Compared levels of conformity to parents and peers of 592 Indian adolescents and investigated effects of age, sex, and locality on levels of conformity. Results showed that adolescents were more conforming to parent than to peer views, with early adolescents showing greater adherence to parental views, and late adolescents favoring peers. (Author)

Assessed the relative impact of parents and peers for adolescent religious orientation in a survey of Australian adolescents (N=375). While peers (especially close friends) were important for the respondents' self-concept, there was no evidence that adolescent religion was a product of a distinctive youth subculture. There was consistent support…

The influences of home and school environment on teenage smoking were assessed according to sex differences, age differences, influence of adults, socioeconomic status, and coeducation v same sex grouping. (Author/DB)

Studied the risk-taking behavior (i.e., smoking, intemperate drinking, and failure to fasten seat belts) of 4,539 Canadian adolescents. Results showed adolescents who lived in intact families engaged in less health-risk behavior than adolescents from separated or divorced families. Results from widowed families were mixed. (JAC)

Ninety-five women (18-26 years of age) from 23 countries were interviewed regarding (1) their preparation for menarche, (2) messages from others at the time of menarche, and (3) their emotional responses to the first period. Mothers were the source of information for most girls. Others' reactions were primarily hygiene-centered. Comparisons with…

Proposes a model in which parental social status (PSS) affects school achievement and self-concept in the academic domain. Also studied how perceived PSS affects self-concept in social domains. Findings supported the model with one exception: PSS was unrelated to academic self-concept in the urban setting. (RJM)