This report details the latest findings from the biennial Maryland Adolescent Survey of the extent and trends in alcohol, tobacco, and drug use among students. To permit comparisons with national findings and trends, the form and content of survey items parallel those of the annual national study "Monitoring the Future," conducted by the…

The Gang Membership Inventory (GMI) was developed for use with urban high-risk youth and administered as part of a larger survey. The GMI consists of 15 true/false items asking about the respondent's involvement in gang activities in the year just past. Activities range from peripheral involvement to more serious involvement in gangs (e.g., being…

The meaning of academic achievement for African American students was studied in 2 populations, a sample of 145 (53% males, 47% female) African American middle school and high school students in an African American Academy summer enrichment program and 45 African American high school seniors (36% males, 64% females) in a summer program for…

The use of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III) and its interpretation in educational use are discussed. To measure intelligence, Wechsler believed one must measure the various aptitudes that contribute to the total behavior of the individual. The WISC-III has six verbal subtests and seven performance subtests.…

This document contains two sections: implementation of the performance-based Occupational Affective Behavior Analysis (OABA), and supporting research. Section 1 presents OABA, an analytic procedure designed to identify those affective behaviors important to success in an occupation, and gives directions on how to implement the procedure. The…

To determine how some learning disabled students manage to achieve success in college, a study investigated the extent to which successful learning disabled college students demonstrate characteristics often attributed to learning disabled students in general: inactive learners who fail to use efficient, organized strategies and who lack…

An interactional model explaining predisposition to hyperactivity asserts that being identified, diagnosed, and treated as hyperactive is a function of biological factors, early health and temperament, family characteristics, and the quality of the home environment. A longitudinal study involving 367 subjects, aged 17-18, tested the interactional…

Five experiments were conducted to determine whether properties inherent in some training procedures may subtly influence the adaptability of skilled performance of complex tasks. The first two experiments assessed the insensitivity of low-rate performances. Examined in the third experiment was the issue of whether instructions that focus…

Recognizing the importance of a curriculum that facilitates the acquisition of desirable, affective work competencies (work attitudes, values, and habits) as well as specific job skills, a study was conducted to review and synthesize what is known about the social and psychological aspects of work and to identify specific affective work…

A RESEARCH TEAM STUDIED INFLUENCES, ADAPTATION, AND ADAPTABILITY IN 50 POORLY ADAPTING BOYS AT BELLEFAIRE, A REGIONAL CHILD CARE CENTER FOR EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED CHILDREN. THE TEAM ATTEMPTED TO GAUGE THE SUCCESS OF THE RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER IN TERMS OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PATTERNS AND ROLE PERFORMANCES OF THE BOYS DURING INDIVIDUAL CASEWORK…

The author's purpose in this article is to discuss the aspects of language (especially the development of language in children) to which biological concepts are most appropriately applied. While results of past studies would seem to show that language development is contingent on specific language training, it is important to distinguish between…

Two innovations were brought to a teachers' college: television was introduced, and it was proposed to merge the college with a university. This study investigated the impact of the two types of change on the social system of the teachers' college from the point of view of the staff. A reaction process paradigm was conceptualized and 31 members of…

This project was designed to study the process of parents teaching preschool age children using a direct observational method. Six mothers and their own three-year-old sons from seven ethnic groups participated: middle-class Anglo, lower-class Anglo, English-speaking Mexican-American, bilingual Mexican-American; Spanish-Speaking Mexican-American,…

The purpose of this study is to report a behavioral observation validation of a multiple social interaction measurement instrument entitled the "Barclay Classroom Climate Inventory." This instrument measures social interaction in the elementary classroom as derived from self-report, peer judgments and teacher expectations. It provides an…

This report includes five documents, three on child care research, and two concerning individual differences and discriminative abilities in newborn and young infants. "The Organization of Infant Day Care Environments: Feedback-Produced Improvements in Staff Job Performance" reports on the effectiveness of monitoring procedures as…