The study examined the effects of early childhood intervention, social class and ethnicity on family communication style. The latter was assessed through the analysis of parent-child behaviors observed during a home interview. The results show the extent to which social class and cultural differences can be understood in terms of a participatory and democratic style of parent-child interaction. Social class and ethnicity were found to affect both, the way families communicate and the child's scholastic achievement. The findings also suggest that an early, family-oriented intervention develops a more active and participatory interaction style in low SES families. Path models were employed in examining the relation of the above style of family interaction and intellectual ability as assessed through standardized achievement test performance of white and black children in one of three experimental conditions. The results show that relationship to be explained largely by social class and ethnic background. Family communication style's effect on the child's intellectual performance is discussed in terms of verbal regulation theory, which views verbal interaction as influencing the child's cognitive development. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-06, Section: B, page: 2018. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74867 |
| Contributors | PORTES, PEDRO RENE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 96 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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