This study is a replication and extension of the work of Forbes and Ashton (1998). Seventy-seven African American high school students completed the revised version of the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status. Most of the students were found to be in uncommitted identity statuses. Similar results were found in both ideological and…

A study examined the effectiveness of properly constructed social stories that had been introduced into the natural environment to target the disruptive behavior of three children (ages 7-15) with autism. A decrease in disruptive behavior was evidenced when the intervention was implemented for all participants. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

A model is presented for the school-to-community transition of disabled students. The model emphasizes occupation, residential adjustment, and existence of desirable social and interpersonal networks. Problems in these three areas are documented, and development of the Oregon Transition Team Model to improve patterns of service and care is…

Preschoolers are able to distinguish and understand different types of social conflict using the same criteria as adults. The social conflicts discussed are (1) morality; (2) social convention; (3) safety; and (4) institutional rules. (DG)

Notes that researchers have consistently found several correlates with adolescent suicide. Highlights the interactive nature of these correlates, describes how they can be placed within a developmental framework, and discusses how this framework can be used to assist the school counselor in understanding adolescent suicide and in generating ideas…

The study examined the relationship between student and teacher ratings of the interpersonal relations skills of 165 special needs students enrolled in mainstreamed secondary level vocational programs. The correlations between the student self-ratings and teacher ratings suggest there is little agreement about students' actual skill levels. (DB)

A sequential withdrawal design was used to examine the effect of social skills intervention on the frequency of positive peer interaction in four moderately hearing-impaired preschool children. High rates of positive peer interaction were maintained when teacher modeling and prompting were gradually (but not abruptly) withdrawn. (Author/DB)

The verbal and nonverbal strategies of rapport, their environments, and their consequences are identified. Interviews between two foreign student advisors and 16 foreign students (both native and non-native speakers of English) were videotaped, and playback sessions with students and advisors were audio-recorded. Rapport-building and…

Investigated differences in achievement of 221 kindergartners with different cognitive tempos. Results suggest that kindergartners who exhibit an impulsive cognitive tempo may be judged by teachers as being less academically and socially competent than other kindergartners. (RJC)

Describes Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP), new measure designed to identify the types of interpersonal problems that people experience and the level of distress associated with them before, during, and after psychotherapy. Presents psychometric data from two studies which demonstrated high internal consistency of IIP, high test-retest…

Results are presented from a study which documents the effectiveness of social-skills training followed by cross-age tutoring for improving both achievement and social communication behaviors among boys (N=20), grades four-six, with learning disabilities. (IAH)

Reports that mothers' responsiveness to young infants' distress predicts language capacity at two years. Mothers' responsiveness to older infants' nondistress vocalizations predicts cognitive performance, perceived self-esteem, social competence, and family relations in preadolescents. (PCB)

Biological differences alone did not account for differences in self-conception of interpersonal abilities found between 197 adolescents with hearing disabilities and 53 nondisabled adolescents, nor did they account for differences between subgroups of those with hearing disabilities. Cognitive, emotional, motivational, and social factors also…

Compared to age-matched and language-matched controls, 15 autistic children (mean age of 45 months) who were administered the Early Social-Communication Scales displayed deficits in gestural joint attention skills in 2 testing sessions 13 months apart. The measure of gestural nonverbal joint attention predicted language development in subjects.…

The efficacy of task-related and interpersonal problem-solving training for enhancing junior high-school performance was examined with 48 difficult-to-teach, low-income, minority sixth-grade students. Half were randomly assigned to an intervention, the other half being used for control. Training was found to significantly improve grades and reduce…