May 22, 1998
Contact: Ida Lee Wootten
              (804) 924-6857


U.VA. FACULTY, STUDENTS PLAY PROMINENT ROLE
IN NATIONAL PUBLICATION

	The February American Psychologist is a special issue devoted to
applications of developmental science, a multidisciplinary effort
addressing changes across a life span.  In many respects, it could also
be considered a special issue highlighting the strengths of the
University of Virginia's developmental psychology department,
consistently ranked among the top five in the nation.
	E. Mavis Hetherington, a U.Va. psychology professor
internationally recognized for her long-term research of the effects of
divorce, one-parent families, and remarriage on children's development,
served as guest editor of the edition, which included more than 10
articles on issues related to development -- many written by U.Va.
researchers.
	Following an introduction by Hetherington is an "American Child
Care Today" article written by Sandra Scarr, a former Commonwealth
Professor of Psychology, who left U.Va. to become CEO at KinderCare
Learning Centers, Inc. 
	One of the lead articles is "An Overview of the Nature, Causes
and Consequences of Abusive Family Relationships, Toward Differentiating
Maltreatment and Violence," written by Robert E. Emery and Lisa
Laumann-Billings.  Psychology professor Emery is director of U.Va.'s
Center for Children, Families and the Law, and Laumann-Billings is a
graduate student in psychology.
	Hetherington and graduate students Margaret Bridges and
Glendessa M. Insabella are authors of "What Matters?  What Does Not?
Five Perspectives on the Association Between Marital Transitions and
Children's Adjustment."
	The peer-review journal is published by the American
Psychological Association and distributed to more than 80,000 members of
the organization.
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