This study examined how type of task affected 42 subjects' drinking patterns. Results indicated that subjects who had completed light creative work drank more alcohol than those in noncreative tasks, and participants completing hard creative tasks drank more of both alcoholic and nonalcoholic fluids. Results are discussed in terms of the need to…

This extensive report presents the recommendations and findings of a study designed to indicate procedures and instruments for a national study of the incidence of runaway. Reported data are from an urban-suburban area and a rural area in Colorado. The report makes specific recommendations concerning the feasibility of using a national probability…

Sleep patterns of 103 institutionalized individuals with profound mental retardation were explored. Almost 40% were found to have short-sleep patterns. Short-sleep was predicted by blindness; nonshort-sleep was predicted by diagnosis of cerebral palsy and sodium valproate usage. Techniques for minimizing possible negative consequences of…

Reviews epidemiological studies of cardiovascular diseases especially coronary heart disease (CHD), to document their major public health importance, changes in mortality during this century, and international comparisons of trends. Finds major risk factors for CHD are determined in large part by psychosocial and behavioral mechanisms. Asserts…

This study found that siblings (n=19) of severely autistic children, siblings of children with Down's syndrome, and siblings of normal children did not differ on measures of perceived self-competence or parents' report of social competence. Siblings of autistic children had more internalizing and externalizing behavior problems than siblings of…

In his recent "Crime and Coercion," Colvin contends that individuals exposed to coercive environments develop social-psychological deficits that enhance their probability of engaging in criminal behavior. Using a sample of 2,472 students from six middle schools, the authors test core propositions of Colvin's differential coercion theory.…

A random household survey of 569 African-American adults in Oakland and 568 in San Francisco (California) indicates a high prevalence of smoking (41.9 percent), with smoking more likely by those reporting high stress. Stressful environment may contribute to high-risk smoking behavior among urban African Americans. (SLD)