Examined the relationship between 48 4-year-olds' social competence with peers and differential aspects of their teacher child relationships over the preceding 3 years. Found that toddler security with a teacher was negatively associated with hostile aggression and was positively associated with complex peer play and gregarious, prosocial, and…

Structural equation modeling was used to test a conceptual model and alternative models of competence in 191 children. Found that competence had at least three distinct dimensions in childhood and five in adolescence. These dimensions reflect developmental tasks related to academic achievement, social competence, and conduct important to both age…

Latent growth curve analysis was used to study individual differences in initial status and growth rates of antisocial behavior, delinquent peer association, and unsupervised wandering during the transition to early adolescence for 206 European American boys. Findings are discussed in terms of the trait-confluence model for peer influence. (SLD)

Assessed high-risk individuals' subjective awareness of legal intoxication and ability to drive, and objectively quantified their blood alcohol levels and driving performance. While subjects were able to recognize legal intoxication, one-third of the subjects were still willing to drive after becoming intoxicated beyond the legal limit to drive.…

Used a general model of affective aggression to generate predictions concerning hot temperatures. Results indicated that hot temperatures produced increases in hostile affect, hostile cognition, and physiological arousal. Concluded that hostile affect, hostile cognitions, and excitation transfer processes may all increase the likelihood of biased…

Examined several hypotheses concerning heavy drinking and marital violence. Subjects, 320 married and cohabiting men who participated in a nationally representative study of alcohol consumption, completed scales assessing hostility, self-consciousness, marital satisfaction, and the Alcohol Dependence Scale. Results indicated that alcohol use was…

Presents two studies that examined the component structure of the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) in unmarried college students. In Study 1, analyses revealed a four-component solution. For Study 2, the samples' component solution was consistent with those found in earlier studies of the CTS with married samples. Implications are discussed. (RJM)

This study examined the integration of "leisure" into the ideology of Alcoholics Anonymous. Participant-observation and in-depth interviews found parallels between the concept of sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous and philosophical ideals of leisure both as conditions of freedom from compelled activity and freedom to engage in meaningful…

Studied the possibility that children's decisions regarding naughtiness and types of punishment differ according to age and sex. Subjects were interviewed after hearing two stories from Piaget's study of children's moral reasoning. Significant age variability was found. Findings imply that children did not make the connection between the act and…

Some children who are exposed to cocaine prenatally or in infancy exhibit neurological and behavioral difficulties or developmental delays in preschool. The causes and treatment of aggression in one child in a preschool program who had been prenatally exposed to cocaine is described. (SM)

Suggests the use of key historical antisocial acts to teach social studies concepts as a means of arousing the interest of adolescents. Recommends overcoming initial sensationalism by shifting emphasis to more appropriate interests. Includes discussion of the Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy assassinations and the Rosenberg spy case. Suggests…

Examined psychological adjustment in 159 homeless and 62 low-income, at-home children. Homeless children had greater recent stress exposure, more disrupted schooling/friendships. Behavior problems were above norms for homeless children, particularly for antisocial behavior. Behavior problems in both samples were more related to parental distress,…

The article describes a multifaceted intervention program based on social cognitive theory which was used with six boys, ages six to eight, with antisocial, aggressive tendencies. The intervention addressed cognitive/affective variables, behavioral factors, and environmental conditions. Evaluation indicated the program was effective, and it has…

Notes that special education policymakers have debated whether to exclude conduct-disordered students from special education services. Sees mandate for special educators and mental health professionals to find methods of teaching and counseling antisocial students. Notes that number of gang members who present problems in community would meet…

A dual taxonomy is presented to reconcile two incongruous facts about antisocial behavior, that it shows impressive continuity over age, but its prevalence changes dramatically over age, increasing almost tenfold during adolescence. Studying delinquents earlier in life may yield more information about the causes and antecedents of antisocial…