The associations among poverty, measures of social support, and parents' reports of punitive and unsupportive behaviors were examined using the National Survey of Families and Households. Analyses revealed a significant interaction between perceived social support and household income: perceived social support was negatively associated with parents' reports of punitive behavior, but mainly when income was low. The amount of help received from others was negatively associated with parents' reports of unsupportive behavior. The study suggests that some forms of social support lower levels of problematic behavior among all parents, whereas other forms of social support are particularly beneficial to parents living in poverty.

The associations among poverty, measures of social support, and parents' reports of punitive and unsupportive behaviors were examined using the National Survey of Families and Households. Analyses revealed a significant interaction between perceived social support and household income: perceived social support was negatively associated with parents' reports of punitive behavior, but mainly when income was low. The amount of help received from others was negatively associated with parents' reports of unsupportive behavior. The study suggests that some forms of social support lower levels of problematic behavior among all parents, whereas other forms of social support are particularly beneficial to parents living in poverty.

To understand the characteristics of juvenile victimization, explicit comparisons between the victimization of juveniles and adults need to be made. In this article, rates of violent victimizations of youth aged 12 to 17 years and adults were compared, using the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), an annual survey of 50,000 American households administered by the U.S. Bureau of the Census on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice. Analyses with 1994 data revealed that juveniles were substantially more likely than adults to be victims of violent crimes and suffer from a crime-related injury. Large disparities between juveniles and adults were present for males and females, Whites and Blacks, and persons from different types of localities. Moreover, juvenile victims were more likely than adult victims to know their offenders. Some characteristics of the NCVS may result in an underestimation of the disproportionate youth victimizations.

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This study examined 40 preschool children's understanding of the word touch. 24 drawings were presented one at a time to each child, and the children were instructed to describe each of the drawings and to classify them into drawings portraying touch or drawings showing no touch. 20 undergraduates were also interviewed. The same procedure was used, but in addition the undergraduates were asked to predict how preschool-age children would do on the same task. The results showed several ways in which the children's understanding of the word touch differed from that of an adult.

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