Assesses the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system in preventing delinquency and rehabilitating delinquents. The six articles in this special issue also discuss status offenders and gender issues, examine the Chicago Area Project, and discuss the future of juvenile justice policy and research. (JAC)

Compared conventional biology instruction to personalized system of instruction (PSI) and investigated relationship between achievement and selected variables (age, sex, family income/size, grade point average, motivational factors, treatment group, and California Achievement Test scores) of college students (N=80). Results, among others, indicate…

Discusses a study conducted among Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White women to: (1) identify the factors related to intention to report/not report a rape to various people; and (2) ascertain the usefulness of Fishbein's model of behavioral intentions, which consists of "perceived outcomes" and "perceived expectations" components,…

Parents' educational attainment, mothers' careers, and religious upbringing were the background variables that most strongly predict traditional/nontraditional goals and sex role attitudes as expressed in the responses of 763 students to a questionnaire. The predictive powers of the background traits differed for men and women. (Author/GC)

Investigated the existence and nature of differences among students' levels of satisfaction with college and their attitudes about future employment. The examination of responses from a national sample of students enrolled in five types of college majors established sex as an important moderating variable. (Author)

The following hypothesis is tested and validated: that individual differences in interviewers' tendencies to rate generously or harshly, applicant characteristics, and the dissimilarity between applicant and interviewer characteristics contribute simultaneously to the prediction of interviewers' ratings of medical school applicants. (JMD)

Thirteen predictors of self-reported high school leadership were investigated using data from the Project TALENT sample of high school seniors. The high school leader was characterized as mature, interested in business management, self-confident, socially sensitive, vigorous, and having high socioeconomic status. Cognitive variables were not…

Ten years after initial participation by 729 American, Chinese, and Japanese first graders and their mothers, interviews and achievement tests completed by 475 students from this sample found high stability of achievement relationships among all three societies. Associations between early predictors and achievement were similar for all groups.…

Data from national sample of 3- to 16-year-olds show that lower test scores and increased behavior problems of children of younger mothers resulted from family background rather than maternal age. For nonfirstborns, maternal age at first birth, not at child's birth, influenced test scores. Disadvantage of children born to younger mothers was…

A survey of individuals who earned their doctorates between 1994-1998 (n=872) found only 36% of recipients were employed full-time in tenure-line positions. Factors influencing career choices included age at beginning doctoral study; career aspirations of beginning doctoral students; institutional financial support; and the ability to relocate…

This study used data from the Australian Temperament Project to examine how child temperament characteristics and the "fit" between parent and child from early in life might influence social competence when children were 11 and 12 years old. Findings indicated that problematic child functioning, poor fit, or both, had negative…

A study was conducted of 201 adults with Down's syndrome to investigate the differential causes of decline in adaptive behavior. Results indicated that aging, dementia, and severity of mental retardation were significant factors, while absence of a medical illness predicted a higher level of adaptive behavior. (CR)

Investigated the family as a context for gender typing of adolescent science achievement. Findings indicated no child gender or grade-level differences in science-related grades, self-efficacy, or interest. However, parents were more likely to believe that science was less interesting and more difficult for daughters than sons. Parents' beliefs…

Familial/individual predictor variables related to reading disability were assessed, using 66 lower-to-upper-middle-class second graders. Subjects were evaluated as preschoolers, at age 60 months, and at the end of grade 2. Familial reading problems and individual differences in vocabulary, phonological awareness, and early literacy skills were…

A follow-up study of 268 adolescents was conducted to determine predictors of disabilities. Parental traits were more accurate predictors of adolescent status than the child's own behavior from birth to 3 years, whereas child-centered skills assessed at 4 and 7 years of age were better predictors than familial factors. (Author/JDD)