Argues that the social problems confronting America have been bombarded with ill-conceived and unsuccessful social policy largely driven by fear. Explains that parental licensing is a draconian and unworkable solution. Vouchers for indigent youth to attend Catholic schools, developing after-school and summer programs, and reforming welfare are…

Discusses problem-solving strategies designed to diffuse the power of suburban youth gangs. Argues against using the metaphor of "war" to combat youth violence and outlines the dimensions of a comprehensive policy that emphasizes prevention, prosecution, and placement. Suggests what local governments can do to solve this problem. (RJM)

School personnel often misclassify a conduct-disordered student as severely emotionally disturbed, following a serious offense. Educators must remember, however, that mislabeling a child to obtain services, prevent expulsion, or remove the child to a special classroom is both inappropriate and unethical. Legal language should be clarified, and…

Assessed 50 male sex offenders' (enrolled in an inpatient group psychotherapy program) attitudes toward their parents. Results show attitude-toward-father scores improved significantly but attitude-toward-mother scores did not. Findings are attributed to treatment climate characteristics, greater identification with the father, and a general…

Structural models were used to examine developmental stages of antisocial behavior and their relation to during-treatment performance of 245 probationers in an inpatient substance abuse treatment program. Separate childhood and adulthood antisocial functioning components predicted psychological functioning and program perceptions during treatment.…

Summarizes some of the common findings in the professional literature pertaining to conflict resolution (CR) curricula and peer mediation (PM) programs. Discusses theoretical, methodological and operational considerations that are relevant to conducting research and evaluation in school settings. Proposes a model to guide educators' decisions on…

Two studies examined children's perceptions of popular and unpopular peers. Findings indicated that fourth- through eighth-graders viewed "liked others" as prosocial and "disliked others" as antisocial, but associated perceived popularity with both prosocial and antisocial behavior. Children described popular peers as…

A case study of a 26-year-old woman with severe mental retardation, who was incontinent during each of the three scheduled breaktimes in a sheltered workshop, found that the problem was completely eliminated by providing her with attention while she helped a staff member complete routine breaktime activities. (Author/CR)

A study examined the effects of pullout small-group and teacher-directed classroom-based social skills instruction on antisocial behaviors of five third- and fourth-grade students at risk for emotional or behavioral disorders. Results indicated moderate reduction in antisocial behaviors during small-group social skills instruction. (Contains…

A biopsychosocial model of the development of adolescent chronic conduct problems is presented and supported through a review of empirical findings. The model posits that biological dispositions and sociocultural contexts place certain children at risk in early life but that life experiences with parents, peers, and social institutions increment…

Data were analyzed from an epidemiological sample of 5-year- old twins and their parents. Findings indicated that the less time fathers lived with their children, the more conduct problems their children had, but only if the fathers engaged in low levels of antisocial behavior. When fathers engaged in high levels of antisocial behavior, the more…

This case study evaluated an antecedent intervention for tantrums by a five year-old girl with cognitive, language, and motor problems. Functional assessment correlated tantrums with high-demand activities but not with novel staff. Intervention placed novel staff in charge of high-demand activities and successfully eliminated tantrums, which…

Reports on a study that extends social psychological theories of deviance to explain academic cheating. Uses self-report data from college students to examine the theories of deterrence, rational choice, social bond, and social learning formulations of cheating. Supports the claim that cheating is a serious problem in higher education. (SLM)

Mothers of normal children used more extreme categories when rating positive aspects of their children than did fathers. Mothers of maladjusted children and female child care workers who rated maladjusted children did not show this difference when compared to fathers or male child care workers. (Author/BB)

Compared physically abused children's perceptions of television programing to those of non-abused children. Abused children watched more television than non-abused children, but were less able to name television characters or to identify an aggressive adult TV character they disliked. (Author/BB)