The relative influence of parents, peers, and teachers on third, fourth, and fifth graders' voting behavior was investigated. Children were interviewed about their voting preferences and perceptions of significant others' voting preferences. Mothers and fathers held the most influence over their children. Implications for political socialization…

Investigates, in a group of 48 children ages three to five years of age who were judged either high- or low-exploratory, the effects of (1) the presence of other children high and low in their predisposition to explore and (2) different types of novel objects. (MP)

Examined adolescents' current use of substances and their interactions with peers and significant adults. Users of various substances associated with other individuals who used the same substances. Adolescent drug users do not appear to form subcultures delineated from nonuser subcultures along interaction dimensions other than that of drug use.…

Studied the relative effects of parents and peers on gender identity of male and female adolescents. Found that (1) patterns of peer and parent influence differ for males and females; and (2) the peer group is more influential on gender identity during adolescence, while parental influences are stronger during childhood. (Author/GC)

This article briefly discusses some important elements of group effectiveness, then outlines characteristics of groupthink, provides examples of situations in which it occurs, and recommends actions in each case for preventing or lessening it. (Author/CT)

A five-year longitudinal study was conducted on 11 beginning secondary teachers to investigate their reference group socialization. The study attempted to generate a grounded theory of ways in which teachers adapt the teacher role to meet their own personal needs. (JN)

Describes a study undertaken to determine the influence of parents, teachers, peers, and other groups on the secular values of adolescents on England. Findings indicated that neither a youth culture nor a class culture model of adolescent value orientation was prevalent. Further, religious and social class factors appeared to be more influential…

Analyzed data from a national probability sample of 15 through 19-year-old women to determine the influence of parents and peers on premarital sexual behavior, contraceptive use, and premarital pregnancy. Results show women with views resembling those of parents have low levels of premarital experience. (Author)

Compares relationship of male and female sport participation on locus of control, a dimension of personality that has been related to adjustment. Reveals female "organized" participants most internal and male nonparticipants most external. (Author/DA)

Uses the theory of symbolic interaction to explain why young servicemen develop a degrading view of women during boot camp. Reveals how the derogation of women becomes a major avenue of gaining peer recognition. Indicates that after boot camp most men return to their former patterns of response to women. (AYC)

Male and female subjects indicated their agreement (or disagreement) following an influence attempt. For male-related issues, subjects conformed more when the majority influence source was male. On female-related issues, subjects conformed more when the majority influence source was female. Males conformed more on the female-related issues.…

Explored ethnic and gender differences in sexual behavior among 148 white and 202 Asian American college students. Found that Asian and Caucasian American college youth differ in their sexual experience, with the former reporting fewer sexual partners. Individual, peer, and family correlates of sexual experience were quite similar across the two…

Reviews the literature to identify the most important antecedents associated with adolescent initiation of sex, contraception use, and pregnancy. Results indicate that over 100 antecedents create a complex, detailed picture of the correlates of adolescent sexual behaviors. They describe characteristics of adolescents themselves, their partners,…

Six- to 9-year olds predicted the movement of a balance beam. Results indicated that children who received feedback improved their performance more than those who did not receive feedback; the presence of a partner was beneficial only when children did not receive feedback; and children whose partner exhibited higher-level reasoning benefitted…

Examined data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to determine impact of school-level substance use on adolescent-peer similarity for smoking and drinking. Found that adolescent-peer similarity was significantly moderated by school-level substance use for both tobacco and alcohol use. Inferred that schools with relatively few…