It is suggested that the most desirable approach to combatting the smoking problem is to prevent youngsters from beginning to smoke, rather than prescribing treatment for them after they have become steady smokers. A program, which uses peer models, is described in this paper. (Author/KC)

A role theoretical model for understanding changes in health and illness behaviors among college students is described. Behavior changes are related to the expectations of others in the college setting. (JMF)

Investigated the effects of peer reinforcement and various clinician reinforcement schedules on the imitation accuracy of language-delayed children in small treatment groups. (SJL)

This longitudinal study examined the relationship of three domains (personality/attitudinal orientations, peer relationships, and family socialization factors) with initiation into adolescent marihuana use. (Author/DB)

Presents an outcome study of a 14-session preadolescent peer-group therapy program conducted in an elementary school. Results indicated that group members improved significantly in task-oriented classroom behaviors; however, the relationship between this improvement and improved social skills in unclear. (Author)

Caretaking of children by siblings, cousins, or other peers is widespread in most developing nations. The influence of peers as mediators of social change cannot be underestimated. (RH)

Two experiments are reported in which people who were merely exposed to others' responses tended not to conform to the average observed response but to exceed it, and to differentiate themselves from others toward the extreme that reflected the group ideal. (Author)

Assesses how similar same-sex friends are in their level of moral development. Results indicate significant relationships only for male-female dyads. The functions of different dyadic friendships are discussed, including Piaget's and Kohlberg's ideas that peers have a role in promoting cognitive growth. (Author/BEF)

This study examined the relative impact of parent and peer reference groups on frequency of marijuana use in a nonrandom sample of university students. Ordinal type scales and tau-b provide a statistically strong degree of association between the type of reference group orientation and marijuana use. (Author/SJL)

Described is a group weight control project with severely obese adolescent girls in a medical setting. Behavior modification principles were utilized with peer group interaction. Significant others had separate group meetings. Small amounts of weight loss were recorded. Dropouts continued to have a net gain. (Author/KC)

Examined whether maternal control protected African American adolescents from the negative influence of problem peers in a sample of 95 seventh- and eighth-graders. Found support for the hypothesis of a curvilinear relation between control and adolescent problem behavior, and suggested that high-quality parenting can play a modest but critical…

Examined effects on target children's sociodramatic role play of sociodramatic script training in combination with an intervention package consisting of peer role prompting, a group-oriented reinforcement contingency, and visual feedback. Found support for use, with a minimum of teacher involvement, of the peer-mediated intervention package in…

Examines the relationships of 1,226 low-risk elementary and middle school children across a variety of relationship partners. Presents descriptive data on the profile of the children's patterns of relatedness with others. Looks at the ways that children's interpersonal relationships facilitate their readiness to learn and their active engagement…

Discusses how mentoring in health promotion differs from other key support roles, noting what the underlying rationale is behind mentoring, how a mentoring program should be designed, what the historical and theoretical roots of mentoring are, and what strategies mentors can use to be more effective. A research agenda for the mentoring approach is…