Teenage parenting and child development: a literature review

Research on teenage parenting together with medical and behavioral research related to child development is reviewed in an effort to determine causal factors related to reported developmental deficits among children of teenage parents. 4 general conclusions are suggested: 1) several researchers agree that children of teenage parents show poor social and intellectual competence when compared with children on non-teen parents. However, the amount of sound empirical data to support this view is minimal. For example, there are few published studies of the longterm effects of teenage parenting or of actual behavioral interactions of teenage mothers and their children. 2) It is unlikely that research along the lines of the "continuum of reproductive casualty" will lead to identification of causal factors sufficient to account for developmental deficits in children of teenage mothers. 3) Research along the lines of "the continuum of caretaking casualty" suggest numerous behavioral and environmental variables that may be related to the development of children of teenage mothers. 4) Research designs applied to the study of teenage parenting must shift from linear models to complex multivariate models that permit simultaneous analysis of organismic, environmental, and behavioral determinants of development. Finally, mental health specialists, government agencies, and researchers alike, must be willing to entertain the hypothesis that much of our knowledge of the childrearing skills of teenage mothers is based on myth rather than empirical fact. 1 such myth may be that below 19 years of age, maternal age in and of itself is an important determinant of infant development and parent-infant interaction. Poor social-economic status, family support systems, marital stability, nutrition and prenatal care may be far more important determinants of development for these children than the age of their mothers.     

INVOLVING INSTITUTIONAL STAFF IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF SIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS WITH PROFOUNDLY RETARDED PERSONS

A program to involve institutional staff in developing manual sign language skills with profoundly retarded persons was evaluated. In Experiment 1, six direct care staff, with close supervision, taught a small repertoire of signs to six profoundly retarded residents who had not benefited from previous training in vocal language. Training was conducted in a group format using instructions, modeling, manual guidance, contingent reinforcers, and feedback. During training, all residents learned to identify pictures of objects with manual signs. Generalization observations during unstructured times on the residents' living unit indicated that staff used their signing skills with the residents in addition to their vocal interactions but the residents did not increase their signing or vocalizing. In Experiment 2, the residents' skills in signing with real objects on their living unit as opposed to pictures of objects were evaluated and provided with additional training where necessary. Results indicated that all participating residents learned to communicate with signing during structured interactions on their living unit, and the skills maintained during follow-up assessments ranging from 39 to 49 weeks. Results are discussed regarding the variable generalization effects noted as well as the general benefits and disadvantages of teaching manual signing skills to profoundly retarded persons.     

A developmental account of early childhood amnesia

This study was an attempt to demonstrate the utility of a developmental approach to the study of early childhood amnesia. Working from a model of early childhood memory development proposed by Nelson and Ross (1980), I hypothesized that children would show early childhood amnesia and that this could be tested by comparing obtained estimates of memory strength to values predicted by a standard retention function. The data confirm this hypothesis for 6- and 10-year-old children, and suggest that the early childhood amnesia period extends from birth to a point between the third and fourth birthdays. The data also support a prediction, derived from the aforementioned model, that children would report a disproportionate number of general memories from the amnesia period. Thus, the developmental model provides a useful vehicle for examining early childhood amnesia and helps to frame further questions such as why some specific memories from this period are retained even though most are lost.     

The effectiveness of a computerized guidance system in promoting career decision making

The effectiveness of CHOICES in improving the career decision making of university students through the utilization of the two instruments, (a) the Career Decision Scale and (b) the Occupational Scale of the Assessment of Career Decision Making, is examined. This experimental research involved 136 university students who were assigned to either an experimental or control group. Results indicated that CHOICES improved career decision making as measured by both instruments. No differences were found between its effectiveness with males and females.     

Use of family systems in preparation for ministry

Understanding the systematic dynamics of one's family of origin is necessary in preparation for ministry and can be most powerfully effected by engaging students in one of several family therapy techniques. Moreover, a family systems orientation is useful for theological explorations regarding family and Church as family, as well as enhancing skills for ministering to the contemporary family in all its diversity.Dr. Anderson is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, Waterburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa 52001. Dr. Fitzgerald is Chaplain Supervisor, Medical Center at Princeton, Princeton, New Jersey 08540. This article stemmed from a presentation made by the authors on November 11, 1977, at the annual Conference of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education.     

“Partial Deaths”: A Buried Resource

This article addresses the reluctance that many professional counselors and other caregivers feel when faced with the task of working with dying patients or others facing losses and grief. Although working with the dying is not an easy task, many caregivers inappropriately label themselves unqualified. They tend to play down the variety of losses they themselves have experienced. These caregivers can get in touch with their own encounters with grief and loss and benefit personally and professionally by exploring these partial deaths.     

RAPE MYTHS. In Review

Theories of sexual aggression and victimization have increasingly emphasized the role of rape myths in the perpetuation of sexual assault. Rape myths are attitudes and generally false beliefs about rape that are widely and persistently held, and that serve to deny and justify male sexual aggression against women. Acceptance of such myths has been assessed with a number of measures, and investigators have examined its relationship with numerous variables and interventions. Although there has been extensive research in this area, definitions, terminology, and measures of rape myth acceptance (RMA) continue to lack adequate theoretical and psychometric precision. Despite such criticisms, we emphasize that the significance of this type of research cannot be overstated because it has immense potential for the understanding of sexual assault. The present article offers a theory-based definition of rape myths, reviews and critiques the literature on rape myth acceptance, and suggests directions for future research. In particular we argue that such work must include the development and application of improved measures, with more concern for the theoretical and methodological issues unique to this field.