Parenting behavior directed specifically at each child in the family is a major correlate of symptoms in adolescents. Furthermore, harsh parental behavior directed at a sibling may have protective effects for adolescents, a phenomenon we call the "siblin barricade."

This article addresses concerns raised by M. C. Neale (1999) in his commentary on the D. A. Bussell et al. (1999) Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development (NEAD) study. These concerns fall into two categories: (a) model assumptions and sample design and (b) testing of alternative models. The validity of the assumptions of quantitative genetic models is a concern for all researchers in this area. Discussion of those assumptions in this reply is brief and focuses on those most relevant to the NEAD sample. The two alternative models proposed by Neale were designed to provide alternatives to the large shared environmental effect found in the original report of Bussell et al. Because these alternative models did not provide a better fit, the appropriateness of Bussell et al.'s basic model and the importance of shared environmental influences for explaining the association among family subsystems are supported.

The incidence of psychological problems following abortion is hotly debated. This article uses a methodological critique of the key research to argue that prevalence rates for psychological risks following legal abortions in the U.S. should be viewed with great caution. Knowledge of prevalence alone, however, is inadequate for policy decisions. Information is also needed about the risks associated with the policy options intended to replace abortion (relative risk). Studies that used a comparison group have shown that the psychological risks associated with abortion are similar to those associated with childbirth. Furthermore, past research cannot answer whether abortion causes psychological responses that sometimes occur. We conclude that, although the studies cited by pro‐choice advocates are much more methodologically sound than those cited by pro‐life advocates, decisions about what risks are acceptable are largely political decisions rather than scientific ones.

The present study surveyed 76 black American third through sixth graders who had experienced a parental separation. Children's problematic beliefs about separation were sigdicantly and positively related to teacher reported problem behavior (r = .30, p = .01). Post hoc analyses suggested that children who blame themselves seem to have particular difficulty adjusting to the separation. Children who had more positive reactions to the separation were more empathic (r = .22, p = .05). Finally, the recency of the separation was significantly associated with children's acceptance of the separation (r = .42, p = ,002) and how positively they felt about it (r = .34, p = .01). These findings underscore the importance of children's appraisal in interventions with children of separated parents. [Article copies available from.The Haworth Documenf Delivery Ser- vice: 1-800-342-9678.] This paper reports results from a preliminary study of African American children's cognitive and emotional responses to parental separation. To date, most research on children's response to parental

The primary focus of this article is to examine the general assumption that families are left largely unchanged by their participation in research, and to question whether family research can have unintended positive or negative effects on participants. The present article reports feedback from families participating in the Nonshared Environment and Adolescent Development project, a longitudinal study of family process and adolescent development. Families differed in their perceptions about whether the research experience was positive, detrimental, or inconsequential. This feedback underscores the researcher's ethical responsibility to detect and remove deleterious effects of participation. Suggestions are made for providing adequate debriefing to subjects and for using debriefing as a research tool to study the interaction between researcher and families.