The purpose of this study was to investigate aspects of abuse anxiety during pregnancy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 45 pregnant women (28 were primiparas and 17 were multiparas), and statements regarding abuse anxiety were categorized. Categories were (1) “Empathetic reaction to abusive parents,” (2) “Anxiety about being regarded as an abusive mother,” and (3) “Anxiety about the possibility of being abusive.” Examples of their sub-categories were: (1) ‘Sense of similarity between their own parenting and child abuse,’ (2) ‘Anxiety about the possibility of their children seeing them as abusive mothers,’ and (3) ‘Anxiety about the possibility of not being able to control their emotions.’ The results suggest the diversity of abuse anxieties, which had never before been examined. Moreover, the contents the mothers referred to as the subjective causes of their abuse anxiety differed between primiparas and multiparas women. It is necessary to study the process of how mothers develop specific abuse anxieties, in order to suggest adequate support for these mothers.

Participants in this study were 349 children (age range＝44–107 months), and the results were evaluated according to the age group of the participants. The tasks were based on similar tasks published by Baron-Cohen, Leslie and Frith (1986), and were divided into three categories: “mechanical,” “behavioral,” and “intentional.” The mechanical tasks were the easiest, and performance on these tasks were set as a base to estimate the achievement levels for the other two categories. The results revealed that all tasks or three categories were performed successfully by 3–7 year-old children. 4.5 year-old children had a 50% success rate in passing the “mechanical” tasks, 5.7 year-old children had a 50% success rate in passing the “behavioral” task, and 6.5 year-old children had a 50% success rate in passing the “intentional” task. These results suggest that the picture sequencing tasks are useful for the assessment of development when the categories are adequately considered.

This study analyzed differences between adolescents' and mothers' conceptions of parental authority, and assessed the relationships among the discrepancies of adolescents' and mothers' conceptions of parental authority, mother-adolescent conflicts, and adolescents' well-being. Participants were 287 adolescents and their mothers. The research examined their conceptions of parental authority (legitimacy of parental authority, rule obligation), adolescents' perceptions of mother-adolescent conflicts (quantity of issues, intensity of issues) and well-being (depression, anxiety, self-esteem). The results showed the following: (1) adolescents reported lower scores of conceptions of parental authority than did mothers; (2) adolescents at upper grade levels reported lower scores of conceptions of parental authority than did adolescents at lower grade levels; (3) females reported higher levels of mother-adolescent conflicts than did males; and (4) discrepancies between adolescents' and mothers' conceptions of parental authority negatively affected mother-adolescent conflicts, and in turn, mother-adolescent conflicts negatively affected adolescents' well-being.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the determinants of grandparents' childcare support frequency and discrepancies between parent-reports and grandparent-reports. It employed a multilevel approach suitable for dyadic data. Parameter estimations were made for 186 dyads of parents and grandparents, and interdependence within the dyads and measurement errors were taken into account. The results revealed that predictors from the parental side, but not the grandparental side, were linked with the frequency of grandparents' childcare support. Regardless of support providers' age, time availability, economic status, or health status, the extent of recipients' demands was related to an increase in the frequency of childcare support. On average, grandparents were more likely to underestimate the frequency of their support than parents, the recipients of support. Those grandparents who were satisfied with their intergenerational support relationships and those who lived close to parents with toddlers were more likely to underestimate the support frequency, meaning that the discrepancy between the two reports was higher.

This study concerned the relations between cognitive emotional labor strategies and the psychological health of nursery teachers, and examined how their job involvement moderates those relations. Questionnaires were completed by 1,798 nursery teachers. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that compared to other strategies, “rumination,” “catastrophizing,” and “attribution to school” had relatively strong positive relations with “emotional exhaustion” and “intention to leave.” On the other hand, “positive reappraisal” was the only strategy that had negative relations with both variables, although the effect sizes were small. In addition, interaction effects between “rumination,” “catastrophizing,” and “job involvement” were confirmed. Simple slope analysis showed that “job involvement” had a buffering effect on “rumination” and “catastrophizing” on “intention to leave.” This buffering effect was inconsistent with previous theories and findings. The significance of these research findings and the limits of this study were discussed.