Allen W. Gottfried - Böcker

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.

The Fullerton Longitudinal Study, launched in 1979, chronicled the development of over 100 children and their families from the children's first birthday through their high school completion using a cross-informant/cross-context methodology. In this volume, the developmental course of children's temperament from age 1.5 years through high school completion are documented. Using the model of temperament developed by Alexander Thomas, Stella Chess, and their colleagues in the New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS) and standardized temperament inventories collected repeatedly across infancy, childhood, and adolescence.The authors of this text systematically present their findings investigating the following issues: stability and continuity of the nine NYLS temperament dimensions based on parent reports and, during adolescence, both parent and self-reports; concurrent and cross-time relations between temperament dimensions and behaviour problems in home and school contexts; temperament dimensions as predictors and consequences of intelligence; relations between temperament dimensions and children's education, including academic achievement, classroom behaviour, grade point average, and self-appraisals of academic competence and motivation; home environment and family relationship correlates of temperament; the long-term developmental trajectories of infants with extreme temperament characteristics, including temperamental, behavioural, intellectual, academic, and home/family outcomes. The book should prove an important resource for developmental researchers, clinicians, educators, students, and others interested in how individual differences in children's behavioural styles develop and relate to their development.

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.

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.

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.