A survey of 22 writers, 27 artists, and 12 musicians compared their substance use (caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, hallucinogens, cocaine, tranquilizers, stimulants, and narcotics) with that of a control group. In general, no significant intergroup differences were found. Older participants used marijuana less than younger participants.…

Students in first, third, and sixth grade and college heard scenarios in which a peer experienced an emotionally equivocal or unequivocal event. Neither prompting children to consider alternatives nor reminding them of peers' individual differences produced greater discrimination between equivocal and unequivocal situations. (BC)

Examined the incidence of "romantic" dyads, same-sex friendship dyads, and cross-sex friendship dyads in preschools and day-care centers. Behavior patterns that characterize these dyads are described. It is maintained that results suggest that there are romances between preschoolers. (BG)

This study examined the relationship between age-interval between siblings and children's creative abilities, as well as parental views on the creative abilities of 116 children (ages 9-12 years). The study found that larger age intervals resulted in greater creativity and that age intervals also interacted with birth order, family size, and age.…

Used data from Channeling Demonstration to investigate relationship between program participation, utilization of formal in-home services, and client satisfaction in elderly population. Age, being male, severe Activities of Daily Living dependency, living alone with no informal support, provision of basic case management services, and utilization…

Measures of family stress and social support were administered to 80 mothers with a child with mental retardation in 1 of 3 normative transition periods. There were no significant differences in family stress scores across the groups, but mothers of preschoolers utilized social support more than mothers of preadolescents and adolescents. (JDD)

Younger preschoolers had significantly more difficulty than older ones in making an appearance-reality distinction between a person's apparent character, as indicated by his or her facial expression, and the person's real character, as evidenced by his or her behavior. (BB)

Administered quiz about positive and negative aspects of mental health in old age to 250 Australian adults (ages 17-81). Retirees scored lowest, with no significant differences among younger students versus nonstudents. Age was more important mediator of retirees' low scores than was gender, living with older person, or self-definition as retired.…

The study found relative independence of the specific components of self-concept in 200 gifted pupils enrolled in self-contained enrichment classes in grades 5 through 8. Self-perceptions of social and scholastic competence and of physical appearance were the major contributors to self-concept. There was no evidence of a developmental process. (DB)

Discussed theories relating forgetting rates and age. Developed a theory and mathematical model for examining storage failure versus retrieval failure, true forgetting versus test-induced processes, and storage- versus retrieval-based reminiscence. A series of experiments studied these factors in children and seniors. (BC)

A modification of the observer-based psychoacoustic procedure was used to estimate the detectability of auditory signals by infants. Data from infants up to 3.5 months of age revealed improvement in performance as a function of increasing signal intensity and age. (BC)

Studied age differences in children's understanding of (1) changes in emotional reactions to situations; and (2) the possibility that emotion might be controlled by situational or cognitive strategies. Children aged 4 to 15 years were more likely to suggest situational strategies than cognitive strategies for controlling emotion. (Author/GH)

A survey of 358 students in 4 institutions of higher education indicated perceived differences between male and female student behavior on 6 of the 7 factors identified (verbal participation, learning orientation, support-seeking, self-disclosure, self-assurance, sociability). Gender and age of respondent were related to perceptions of behavior.…

Adolescents (n=327) in grades 8-12 and college students (n=235) completed questionnaires measuring their preferred learning styles (dependent, independent, competitive, collaborative, and participative) and their preferences for teacher communicator styles (e.g., open, attentive, relaxed, precise, friendly, dominant). College students exhibited…

A sample of seventh, ninth, and eleventh graders generated self-descriptors for the role of the self in the classroom, with friends, with parents, and in romantic relationships. Findings revealed that the self becomes increasingly differentiated into role-related multiple selves with age. (GLR)