This book explores the process and characteristics of children's personal and social relationships. To determine what relationships mean to children and how children manage those relationships, a recursive interviewing technique was used with nearly a thousand children to detail children's social rules. Those rules cover a range of social issues,…

Six essays submitted to Harvard University (Massachusetts) by applicants for the class of 2000 are presented. Topics include a refugee's experiences, a football player's passion for musical theater, the death of a sister, a mother's influence, living in China, and a renaissance-English poetic lament about being a dog. (MSE)

A survey of 285 high school seniors in six rural Pennsylvania schools found that student plans to attend postsecondary education were strongly influenced by parents' educational attainment and somewhat influenced by sibling educational attainment. Family financial situation was not a factor in student choice of postsecondary educational options.…

Investigated ways in which indicators of parental autonomy granting (decision-making input and parental knowledge of adolescents' daily experiences) differed as a function of context and personal qualities. Found that firstborns were granted more autonomy than second borns, especially in families with firstborn girls and second-born boys. Girls in…

Explored how perceptions of social support changed during first semester of university, and how social support, coping strategies, and adjustment were interrelated among freshmen in China. Found that overall social support did not change significantly. Support from different sources (parents, peers, teachers, siblings) showed distinctive change…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This March 5, 2004 issue of "Chronicle of Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "Good Policies on Student Vaccination can Inoculate College Against Risk"…

Children with complex disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders and Landau Kleffner syndrome often lack means to participate in everyday family routines. Serious problem behaviors may result from their challenges in responding to and initiating communicative interactions. These behaviors can change routine family activities such that the…

We examined symmetries and asymmetries within family members' psychological distress and resources in general and when exposed to traumatic events in particular. PTSD [Posttraumatic Stress Disorder] and depressive symptoms indicated distress and resilient attitudes, and satisfaction with quality of life indicated resources. We also analysed…

A program called Strong Families: Competent Kids was developed in response to the growing number of latchkey kids. The goals of the program are to help parents determine when their children are ready for self-care and to provide children with skills to manage self-care safely and confidently. It does not advocate that children should be left in…

A case study detailed the influence of a nine-year-old female sibling on the writing development of her younger brother, from the time he was 18 months old until he was 28 months old. General and significant interactions, such as the boy's oral language milestones and the books the children shared, were recorded in a journal by their mother.…

Siblings are far more likely to be different than alike in personality and psychopathology. Different genes and different environmental experiences can account for why one sibling becomes mentally ill and another is not affected. Environmental experiences play a much greater role in sibling differentiation than has been previously recognized.…

This mini-bibliography lists readings and resources relating to children and adolescents with autism. It includes annotated bibliographies for sources that address: (1) social skills training for children and adolescents with autism; (2) Asperger syndrome; (3) Individualized Education Programs for students with autism; (4) teaching strategies for…

This book, for children aged 7 and up, is designed to teach younger children about human biology and healthy sexuality, allowing parents and teachers to answer children's questions. Comic book style, full-color artwork illustrates the age-appropriate text and reflects an elementary school child's interest in biology and how things work. The book…

Questioned kindergarten children through college students to determine verbal and nonverbal behavior that "earned" significance. Findings could be categorized meaningfully in regard to who was significant, what they did or said, how this affected self-esteem, and how subjects reacted to feedback. Format was effective with groups of…

This study investigated social support preferences of Hispanic male junior high school students with (n=22) and without (n=11) mild learning handicaps for various life stressors. Students with handicaps were more likely to choose "nobody" and less likely to choose siblings than nonhandicapped peers. Differences between special class and resource…