FAMILY TYPE AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS OF 3-YEAR-OLDS

Families of 20 three-year-olds who had been evaluated as poorly adjusted at the daycare center and of 20 well-adjusted peers from the same background were classified according to the Reiss Card Sort. Although all three family types—environment-sensitive (ES), distance-sensitive (DS), and consensus-sensitive (CS)—were found, the maladjusted three-year-olds came mainly from the less optimal family types (namely, DS and CS). Differences also were found between mothers' and fathers' evaluation of their children's behavior problems across the three family types. Results are discussed in terms of the family's role in the development of early psychopathology. © 1991 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.