Examines the importance of peer influence and personal attitudes in relation to self-reported use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana for 213 younger adolescents and 219 older adolescents. Friends' use was significantly related to substance use for both age groups, both sexes, and all substances examined. Resistance self- efficacy was…

Using difficult materials, the authors attempted to improve college students' self-regulation by allowing extended study time before taking a test. The authors also examined whether background knowledge and note-taking strategies would be positively related to self-regulation. Results imply that test performance is more related to note taking and…

Used nonverbal serial reaction time paradigm to evaluate 7- to 11-year-olds' motor sequence learning in relation to reading, cognitive ability level, and attention problems. Found that children demonstrated the response profile associated with motor sequence learning, but the profile component indicating implicit sequence learning was not reliably…

According to DiPerna and Elliott (2002, this issue), academic competence comprises both academic skills and academic enablers. This article describes a theoretical framework for considering the direct and indirect effects of important contexts on student performance and how these contexts change over time is described. Also, the literature…

Examines effects of ancestry and severity of disability of vocational rehabilitation consumers. European Americans, individuals with higher costs, and persons who received assistive technology were more likely to be closed rehabilitated. Individuals from other ancestry groups, who were coded severely disabled, or who had been in the system for…

Late adolescent college women (N=578) were surveyed regarding eating disorders. Participants found to have eating disorders were younger and more likely to be white, in a sorority, and Christian. Additionally, they were most likely to say that they would prefer a close friend to support them when dealing with disordered eating, followed by their…

Meta-analyses were performed on seven studies of ethnic match and psychotherapy. Results reveal a small dropout and utilization effect sizes, indicating that ethnic match is not a significant clinical predictor of decreasing dropout after the first session or increasing number of sessions attended. (Contains references and tables.) (GCP)

Investigates the long-term educational development of African American adolescents. The dependent variable was the highest level of education that participants ever expected to receive. Path models revealed differing processes for women and men. Overall, effects of early academic performance variables were strongest, followed by effects of family…

Psychological buffers were evaluated for their relative contributions to adolescents' perceived risk for suicide. Orthodoxy--commitment to core beliefs--emerged as the single strongest correlate after controlling for the effects of other buffers. The effect of depression on perceived suicide risk was moderated by the adolescent's degree of…

Perceived classroom fit was examined as interactions between learning style and educational climate. An analysis of 421 students revealed different patterns of fit. Thinking students of either gender did not indicate a preference for classroom climate. Both feeling men and women reported poorer fit with thinking classrooms. Only feeling women…

Study explores high school completion among African Americans. Students completed a theory of planned behavior questionnaire early in their 2nd year. Intentions to complete the year were accurately predicted from attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Intentions and, to a lesser extent, perceived behavioral control,…

Examines predictors of father involvement and father-mother discrepancies in reports of involvement within a low-income, predominantly minority sample of families with both resident and nonresident fathers. Results indicate that although fathers' and mothers' reports are similar, mothers consistently report lower levels of involvement than do…

This special issue of the Canadian Journal of Counseling focuses on one of society's greatest challenges: youth violence. This article provides counselors with a general overview of the major advances in understanding the etiology of youth violence, the highlights of promising counseling interventions, and the role of gender in addressing…

Study examines the relationship between parenting practices and academic achievement of high school students among a sample of Asian Americans, Hispanics, African Americans and European Americans. Results showed that European Americans are more authoritative than other ethnic groups, but the relationship between having an authoritative parenting…

Examined relationship between preschoolers' attachment security and child and mother problem-solving behaviors in laboratory tasks. Found that, compared to children with higher scores, children with lower security scores on the Attachment Q-Sort made more unnecessary help-seeking bids and inability statements, were more frustrated, and asked for…