This report presents both a framework for understanding positive factors that contribute to the healthy development of young people, termed "developmental assets," and a portrait of 6th-to-12th-grade youth based on that framework. The report analyzes and interprets data from 99,462 youth in 213 communities collected during the 1996-97 school year.…

Wild parties, late nights, and lots of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Many assume these are the things that define an American teenager's first year after high school. But the reality is really quite different. As Tim Clydesdale reports in "The First Year Out", teenagers generally manage the increased responsibilities of everyday life immediately after…

The concept of behavior settings--the environments shaping individual behavior--was originated by Roger Barker in 1950 in connection with his community surveys in a small Kansas town, code-named Midwest. This book seeks to provide rural social scientists with an understanding of Barker's eco-behavioral approach and proposed adaptations of it to…

Intended for caregivers, the book provides basic information about the use of medication for children with hyperactivity, learning disabilities, and mental retardation. The main emphasis is on psychotropic drug use for hyperactivity and aggressiveness. Chapter 1 explains fundamental terms and concepts relating to drug therapy. Major stresses…

This book presents a crisis management model that effectively bridges the areas of substance abuse and crisis intervention. A crisis alternatives model which can be incorporated into drug counseling programs is discussed, along with a four-step crisis intervention plan for use by crisis workers that includes: (1) establishing rapport; (2)…

How games influence the psychological and social development of children is examined. It is pointed out that the current emphasis on competition and winning at all costs is harmful and that competition is not instinctive but a learned response to society's expectations. Other cultures such as the Eskimo and Chinese are presented as examples of…

An evaluation was made of the methodology and findings presented in "Television and Antisocial Behavior. Field Experiments," by Stanley Milgram and R. Lance Shotland (New York: Academic Press, 1973). In the book, seven experiments were reported, all concerned with antisocial behavior toward a medical charity. Three episodes of Medical…

This book presents a discussion and analysis of various theories of play behavior. The book is divided into 12 chapters. The first chapter delineates 3 criteria (intrinsic motivation, suspension of reality or make-believe, and internal locus of control) that distinguish play from nonplay behavior. Chapter 2 reviews scientific research on the…

A self-instructional book covers ten steps toward development of a behavior observation system. Units describe how to interpret graphs, convert information from table to graph form, put collected data into a table, compute the reliability of observational data, make observations with four recording methods, construct an observational system,…

Books in the Opposing Viewpoints Series present debates about current issues that can be used to teach critical reading and thinking skills. The variety of opinions expressed in this collection of articles and book excerpts explore many aspects of juvenile gangs. Some youths join gangs of their own free choice, to satisfy ego or greed. Others are…

This social skills curriculum has been developed as a guide to assist educators in instructing young African-American males how to determine what behaviors are acceptable and what are not acceptable in our society. Parents and other family members will also find these strategies useful for followup activities. The book does not address all…

This report describes the results of a survey on toothbrushing behavior and other health-related behaviors in young people. The survey instrument for this study gathered information about students' lifestyle and included a wide range of social, behavioral, and lifestyle variables. The survey encompassed 7,770 schoolchildren aged 14-15, from 131…

This book is written for physical educators and others interested in the performance of the human body in motion. It is divided into four major catagories: (1) The discipline of human movement and its applications; (2) human beings and function through movement; (3) human movement; applied; and (4) human movement: generative and integrated. Six…

This book is an overview of leisure in modern society and the various kinds of organizations that provide leisure services. The attitudes and behaviors of people engaged in leisure and recreation are examined. In twelve chapters the following topics are explored: (1) the concepts of leisure in historical perspective; (2) various lines of reasoning…

The phenomenon of the close relationship between communication and public opinion is shown in this book to have played a major role historically in the measurement of support for political policies, officials, and candidates. The communications media influence public opinion and are subject to it; yet the precise nature and definition of public…