A review of studies examining dropping out of high school prior to graduation demonstrates that grade retention is one of the most powerful predictors of dropout status. Addresses the discrepancies regarding the effectiveness of grade retention and deleterious long-term correlates. Presents the transactional model of development, which emphasizes…

The authors discuss risk factors for late life alcohol abuse and characteristics that differentiate early- and late-onset abusers. Problems in identification, diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of older abusers are reviewed. A case example illustrates the dynamics of effective treatment with this population. (Contains 55 references.) (Author)

Examined faculty's perceptions toward the potential benefits of and barriers to mobile computing in higher education based on a survey of faculty at a university that is planning to adopt campus-wide mobile computing. Also examined the role of three moderating variables associated with faculty's current use of technology. (Author/LRW)

Examines the relation between social and academic competence of school-age children (N=163) to determine the direction of influence between these two domains across time. Results supported a reciprocal model, indicating that academic achievement directly influenced social competence, and social competence was reciprocally related to academic…

This article discusses otitis media in children. It addresses risk factors for otitis media, pathogenesis, diagnosis, bacteria causing otitis media, and treatment for acute otitis media, recurrent acute otitis media, and persistent otitis media with effusion, including antibiotics, steroids, allergy control, autoinflation, mechanical ventilation,…

Students at a Venezuela high school were tested to determine creativity, cognitive variables, and academic performance. Multiple regression analyses showed that the mobility-fixity dimension was the most consistent predictor of academic performance with creativity scores also explaining variance between subject areas. Results suggest the…

Investigated whether school violence among high school students related to substance use and availability of illegal drugs at school, examining the associations of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana and availability of illegal drugs with five school violence indicators. Data from the 1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicated that school violence…

Investigated factors that predicted exercise relapse among college students. Physically active undergraduates completed questionnaires measuring Prochaska's 10 processes for change of exercise, self-efficacy, and decisional balance. Exercise levels were assessed at baseline and 8 weeks later. At baseline, relapsers had significantly lower…

Findings indicate that family-structure variables (family income, parental education, marital status) failed to predict adolescent sexual behavior. In contrast, each family process variable (maternal monitoring, mother-adolescent general communication, maternal attitudes about adolescent sexual behavior) predicted multiple indices of adolescent…

Examined concurrent and longitudinal links between observational measures of 8- to 9-year olds' playground behaviors/peer contacts (alone, conversation, group size, and network) and three sociometric measures of peer relationships (social preference, bully, and victim). Found significant concurrent and predictive relationships, with relationships…

A study investigated how neighborhood and individual factors affected 400 parents from neighborhoods with different risk profiles for child maltreatment report rates. Neighborhood factors of impoverishment and child care burden significantly affected child abuse potential. Variation in child abuse potential within neighborhoods was greater than…

Investigates the use of orthographic analogies in 6-year-olds. Notes that neither rime nor phoneme awareness measures were correlated with rime inference uses and that vowel, but not rime inference, was correlated with scaffolding errors. Finds that rime detection was the strongest predictor of reading ability, whereas phoneme segmentation was the…

Examined students in foster care for the relationship between learning and extrascholastic environments. Obtained achievement and intelligence scores for children (N=3,483) during the first months of foster care placement. Results showed average to low-average mean achievement and IQ, with academic deficits in basic skill areas. Results support…

Examined relationship of phonological awareness, verbal short-term memory, and visual-verbal paired associate (PA) learning with word recognition and decoding skills in 6- to 11- year-olds. Findings suggest that PA learning and phonological awareness tasks tap two separate mechanisms involved in learning to read. (Author/KB)

Evaluated the video "Youth Suicide: Recognising the Signs" as a parent educational medium. Before and after viewing the video, parents of young people answered questionnaires measuring their knowledge of and attitudes toward suicide. Knowledge and intentionality predicted response to suicidal statements, but no relationships existed between…