The current meta-analysis examines the previous research on the utility of the Social Communication Questionnaire as a screening instrument for autism spectrum disorder. Previously published reports have highlighted the inconsistencies between Social Communication Questionnaire-screening results and formal autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. The…

Social interactions may positively influence developmental and quality of life outcomes. Research in persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) mostly investigated interactions with caregivers. This literature review focuses on peer interactions of persons with PIMD. A computerized literature search of three databases was…

Autism is an extensively studied disorder in which the gender disparity in prevalence has received much attention. In contrast, only a few studies examine gender differences in symptomatology. This systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 peer reviewed original publications examines gender differences in the core triad of impairments in autism.…

In this conceptual article, we integrate existing literature on early school transitions, ecological systems theory, and student-teacher relationships to propose a framework for investigating the transition to school for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A review of the literature suggests that the quality of early student-teacher…

Argues that there are important individual differences in infant responses to frustrating situations. These different patterns of behavior have important implications for subsequent responses to challenge. Also argues that these different coping responses are in part temperamentally based and that individual differences in temperament help us to…

In this overview of literature pertaining to professionalization of attitudes toward play, the author argues that research does not prove (a) that differences in value orientation can be attributed to participation in athletics, and (b) that involvement in competition socializes an athlete into the value system of the work world. (Author/MT)

Reintroduces the ethological concept of social dominance, and interprets it from a strategy-based perspective. Maintains that, by adopting this approach to social dominance and explicitly incorporating developmental processes and uniquely human capacities, human social-dominance patterns appear to be more similar to primate patterns than commonly…

This essay attempts to describe how age relations are important to the social behavior of preschool children. Major behaviors examined are sociability, friendship, aggression, and dominance. Imitation, cognitive development, social cognition, nurturance, and prosocial behavior are also briefly considered. (Author/SJL)

Issues of morality and children are examined. Information on moral judgment research with children is discussed with implications for educational interventions. Research suggesting that characteristics of moral dilemmas and solutions are related to sex and grade is presented. Areas to be pursued in research and practical application are…

Studies suggest children of remarriage may experience adjustment challenges but that long range developmental effects are insignificant. Quality of family life appears to be more relevant than family structure, and adjustment seems easier for boys and younger children than for girls and adolescents. (Author/RH)

Synthesizes literature on social comparison in young children. Findings center on (1) children's motivations to engage in social comparison; (2) peer targets; (3) age when social comparison appears; (4) developmental sequences; (5) effects upon subsequent behavior; and (6) sex-related differences. Suggests pratical implications for teaching.…

Extends earlier work on aging as a process of exchange by focusing on the issue of exchange rates and how they are negotiated. Access to power resources declines with age, placing the old person in the position of negotiating from weakness. (Author)

Discusses the nature and importance of social skills for the elderly, including social skills deficits and psychological disorders related to aging, in five papers presented as part of a Symposium on Social Skills at the XII International Congress of Gerontology, Hamburg, July 1981. (JAC)

As the adolescent matures, drinking situations occur outside of the home with friends. This period is characterized by drinking habits, patterns, and attitudes which are different from those of the parent population; the peer group and situational factors are significant influences on drinking behavior during this phase. (Author)

Social networks are the linkages between social units, both persons and groups, with which an individual has contact. The articles in this special issue address the different types of people and their functions that make up the social networks of females and males from infancy into childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. (BJV)