This study was conducted to identify types of interactions associated with social influence among school children at three grade levels. Social influence was defined in terms of the ways in which a child attempted to convince other group members to adopt his or her opinions about the appearance of three different inkblots. Eighteen kindergarten,…

Older women (N=50) were asked a series of questions about reference groups, sex roles, sexuality, sexual desire at different stages in the life cycle, appropriateness of certain types of sexual behavior, adjustment to aging, life satisfaction, organizational activities, and male/female interaction. Quantitative and qualitative data provided the…

In an attempt to link public school expenditures to educational outputs, achievement test results of 6,605 elementary students in St. Louis, Missouri, were analyzed to see whether training and experience of teachers has an impact on student outcomes. The researchers matched individual students with teachers for five-year periods during grades…

Recent theoretical and empirical study has considerably refined knowledge as to the dynamics of peer processes operative within secondary schools, but has tended to neglect models incorporating reciprocal effects. This situation results partly from a scarcity of appropriate data, and partly from limitations of older methodologies of estimating…

The relationship between student characteristics and the frequency with which students left campus on weekends was investigated. Subjects were 411 undergraduate students who completed an 11-item self-report instrument designed to measure the influence of students' class rank, sex, and distance from home on behavior, their reasons for…

Differences between black, anglo and chicano male and female adolescents were studied to determine the extent to which these differences are associated with differences in attitude toward mathematics, parental influence, peer influence, and societal influence. Findings supported the conclusions of similar studies with the exception of a more…

National surveys of teenagers have provided information for making decisions about smoking prevention programs. Repeated surveys are necessary because smoking patterns change over time. The prevalence of adolescent smoking and the variables related to it were investigated as well as the potential utility of those variables in predicting habitual…

Traditional efforts to assess behavioral health needs in communities have relied on objective population characteristics to define need. Newer conceptual models must be developed that incorporate survey data into definitions of need. One preliminary model includes resident subjective perceptions of life changes in their personal and social…

In order to understand the psychological meaning of menarche it is necessary to examine cultural beliefs, socialization, and actual experience. A sample of 641 fifth to twelfth grade girls, 40% of whom were premenarcheal, completed a modified version of the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQ). Half of the sample completed the MDQ according…

Group contingencies structure situations which link individual behavior with group outcomes, attempting to change behavior through peer pressure. As such, group contingencies raise numerous methodological and ethical problems, and illuminate the relationship between what data is collected and what subsequent decisions can be made. Over 100…

By means of an extensive self-report questionnaire, this study was completed to determine the relationship between sources of counseling support and (1) present formal religious practice and specific drug usage, (2) present formal religious practice and particular influences militating against specific drug usage, (3) present formal religious…

Describes a study which examines the relationship between a rise in juvenile crime and the school term. Concludes that adolescents act out in the community the roles they acquire in schools. Journal available from Joan Watson, Distribution Secretary, The New Era, 54 Fontarabia Road, London, SWII 5PF. (KC)

Describes a project to help keep Washington, DC, youths in foster care enrolled in school and to improve their school attendance, academic and job performance, and self-esteem. Intervention program strategies included peer mentorship, employment, and social support. (SO)

Conducted large-scale cannabis educational project involving 1,237 elementary and 1,022 secondary school students to examine effects of peer and parent influence on a young person's drug use. Findings suggest that parents rather than peers will be the determining factor in a child's decision to use drugs. (NB)

Identifies children's basic social needs; describes the effect of social pressures provided by family, schooling, peer groups, and television on children's social needs; and provides suggestions for balancing social priorities for children. (BB)