The concept "patterns of cultural choice," defined as patterns of money and time use among which people may choose to some degree, is contrasted with terms such as lifestyle and subculture. Eight research articles, comprising this journal issue, which employ alternative strategies of isolating choice patterns, are introduced. (Author/RM)

Compares high school life styles to life styles in society in general. Various styles are discussed, including academic types, delinquents, social types, hippies, freaks, and athletes and their admirers. Suggests that the set of high school subcultures is similar throughout the United States. (DB)

Six articles focus on various aspects on violence in American society. Titles are "Evolving a Science of Violence,""Violence by Youth; Violence Against Youth,""Victims and Aggressors in Marital Violence,""Television Violence, Victimization, and Power," and "Violence in Business Settings." (DB)

The biological and the cultural aspects of human play are inextricably linked and mutually influence each other. (LH)

The paper presents an overview of an ethological approach to the study of abnormal human behavior and a review of research using ethological approaches (with an emphasis on autism research). Ethology is defined as the study of behavior as it occurs in its natural habitat. The four types of questions ethologists ask about behavior, such as what is…

This report calls attention to those areas of research on aging in the behavioral and social sciences that have promise for both short-run and long-term. It looks at the societal context for aging, at processes of aging in the individual, and, finally, at the older person in the context of various social institutions. The societal context examines…

The study of human development and behavior from a life-span perspective is an area of growing interest, and the family is a natural laboratory for this study. Research in the area of drug abuse demonstrates that drug use is not limited to any one population segment or age group, but is pervasive across population subgroups. More and more evidence…