Examines the strategies people employ to deal with the face- and interaction-threatening implications of argumentative behavior. Explores the joint influence of individual differences in perceivers' interpersonal construct systems and message producers' communication strategies on the content and structure of impressions of message producers. (MS)

Argues that teachers can help students improve their learning by understanding the reasons why students have not been successful, by identifying strategies that promote active participation in the learning process, and by teaching students how to become more responsible for their own learning. (RAE)

Examined seven different parental control techniques based on 197 suburban parents' descriptions of 1,109 parent-adolescent influence encounters. Found most prevalent control techniques were "command" and "self-oriented induction;" other control techniques were relatively infrequent. Most control techniques were related to one or more situational…

The recreation participation patterns of adults with (n=100) and without (n=100) mental retardation were compared using in-depth interviews. Adults with mental retardation reported participating in far fewer recreational activities than peers without disabilities. Similarities between the two groups were found in the types and ranking of…

Fifteen subjects ages 6 to 22 years with autistic syndromes and pathological urine patterns with increased urinary peptides were given diets free of gluten and casein and were evaluated at 1 and 4 years. Normalization of urine patterns, a decrease in odd behavior, and improvement in communication skills were found. (SLD)

This paper summarizes the case histories of four young children with concurrent autistic disorder and Williams syndrome. Williams syndrome comprises a peculiar facial appearance, learning disorder, and often hypercalcemia, mild microcephaly, large blood vessel stenosis, and a specific behavioral phenotype. Literature on Williams syndrome is…

Impact of parent alcohol misuse on the sexual behavior of female adolescents was studied with 1,134 teenagers of alcohol-misusing parents. Index adolescents were more likely to report sexual intercourse and greater frequency of intercourse. Gender of the drinking parent was related to a number of factors related to sexuality. (SLD)

A cognitive model of drug urges and drug use is proposed, hypothesizing that drug use in the addict is controlled by automatized-action schemata. Urges are conceptualized as responses supported by nonautomatic cognitive processes activated with drug-use action schemata. Implications for behavior assessment are discussed. (SLD)

Examined the relationship between dramatic play and creativity from three perspectives: (1) the existing theories related to the association; (2) the research on this issue; and (3) some situational factors of dramatic play related to this relationship. Most of the research supports the relationship between dramatic play and creativity, noting the…

This second article of the special section on chaos theory addresses implications of the definition of chaotic behavior for its measurement. The requirements to test the presence of chaotic relations among variables are in agreement with the conceptual and methodological hallmarks of behavioral assessment. (SLD)

An empirical typology of behavior styles was developed to define distinct variations of healthy, marginal, at-risk, and maladjusted behavior using a stratified national sample of 1,400 youths aged 5 to 17 years. Results are compared with recent epidemiological studies, and application of the typology is demonstrated. (SLD)

Examined drug use patterns among incarcerated African-American juvenile delinquents (n=248). Found that 90 percent of participants had used some illicit mood altering substance, between 30 percent and 46 percent reported daily use, and average age at initial use was approximately 12 years. Alcohol use tended to precede by about five months use of…

Principal components extraction with orthogonal and oblique rotations tested the construct validity of the Personal Profile System (PPS) using data from 1,045 senior noncommissioned Air Force officers. Four factors accounted for 85 percent of the total variance, but the results do not completely justify publisher claims for the PPS. (SLD)

A survey soliciting school board members' and administrators' views on effective and ineffective board behaviors showed that both groups valued board members' ability to distinguish between policy and administration, willingness to ensure policy recommendation opportunities for superintendents, insistence on policies sensitive to broad public…

This article describes the historical conceptualization of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the similarities between the behavioral manifestations of ADHD and creativity, some speculations about their common etiology, some illustrative case studies, and practical implications of mistaking one for the other. (JDD)