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The literature presented evidence that the opinions and attitudes of the father or male partner towards breastfeeding have a strong positive correlation with breastfeeding initiation and duration. Men are also found less knowledgeable about breastfeeding and are more positive towards formula feeding than women. Using a survey of college-aged men and women, this study provides in-depth understanding of gender differences in knowledge and attitude regarding breastfeeding. The Infant Feeding Knowledge Test and the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale were included in the questionnaire in addition to questions about the respondents' intention to breastfeed, exposure to breastfeeding during infancy and socio-demographic characteristics of the family of origin. The final sample consists of 181 women and 88 men enrolled in a university in the Southern US. Linear regressions with gender interaction terms were estimated in order to isolate the gender-specific correlations between their family background and their knowledge and attitude regarding breastfeeding. A series of Chi-square tests examined whether the regression coefficients were significantly different between men and women. Results support existing evidence of gender gap in breastfeeding knowledge and attitude. More importantly, the study reveals that the influence of one's family background on their knowledge and attitude regarding breastfeeding is significantly different between men and women. It suggests a possibility of greater disagreement regarding feeding choices within a higher socioeconomic status (SES) couple. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

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The relationship between familial style and creative potential in preschool children was explored with a sample of 32 children (17 girls, 15 boys) and their parents. The children's ages ranged from 36 to 61 months ( M = 51). The children were given the Multidimensional Stimulus Fluency Measure as an assessment of creative potential. Parents completed FACES III, a measure of family interaction patterns. Analysis yielded a positive though nonsignificant r of .32 between FACES adaptability and total fluency of the stimulus fluency measure and a significant negative r of −.34 ( p<.05) for FACES cohesion and total fluency of children. Regression analyses indicated that, when cohesion and adaptability are used together, 15% of the variance can be accounted for.

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This research investigated the relationship between young children's temperament and maternal teaching techniques in 20 mother-child dyads. Children's temperament was assessed by mothers' reports on the Behavioral Style Questionnaire. Teaching behaviors, as assessed with the Maternal Teaching Observation Technique, were inquiry, directive, negative verbal feedback, modeling, visual cue, physical affection, positive physical control, and negative physical control. Correlations were -.55 to -.60 for activity with mothers' use of verbal cues, children's adaptability and mothers' positive and negative verbal feedback, and children's distractability and mothers' modeling. The need for further research on parent-child interactions is noted.