Gangs have become a fixture in the Mexican American populations of southern California and other regions, spreading from low-income neighborhoods in the Southwest to working class and lower-middle class suburban areas. The development and institutionalization of gangs have involved many factors, including racial discrimination and economic…

These facilitator's skill packets contain seven individual packets related to advanced social skills: (1) asking for help; (2) joining in; (3) giving instructions; (4) following instructions; (5) apologizing; (6) convincing others; and (7) making a decision. Each packet contains the following sections: definition of advanced social skills;…

This study examined the relationship of social influence to attributions of responsibility for rape. Subjects, 86 male and female college students, the majority of whom were 18-22 years old, read a scenario describing an incident of rape at a fraternity party. Situations of varying presence and absence of modeling were portrayed, although in all…

Although adolescent alcohol and drug use is decreasing, many teenagers continue to use alcohol and drugs. Studies of adolescent alcohol use typically sample intact high school populations, excluding dropouts and adolescents alienated from straight high school populations. Alcohol and drug use and alcohol related attitudes were measured in 62…

In this study, 32 9-year-olds worked with either their parent or a friend to plan routes to carry out errands; following this collaboration, the children carried out another version of the task independently. The study thus focused on (1) the effects on the individual's planning skills of having worked with an adult or with a peer and (2) the…

This essay explores problems and burdens of adolescents in modern society and probes strategies and actions that offer reasonable chances of diminishing developmental casualties during the adolescent period. Discussion first focuses on several historically recent changes that have affected adolescents, including the lengthening period of…

This report discusses guidelines for developing drug prevention programs. It reflects knowledge acquired in developing and implementing Project ALERT, an adolescent drug prevention program currently being evaluated with more than 6,500 students in California and Oregon schools. The guidelines discussed are based on information about the…

Two experiments investigated causes of children's selection of easy tasks in task choice situations. Experiment 1 probed the effects of experimenter presence on task choices of 55 Japanese children ranging in age from 66 to 76 months, of whom 32 were boys and 23 were girls. A total of 30 subjects were assigned to an experimenter attending…

Examined are recent advances in knowledge about children with peer relationship problems. Two specific developments are described: (1) an emerging recognition of the differences that exist between socially rejected versus neglected children; and (2) a growing appreciation for children's own perspectives on their social situations. The discussion…

This study identifies the factors leading to the socialization of new principals. The study examined the identification of new principals, the socialization or learning processes that lead to the principal's professional development, the extent to which other principals (peers) play a part in that socialization, the extent to which the selection…

The hypothesis that boys are more stimulated than girls to high levels of motor activity by the presence of same-sex peers was examined by exposing preschoolers to a standardized setting under two conditions, alone and in triads. If true, the "contagion" effect would result in larger sex differences under the triad condition than under…

Conducted in January 1977, the community survey examined alcohol abuse and alcoholism among Chicanos in the barrios. Data were obtained from 160 respondents (119 females and 41 males) from 3 geographic areas in San Antonio: the Special Impact Area of Casa Del Sol (an alcoholism program) and the cities of San Antonio and Alamo Heights. Information…

This study investigates the effects of a training procedure on children's conservation. Volume conservation was induced in twenty-one 8-year-old non-conserving children by a procedure that combined two sources of conflict. First, the competing schemes used in making decisions on volumes were aroused; second, the non-conserver was made aware of a…

Many advocates of collaborative writing place too little emphasis on the emotional benefits of feedback to the writer by restricting group feedback to relatively late points in the writing process. Collaboration is as appropriate during the early stages of writing as it is after the completion of a draft. Students can receive feedback from…

A model of teacher evaluation based on both administrator and peer evaluation is proposed. Peer review within the context of staff development becomes an integral part of teacher evaluation with a strong potential to improve teacher performance. (JMF)