Changes in patterns of maladaptive behavior related to age-associated adaptive declines were investigated in 529 adults with mental retardation (ages 30 to 84), 202 with Down syndrome. Certain maladaptive behaviors were related to the onset of adaptive declines, (e.g., lack of boundaries). Findings suggest similarities in the course of…

Examined educational competence and predictors of reading ability among 152 Illinois foster children, ages 16 and 17. Found that 34 percent had been placed in special education and 20 percent had dropped out of school in the preceding 2 years. Also found that aspiration for higher education, placement in kinship care, participation in…

Examined contributions of cognitive processing speed, short-term memory capacity, and attention to infant visual recognition memory. Found that infants who showed better attention and faster processing had better recognition memory. Contributions of attention and processing speed were independent of one another and similar at all ages studied--5,…

Compared preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders with a matched control group to investigate whether weak central coherence could account for deficits in two behaviors purported to tap capabilities fundamental to a theory of mind: joint attention and pretend play. Found that pretend play did not differentiate the two groups. Weak central…

This study investigated whether the process of representational change undergoes developmental change or different processes occupy different niches in the course of knowledge acquisition. Subjects--college, third-, and sixth-grade students--solved gear system problems over two sessions. Findings indicated that for all grades, discovery of the…

Compared reading development among kindergartners in Hong Kong and the United States using measures of word recognition, phonological awareness, speeded naming, visual spatial skill, and processing speed. Found that models of early reading development were similar across cultures. The strongest predictor of reading was phonological awareness.…

A study involving 97 participants (ages 9-43) in the Ontario Special Olympics (SO) and their parents, found the more athletes participated in competition the more positive their general self-worth. The length of time in SO and the total number of sports were found to predict self-concept of physical competence. (Contains references.) (CR)

A survey of 1956-91 business school alumni (n=2,000) found marginal probability of giving significantly related to time since graduation, major, willingness to recommend the institution to others, household attributes, family ties to the university, number of other donors known, and availability of employee matching-gift programs. The model…

Used heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) assessed at 33 to 35 weeks gestational age to predict developmental outcome at 3 years for very low birth weight infants. Found that RSA measures predicted developmental outcome beyond effects of birth weight, medical risk, and socioeconomic status. For infants < 1,000 grams, RSA maturation…

To further research on individual and environmental predictors of college student adjustment, surveyed 56 first-year college students. Although individual variables (e.g., problem-solving skills) were related most strongly to adjustment, environmental variables (e.g., social support) made significant incremental contributions to predictions of…

Studied 108 adults to investigate the impact of adult attachment to parents, perceived disease severity, and caregiving behaviors, moderated by perceived caregiving adequacy. Results indicate that attachment style and the trait aspect of attachment predicted both aspects of caregiver burden. Attachment preoccupation predicted psychologic…

Uses longitudinal national survey data to examine relationships between cocaine and marijuana use. Results show that weekly marijuana users were over 10 times more likely to initiate cocaine use within the next year. Also, many psychosocial predictors are not predictive of initial cocaine use after controlling for prior weekly marijuana use. (RJM)

Examination of the employment status of 1,393 former special education students revealed that 73 percent were employed one year after exit. If students held a job at the time of school exit, there was an 87 percent probability of employment one year after high school. Employment status was also related to gender, disability, and urban or rural…

A study compared parents' perceptions of the benefits and risks of reverse inclusion, where a small group of typically developing children (usually 25% to 40%) is added to a specialized program for children with disabilities. Parents (n=244) reported strong support for inclusion, although parents perceived greater risks for typical children and…

A study compared 216 adolescent sexually victimized sexual offenders and 93 adolescent sexually victimized nonsexual offending delinquents. Sexually offending delinquents had closer relationships with their perpetrators, a higher chance of having a male perpetrator, a longer duration of sexual victimization, more forceful sexual victimization, and…