Previous research has consistently documented the importance of VIPs (mentors or important non-parental adults) in the lives of adolescents. Little is known, however, about whether VIPs play the same important roles across ethnic groups and whether VIPs remain influential when adolescents are older and involved in romantic relationships. The…

Compared characteristics of female alcoholics receiving treatment with those of male alcoholics. Found male subjects had more psychosocial problems and had more contact with the child welfare authorities during their childhood than did the females. However, the females' offspring had had more such contact than the males' offspring. Socioeconomic…

While the descriptive features of anorexia nervosa are well known and agreed upon, the level of personality organization and the character style of anorexia patients is more controversial. To study and compare the cognitive style and personality functioning of anorectic patients with that of conduct disordered patients, 20 adolescent females (10…

Explored psychological effects of sexual abuse in adolescents by comparing Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory profiles of sexually abused adolescents with those of nonabused adolescents with behavior problems. Found significant differences on four of the scales. Sexually abused adolescents revealed more severe pychopathology than the…

Examined whether children of alcoholic mothers were more psychologically damaged than children of nonalcoholic mothers. The subject families' potential for creating a good upbringing environment and subjects' childhoods were studied. Found that children of alcoholic mothers develop social maladjustment problems and addictions, and have a high rate…

Variables related to children's interest in and play experiences with fire and fire-producing materials were explored in this study. Information for the study was obtained from samples of public school children and their parents. The samples were drawn from the communities of Oakland and Hayward, California, and included 70 boys and 69 girls and…