Effects of a school-based program to prevent antisocial behaviors that could lead to conduct disorder were assessed among 34 target students and 15 role-model peers in urban Head Start programs. Target students showed patterns of social interaction that began to mirror those of role-model peers, while nonparticipating control group students…

Developed measures of relational aggression for young children. Found that relational aggression appears at young ages and can be distinguished from overt aggression. Preschool girls are more relationally and less overtly aggressive than boys. Relational aggression is related to social-psychological maladjustment. (Author/KB)

Examined social network characteristics of 218 college freshmen. Subjects were of European American descent or of ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds (African American, Hispanic, Native American and Asian American). The study associated social adjustment with family support characteristics for the racially and ethnically diverse students…

Studied 3-year-old children's compliance to bids of mother and caregiver. Found diversified responses that suggested compliance is a multivariate process consisting of obeying or disobeying, changing terms of the dilemma, attempting to withdraw or stop the task, or trying to avoid the request by seeking alliance or showing aggression. (SD)

Briefly reviews the research literature concerning the overjustification effect. The effect describes the situation where positive reinforcement reduces one's intrinsic motivation for a behavior, thereby decreasing the probability that the behavior will be repeated. Notes the limitations of this explanation and recommends a broader representation…

Disputes the commonly-held view that the Puritans of colonial New England were adamant opponents of alcohol consumption. Maintains that the tavern gradually became a central social institution, where food, drink, conversation, and entertainment ameliorated the stresses of daily living. (CFR)

The effects of disability, age grouping, and adult involvement on interactions of preschool children with disabilities (n=16) and children without disabilities (n=32) were studied in sessions of free play or adult involvement. Children with disabilities spent more time passively nonengaged. Even when controlling for developmental age, intergroup…

Studied influence of culture on coping behavior of youngsters in anxiety-provoking situations. Applied a situation-reaction inventory to late adolescents (n=721) from India, Italy, Hungary, Sweden, and Yemen. Consistent results showed adolescents at low-medium anxiety levels employed constructive and assimilative coping and at high anxiety levels…

Forty-eight general education and 48 special education students (grades 3-6) were rated by general education teachers, and 75 students were rated again 1 year later. Significant differences between students successful and unsuccessful in mainstream environments were found on socioeconomic status and social/behavioral variables (peer relationships,…

Studied the extent to which mothers' beliefs about children's social behaviors change during their children's transition from early to middle childhood and the extent to which these beliefs can be predicted from the circumstances of the mothers' lives and the mothers' perceptions about the social support resources available to them. (BB)

Measures of 4traits (cognitive competence, social competence, social maladaption, and personal maladaption) were obtained on 157 persons with mental retardation, using 3 measurements: standardized assessment instrument, day shift staff ratings, and evening shift staff ratings. The multitrait-multimethod matrix procedure demonstrated strong…

Discusses advances in psychotherapy research with children and adolescents, highlighting three central themes. Discusses scope of clinical dysfunctions, at-risk behaviors, and conditions to which children are exposed. Uses examples of research on negative affect, social behavior, and empathy to illustrate role of development in adjustment.…

Uses social exchange theory as a conceptual framework for developing the sociological imagination. Explains this counters a trend toward an emphasis on social forces as behavioral determinants and the omission of values in the classroom. States exchange theory emphasizes how individual action collectively changes the social structure. Applies…

Explores the meanings constructed around the concept of cooperation by a teacher and her fifth-grade students during cooperative learning. Their experiences indicate that cooperative learning has the potential to be a wolf in sheep's clothing, promising much but actually stifling the empowerment of students for proactive social action. (SLD)

An ethnographic study in a second-grade full-inclusion classroom examined spontaneous, unstructured peer-assistance interactions between 22 general education and 11 special education students during small-group and independent work periods. Found that helping exchanges in academic contexts were complicated by students' social agendas: desire to…