A meta-analysis of 38 studies of social skills training interventions with antisocial youth was performed. Also examined were treatment effects for interventions that differed in group composition. As predicted, skills training interventions delivered in the context of groups consisting of only antisocial peers produced smaller benefits than did…

Surveyed ninth graders regarding the prevalence of nonverbal pressures in their daily experiences, noting gender differences. Students reported high levels of exposure to and conformity with nonverbal pressure, with differences in prevalence of receiving threatening gestures, space invasion from males, trust toward deceptive smiles from males, and…

Interpersonal influences on the desire to have a child were examined in a sample of pregnant low-income urban adolescents. It was hypothesized that adolescent girls who report poorer relationships with their parents would report greater emotional reliance on their boyfriends and greater reliance on boyfriends would predict greater desire for a…

The University of Georgia has implemented a program in which junior faculty members are matched with senior faculty mentors. Despite some scheduling problems, the program has succeeded in providing participants with valuable suggestions on improvement of classroom practices. (MSE)

College students (N=142) viewed videotape of distressed high school student, then assessed student's potential for committing suicide, running away, entering therapy, or abusing alcohol. Subjects who were told that the teenager knew of two recent suicides in community rated her as more likely to commit suicide or run away than did subjects not…

Feelings of team ownership promote team cohesiveness which yields better performance. Coaches should implement strategies that encourage team members to share with the coach responsibility for morale, skill-building, play improvement, and decision making. Maturity level of athletes influences the degree of ownership allowed. Strategies for…

A buddy system was used to help reintegrate pairs of learning-disabled students into regular classroom programs. Students were taught to observe, monitor, and reinforce appropriate behavior of their "buddies." Following implementation in the resource room, the program was extended to the regular class placement. (DB)

Examined kibbutz youth alcohol patterns and problems. Administered questionnaire on consumption and consequences of alcohol use to 54 high school-aged youth from Israeli kibbutz. Found that 69 percent of respondents reported using alcohol, with higher proportion of females than males saying they drank. Comparison with other studies showed that…

Interview responses of 72 fifth-, eighth-, and eleventh-graders revealed developmental changes in the scope and nature of perceived peer influence and in the extent to which peer group reactions have an impact on self-evaluations. Developmental changes in the apparent reference-group functions of peer groups for adolescent identity formation are…

In Louisiana, 7,383 high school students who had taken home economics were asked who had influenced their career decisions and what they had been encouraged to do after graduation. Analysis showed that family members and friends had the most influence and that most felt encouraged to attend college. (Author/CH)

Two researchers present their views on effective strategies for ability grouping, pointing out how grouping both low- and high-ability students together can help both to achieve better when they are grouped heterogeneously. (CB)

This model of rehabilitation through community incorporates components of the Kibbutz Resocialization Program, in which hard-core criminals have been successfully rehabilitated. This program also shows how laypersons committed to serving their community could become agents of change while serving as the offenders' companions, as adoptive parents,…

Examined homophilic mechanisms by which adolescents affect, and are affected by, levels of internalized distress within their immediate peer groups. Found that adolescents tend to associate with peers who report similar levels of internalized distress and that internalizers are no less successful than others at establishing friendships. Selection,…

Previously collected data on "incoherent" episodes of pupil-pupil discussion are examined in a study of mathematical learning. They raise general points about mathematics classroom discourse and indicate the importance of understanding children's ostensibly incoherent exchanges. (28 references) (Author/LB)

Questions the practice of impelling or coercing secondary students in New Zealand to participate in a residential outdoor education week. Suggests methods for decreasing elements of compulsion and increasing student choice (empowerment) to bring about more positive results from outdoor education experiences. (KS)