Argues that feminist psychologists not only do not have a uniform position on the issue of gender differences, but that many have argued for large gender differences. The article contends that meta-analyses indicate great variability in the magnitude of gender differences across different behaviors. (GR)

As part of a project aimed at developing an adolescent health education program, 100 subjects aged 12 through 13 and 16 through 17 were studied to determine the possible relationship between self-esteem, value of health, and positive health behavior. Both factors were found to be significantly correlated with certain dimensions of health behavior…

This essay argues that the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system does not appear to be related to emotion regulation processes in children, although individual differences in emotion processes related to negative emotion temperaments appear to be associated with individual differences in HPA reactivity among normally…

Variables associated with sexual abuse were examined among youth, ages 5 through 18, with severe mental illness. Review of 499 patient records revealed abuse as an isolated event in 62 cases, intermittent abuse in 61 cases, and chronic abuse in 150. Sexual abuse was associated with inappropriate sexual behaviors, substance abuse, and posttraumatic…

Examined hypothesis that cognitive misers (CM)--individuals low in the need for cognition--forego effortful message scrutiny with a presumably truthful communicator. Results showed that CMs depended more on message scrutiny when a knowledgeable source is of questionable honesty than when the source's honesty is clear. Other factors are discussed.…

Tested whether individuals possessing traditional sex role attitudes could have their rape-related attitudes influenced by a psychoeducational intervention that had been effective with less traditional individuals. Results revealed that subjects who received intervention adhered less to rape myths and expressed less rape-supportive attitudes than…

Investigates the relationship between commitment and dependency in marriage, using a national probability sample of 2,331 individuals. Results indicate that income, occupational, and labor dependency increase commitment to marriage. However, the felt obligation to, or imagined commitment of, the spouse is the strongest influence on individual…

Used a longitudinal sibling research design and a large, nationally representative sample of 15- to 22-year-old siblings to study shared and unshared environmental influences on delinquency. Although no unshared family environmental influences were found for sisters and mixed-sex siblings, they may have existed for brothers. Data suggested…

Study determined whether student teachers' self-talk differentially related to personality characteristics of locus of control and self-esteem. Subjects (n=69) recorded self-talk and completed personality assessments. They mainly engaged in negative, child-oriented, external self-talk. Those with high self-esteem and internal locus of control used…

Surveyed 4,000 third and sixth graders and their parents and teachers, from 4 Chinese provinces. Found that, although only children scored higher on tests of verbal ability, were taller, and weighed more than firstborn and later born children, other measures of academic and personality development were similar between the groups. (MDM)

External correlates of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profile scales were investigated in a racially mixed urban sample of 247 adolescent psychiatric inpatients and outpatients (140 males and 107 females). Correlates included items completed by the patients' mothers. Gender plays a role as moderator of scale interpretation…

Nonclinical, adolescent children of alcoholics and their peers from nonalcoholic families (total n=231) responded to questionnaires of environmental variables, depression, and anxiety. Although two groups differed on measures of anxiety and depression, environmental stressors contributed most to discriminant function that differentiated between…

Summarizes literature on identity formation in individuals from socially devalued racial and ethnic groups in U.S. Discusses implications for adolescents in foster care or residential group homes, many of whom are African American or Latino. Postulates that social maladaptation is reflective of identity disturbances created by negative images of…

Examined personality profiles and career aspirations of rural, underachieving seventh graders from low socioeconomic families who were selected to participate in college reach-out program designed to help students complete high school and enroll in postsecondary education programs. Students' career choices were typical of early adolescents,…

This investigation compared 19 adolescents' perceptions of the nonspeech personality characteristics of voice-disordered and normal-speaking children. Listeners, who rated recorded speech samples, showed a significant tendency to judge the normal speakers more positively than the voice-disordered speakers. Results suggest developmental trends in…