Allen W. Gottfried – författare

In a review written in 1979, I noted that there was a paucity of research examining the effects of maternal employment on the infant and young child and also that longitudinal studies of the effects of maternal em­ ployment were needed (Hoffman, 1979). In the last 10 years, there has been a flurry of research activity focused on the mother's employment during the child's early years, and much of this work has been longi­ tudinal. All of the studies reported in this volume are at least short-term longitudinal studies, and most of them examine the effects of maternal employment during the early years. The increased focus on maternal employment during infancy is not a response to the mandate of that review but rather reflects the new employment patterns in the United States. In March 1985, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 49.4% of married women with children less than a year old were employed outside the home (Hayghe, 1986). This figure is up from 39% in 1980 and more than double the rate in 1970. By now, most mothers of children under 3 are in the labor force.

Families are undergoing dramatic changes in our society. Our tradi­ tional views are being challenged by new family arrangements. These new family arrangements are forcing redefinitions of what consti­ tutes a family and raising significant issues regarding the potential developmental consequences for children in these families, if such exist. Moreover, the ramifications of redefined families and their bear­ ing on children's development extend into the legal, political, and societal arenas. This book focuses on the relationships between di­ verse family arrangements and children's development, as well as on legal and social implications. Our interest in this area emanates from our experience in directing the Fullerton Longitudinal Study. In the course of this investigation, we observed families undergoing transformation, most commonly in maternal employment and marital status. Our initial research on the role of maternal employment in children's development provided the scientific foundation for our interest. Just as we feel that maternal employment and dual-earner families should be comprehensively re­ searched regarding their relationships to children's development, we also believe that other contemporary family arrangements should receive extensive attention in the developmental literature. Hence, the idea for this book emerged.

This book studies the early developmental and family history of children who come to perform at the gifted IQ level during middle childhood. The authors detail their original research-the first systematic, longitudinal study of such children-and offer a theory to explain how children become intellectually gifted. Chapters examine the theory's implications for early identification and assessment as well as for parenting.

"Your good nature will bring you much happiness." -Peking Noodle Co. We began this book with the belief that there are individual differences in tempera­ ment that impact the trajectory of the course of development. At a particular point in time, the impact may be small, but over time the effect of these small tweaks may come to be associated with significant and meaningful differences in our indi­ vidual destinations. In this book, we examined the relations between temperament and various domains of development as well as the home and family environ­ ment to document the short- and long-term sequelae of various temperamental characteristics to test this belief. It takes a certain temperamental profile to complete a collaborative longitu­ dinal research project spanning two decades. Especially during the project's early years, when we were directly assessing the development of over 100 children twice yearly and visiting their homes, high activity level was required. Our biological rhythms were constantly disrupted as we worked to complete data coding (we used punch cards then!) and checking before the next wave of assessments began. We learned to approach new problems and tasks with intensity, to be adaptable when appointments had to be rescheduled, to be sensitive to changes in our study families' situations, and that a positive mood is essential. We were not easily distracted from our goal of following the study participants through high school completion, and our persistence has made all the difference.

This book studies the early developmental and family history of children who come to perform at the gifted IQ level during middle childhood. The authors detail their original research-the first systematic, longitudinal study of such children-and offer a theory to explain how children become intellectually gifted. Chapters examine the theory's implications for early identification and assessment as well as for parenting.

"Your good nature will bring you much happiness." -Peking Noodle Co. We began this book with the belief that there are individual differences in tempera­ ment that impact the trajectory of the course of development. At a particular point in time, the impact may be small, but over time the effect of these small tweaks may come to be associated with significant and meaningful differences in our indi­ vidual destinations. In this book, we examined the relations between temperament and various domains of development as well as the home and family environ­ ment to document the short- and long-term sequelae of various temperamental characteristics to test this belief. It takes a certain temperamental profile to complete a collaborative longitu­ dinal research project spanning two decades. Especially during the project's early years, when we were directly assessing the development of over 100 children twice yearly and visiting their homes, high activity level was required. Our biological rhythms were constantly disrupted as we worked to complete data coding (we used punch cards then!) and checking before the next wave of assessments began. We learned to approach new problems and tasks with intensity, to be adaptable when appointments had to be rescheduled, to be sensitive to changes in our study families' situations, and that a positive mood is essential. We were not easily distracted from our goal of following the study participants through high school completion, and our persistence has made all the difference.

In a review written in 1979, I noted that there was a paucity of research examining the effects of maternal employment on the infant and young child and also that longitudinal studies of the effects of maternal em­ ployment were needed (Hoffman, 1979). In the last 10 years, there has been a flurry of research activity focused on the mother's employment during the child's early years, and much of this work has been longi­ tudinal. All of the studies reported in this volume are at least short-term longitudinal studies, and most of them examine the effects of maternal employment during the early years. The increased focus on maternal employment during infancy is not a response to the mandate of that review but rather reflects the new employment patterns in the United States. In March 1985, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 49.4% of married women with children less than a year old were employed outside the home (Hayghe, 1986). This figure is up from 39% in 1980 and more than double the rate in 1970. By now, most mothers of children under 3 are in the labor force.