To assess effective school leadership behavior and enhance staff development programs, the DeKalb County, Georgia, School District developed the Profile for Assessment of Leaders (PAL), which contains eight generic competency areas and uses low-inference data obtained by supervisors, subordinates, and administrators being evaluated. Preliminary…

A mental skills program is presented that emphasizes the importance of providing coaches and athletes with a common behavioral definition of concentration. The role of the sport psychologist in training and competition and the need for working with and through the coach are illustrated in two case reports. (Author/MT)

Discusses various authors' experiences before student groups in school programs. (EL)

Reacts to A. Brand and J. Powell's report of a study done to examine emotions reported during the writing process by apprentice writers. (JK)

The symbolic play and social participation of six language-impaired (mean age 6:9) and eight normal language-learning children (mean age 2:9) were compared. Language impaired subjects demonstrated significant deficits in symbolic, adaptive, and integrative play behaviors in comparison with the linguistically equivalent normal subjects. (Author/DB)

Indicates that personal religious preference is the demographic characteristic best able to predict a religion journalist's use of a particular denominational news service. Shows that the journalist's own religious preference is a much weaker predictor than is the strength of the religious tradition in the newspaper's circulation area. (JD)

Obtained two-week sleep diaries and four nights of laboratory recordings from 40 persons aged 50 to 70. Results showed no significant effect on sleep structure associated with employment status. Retirement appeared to increase the amount of sleep, generally the result of earlier bedtimes rather than later awakenings. (JAC)

Examines the evidence on the effects of giving information about drugs as part of drug education programs. Discusses the impact of information on knowledge, attitudes, and behavior surrounding drugs and drug use. Concludes that the effects of drug information on behavior are best regarded as unpredictable. (BH)

Using a sample of 98 alcoholics, studied intercorrelations between control-over-drinking ratings made in 10 follow-ups covering the first 18 months after treatment. Control among treated alcoholics was generally inconsistent and only marginally predictable. Recidivism increased up to 9th-month follow-up, then it stablized and seemed to decline…

Evaluates the efficacy of a multisystemic approach to treatment of juvenile offenders and their families. One group of delinquent adolescents received family-ecological treatment, another group of delinquent adolescents received an alternative treatment, and normal adolescents served as developmental controls. Findings support a multisystemic…

The authors discuss the nature, use, and application of behavioral rating scales for students with behavior disorders. An annotated list of eight behavioral rating scales is included. (CL)

Reports on four experiments on pattern perception in four-month-old infants. The first experiment examined preference for patterns varying in structure; the second examined encoding patterns from different subset sizes; and the last two experiments examined changes in the size, position, and orientation of the habituation pattern. (HOD)

Examined the nonmedical utilization rates of selected substances among an adolescent population of students (N=2,036). Analysis of psychosocial variables indicated that age at first use; frequency of use of marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes; and amount of available spending money were significant predictors of drug use. (LLL)

A retrospective analysis of the progress of eight institutionalized subjects who had been successfully treated in overcorrection procedures 10 years earlier revealed that maladaptive behaviors of the highest functioning individuals showed the longest term and best suppression, and that staff tend to return to the status quo after the expert…

Teacher-completed Behavior Problem Checklists on 727 behaviorally disordered younger and older boys and girls were factor-analyzed. Results confirmed the primacy and pervasiveness of aggression-disruption or conduct disorder among factors that classify children as behaviorally disordered. Also consistently found for all age groups was a factor…