Suchergebnisse

This edition of Family Matters focuses on the valuable work of Growing Up in Australia: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children' (LSAC), which is managed by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and was initiated by the Federal Government's Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. LSAC is now into Wave 2, and the articles in this edition illustrate the range of topics that can be investigated with longitudinal data on child development. This introductory article summarises the edition, and presents an overview of LSAC, including its study design and sample, and the 14 key research questions which guide the study.

This edition of Family Matters focuses on the valuable work of Growing Up in Australia: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children' (LSAC), which is managed by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and was initiated by the Federal Government's Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. LSAC is now into Wave 2, and the articles in this edition illustrate the range of topics that can be investigated with longitudinal data on child development. This introductory article summarises the edition, and presents an overview of LSAC, including its study design and sample, and the 14 key research questions which guide the study.

Résumé En Australie, on reconnaît de plus en plus l'importance du père dans la famille et la nécessité d'approfondir les recherches sur la paternalité. Cet article examine les recherches récentes sur la participation à la vie familiale des pères vivant en couple avec des enfants en bas âge. Il analyse l'apport du père à la coparentalité et au partage des tâches non rémunérées au sein du foyer, ainsi que les disparités observées dans les différentes mesures de la paternalité en fonction des caractéristiques du père et de la famille. Les conséquences sur l'action publique sont également évoquées.

AbstractThis paper critically reviews the literature on the links between temperament and social development in children and adolescents. Social development is broadly defined to include externalizing and internalizing behaviour problems, prosocial behaviour and social competence. It concludes that there are clear links between specific dimensions of temperament and particular aspects of social development. Examples include the association of negative reactivity with externalizing behaviour problems, inhibition with internalizing behaviour problems, and attention regulation with school functioning. Theoretical and methodological issues to be confronted in future research are identified, including the need to investigate further the interactions between temperament and social context. Analysis of patterns of change in temperament, in relation to physiological changes and to such factors as parenting and socio‐cultural expectations of children, promise to refine our understanding of how temperament works in context. Some practical implications which can be drawn from the research are also discussed.

This paper examines how the relationship between parents' educational achievement (a marker of their socio‐economic status) and children's early developmental outcomes has evolved in Australia since the early 1980s. The specific focus of this paper is whether the gradient in children's early developmental outcomes by parents' education has changed since the 1980s. A comparative analysis of two surveys is undertaken that follows Australian cohorts of children through their early years – the Australian Temperament Project (following children born in Victoria in the early 1980s) and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (following a representative sample of children born in Australia in 1999). The analysis shows that the relationship between parental education and children's early developmental outcomes does not in general appear to have changed greatly over the years. The gradient associated with behaviour difficulties, persistence in behaviour difficulties over time, and in reading skills has either remained the same or strengthened somewhat, while the gradient associated with social skills has weakened. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues that might explain these trends.

Report prepared by the Australian Institute of Family Studies for the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing Australian Institute.

AbstractPsychosocial precursors and correlates of parent‐reported internalizing behavior trajectories across the age span of 3–15 years were explored using a community‐based cohort of Australian children. Six internalizing trajectories had previously been identified for both girls (N = 810) and boys (N = 874) in this sample, comprising stable low, high, decreasing, and increasing pathways. Infancy and toddler temperamental traits (inhibition/shyness, irritability), behavior problems, and parent–child relationship difficulties constituted significant risks for subsequent problematic internalizing profiles. Several gender‐specific trends were evident, with temperamental reactivity and shyness, less optimal parenting, and peer difficulties more salient for girls on increasing trajectories whereas externalizing problems were more prominent among boys on increasing trajectories. Factors associated with recovery from elevated symptoms included higher levels of social competence, better parent and peer relations, and more positive school adjustment. Findings suggest that individual characteristics and relationship experiences may be involved in the development and course of internalizing problems.