A British residential school for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties set up a class for those children presenting with complex learning needs, including autism, within the school. The special class was observed over a number of weeks and the boys especially benefited tremendously in their social/emotional development and learning.…

Research findings from a series of longitudinal studies of the language, speech, and social-emotional development of children with hearing impairments and hearing parents found language development is positively and significantly affected by the age of identification of the hearing loss and age of initiation into Colorado early intervention…

Examines relationship between parents' perceived responsibility for supporting children's social skills and competence at promoting those skills; relationship between parents' perceived responsibility and competence and children's perceived and actual competence; consistency between teachers' and parents' ratings of children's competence and…

Reports on the results of 2 studies that use a non-Kohlbergian approach to categorizing justifications for moral judgments by Australian subjects from 7 to 15 and from 7 to 21 years. These studies support the view that moral reasoning up to late adolescence is largely a product of socialization. (KO)

Examines changes in patterns of prosocial motivation between grades 2 and 12 in samples from West Germany, Poland, Italy, and the United States. Uses a questionnaire to assess within-subject preference for 5 prosocial motives: hedonism, self-interest, conformity, task orientation, and other-orientation. (MW)

Grade 12 students participated in a 1-semester cooperative education program and were monitored using the Personal Skills Map by Nelson & Law. Results indicate greater improvement in scores for the scales related to Interpersonal skills than for those in the areas of Career and Life-effectiveness skills. (LKS)

Reports on a study of the effects on adjustment of three dimensions of support among 92 Chinese college students in Japan. Finds that the relationship between needed support and adjustment was strongly negative. Also finds that all support gaps were negatively related to adjustment. (CFR)

Examined the role of pretend play interactions in stimulating social and emotional competence by comparing the quality of pretend and nonpretend social play. Found that pretend play involved more complex, mutually responsive, and emotionally invested social interaction than nonpretend play. Expression of psychosocial issues within pretense was…

Measured the effect of cognitive-behavioral group therapy used to decrease inappropriate sexual behaviors among male adolescents in a residential treatment program who are mildly and moderately cognitively impaired. Findings indicated that with adolescents who are cognitively impaired, group and cognitive-behavioral approaches that specifically…

Reports results of a survey of 89 graduate students using criteria taken from popular literature describing the adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) category. No empirical support is found for the ACOA category as defined in popular literature (no significant differences in how ACOA students and non-ACOA students responded to items that are…

Reports on a study of views of friendship among 20 5- and 6-year-old British students. Finds that boys and girls were able to interpret friendships as transactions. Also finds differences between boys and girls on their understanding of "bad friends." (CFR)

Two studies examined the ability of a peer play scale, based on the Howes Peer Play Scale, to assess developmental sequences in children's play with peers from the infant through the preschool periods. The frequency and proportion of play forms, and the ages at which they emerged, varied as a function of the children's child care setting. (LB)

Examines how African-American alternative masculine behaviors are expressed within same-sex peer groups and friendships. It is proposed that African-American males have adopted an alternative style of masculinity to cope with social and interpersonal pressures, even though it can sometimes be dysfunctional and associated with negative…

Maintains that reading humorous storybooks to toddlers can support their development and learning. A bibliography of humorous children's books is included. (BB)

Evaluated the associations of hypothesized protective and risk factors with assessments of social, literacy, and cognitive competence. Subjects were 117 Head Start graduates attending kindergarten in rural Georgia. Found that caregiver self-esteem, independence-promoting developmental goals, and responsive caregiver-child interactions were…