During the past decade, there has been a pronounced increase in scientific attention to the construct of parental psychological control of children and adolescents. The increase began when Laurence Steinberg (1990;Steinberg, Elmen, & Mounts, 1989) reminded the field of important distinctions between this form of control and other, more behaviorally focused, forms of parental control. Since that time there has been a steady focus on the construct, and the attention continues to increase. During this period, findings of numerous studies have consistently demonstrated that parental psychological control is a meaningful aspect of the parent-child relationship that is negatively associated with a variety of aspects of healthy child development. As this volume shows, the research literature on psychological control is expanding to incorporate a variety of methodologies for indexing psychological control, to define its developmental parameters, to understand its position among other family process variables, to investigate its antecedents, and to assess its relevance across cultures.

Using data from a probability sample of 4,987 adolescents, we examine the degree to which closeness to mother, closeness to father, parental support, and parental monitoring buffer the relationship between peer drug use and adolescent marijuana use. The relationship between peer drug use and adolescent marijuana use was attenuated by both closeness to father and the perception that parents would catch them for major rule violations. These findings confirm the value of conceptualizing certain family characteristics as separate variables and verify that authoritative parenting may help insulate adolescents from peer pressure to use drugs.

We address how childcare subsidies help in the welfare-to-work transition relative to other factors. We examine how the policy operates, whether childcare problems differ by subsidy receipt, and the effect of subsidy on work. Data are from a random sample panel study of welfare recipients after 1996. Findings show that subsidy receipt reduces costs but not parenting stress or problems with care. It predicts earnings and work duration net of other factors. Increased use of subsidies by eligible families and greater funding for child care would help meet the demand for this important support for working-poor families. A ccess to subsidized child care is an important concern for many women moving from welfare to work. Because access to a subsidy program varies by state, here we describe the policy context in Michigan, where the study was conducted. We examine whether demographic characteristics and other factors that may affect work differ by childcare use and subsidy receipt. We assess whether subsidies reduce childcare problems and increase a woman's percent of months worked and monthly earnings. Using data from the Women's Employment Study (WES), a random sample panel survey of women who received welfare, we draw policy and program implications regarding how child care financial assistance can better promote the welfare reform objective of self-sufficiency through employment.