This article presents some trends in the leaving home process of young adults between 1950 and 1990 and the trend shift that took place in the second half of the 1970s. Using a theoretical scheme, the authors discuss the possible relationship of material and nonmaterial resources in the family and outside the family with young adults' decision of leaving or staying home. Related to family-bound material resources, the authors discuss variables such as parental money, parental services, and the economic job status of the father. Nonmaterial family resources are the parent-child relationship, norms and values, and educational level. Both material and nonmaterial variables do not explain the trend shift in the leaving home process. In general, the authors conclude that the material and nonmaterial variables outside the family offer promising explanations for the trend shift in the average age at which young adults leave home for the first time.

The present study examines changes with age in interrogative sequences among Dutch-speaking children. Thirty-eight male and female pairs of children were videotaped in a play situation; eight pairs of pre-schoolers and ten pairs of 7-, 9- and 11-year-old schoolchildren, with an equal number of pairs of boys and pairs of girls at each age level. An interrogative sequence consists of: question–listener reaction–confirmation of that reaction. Questions were analysed according to function, content and form, and listener reaction according to how appropriate it was. The main results are: (1) changes with age occur in the use and form but not in the content of questions; (2) a relation exists between the function, content and form of a question and the listener's reaction; (3) listeners frequently do not answer questions (this tendency is stronger within the two younger age groups than within the two older ones); (4) answers are frequently not confirmed.

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The present study asked three questions. To what extent does the preschool child use pronouns ambiguously in a naturalistic situation? Under what circumstances is such referential ambiguity likely to arise ? How does the pre-school listener respond to such ambiguity ? Sixteen pre-schoolers, four pairs of boys and four pairs of girls, were videotaped in a play situation.The results indicate that ambiguity of reference frequently arises, especially when disambiguation can be achieved only by verbal rather than non-verbal information. The presence of such ambiguity did not, however, influence the social responsiveness of the listener.

A partial replication of Mussen and Parker (1965) tested the hypothesis that a model's nurturance enhances the imitation of task-relevant behavior but not of task-irrelevant behavior. S either interacted for 15 min. with a friendly model or played for 15 min. by herself. In a subsequent individual session the model solved three Porteus Mazes during which she performed also four irrelevant acts. Thereafter, the 24 girls had to solve the same mazes. The results confirmed the hypothesis.

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