To compare children's socialized behavior to parents and nonparental agents, this study examined self-regulated compliance to mothers and caregivers--an early form of internalization--in 90 toddlers, half of whom were also observed with fathers. Adults were observed in play, teaching, and discipline sessions with the child and were interviewed on child-rearing philosophies. Child cognition and emotion regulation were assessed, and naturalistic observations were conducted at child-care locations. Mean-level and rank-order stability were found in child compliance to the 3 adults. Child emotion regulation and adult warm control in a discipline situation were related to self-regulated compliance to the mother, caregiver, and father. Compliance to parents correlated with parental sensitivity and philosophies, and compliance to the caregiver correlated with child cognition and social involvement when child-care quality was controlled. Maternal sensitivity and warm control discipline predicted compliance to the caregiver but not vice versa. Results are consistent with theoretical positions on the generalization of socialization from the mother to nonmaternal agents.

The researchers addressed two questions: (1) Does maternal reading mediation and family home literacy environment (HLE) relate to childrenÕs emergent literacy (EL) level? and (2) Do the relationships among these variables differ as a function of socioeconomic strata (SES) level. A total of 94 5-6-year-old children, 47 from low SES (LSES) and 47 from high (HSES) families, and their mothers participated. Mother-child interactions while reading an unfamiliar book were videotaped and their verbal expressions were coded for extracting maternal mediation level. ChildrenÕs independent EL level was assessed prior to the interaction. Compared with the LSES group, HSES children showed higher EL levels and their homes had a richer literacy environment. Maternal mediation level differed by SES: LSES mothers paraphrased text more often; HSES mothersÕ higher mediation level included a discussion of the written system and making connections beyond the text. In the HSES group, maternal mediation level and HLE related to childrenÕs EL; no such relationships appeared in the LSES group. Results are discussed in terms of childrenÕs socio-economic background and their reading experiences. Implications for researchers and educational practices about the relationships between childrenÕs literacy development, SES, HLE, and parental mediation are discussed.

Objective To evaluate if mediational intervention for sensitizing caregivers (MISC) MISC biweekly caregiver training significantly enhanced child development, compared with biweekly training on health and nutrition (active control) and to evaluate whether MISC training improved the emotional well-being of the caregivers compared with controls. Study design Sixty of 120 rural Ugandan preschool child/caregiver dyads with HIV were assigned by randomized clusters to biweekly MISC training alternating between home and clinic for one year. Control dyads received a health and nutrition curriculum. Children were evaluated at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year with the Mullen Early Learning Scales and the Color-Object Association Test (COAT) for memory. Caldwell HOME and videotaped child/caregiver MISC interactions also were evaluated. Caregivers were evaluated for depression and anxiety with the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist. Results Between-group repeated-measures ANCOVA comparisons were made with age, sex, CD4 levels, viral load, material SES, physical development, and HAART treatment status as covariates. The children given MISC had significantly greater gains compared with controls on the Mullen Visual Reception scale (visual-spatial memory) and on COAT memory. MISC caregivers significantly improved on HOME scale and total frequency of MISC videotaped interactions. MISC caregivers also were less depressed. Mortality was less for children given MISC compared with controls during the training year. Conclusions MISC was effective in teaching Ugandan caregivers to enhance their children’s cognitive development through practical and sustainable techniques applied during daily interactions in the home.

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