An ecological psychology framework that considers the intentions of the child within the child's own social context was used to study the complexity of social interactions of 16 children with autism or Down syndrome. Children were observed in their homes and behaviors were recorded. Records were then analyzed by dividing behavior based on the children's own goals. Goal-directed behaviors were t...

OBJECTIVE To examine the extent to which social support, unsupportive interactions, support services, and disruptive child behaviors predict daily positive and negative mood in parents of children with autism. METHODS Ninety-three parents of children with autism completed initial measures of disruptive child behaviors, and support services, then biweekly measures of daily stress, received emo...

The authors examined the contributions of the minority stress model, traditional masculine gender roles, and perceived social norms in accounting for gay men’s use of alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, and risky sexual practices. Three hundred fifteen gay men recruited from listserv communities completed measures assessing internalized homophobia, stigma, antigay physical attack, masculinity, and...

Despite the rising prevalence of online collective behaviors in Mainland China, there is a dearth of research on their categorization and underlying motivations. To fill this gap, we applied grounded theory to identify the major categories of online collective behaviors in China, and conducted a survey study to understand their underlying motivations. Results show Chinese online collective beha...

Early caregiver-infant interactions are critical for infants' socioemotional and cognitive development. Several hormones and neuromodulators, including oxytocin, affect these interactions. Exogenous oxytocin promotes social behaviors in several species, including human and nonhuman primates. Although exogenous oxytocin increases social function in adults--including expression recognition and af...

Among women of Mexican descent, increased acculturation in the US has been associated with poorer health behaviors during pregnancy. This study examined a population of low-income women of Mexican descent in an agricultural community to determine: whether social support patterns were associated with age at arrival in the US; whether social support was associated with pregnancy behaviors; and wh...

Investigating the relationship between cultural capital and environmental behaviors among youth employed in Asalouyeh (South Pars) is the main purpose of this study. Secondary objective of the study is to discover relationship between social associations, social norms and social trust and environmental social behaviors of the employees of south Pars. The research method in this study was survey...