A total 72 children of 3 1/2, 5 1/2, and 7 1/2 years were asked questions about their behaviors and internal states, and of a best friend and an acquaintance. Results indicated even young children have concepts of themselves and other persons that are not restricted to specific points in time and may form basis for later dispositional conceptions.…

Investigated the role of memory development, especially the developmental change in reported general and specific memories, in children's and adults' concepts of themselves. The proportion of general responses was found to be high and stable across all ages; the proportion of specific responses increased with age. (PCB)

Examined (1) the possibility that children organize general statements into meaningful and consistent psychological concepts of themselves; (2) individual differences revealed in these concepts; (3) the possibility that these differences show stability over a one-month period. (PCB)

Findings indicate drug usage in early adolescence is related to concurrent, as well as preschool, personality characteristics. Personality concomitants and antecedents of drug use differ somewhat as a function of gender and drug used. (PCB)

Reviews a series of studies documenting that key aspects of helpless reactions to failure are present in preschool and early elementary school children. Proposes a preliminary model in which a general conception of self and the notion of this self as an object of contingent worth are sufficient conditions for helplessness. (HTH)

Ethnic identity development was assessed in the context of ego development in 12- to 15-year-old students from a Southeastern American Indian community. Self-protective was the modal level and was characterized by awareness of ethnic group membership but little exploration or self-reflection. Impulsive adolescents had the least developed ethnic…

Examined the self-understanding and moral judgment of 15 African American and Hispanic American adolescents nominated by community leaders for their exemplary caring behavior. These "care exemplars" were more likely than comparison adolescents to describe themselves in terms of moral personality traits and goals and to view themselves as…

Examined the relationship between sex role identity and two measures of adjustment--self-acceptance and peer acceptance--among adolescents. Sex differences were discovered regarding factors positively associated with self-acceptance. Findings suggest that a model of sex role differentiation during adolescence must recognize differential pressures…

Factors that allowed inner-city ninth graders to maintain socially competent behavior in spite of stress were examined. Findings yield insights on the ways in which personality variables may interact with stress to influence social competence among inner-city adolescents. (GLR)

Two experiments were designed to investigate among kindergarten through third-grade children the development of character constancy -- the belief that other's or self's personality characteristics are stable across time and do not change despite changes in appearance. It is proposed that character constancy of self and other is a product of both…

Developed a model of individuation in family relationships focused on communicative processes. Expressions of four dimensions of the model (self-esteem, separateness, permeability, and mutuality) were predicted to be positively associated with identity exploration in adolescents. Analysis of observations of families in a Family Interaction Task…

The sex-differentiated socialization emphases of parents and other representatives of societal institutions are considered as they influence personality development and behavioral orientations. Such emphases, shaping behaviors, and teaching styles are evaluated with regard to the nature of "meta-messages" conveyed to children. (Author/RH)

Compared attitudes of children in child-centered preschools and kindergartens with those of children in didactic, highly academic programs in terms achievement and motivation. Compared to children in child-centered programs, children in didactic programs rated their abilities significantly lower, had lower expectations for success on academic…