TEACHING CHILD-CARE SKILLS TO MOTHERS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

The present study identified and remediated child-care skill deficits in parents with developmental disabilities to reduce their risk of child neglect. Eleven mothers with developmental disabilities who were considered by social service and child welfare agencies to be providing neglectful child care were found in baseline to have several important child-care skill deficits (e.g., bathing, diaper rash treatment, cleaning baby bottles) compared to nonhandicapped mothers. Parent training (consisting of verbal instructions, pictorial manuals, modeling, feedback, and reinforcement) resulted in rapid acquisition and maintenance of child-care skills in all mothers. Mean percentage correct scores increased from 58% in baseline to 90% in training and 91% in follow-up (M = 31 weeks). The latter two scores compare favorably to the mean score (87%) of 20 nonhandicapped mothers on the same skills. Where observable, parent training was associated with corresponding benefits to the children (e.g., elimination of diaper rash and cradle cap, increased weight gain, successful toilet training). These results indicate that parent training may be a viable option to the removal of the child from the home when parenting skill deficits place the child's well-being in jeopardy.     

The development of sex differences in young children's activities at home: The effect of the social context

Randomly scheduled spot observations of 83 zero to six-year-old American middle-class children were used to investigate factors affecting the development of sex differences in young children's activities in and near their home. Sex and age differences in children's typical play and nonplay activities and in the people with whom they did activities were examined. The results showed that there were fewer sex differences in children's activities, activity partners, and general social settings than expected. Girls spent more time engaged in housework and school-related activities than boys, while boys spent more time in social gross motor play with other children and in self-care activities than girls. Children spent a surprisingly large amount of their time with members of their immediate family — particularly their mother and one other sibling. Boys and girls did not differ, however, in the time they were in settings or doing activities with their father, with their mother, or with same-or mixed-sex child groups.This research was supported by an award to the author from the Wisconsin Alumnae Research Foundation at the University of Wisconsin — Madison. The author would also like to acknowledge the research and editorial assistance of Daniel J. Walsh. In addition, Aletha Huston, Beatrice B. Whiting, and Gary G. Price provided valuable advice on this and earlier versions of this paper.     

MATHEMATICS AND SELF-ESTEEM: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN'S CAREER CHOICE

The relationship of math participation and success to self-esteem and career goals is examined in a sample of 64 women and 52 men college students at the end of their sophomore year. No gender differences were found in math anxiety or perceptions of the usefulness of mathematics, but women were less likely to select a math-related career goal. Among the men students, math participation and self-assessments of math ability were positively related to more general self-estimates of competence; among women, these variables were not related significantly. Women's choices for math-related careers were more closely associated with scholastic ability and math background than were men's career choices. These results are discussed in the context of societal pressures and supports for men and women in regard to math participation.     

Simple knowledge structures for perceptual classification expert systems

A new approach is described for the development and structure of perceptual knowledge-based systems. This systematic method for acquiring perceptual knowledge for use in knowledge-based systems and for representing perceptual knowledge within the systems has revealed that two broad classes of perceptual activity can each be characterized by a single logical operator. The number of rules necessary to accomplish particular perceptual tasks can also be estimated.     

Thirteen Years: An Editor's Valedictory

The essay that follows is in two parts. The first is a valediction; the second attempts to use some recent events at the Journal as a text for discussion of the current state of the field of family therapy.     

The influence of evaluatee's sex on evaluations of a response on a managerial selection instrument

In this study 33 male and 22 female undergraduate students were trained and then asked to evaluate an in-basket response (with either a male or female respondent) on four dimensions: sensitivity, organizing and planning, decision-making, and written communications. Results indicated that the evaluatee's sex did not influence evaluations of the in-basket response. Female in comparison to male evaluators were significantly harsher in evaluating written communications. The absence of sex discrimination which sharply differed from the findings of several previous research studies is discussed in terms of the substantial amount of managerial related data provided by the in-basket technique.This report is based on a master's thesis written by the second author under the sponsorship of the first author and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MA degree at Florida Technological University.     

The effect of information regarding sex group performance norms on goal-setting in males and females

Female and male undergraduates were randomly assigned to either a sex-appropriate or a sex-inappropriate achievement condition. Subjects in the sex-appropriate condition received information that their sex performed better on the experimental task; subjects in the sex-inappropriate condition received information that the opposite sex performed better. It was hypothesized that the positive information regarding the performance of same-sexed others would result in higher goals in a private, noncompetitive setting. The results supported the hypothesis.     

An Intersectional Approach to the Glass Ceiling: Gender,Race and Share of Middle and Senior Management in U.S. Workplaces

A robust body of research examines factors affecting the likelihood that women experience increasing barriers to promotion in workplaces. However, limited research examines how racialized and gendered processes may intersect and work differently for racially and gender marginalized workers. Specifically, the processes relating to a worker’s ability to reach middle-level management positions (e.g., those managers who oversee a small group of employees) and senior-level management positions (e.g., CEOs and other executive positions) may vary based on workers’ race and gender. Using 2015 EEO-1 data collected by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), we examine how the characteristics of a workplace affect Black men, Black women, White men, and White women’s share of middle- and senior-level management. We find Black women and Black men are strikingly under-represented in both middle and senior management in private-sector workplaces. Our results demonstrate that access to middle- and senior-management varies by the characteristics of the workplace and workers’ race and gender. Overall, our findings point to an important implication: Greater oversight of workplaces, including by the EEOC, is associated with marginalized race/gender groups having higher shares of management.

     

The quality of sucking in infants with colic

Feeding problems have been reported in infants with colic. The purpose of this study was to examine the nutritive sucking pattern of infants identified as having colic. Twenty-nine infants (16 with colic and 13 controls) between the ages of 1 to 3 months, being bottle-fed by their mothers, were observed by a blind examiner. We hypothesized that infants with colic would show greater disorganization in nutritive sucking and show greater variability in sucking rate than infants without colic, as assessed by the revised Neonatal Oral Motor Assessment Scale (NOMAS). Infants with colic were found to present a disorganized sucking pattern; namely, a lack of rhythmical movement and a difference in amount of sucks per burst than infants without colic. Methods of intervention are suggested.