Two experiments examined three- to six-year-olds' use of frequency and intention information to make trait attributions and behavioral predictions. In experiment 1, participants were told a story about an actor who behaved positively once or four times on purpose or incidentally. Children were most likely to make trait-consistent behavioral…

The present study investigated regulatory self-efficacy (RSE) as a predictor of friendship and adolescent alcohol intoxication and as a moderator of peer socialization processes related to alcohol intoxication. The longitudinal sample included 457 Italian adolescents (262 females and 195 males) ranging in age of 14 to 20 years (M = 16.1 years of…

Studies indicate that children believe that positive behaviors are more likely than negative ones to remain stable across time and situations. The present study assessed whether children hold such optimism equally regarding their own vs. others' behavioral patterns. Thirty five-year-olds answered questions about the extent to which they viewed…

This study examined the effects of one unfamiliar adult's warm, responsive interactions or cold, aloof, unresponsive interactions on child emotion and subsequent social initiatives to a second adult. Participants were 32 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-year-old preschool children. Nurturing, responsive caregiving and non-nurturing, unresponsive caregiving were…

Examined stability of gang membership in early adolescence, concurrent behaviors, family characteristics, friendships, and school attitudes of stable and unstable gang and nongang members. Found that stable gang members, compared to nongang members, had higher teacher ratings of fighting behavior, hyperactivity, inattention and oppositional…

The study of social dominance has a long tradition within the peer relationships literature, but rarely has the topic been investigated observationally and longitudinally within other salient close relationships. The present study investigated the role of experiences in social relationships and adjustment indices in childhood in predicting later…

This study examined how parents respond when their children encounter values outside the home that conflict with family values. Forty-eight middle-class European American parents completed questionnaires consisting of 11 vignettes asking how they would respond to hypothetical situations where outside sources posed potential conflicts with parental…

This study focused on the associations between individual variations in children's motor abilities and individual differences in social participation and play behavior. Indoor and outdoor play behavior patterns of 88 kindergarten children were observed, and a battery of standard assessments of basic motor functions was administered. The findings…