Data from a randomly selected sample of 840 Ontario students were used to examine factors that affect self-rated physical health. Analyses focused on demographics, family structure, financial situation, child-parent relationship, school achievement, self-esteem, alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use as factors which directly and indirectly influence…

Used new administration procedure of Self Description Questionnaire to assess dimensions of young children's self-concept in a multicohort-multioccasion study. Found that the scale's reliability and stability improved with age and from one year to the next. Gender differences were stable over age. Time 1 teacher ratings contributed to the…

Examined how young adolescents perceived the opportunities provided by middle school teachers and staff and how such opportunities related to changes in academic and social-emotional functioning over time. Found that specific instructional, interpersonal, and organizational dimensions of middle school life were associated in important ways with…

A survey of 188 general education teachers' attitudes toward including students with disabilities identified hostility/receptivity and anxiety/calmness dimensions. Teacher attributes and beliefs, student characteristics, and school climate were related to both dimensions. Receptivity toward inclusion was associated with higher teacher efficacy,…

A study of 543 South African university freshmen examined testing issues in relation to use of English as a first or second language. Results suggest multiple-choice tests yield higher grades than essay tests for both native and nonnative speakers, performance on essay questions varies depending on type of question, and open-ended tutorial…

In a longitudinal study of the effects of early childhood maltreatment, 92 adolescent parents were studied. Variables of preschool and school-age physical abuse, neglect, low self-esteem, sexual abuse, high school dropout, assaultive behavior, and drug use were examined in relationship to teenage parenthood. Implications of findings are discussed.…

This exploratory study of graduate students attempts to quantify some of the interactions that take place between learners and a computer-based instructional lesson teaching basic memory skills. Variables studied include age, undergraduate grade point average, sex, and standardized test scores. (Author/LRW)

Considers the increase in research on adolescence, with attention to its transitional aspects during the adolescent period and as a bridge between childhood and adulthood. In addition, discusses the effort to examine interactional processes between parent and child and between environment and genes, with respect to the articles of this special…

Examined 585 African Americans' attitudes toward drug use in Atlanta (GA) and Washington (DC). Findings reveal that marital status, age, home ownership status, and education accounted for differences in attitudes toward drug use among Atlanta residents; while family income and marital status differences in drug use were found among residents of…

Discussion of the interaction of instructional strategies and learner characteristics focuses on linearity versus nonlinearity, self-regulated learning, and advance organizers in knowledge acquisition in a Web-based hypermedia learning environment. Highlights include results from an analysis of covariance; variables including computer anxiety and…

Examined impulsive suicide attempts within a population-based, case-control study of nearly lethal suicide attempts among adolescents and young adults. Impulsive attempts were more likely among those who had been in a physical fight and less likely among those who were depressed. Findings suggest inadequate control of aggressive impulses as a…

Compared aggressive, withdrawn, and aggressive/withdrawn children to normative and matched control groups on teacher and peer relationship attributes, loneliness, and social satisfaction from kindergarten through grade 2. Found that withdrawn behavior was neither highly stable nor predictive of relational difficulties. Aggression was fairly stable…

Two studies examined a "child x environment" model of early school adjustment. Findings indicated that entry factors directly and indirectly influenced behavior, participation, and achievement in kindergarten. Initial behavioral orientation influenced the type of relationships formed with peers and teachers. Stressful aspects of…

Examines the relationship between selected demographic and situational variables and completion of doctorate in educational administration from the West Virginia University-Marshall University Cooperative Doctoral Program. Analysis of survey responses (n=140) identified six factors positively related to degree completion: student financial…

This cross-sectional study explored whether participation, from early childhood, in play involving different cognitive abilities predicts visuo-spatial achievement at ages 9, 12, and 15. Based on parental assessment, prior and present practice of spatial manipulation play was found to be consistently more frequent in boys than in girls; the…