Investigated the extent of alcohol consumption among the educable mentally-retarded (EMR) as compared to their nonretarded peers, and identified social and demographic variables which relate to drinking behavior. Findings revealed that there was a more prevalent alcohol use among the nonretarded than the EMR students. (Author)

Implications of cohabitation for courtship were explored in a two-year study of 231 college dating couples. No differences were found between living together and other "going together" couples in rates of marriage or breakup. Differences were found in satisfaction, intimacy, problems, expectations, power, and transition to marriage.…

Analyzed free play of 24 preschoolers (3 to 4 years old), half of whom had disabilities. Found that the proportions of time that each child spent interacting with peers and with adults were negatively correlated for 21 of the children. After an adult had initiated an interaction with them, children were less likely to initiate interaction with a…

The perceptions of students toward conservation and nature utilization and their behavior toward the environment were studied with 725 Danish adolescents and a previously studied group of Bavarian adolescents. Following construct validation, comparison of mean within-region factor values reveals substantial differences between countries. (SLD)

A total of 136 mothers of preschool-age children participated in interviews about their disciplinary style. Children of power-assertive mothers engaged in more antisocial or disruptive behavior than other children and expected successful instrumental outcomes for hostile methods of resolving peer conflict. (LB)

According to a study of 40,192 college students, the average weekly alcohol consumption among black students is only one-third that of white students, and black collegians report binge drinking at rates less than half those of white students. Hypotheses are advanced for these differences. (SLD)

Eighteen cases of disintegrative psychosis (DP) were compared with 52 cases of infantile autism (IA) with speech loss and 145 IA cases without speech loss. DP cases showed clearer regression after more satisfactory development than the IA cases with speech loss, and by age seven were more severely retarded but similar in autistic symptomatology to…

Comparison of in-home interactions of mothers and fathers with their school-age children found that parents in 53 families having children with mental retardation were more controlling and less playful with their child than were parents of nonretarded children but they did effectively employ behavior management practices without resorting to…

Adequacy of a model of administrative leadership and differences in the model across groups of principals and assistant principals were studied for 150 principals and 150 assistant principals. The model, which hypothesizes three domains of school leadership, fit the data well. Principals and assistant principals have rather similar views of…

Describes a study that used focus groups, mail surveys, and in-home observations to examine differences in traditional television viewing and video cassette recorder (VCR) movie rental viewing. Viewing preparation, activities during viewing, and visual orientation to the screen are examined; hypotheses tested are discussed; and future research is…

Aware of some educators' concerns that computers isolate children and are too abstract for chilren under the age of eight, two studies investigated young children's use of LOGO and their interactions with the computer. Data were collected on kindergartners working in a public school computer lab and on preschoolers using computers in a…

The study examines and compares free/spontaneous play behaviors of 20 Hispanic (from Ponce, Puerto Rico) and 20 Anglo (from State College, Pennsylvania) 5-year-old children from middle class socioeconomic strata. Within each of the groups there were 10 boys and 10 girls. Each child was observed in a group play setting in four observational…

This dissertation examined the acquisition and development of children's social/symbolic and strategic communication abilities within a sociolinguistic model of communication competence. The major theoretical perspective was derived from the symbolic interactionism of Mead and the cognitive developmental theories of Piaget and Werner. The sample…

The experiment reported in this dissertation investigated the effect of similarity/dissimilarity of race and personal interests on empathy and altruism in second graders. It was hypothesized that white children would empathize more with other white children than with black children. It was also hypothesized that white children would empathize more…

The relationship between the behavioral consistency procedure and two other procedures (application form analysis and rating scales) were investigated through a comparison of initial employment and hiring practices used by the U.S. Civil Service Commission. The position of Budget Analyst was initially assessed in terms of five achievement areas…