Of the diagnostic features of autism, relatively little research has been devoted to restricted and repetitive behavior, particularly topographically complex forms of restricted and repetitive behavior such as rigidity in routines or compulsive-like behavior (e.g., arranging objects in patterns or rows). Like vocal or motor stereotypy,…

Parents of 78 young people with Down syndrome, age 17 to 24 years, were asked whether their offspring had ever used private speech (talking out loud to themselves). Results confirm the universality of private speech and its developmental pattern. No association was found between private speech and behavior problems, communication difficulties or…

Problem behavior theory predicts that norm-violating attitudes and activities reflect syndrome. Findings from community sample revealed that criminal behavior was more determined by general deviance in adulthood than in young adulthood, whereas sexual involvement became less determined by common factors between these times. Drug use and low social…

Researchers have long focused upon the problems of student/adolescent drug use; however, such a limited perspective may actually provide inaccurate information as to the actual nature and extent of total drug use. It may be more appropriate to emphasize a lifespan developmental perspective regarding drug abuse behaviors, insofar as drug use must…

Professionals (N=228) were interviewed about their case experiences with neglect and abuse of the elderly. It was suggested that environmental contexts and situational problems trigger such behavior, and that the behavior is primarily based on flawed development of the perpetrator and disordered family relationships. (Author)

This study tested the association between mother's early age at first birth and various life outcomes for her children in later adolescence and early adulthood. Data were analyzed from the Rochester Youth Development Study, an ongoing panel study of adolescents enrolled in seventh or eighth grade in Rochester Public Schools in 1988 ("N"=729). Boys…

Reviews literature on effects of early maladjustment on later behavior problems. Discusses development as transactional process in which risk and resilience are central, a cumulative risk model of behavior problems as resulting from a variety of factors, and longitudinal research that focuses on externalizing behaviors. Concludes predictive power…

The importance of developing positive, reciprocal interaction has been well documented. If affective education for young handicapped children is to become a reality, additional research is necessary to identify those response patterns that set the occasion for positive reciprocal interaction. (Author)

This study investigated sibling interaction patterns in middle childhood as predictors of adjustment outcomes in males during adolescence and early adulthood using a social interactional perspective. It was theorized that negative interaction during middle childhood with siblings and parents would be the most powerful predictor of adjustment in…