Research suggests that the formation of neighborhood social ties (NSTs) may substantially depend on the informal social contact which occurs in neighbor-

No abstract

A causal distinction is established in infant Norway rats between opioid- and nonopioid-mediated determinants of behavior. Contact influences are shown to be mediated by nonopioid pathways, whereas gustatory influences are shown to be opioid mediated. Specifically, naltrexone (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg) did not at all diminish quieting exerted by contact with an anesthetized dam but completely reversed the quieting effects of morphine in isolated rats. Naloxone (5 mg/kg) did not affect the latencies with which nondeprived or 8-hr deprived rats 9, 12, 15, and 18 days of age attached to the nipples of anesthetized dams, nor did naloxone (5 and 10 mg/kg) cause any systematic change in nipple attachment in 10- and 18-day-old rats that had been deprived of their dam for either 0, 8, or 24 hr. In a 3rd experiment, naloxone (5 mg/kg) did not significantly reduce milk intake by 9-, 12-, 15-, or 18-day-old rats from the nipple when milk letdown was induced by oxytocin. Moreover, naloxone (5 and 10 mg/kg) did not reduce milk intake in Day-10 rats that, while suckling, received milk via a cannula placed in the posterior portion of the tongue at the level of the intermolar eminence or in rats that obtained milk directly from their awake mother. In contrast, milk intake was significantly reduced by naltrexone (0.25-1.0 mg/kg) in Day-10 rats that obtained milk (a) by licking it off a saturated substrate or (b) through an indwelling cannula located in the anterior portion of the lower jaw. (Milk delivered at this placement is thought to engage feeding systems by its taste and texture.) In a final set of experiments in Day-10 rats, intake of milk delivered via anterior jaw cannulae was reduced by naloxone (5 and 10 mg/kg) in rats that were either isolated, in contact with an anesthetized dam, or attached to her nipples. On the basis of resistance to naloxone and naltrexone administration, these experiments demonstrate that behavioral influences of the tactile (and possibly olfactory) qualities of the mother are not mediated by opioid systems. Implications for understanding the means through which mothers can influence their young and the infantile mediators of these maternal influences are discussed.

This study seeks to determine whether center-based and family-based child care services differ with respect to process quality, as measured by the Educative Quality Observation Scales (EQOS, Bourgon and Lavallée 2004a, b, c), for groups of children 18 months old and younger. It also seeks to identify structural variables associated with process quality in these settings. The study included two types of regulated child care settings located in the greater Montreal area (center-based: N = 53 and family-based: N = 36). Results indicate that process quality was lower in family-based child care than in center-based child care for the majority of elements measured by the EQOS. Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that higher levels of process quality were associated with structural variables, including a lower adult-child ratio, the presence of more staff with specialized early childhood education training, and center-based care. The discussion focuses on strategies to improve these types of child care services.

Defensible space (DS) theory proposes that the built environment can promote neighborhood safety and community by encouraging residents’ appropriation of near-home space. This article examined the relationship between three different forms of resident appropriation and residents’ experiences of neighborhood safety and community. Results from a survey of 91 public housing residents living in moderately defensible spaces suggested that residents who defended near-home space through territorial appropriation experienced the neighborhood as a safer, more cohesive community than did residents who did not appropriate space in this way. Residents who spent more time outside experienced the neighborhood as a safer place; however, casual social interaction in near-home space was not consistently related to outcomes. While no causal information is available from the correlational data presented here, this work takes an important step of providing empirical evidence of a systematic link between certain aspects of resident appropriation and positive outcomes. Implications for DS theory and for public housing policy are discussed.