Despite the popularity of social skills groups, there remains a need for empirical investigation of treatment effects, especially when targeting pivotal aspects of social functioning such as initiations to peers. The goal of the present study was to conduct a randomized controlled trial of a 12-week social intervention (SUCCESS), which combined an…

Experiences of and exposures to violence impact older adolescents and young adults in a myriad of ways. While typically conceptualized as interpersonal, other forms of violence, namely structural and symbolic, can be harmful to development for this population. This study utilized qualitative methodologies, including ethnographic field notes and…

Reports a study that examined social factors which might predict adolescent smoking transition from nonsmoking or experimental to more advanced stages. Data from teens who participated in the Teenage Attitudes and Practices Survey indicated that best friends' smoking status was the only factor that consistently predicted adolescent smoking…

Study surveys secondary school students (N=4,773) about five items concerning the circumstances of smoking initiation: age at first cigarette; source of supply; location of first smoke; persons present; and perceived degree of coercion. Although there was a highly significant gender difference on the item concerning age at first cigarette, with…

A social-learning model was tested for its ability to explain why adolescents drive under the influence of alcohol and ride with drinking drivers. The study demonstrates that if adolescent drinking and driving is to be prevented, careful attention must be prevented, careful attention must be paid to ways that it is learned and maintained.…

A field investigation of 32 groups of communally reared children utilizing 10 categories of group behavior reported group behavior forms and child socialization in groups of toddlers and preschoolers 18 months to 42 months of age. The groups were equally divided (16 each) among "total" and "day care" types and were age-homogeneous. Group forms…

Reports on classroom management in 15 Japanese first grade classes. Describes intensive training of children in procedural skills during the first month of school, peer pressure through class monitors and small groups to achieve management goals, and emphasis on children's socioemotional development as a target of pedagogy. 22 references. (SV)

Smoking is not an issue for children before the 5th or 6th grade except in rare cases. About 80 children in the 3rd, 5th and 7th grades were interviewed about their smoking habits and their views on smoking. Younger students had a strongly negative attitude to smoking but in the middle years toughness is important. Smoking is something which is…

Focuses on the work of girls who take on the role of refereeing the course of action within the game of hopscotch. The fieldwork for this article is based on a study of the interaction of bilingual Spanish- and English-speaking girls. The range of experiences within this game challenges characterizations of girls' play as limiting the development…

Concerning the role of parental smoking on development of adolescent smoking, most studies have exclusively focused on the direct effects of parents' smoking on youths' smoking. However, parental smoking may also play an indirect role by affecting youths' susceptibility to peer influences and by affecting friendship selection. Data were from a…

Networks have emerged as a major topic of interest in the behavioral sciences, and network concepts have recently been extended by community psychologists to higher education. To examine the effectiveness of peer networks within an introductory psychology class, networks of four students each met weekly in place of a lecture to review material and…

Explored interrelationships among day-care experience, temperament, and preschoolers' social behaviors in a peer play laboratory. Found that sex predicted both aggressive and prosocial behaviors, and daycare inhibited socialization for some children. Findings suggest that variables of temperament and day-care experience are important to consider…

Current research on adolescence provides plenty of facts about delinquency, unemployment, and illegitimacy, yet tells us little or nothing about the inner life of adolescents. In an attempt to provide more information, the research reported on here describes the "periods" of adolescence as they are structured in the various…

This research paper describes various aspects of the 12-day July Festival and period of preparation for it in one valley on the island of 'Ua Pou, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. This case study is of a well-delineated cultural event which exemplifies many themes presented in "Patterns of Social Interaction and Concepts of…