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This study reported the development and initial validation of the Survey of Parent/Provider Expectations and Knowledge (SPEAK), a self-administered questionnaire assessing expectations and knowledge about early childhood cognitive and language development. Development of the SPEAK was guided by the theory emphasizing the role of language input quality in young children's language development. Items were refined through cognitive interviews (N = 29), expert consultations, and the first field test (N = 131). Rasch analysis following the second field test (N = 346) resulted in a 17-item SPEAK (a = 0.84); expert review confirmed its content validity. A third field test with low-income caregivers (N = 103) showed that higher SPEAK scores were correlated with higher education, receptive language ability, stronger endorsement of incremental mindset, and more language stimulation available to the child at home, supporting its concurrent validity. Findings provided preliminary evidence supporting the reliability and validity of the SPEAK to assess expectations and knowledge of early childhood cognitive and language development.

Maternal warmth, the quality of the affectional bond between mothers and their children, has been found to be consistently associated with children's positive developmental outcomes in Western cultures. However, researchers debate the potential differences in the cultural meanings of maternal warmth, particularly between Chinese and European American families. To address the lack of empirical research on this issue, the present study examined culturally derived perceptions and practices of maternal warmth through open-ended interviews with 70 Chinese immigrant and 70 European American mothers of preschoolers. Specifically, we compared mothers' perceived importance and degree of expression of warmth toward their children, and why and how they express warmth toward their children in the 2 cultural groups. Results showed that, although mothers perceived expressing warmth to be similarly important, European American mothers perceived expressing more warmth toward their children. Moreover, both cultural similarities and differences were found in why these 2 groups of mothers believed it was important to express warmth and the specific practices they used. Chinese immigrant mothers' responses were interpreted as reflecting a cultural emphasis on nurturance and instrumental support, whereas European American mothers' responses reflected the Western cultural focus on more direct and outward demonstrations of warmth.

The present study examined the mediating role of perceived parental warmth and support in predicting Chinese Malaysian adolescents' filial behaviors from their age, perceived parental investments, and positive filial emotions toward their parents. The effects of these predictors were examined separately for mothers and fathers. Participants included 122 Chinese adolescents (M = 13.14 years; SD = 2.22) in Malaysia. Adolescents' perceived parental investments, filial emotions, and warmth and support from each parent were positively, and age was negatively associated with their filial behaviors. No gender differences were found. Perceived maternal warmth and support significantly mediated the effect of age, perceived investments from, and filial emotions toward mothers on adolescents' filial behaviors, but perceived paternal warmth and support did not have a mediating role. The present study sheds light on the unique maternal versus paternal filial role, and important familial processes in Chinese-Malaysian children and adolescents from a cultural perspective. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)