Examines the effects of different types of domestic violence on adolescent adjustment. High school students (n=935) participated in this study. Results revealed the amounts of parent-child violence and interparental violence witnessed were significant predictors of both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Significant effects were…

Seventy adolescent mother-child dyads were assessed longitudinally to determine relationships among prenatal maternal knowledge and attitudes about parenting before and after the birth of the child. Found that mothers who were more cognitively prepared for parenting had children who displayed better intellectual development and fewer behavior…

Notes the shift in bullying behavior to more vicious, violent acts. Explores factors contributing to this behavior, how some schools fail to address the problem, and steps parents can take to keep their child safe and to work with schools to prevent aggressive behavior. (HTH)

This article describes a conflict resolution and peer mediation program implemented in three middle schools. The program used a school-wide conflict resolution curriculum and enlisted a core group of trained peer mediators in each school. A resolution acceptable to disputing parties was reached more than 95 percent of the time. (Contains 11…

Using vignettes describing African American children with internalizing versus externalizing problems, parents, teachers, and clinicians judged problem seriousness, prognosis, etiology, referral, and intervention needs. Opinions differed widely among groups, particularly on judgements about children with externalizing problems. More clinicians…

Board members should avoid 10 common errors: losing patience, behaving badly, challenging the board after a vote, acting like inspectors, micromanaging school administrators, springing surprise questions at meetings, putting politics before children, representing special interests, violating executive session, and putting the board before family…

This article describes the misdiagnosis of some gifted children as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorders because of their disruptive behavior in classrooms. Behaviors associated with gifted children and behaviors associated with children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are discussed, along with characteristics of gifted…

Describes an intervention involving social-support-focused discussion groups for the transition to university. Fifty first-year students participating in six groups showed better adjustment to university and fewer behavioral problems compared with a randomly assigned control group (N=46) at a follow-up evaluation conducted at the end of the year.…

Seventy-three caregivers of persons with Angelman syndrome completed the Aberrant Behavior checklist and Reiss Screen for Maladaptive Behavior. Responses indicate that 15q- Angelman syndrome is associated with problems such as lack of speech, over activity, restlessness, and eating and sleeping problems. Inappropriate laughter was only reported…

The lip movements associated with dyskinesia in six adults with mental retardation were investigated through analysis at medication baseline, at the highest level of withdrawal dyskinesia, and at the lowest level of dyskinesia following medication withdrawal. Lip oscillations following withdrawal were linked to changes in structural complexity of…

Analysis of questionnaires completed by 55 teachers and support staff at special schools for children with mental retardation found that use of maladaptive coping strategies for challenging behaviors constitutes a risk for staff burnout and this risk is in addition to that associated with exposure to challenging behavior. (Contains references.)…

Using the Index of Teaching Stress, an instrument assessing a teacher's subjective level of stress and frustration in response to teaching a particular student, a study found elementary school teachers (n=64) rated students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as significantly more stressful to teach than their typical classmates.…

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth was used to assess whether maternal emotional support of a child moderates the relation between spanking and behavior problems. For each group (European Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans), spanking predicted an increase in the level of problem behavior over time. Maternal emotional…

Investigates the relationship of terminal core values to delinquency, substance use, and sexual behavior in a sample of high school students. Groups valuing fun/enjoyment and security were strongly identified with delinquency and substance use. Groups valuing self-respect, sense of accomplishment, and sense of belonging exhibited low frequency of…

This article reviews recent advances in the "new genetics" and shows how such advances affect special education. Focusing on Williams, Fragile X, Prader-Willi, and Down syndromes, it notes how etiology-related cognitive-linguistic profiles and propensities to distinct personalities and behavior problems point the way to specific,…