The Effect of Maternal Support for Counting and Cardinal Understanding in Pre-School Children

The effect of maternal support on the development of counting and cardinality was examined by observing 18 mother-child dyads engaged in two procedurally similar , but conceptually different tasks in a longitudinal design consisting of three phases (32, 38 and 44 months). At 32 and 38 months of age in both the supported and a similar unsupported condition the children were more successful in the count task than in the give 'x' task, which requires knowledge of the relationship between counting and cardinality. Observations of mother-child interactions found that whilst maternal support for the count word sequence was similar in the two tasks the way mothers focused their child's attention on the objects in the set differed between the tasks. It is argued that social biases as well as cognitive ones constrain the development of cardinal understanding.     

Parental Modeling, Attachment, and Supervision as Moderators of Adolescent Gambling

Utilizing Jessor’s Problem Behavior Theory as a theoretical foundation, 116 male and female students in grades 9–12 (mean age 16.8) from a Midwestern urban high school were surveyed to determine the prevalence and relationship among gambling behavior and parental and peer influences. To measure these variables, the following instruments were used: The SOGS-RA, the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment-Parent Scale, and The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire-Parental Monitoring and Supervision Scale. Almost all of the students (91%) reported gambling at least once in their lifetime while 36.2% reported gambling once a week, 19% reported gambling on a daily basis, and 26% were classified as problem gamblers (10% using the “narrow” SOGS-RA criteria). Parental gambling was related to levels of past year gambling as well as increased likelihood of being classified as a problem gambler. Increased parental attachment was also associated with decreased levels of adolescent gambling, while decreased parental trust and communication resulted in increased problem gambling. Measures of parental monitoring and supervision found similar outcomes in that increased monitoring and supervision resulted in lower levels of adolescent gambling. Additionally, when peer influences were moderated by parental influences, there was a moderating effect on gambling behavior. This study illuminates the continued importance parents play in both risk enhancing and risk inhibiting influences on adolescent participation in problem behaviors.