A study of persistence/dropout among open admissions college students found: (1) accurate predictions cannot be made for individual students at the time of matriculation; and (2) it is possible to predict that about 80 percent of future groups will fall in the persist category after two semesters, 51 percent after four semesters. (CMG)

Examined the role of difficult temperament or behavioral style and tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use in the 133 subjects of the New York Longitudinal Study. Results indicated that the possession of difficult temperamental characteristics at age five and in early adulthood are associated with drug use in young adulthood. (JAC)

Compared smoking rates among 1,428 Canadian children in grade six in 1975 or 1978 and examined variables related to smoking. Results indicated peer smoking and attitudes toward cigarettes were significant predictors both years. Academic achievement and aspirations entered the 1975 model while smoking exposure variables entered the 1978 model. (JAC)

Reviewed the anxiety literature relating to university students, including: (a) a historical prospective of research; (b) the effects of anxiety level on learning; (c) associations among anxiety and learning performance and intellectual ability, sex difference, task difficulty, and situational variables; and (d) treatment. (JAC)

A study of the value of information about high school students' achievement and personal qualities for predicting performance in a combined baccalaureate/medical degree program and in the first year of residency is reported. The study was conducted at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. (MLW)

Examined whether personal qualities and extracurricular involvement could predict non-academic contributions to a college community or students' sense of success. Results showed extracurricular interests do persist from high school to college. There was no correlation between the academic and personal ratings and students' sense of success. (JAC)

Defines the adolescent sex offender as an individual whose problem is primarily moral and social. Discusses how individuals adopt and internalize social norms, emphasizing peer interactions, role taking, and collective behavior. Describes a treatment program which emphasizes the functions of labeling, group therapy, and structured living…

Using discriminant analysis, factors influencing teacher attrition were studied using three groups of University of Michigan graduates with teaching certificates: (1) those who taught continuously; (2) those who left teaching within five years; and (3) those who never taught. Implications for school administration, teacher training, and further…

A survey of 296 Chicago educators' attitudes toward judicial decisions affecting civil rights found that (1) attitudes among educators vary considerably, and there is at least as much variation among non-Whites as among Whites; and (2) educators are more conservative than the courts on issues affecting students. (KH)

Surveyed 2,767 middle and high school students to examine demographic, personality, and behavioral factors related to drug use. Data indicated all drug users are not alike, and a variety of social-psychological factors (peer influence, grade point average) are significantly correlated with level of drug use or abuse. (LLL)

Discusses the issue of access to higher education in Canada and suggests that those who do not gain entry share common social and cultural properties. Recommends three strategies for enhancing accessibility: a monitoring system, compensatory education programs, and financial assistance programs. (JAC)

Examined the relationship between teacher pupil control ideology and pupils' projected feelings toward teachers in a sample of 131 teachers and their students. Results indicated that custodialism in teacher pupil control ideology was directly related to pupils' negative feelings toward teachers, followed by teacher sex and grade level. (JAC)

A multiple regression procedure was used to develop a further understanding of the relationship of self-concept, intelligence, socioeconomic status, race, and sex to career maturity as measured by the Career Maturity Inventory (CMI). Results further indicated that socioeconomic status and self-concept seem to have a differential effect upon career…

Analyzing data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), this report examines how computer use produced generic benefit to all children and differential benefits to minority and poor children. Specifically, we examined computer use at home vis-a-vis computer use at school in relation to the academic performance of disadvantaged…

The current study tests a theoretical model of alumni giving developed inductively from prior research. Donor status is directly predicted by willingness to give, alumni involvement, perceptions of the economic environment, perceived need, charitable preferences, receipt of a scholarship and capacity to give along with several indirect predictors.…