The present research investigated the influence of gender and tenure status in academicians’ experiences of balancing parenthood and an academic career. Men ( n = 85) and women ( n = 179) employed full-time in tenure-track academic positions with at least one child younger than the age of 16 responded via the Internet to a 36-item questionnaire assessing experiences and perceptions regarding work and family demands. Results revealed group differences based on gender but no differences based on tenure status alone and no significant interactions between gender and tenure status. Women reported greater academic and family stress and perceptions of less institutional support for balance of work and family as compared to men. Results are discussed in terms of the rational and role demand models of work/family stress.

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Although many factors have been found to be associated with caregiving behavior among preschool-age siblings, few studies have considered the older child's emotional responses to the distress of a younger sibling in the mother's absence. In this study, the authors considered both individual and family factors that predict older and younger sibling distress in a mother-absent situation designed to elicit caregiving behavior. For both older and younger siblings, the strongest predictor of distress following the mother's departure was distress in the other sibling, suggesting the importance of situational factors. Individual and family factors, however, were also found to predict child distress. Among older siblings, shy and sociable temperaments were associated with greater distress during the mother's absence. Higher levels of parenting stress were found to be associated with less distress among both older and younger siblings in the mother-absent situation. Results are discussed in terms of individual and family environment influences on the sibling relationship.

In a study designed to examine the relationship between acculturation and achievement scores of African American college students ( N = 170), an unexpected phenomenon emerged. Twenty percent of the sample provided false information on the release of information forms (e.g., false names and false identification numbers), blocking access to their SAT scores and educational records. We labeled this unexpected phenomenon False Information Behavior (FIB). The FIB group reported higher SAT scores, included significantly more men than women, and differed significantly by major ( p = .034), with more majors in business (46%). FIB and its implications are discussed in relation to its historical and social antecedents from achievement and intelligence research fraught with negative portrayals of African Americans.

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