Increasing bodies of evidence suggest that keeping secrets may be detrimental to well-being and adjustment, whereas confiding secrets may alleviate the detriments of secrecy and benefit well-being and adjustment. However, few studies have addressed the consequences of keeping and confiding secrets simultaneously, and even fewer have done so…

Describes the results of four longitudinal studies of adolescent development that focus on coping styles, maturity of defenses, adaptation to school environments, and predictors of educational and occupational attainment. Implications are discussed in terms of linking adolescence with other phases of development. (Author/SS)

Reviews literature on effects of early maladjustment on later behavior problems. Discusses development as transactional process in which risk and resilience are central, a cumulative risk model of behavior problems as resulting from a variety of factors, and longitudinal research that focuses on externalizing behaviors. Concludes predictive power…

This study investigated the relative influence of parent attitudes and behaviors on the scholastic and social adjustment of 720 low-income inner-city black sixth graders in the Longitudinal Study of Children at Risk. Findings suggest that affective characteristics of parents deserve attention in educational reform and intervention efforts. (SLD)