Plain Talk is a neighborhood-based initiative aimed at helping adults, parents, and community leaders develop the skills and tools they need to communicate effectively with young people about reducing adolescent sexual risk-taking. Plain Talk was implemented in five urban neighborhoods in: Atlanta (Georgia); San Diego (California): Seattle…

Studies of personality integration in children and adults show that certain personality characteristics that predict effective behavior appear to be remarkably continuous regardless of differences in age, gender, race, or socioeconomic status. The studies point to the importance of self-esteem for effective behavior. (PP)

This article explores linkages between stress and effective job performance: while too much stress can lead to burnout, too little stressful stimulation can result in boredom. Generating the proper amount of stress for optimal job performance is discussed. (PP)

The design and development of the Consumer Health Products Inventory are discussed. The instrument produces a valid and reliable behavioral inventory to assess self-reported use of selected consumer health products. (JMF)

Examines ways in which learning activities can be designed around trigger films--short, high impact vignettes designed to stimulate learning--to enhance their use in situations dealing with affective learning. Illustrates the use of these films in an undergraduate course, and discusses difficulties tutors experience and guidelines for their…

Discusses the positive value of conflicts and describes a six-step program, Teaching Students To Be Peacemakers, that instructs students in how to negotiate and mediate conflicts. Reviews research on the effectiveness of the program and the benefits of self-regulation for school discipline programs. Provides steps on how to structure academic…

Group Adventure Initiative Tasks require the successful completion of a group task or objective and then provide debriefing and reflection on group processes and individual behaviors. A model of responsible action provides a framework for debriefing by charting behaviors and outcomes of choosing to respond to a situation as "victim"…

For the past six years, the Baltimore City Public Schools and the Prevention Research Center at Johns Hopkins University have been working together on the Prevention Program, an unusual intervention strategy for identifying and remediating behavior patterns in the first grade that could lead to later problems with drugs, delinquency, and…

Considers ways in which library services can be more proactive in today's networked-computer environment. Discusses how to find and use patterns of behavior, such as borrowing behavior and profiles of patrons' interests; making a CD-ROM with information describing the library's services and products; and reviving telephone reference. (LRW)

The first article, by Everett V. Smith, Jr., in this section discusses screening college students for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder using the Adult Behavior Checklist (B. Johnson and S. Lyonfields, 1995). The second article, by George Karabatsos, describes the Rasch analysis and graphical depiction of measures of criminals' attitudes.…

Examines the biological, psychological, and social developmental changes that characterize the years from 6 to 14, and highlights ways in which the organization of programs, schools, and family life can support positive outcomes for youth. In these years children forge a personal identity and form a self-concept and orientation toward achievement…

Despite extensive research, questions underlying the nature and nurture of talent remain both numerous and diverse. In the current paper, we present an account that addresses 2 of the primary questions inspired by this debate: (a) the very existence of innate talents and (b) how exceptional abilities are developed. The development of exceptional…

Autism is a developmental disorder that involves many challenges. Autistic children have trouble forming relationships. They also have difficulty understanding and responding to emotional signals from others. Other challenges include using language, using words creatively, using imagination, and, later, thinking abstractly. These are the core…

The training program is one of the most important and least standardized programatic units. It is important to keep in mind that various volunteers cannot be mass produced into professional social workers, psychologists or counselors by six-, eight- or 10-week courses. It is essential that the trainer integrate the key concepts presented and…

An innovative program at the University of Washington Epilepsy Center which employes group social skills training procedures to ameliorate the psychosocial problems of chronic seizure-disorder patients is described. The rationale for the program is presented through a brief social learning analysis of the effects of long-standing periodic lack of…