Assessment of 497 urban preschool children with developmental disabilities using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales indicated a strong positive relationship between adaptive behavior and intelligence if measured globally. When Vineland domains were assessed separately, this relationship varied across domains and disability groups. With…

Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays important roles in processes of reward and self-regulation. Lesions of OFC induce changes in personality and social conduct characterized by behavioral disinhibition, impulsivity, reduced autonomy, lack of concern with negative consequences, and mood lability. Many of these processes relate to aspects of education,…

A meta-analysis (k of conditions = 128; N = 4,598) examined the influence of factors present at the time an attitude is formed on the degree to which this attitude guides future behavior. The findings indicated that attitudes correlated with a future behavior more strongly when they were easy to recall (accessible) and stable over time. Because of…

There is a robust association between prenatal smoking and disruptive behavior disorders, but little is known about the emergence of such behaviors in early development. The association of prenatal smoking and hypothesized behavioral precursors to disruptive behavior in toddlers (N=93) was tested. Exposed toddlers demonstrated atypical behavioral…

The authors report the environmental attitudes and knowledge of 765 1st-year students in 3 teacher-training colleges in Israel and examine the relationship between these variables and background factors and their relationship to environmental behavior. Although the students' environmental knowledge was limited, their overall attitudes toward the…

Objective: The authors documented the prevalence of gambling and correlates to health among undergraduates. Methods: The authors analyzed data from a health-habit questionnaire (gambling questions included) given to students enrolled in a university-required course. Results: Gambling and problems with gambling were more frequent among men than…

Background: Truancy is a serious concern that affects most school districts in the United States; however, we do not have accurate estimates of the prevalence of truancy due to inconsistent tracking and reporting practices of schools. As a result, our best current estimates of the national state of truancy may be from self-reported data. In this…

The concept of the "voice" as developed by Robert W, Firestone (1984 and later) has been hypothesized as an essential mechanism in self-destructive behavior in general and suicide in particular. This study applies the theory of the voice to the development of the Firestone Voice Scale for Self-Destructive Behavior (FVSSDB). The FVSSDB…

In a study to learn whether or not poor nutrition, as indicated by low hemoglobin levels, affects intelligence and behavior, 113 Head Start children in Missoula, Montana took part. Group testing with the Lorge Thorndike Intelligence Test and individual testing with the Wechsler and Primary Scale of Intelligence or Wechsler Intelligence Scale for…

By employing an analytic method developed by the authors entitled the Inventory of Dramatic Behavior, this project set out to accomplish the following goals: (1) to provide a developmental profile of dramatic behavior of Florida elementary school children, (2) to correlate such data with previous results from a New York City sample, and (3) to…

Patterns of juvenile criminal activity were investigated with respect to differences in a range of demographic, family and individual variables. Discriminant function analyses were used to assess the discriminating power of the variables across crime categories, crime subcategories, number of prior referrals, and grade level. (Author/ABB)

Examined subgroups of people in relation to specific types of drugs. Multiple drug clusters identified here yielded six basic drug clusters. Typology of drug abusers was developed by proximity cluster analysis. Set of psychosocial measures was differentially related to use of types of drugs and drug abusers. (Author/BEF)

Results with preschool children were nonsupportive and, in fact, contrary to the general hypothesis that high external locus of control would be positively related to greater behavior adjustment problems, as has been found with some groups of older children and adults. (RL)

Performed secondary analysis of data from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, involving 12,686 subjects, to examine patterns of alcohol and cocaine abuse. Found joint alcohol and cocaine abusers demonstrated highest levels of previous 30-day and lifetime drug use, high levels of delinquent activity, and highest rates of unemployment and marital…

This study focused on the associations between individual variations in children's motor abilities and individual differences in social participation and play behavior. Indoor and outdoor play behavior patterns of 88 kindergarten children were observed, and a battery of standard assessments of basic motor functions was administered. The findings…