Planned Parenthood conducted a national public opinion poll, asking 1,000 12- through 17-year-olds about their knowledge and beliefs on the problem of teenage pregnancy. The results showed that over 50% of the adolescents had sexual intercourse before their 18th birthday. Those teenagers most likely to be sexually active fell into certain at-risk…

In 1983-84, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges developed and field-tested an instrument, the General Academic Assessment (GAA), to assess community college students' knowledge in several liberal arts areas, including the sciences. The GAA was completed by a sample of 8,024 students at four large, urban community college districts. The…

The Leisure and Recreation Behavior Evaluation (LRBE) measure is intended for use by direct care staff of mentally handicapped adults. The LRBE evaluates an individual's level of independence for a leisure or recreation behavior on a 4-point rating scale for 30 aspects divided into six major categories: (1) the activity, (2) preparation and…

Attitudes and knowledge regarding Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) of 498 college students enrolled at California State University, Dominguez Hills were surveyed. The AIDS Opinion and Information Surveys were administered to subjects between the ages of 18 and 46+, with 81.5% being below the age of 32. The 19-item Opinion survey uses a…

The study addresses parental coping patterns of children with congenital heart disease in the state of Hawaii. Attention was given to geography and ethnicity as well as parental and child characteristics as factors impacting on the coping pattern. Telephone interviews with parents (N=32) obtained data concerning parent characteristics, their…

Forty-seven high school newspaper advisers from Utah completed a questionnaire to determine their knowledge of First Amendment rights of student journalists, and to determine what variables may affect their publication decisions. Eight composite cases were developed from relevant First Amendment court decisions. Respondents were asked if they…

A study investigated whether political interest was a factor in differences in political knowledge between television and newspaper reliant individuals. Data were collected through 353 hour-long interviews with adults in a midwestern city. Subjects supplied information about their media use and preferences, political preferences, education level,…

Although most health education programs have focused on knowledge as the major outcome, there is conflicting information about the impact of knowledge-based programs on health behaviors. This study compared student health knowledge and health practices by administering tests and questionnaires to 1,371 students in grades three and six, and junior…

There is a growing awareness of a sensitivity to ethnic and cultural issues in the helping professions. For the last decade a variety of multicultural concerns have been receiving increased attention. Although there is awareness, the mental health fields have not really addressed the issues involved in the counseling of culturally diverse…

This report incorporates a literature review, a workshop paper, and discussion by workshop participants on the current status of research on what the users of computer systems know, and how these different forms of knowledge fit together in learning and performance. It is noted that such research is important to the problem of designing systems…

This report describes attempts to inform regular elementary teachers about the needs of handicapped students and to change negative attitudes about special education. Informal staff workshops addressed legislation, common characteristics of handicapped students, and successful techniques for incorporating students with various disabilities into…

Previous research has suggested a high level of sexual activity among students, often involving unprotected intercourse. To better understand what factors contribute to consistent use of effective contraception, the relationship between sexual knowledge and sexual behavior and the relationship of sex guilt to sex knowledge were investigated in a…

This study hypothesized that: the mode of instruction used at a zoo exhibit and the familiarity (low, medium, high) of an animal to visitors interacts with the amount of knowledge they demonstrate about the animal; a relationship exists between visitors' demonstrated knowledge of an animal of a given level of familiarity and attitude toward…

Psychologists can gain insight into human behavior by examining what people feel about, know about, and do with, computers. Two extreme reactions to computers are computer phobia, or anxiety, and computer addiction, or "hacking". A four-part questionnaire was developed to measure computer anxiety. The first part is a projective technique which…

Cognitive and affective impacts of the "Give and Take" series on students and sources of differences in the impacts are investigated. "Give and Take," an audiovisual series on topics and concepts in personal economics for use in grades 9-10, consists of twelve 15-minute programs designed to help students increase their…