Utilizing suicide data collected 1925-1979, analyzed suicides among persons aged 10-24 to determine sociodemographic and presuicide behaviors which discriminate between male and female suicides, suicides of different ages, or explain the increase in suicide rates. Compared adolescent suicide rates in Sacramento County with national findings.…

Analyzed differences in outlook and orientation between pre-identity-formation adolescent and post-identity-formation adult. Extends Erikson's notion of personal identity by examining implications of making commitments in areas of work, family life, religion, and political ideology for ego development in adulthood. Critical psychological…

Compared adolescent and adult reactions to abortion among 252 women. Compared to adults, adolescents were significantly more likely to be dissatisfied with choice of abortion and with services received, to have abortions later in gestational period, to feel forced by circumstances to have abortion, to report being misinformed at time of abortion,…

Explored differences between 35 women who had abortions as teenagers and 36 women who had abortions as adults. Respondents reported on their premorbid psychiatric histories, the decision-making process itself, and postabortion distress symptoms. Antisocial and paranoid personality disorders, drug abuse, and psychotic delusions were significantly…

Examined relationship between age of unmarried fathers and their self-concept and anxiety level. Twelve unmarried adolescent fathers and 12 unmarried adult fathers completed the State-Trait Anxiety Scale and the Personal Attribute Inventory. Results revealed no significant differences between adolescent and adult fathers on self-concept or anxiety…

Hypothesized that audience pressure would prove most detrimental to the skilled performance of adolescents (due to vulnerability to self-awareness) but not of children. Performances of skilled players of video games with and without audience indicated a curvilinear relationship between age and performance change which confirmed the hypothesis.…

Explored differential cognitive-perceptual distortion in depression for adolescent (N=25) versus adult female (N=25) psychiatric inpatients with diagnosis of neurotic or reactive depression. Results from Beck Depression Inventory indicated significant similarities between groups in anger at self and sense of failure. Results also indicated several…

Assessed parenting attitudes of adolescent and older mothers at 1 and 12 months postpartum. Adolescent mothers scored significantly lower than older mothers in empathy toward children's needs. Found no significant group differences on three other parenting attitude constructs. Found no significant correlations between parenting attitudes at 1…

Administered Value History Questionnaire to 170 teenagers and 170 adults to determine their wishes for future care. Results indicated that respondents definitely wanted to know truth about their health care and wanted to participate in decision making, even while dying. Majority did not want to be maintained indefinitely on life-support systems.…

Assessed developmental trends in competency to stand trial in a study of incarcerated and nonincarcerated adolescents (N=52) and adults (N=19). Results indicated that competency to stand trial does increase through the adolescent years, but even older adolescents received lower scores on a competency measure than did adults. (JAC)

Administered Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test to subjects over age 18. Among late adolescents (aged 18 to 20), lonely females had highest mean scores, indicating higher degree of alcoholism risk than lonely males and nonlonely subjects. For males, loneliness appeared to increase alcoholism risk, not in late adolescence, but during early…

Findings from pregnant adolescents, nonpregnant adolescents, pregnant adults, adolescent mothers, and adult mothers found that pregnant adolescents were less socially competent and less proficient in problem solving than nonpregnant peers, that they exhibited more behavioral problems than pregnant adults, and that adolescent mothers displayed more…

Examined the experience and expression of anger in individuals who differ by age and employee/student status. Two female populations described their reactions to a hypothetical work/school-related situation. Results are interpreted from a gender schema perspective, taking the contextual influence of developmental period and employee/student role…

Compared infant-mother attachment and mastery motivation in babies born to adolescent and adult mothers. Found more, although not significantly so, securely attached infants among those born to adult than to adolescent mothers. Infants of adolescent mothers were significantly more persistent than infants of adult mothers, although they were…