discussing the results, it is proposed that the association between fragmented sleep and crawling could be related to maturational, constitutional, and relational factors. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.