Study analyzed the relationship between alcohol use, psychological risk, and delinquent and violent behaviors using self-reported data from eighth and ninth grade students from a small, rural town population. Results suggest that alcohol use is an independent risk factor for delinquent and violent behaviors among young people (Author/JDM)

This study explored to what extent perinatal morbidity is a risk factor for maltreatment through review of the medical charts of 206 children, ages 0-3, who had been referred to child protective services based on either prenatal findings of maternal inadequacy or postnatal findings of child maltreatment. Perinatal complications were associated…

Examines the assumption that a high level of autonomy within a context of attachment provides the best constellation for psychosocial adjustments with adolescents (N=400). Results show that attitudinal, emotional, and functional autonomy were connected with attachment to father, mother, and peers to predict indices of psychosocial adjustment:…

Examines the prevalence, developmental course, and predictive power of child mental health problems for young children in general and low-income, diverse populations in particular. Notes discrepancies between Head Start agency-level data, national estimates, and intensive studies of similar populations. Describes new collaborative federal…

Freshmen (n=206) at a public university took the Miville-Guzman Universality-Diversity Orientation Scale, a measure of openness to and appreciation of similarities and differences in others. Correlation with results of other instruments found universal-diverse orientation was a predictor of students' attitudes toward help-seeking, their academic…

Examined relations between infant security of attachment, negative life events, and adolescent attachment classification in sample from the Family Lifestyles Project. Found that stability of attachment classification was 77 percent. Infant attachment classification predicted adolescent attachment classification. Found no differences between…

Examines certain characteristics of teachers and children that are unique to the child-teacher relationship. Preservice teachers (N=138) reported on their relationships with 903 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Results indicate that preservice teachers' perceived attachment history was a significant predictor of the quality of…

The Family Empowerment Scale was completed by 161 families of children with serious emotional disturbance (SED) or SED along with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Results indicated that membership in a parent support group was a strong predictor of family empowerment, particularly of the systems advocacy and knowledge dimensions of…

A follow-on study was conducted on first-grade and third-grade children who were tested on a word identification measure of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test. Results found decoding strategy was highly correlated with concurrent reading test scores. Use of phonetic decoding was a strong positive predictor and whole word decoding a negative…

Contributes to scholarship on advertising and cross-cultural studies by exploring cultural factors affecting customer confidence in advertising. Uses a sample of 16 European nations to test G. Hofstede's theory of cross-national values. Finds that Hofstede's dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and individualism are important…

A structural model predicting the educational and career expectations of 282 Mexican American high school girls was developed and tested. Predictors included socioeconomic status, acculturation, academic achievement, instrumentality, expressiveness, gender role attitudes, parental and teacher support, family and career commitment, and perceptions…

Examined quality of children's relationships over time. Found that 9-year-olds' perceptions of teacher-student relationships were associated with teachers' ratings and were predicted by the quality of relationships with first teachers. Perceptions of mother-child relationships were consistent with earlier attachment security. Perceptions of…

Examined relationship between mothers' motivation, capacities, and opportunities, and how much supervision their children received. Compared 95 mothers providing adequate supervision with 37 providing inadequate supervision. Found that second group was less motivated, had fewer problem-solving and social skills, and was more likely to have…

Short-term longitudinal study compared influence of 6th, 8th, and 10th graders' closest friends (CF) and friendship groups (FG) on cigarette and alcohol use. Results showed that CF influenced initiation of cigarette and alcohol use. Only FG use predicted transition into current cigarette use. Only CF use predicted transition into current alcohol…

Focuses on the career self-efficacy of the large Latino population in the United States. Acculturation and English language-use predicted career self-efficacy, unlike years of U. S. residency, age, and educational level. Implications for career counseling for Latinos are discussed. (EMK)