Interviewed 143 newly separated persons to examine the relationship between sex-role orientation and adjustment. In women, high family orientation, and to a lesser extent, low self orientation were associated with poor postseparation adjustment. In men, however, the concept is poorly elaborated and not yet adequately assessed. (JAC)

This longitudinal study examined risk assessment dimensions and practices used by the Orange County (California) Juvenile Probation Office to identify youth most at risk of re-offending. Results indicated that the risk assessment was not equally predictive for females and males. The use of gender specific norms or gender neutral assessments and…

Ego-control and ego-resiliency were evaluated in seven assessments conducted when subjects were 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, and 18 years old. Ego-control refers to an individual's tendency to express or contain impulses, feelings, and desires. Ego-resiliency refers to the capacity to modify one's modal level of ego-control as a function of environmental…

College dormitory residents (n=160) were surveyed concerning their alcohol use, social influences, attitudes and beliefs about alcohol, personality characteristics, and demographic information. Subjects were reinterviewed two years later. Regression equations indicated utility of several variables in predicting self-reports of alcohol consumption,…

An eight-semester study of university students indicated that student achievement expectancies were predictors of subsequent academic performance, providing support for the consideration of student achievement expectancies in instructional design. Notes gender differences. (PEN)

Conducted a longitudinal analysis of the relationship of divorce to the national suicide rate in Canada. Found the suicide rate varied directly with the rate of family dissolution, even after taking into account the effects of unemployment and females' participation in the labor force. (Author/ABB)

Examined concurrent and longitudinal links between observational measures of 8- to 9-year olds' playground behaviors/peer contacts (alone, conversation, group size, and network) and three sociometric measures of peer relationships (social preference, bully, and victim). Found significant concurrent and predictive relationships, with relationships…

A total of 113 children were seen at one and six years of age in order to examine the relationship between the quality of the early attachment relationship and later psychopathology. Results from the Achenbach and Edelbrock Child Behavior Profile (a measure of psychopathology at six years) indicated different outcomes for male and female children.…

Used a multivariate approach and longitudinal design to examine the relationship of early perceptual and cognitive development in first grade, to school achievement in fourth grade. Results indicated variables used to predict achievement differed between the sexes, and sex as a predictor variable depended upon area of achievement studying.…

Parental agreement was found to be more implicative for the psychological functioning of boys than girls and was positively related to the development of ego control in boys but negatively related to the development of ego control in girls. (Author/MP)

Examined factors predicting body dissatisfaction for seventh- and tenth-grade girls and boys in the second wave of a 3-year study of psychosocial maturity. Identified high body mass index, greater figure management, and being teased about appearance as risk factors for girls' body dissatisfaction. Being teased was boys' only significant risk…

Studied perceptions of self-competence and task values, documenting domain-specific growth trajectories for 761 children from grade 1 through 12. Found that self- perceptions of competence and subjective task values declined as children got older, although extent and rate of decline varied across domains. Found significant gender differences in…

Assessed whether risk factors for youth violence measured at 10 years influenced later violence directly or indirectly through predictors measured at 14 years. Found that many childhood risks had strong and persistent effects on later violence. Mediation effects were noted for most factors. School and peer predictors at 14 years were the strongest…

A controversy currently exists in the literature regarding the stability of self-esteem across childhood. This ongoing study, initiated in 1987, was designed to respond to the limitations in the existing body of knowledge. It examines the influence of a variety of environmental variables, specifically home and school experiences, as well as…

Examined sex differences in teenage marijuana, alcohol and cigarette use among 705 adolescents from Woodlawn, a poor Black Chicago neighborhood. Found important sex differences in the antecedent, concurrent, and mediating variables relating to substance use. Discusses these sex differences from two theoretical perspectives: social adaptation and…