Mexican American youth are at greater risk of school failure than their peers. To identify factors that may contribute to academic success in this population, this study examined the prospective relationships from 5th grade to 7th grade of family (i.e., human capital [a parent with at least a high school education], residential stability,…

The present study employed multilevel random-effects regression analyses to model individual and community correlates of youth supplying tobacco to other minors. Data from 8486 youth in 40 Midwestern junior high and high schools were examined. Results indicate community support for tobacco-possession laws was associated with lower likelihood of…

Examined empathy, prosocial behavior, number of friends, self-reported popularity, and forms of interpersonal forgiveness as predictors of peer victimization among 52 seventh and eighth graders. High popularity was associated with low victimization, and interpersonal forgiveness scores were the strongest predictors of self-reported victimization,…

The effect of the most important dimensions of person perception -- the person performing the evaluation, the person being evaluated, and the interaction between evaluator and object of evaluation -- upon person descriptions was explored using a free-response design. (Author/RC)

Used data from a statewide sample of 5,870 eighth graders in California to examine the correlates of smoking prevalence estimates. Best friends' smoking accounted for the largest proportion of the variance in prevalence estimates. Smoking by peers may give adolescents the impression that smoking is more normative and prevalent than it actually is.…

Studied the link between authoritative parenting style and early adolescent tobacco use through the self-reports of 156 eighth graders and independent reports on tobacco use from their friends. Results show that high levels of authoritative parenting are associated with lower levels of tobacco use among target adolescents. (SLD)

Studied the context in which eighth graders in India watch television through an experience sampling study of 100 urban middle-class Indian families. As a whole, findings indicate that the television viewing of middle-class Indian youth is typically a relaxed antidote to the stresses of the day that they share with their families. (SLD)

Gender and gender-role orientation differences were explored on adolescents' coping with peer stressors. Eighth-grade and ninth-grade public junior high school students (N = 285) completed the COPE, reporting the strategies they recently used to deal with a stressful peer-related situation. Measures of gender-role orientation (Bem Sex-Role…

This study surveyed 1,228 parochial students about adolescent sexuality. Approximately 75% of these adolescents were virgins. Those reporting sexual experiences seldom claimed that it was forced or even pressured, and half reported that they were "going steady" with their first partner. Implications for sex education programs are…

Studied the mechanisms by which social competence may be associated with substance use during early adolescence in a sample of 1,568 rural junior high school students. Structural equation modeling indicated that social competence had a direct protective association with substance use. Discusses mediating factors. (SLD)

Studied whether children whose parents were recently divorced were more likely to consume alcohol frequently or in large quantities than those whose parents divorced earlier. Results for nearly 20,000 students from the National Education Longitudinal Study show that children whose parents were recently divorced were more likely to drink more and…

Used a short-term longitudinal design to assess the adjustment of 41 adolescents as they made the transition from junior high to high school. Results indicate that adolescents experience significant changes during the transition that are related to grade point average and sense of school membership. (SLD)

A 16-item questionnaire concerning independence and 3 divergent thinking tests were administered to 3 groups of preadolescent boys (N=91) and their mothers as part of an ongoing longitudinal study of exceptional giftedness. Results indicate significant correlation of mothers' and boys' independence scores with divergent thinking test scores. (TJH)

The influence of self-esteem on the use of status considerations as determinants of interpersonal acceptance was studied for 356 male and 366 female Israeli junior high school students. Results suggest that individuals with high self-esteem may be more likely to see themselves as equals to higher status others. (SLD)

Much of the research literature on school violence has focused narrowly on individual characteristics of troubled youth, without careful examination of contextual factors that might influence violence and victimization in school settings. This study examines the associations among Student Participation in Decision-Making in their Schools, Teacher…