Explores the relationship between numbers and sexes of siblings and perceived rearing practices. Uses the Parental Bonding Instrument to rate responses of 1,145 pregnant Japanese women. Determines participants with more older sisters felt their parents were less caring; participants with more brothers, specifically younger, saw their parents as…

Examines first-, third-, and fifth-grade children's ability to hear two simultaneous melodies. Finds that older children identify two melodies faster and more accurately than do younger children, and that register and timbre combinations affect which melody is identified first. Notes implications for elementary music education. (DSK)

Examines answers supplied by 341 15- to 19-year-old Argentinian adolescents about their relationships with their parents. Argentinian findings coincide with findings from several developed countries. Parents are the most important persons in teenagers' lives. Although they disagree on issues involving school performance, timetables for outings,…

Two studies examined whether 4- to 8-year olds use social comparison (SC) for self-appraisal before temporal comparison (TC). Found that even 4-year olds rated themselves higher after doing better versus worse than another person and explained their ratings in terms of SC. Children in TC conditions attended only to their last outcomes; comparisons…

Investigated the relationship between young children's age and their recognition that helping or choosing not to help can cause feelings of pride or guilt. Found age differences in identifying helping-action or inaction as causes, but little support for the hypothesis that identification of guilt as a consequence of not helping would…

This study investigated the ability of two groups of profoundly deaf students (N=40 and ages 8, 11, 14, and 17), using either oral or signed communication, to employ pragmatic skills required for effective face-to-face interactions. Notable differences in pragmatic skills were found between the groups and between deaf and normal hearing students.…

Investigation of student participation in 26 liberal arts and sciences courses at a public university revealed that the amount of participation increased from introductory to upper-division classes, that traditional-age students lagged behind nontraditional students in participation, and that upper-level students participate differently than…

Examined second- through fifth-graders' conceptions of parental control. Found that with grade, children increasingly viewed parental helping, monitoring, and decision-making as indicating child incompetence. Found older children viewed parental praising as motivated by parents' desires to promote competence, and children's conceptions of parental…

Tested competing causal models concerning the relationship between children's social behaviors and theory of mind in 3- and 4-year-olds tested 3 times over 7 months. Found that false belief performance predicted joint planning and role assignment during pretend play, after taking into account initial performance on joint planning and role…

Review of the research on college student persistence summarizes findings in selected areas, including student involvement in campus life, ethnicity, gender, age, on- campus versus off-campus residence, and membership in fraternities and sororities. (Author/DB)

Examined the influence of age and gender on attitudes toward sexist and nonsexist language in sport and nonsport contexts. College students, university personnel, and business people (n=272) completed an attitude measure. Sport was not a special case of resistance to nonsexist language. Age and gender explained 23% of the variance in attitude…

Reports on a program that brought together older adults (n=12) with dementia and preschool children (n=14) in one-on-one interactions, using Montessori activities. Experience indicates that older adults with dementia can still serve as effective mentors and teachers to children in an appropriately structured setting. (RJM)

Examined demographic characteristics of high school tobacco-users across gender and ethnicity using data from the 1991-1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Current smoking increased, with one-third of 9th and 12th graders currently smoking in 1995 and 11% of all students using smokeless tobacco. Many students used tobacco before high school. Tobacco…

Reviews data from four surveys using national samples that include questions about violence that were administered to school-aged youth. Assesses risk factors for weapon-carrying and the level of the school violence program. Results show that students' involvement with violence in the community, both as perpetrator and victim, is the most…

Three analytic approaches were used in a framework of classical test theory to examine the construct validity of a mathematics assessment of 16 constructed response items. Results from 280 elementary school students across four age groups suggest a developmental structure of tasks and subdomains that was generally consistent with the test's…