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This study examined mothers' beliefs about literacy development, the association of those beliefs with other aspects of the home literacy environment, and connections between parental literacy beliefs and pre-school aged children's literacy development. Data were collected from 79 mothers and their children over one year, and two profiles of parental literacy beliefs emerged. 'Facilitative' mothers believed that taking an active role in teaching children at home would provide opportunities for their children to gain vocabulary, knowledge, and morals. 'Conventional' mothers expressed the belief that schools, more than parents, are responsible for teaching children and tended to report many challenges to reading with children. Homes with Facilitative mothers tended to be more literacy enriching than homes of Conventional mothers, and children with Facilitative mothers displayed more advanced print knowledge and interest in reading. These findings have implications for understanding the connections among parental literacy beliefs, home literacy environments, and children's literacy outcomes.

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This study examined relations between behavioral and characterological self-blame attributions for breast cancer and psychological distress in the year following a diagnosis. One hundred fifteen women with newly diagnosed breast cancer participated. First, we predicted that both forms of self-blame would be associated with distress shortly after diagnosis (i.e., at 4 months). Second, we predicted that only characterological self-blame would be related to distress at 7 and 12 months post-diagnosis because behavioral self-blame would enhance perceptions of control, thereby protecting against distress. Results supported the first hypothesis; both forms of self-blame were related to symptoms of anxiety and depression at 4 months post-diagnosis. Findings did not support the second hypothesis because both forms of self-blame continued to be related to distress at 7 and 12 months post-diagnosis. Furthermore, perceptions of control did not mediate the self-blame/distress relation. Implications for social cognitive processes in adaptation to breast cancer are discussed.

S Based on ecological theory, this study examined how four components of children's home and child‐care literacy environments, and the connections between these environments, were associated with preschool‐age children's literacy and language development. Interview and standardized assessment data were collected from 85 preschool‐age children, their parents, and child‐care teachers. Findings from correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that (a) the literacy environments in a home and in a child‐care center were associated with children's literacy and language development in varied and multifaceted ways, (b) aspects of home and child‐care literacy environments combined to support children's skills, and (c) some of these associations remained after one year. The findings have implications for how researchers conceptualize the contexts in which preschool‐age children's literacy and language development occurs and how they study connections among those contexts. Sobre la base de la teoría ecológica, este estudio examinó cuatro componentes de los contextos del hogar y el jardín maternal de los niños, las conexiones entre estos contextos y cómo se asociaban al desarrollo del lenguaje y la alfabetización de niños pre‐escolares. Se recolectaron datos de entrevistas y evaluaciones estandarizadas de 85 niños en edad pre‐escolar, los padres y los docentes‐cuidadores. Los resultados de las correlaciones y los análisis de regresión jerárquica múltiple revelaron que: a) los contextos de alfabetización en el hogar y la sala de jardín estaban asociados al desarrollo del lenguaje y la alfabetización de los niños en formas variadas y multifacéticas, b) ciertos aspectos de los contextos de alfabetización del hogar y del jardín maternal se combinaron para promover las habilidades de los niños y c) algunas de dichas asociaciones permanecieron luego de un año. Los resultados tienen implicancias para los investigadores en cuanto a las conceptualizaciones sobre los contextos en los que ocurre el desarrollo del lenguaje y la alfabetización en los niños, así como en la forma de estudiar las relaciones entre estos contextos. Basierend auf Umwelttheorien untersuchte diese Studie wie vier Umweltkomponenten der Kinder zuhause und in Sprachbetreuungszentren, und Verbindungen zwischen diesen Umfeldern, mit der Schreib‐, Lese‐ und Sprachentwicklung von Kindern im Vorschulalter assoziiert wurden. Interviews und standardmodellierte Beurteilungsdaten wurden von 85 Vorschulkindern, ihren Eltern, und Lehrern der Kinderbetreuungszentren gesammelt. Ergebnisse aus Korrelations‐ und hirarchisch‐multiplen Regressionsanalysen ergaben, daß (a) die Umfelder literarer Bildung zuhause und in den Kinderbetreuungszentren mit der Schreib‐/Lesebildung und Sprachentwicklung der Kinder in unterschiedlichen und vielschichtigen Wegen assoziiert waren, (b) kombinierte, literare Aspekte der Umgebung zuhause und bei der Kinderbetreuung die Kenntnisse der Kinder unterstützten, und daß (c) einige dieser Assoziationen nach einem Jahr vorha...