Examined whether sixth graders' adjustment to the school context (assessed by grades, achievement scores, and disruptive behaviors) was affected by factors from both the family context (as represented by the number of divorce-related parenting transitions and perceptions of current family climate) and the peer context (represented by peer norms…

Reports the results of a summer institute for secondary science teachers involved in teaching evolutionary biology. Discusses changes in teacher conceptual understanding, anxiety, the adoption of peer discussion on evolution within their instruction, and the influence of peer or mentor teachers on the decision to include peer discussion. (LZ)

A survey of 416 pharmacy students at 9 colleges investigated student needs for and attitudes toward professional organizations, confidence in ability to perform organizational tasks, and participation in professional organizations. Results suggest a variety of factors (attitude, need, faculty and peer influence, gender, and school) were related to…

Proposes developmental approach to smoking education and prevention for children and adolescents. Reviews literature concerning most appropriate agent, content, and presentation of antismoking education for different ages, concluding that best agents for young children are parents and best agents for pre/early adolescents are peers. For…

Surveyed college freshmen revealed similarities between college and high school drug use. Entering freshmen established friendships akin to high school relationships in which drugs and alcohol were used. Therefore, alcohol and drug use may be important determining factors in choosing new college friends. College orientation could help students…

Presents a quantitative study of the development of a theoretical model of drop-outs from distance education courses. Data collected by the Distance Education Student Progress (DESP) questionnaire from 1,060 students in Hong Kong investigated how students were able to integrate demands of their academic course with those of families, employers,…

To examine the influence of friends on school achievement motivation, each of 118 eighth graders was paired with a close friend to discuss dilemmas concerning achievement motivation or an unrelated topic. Friends' decisions on motivational dilemmas were more similar after discussion than before. Discussions did not cause more extreme decisions.…

The status of formal recommendations is different in the naturalistic evaluation model than in the traditional empirical model. The evaluation of a high school peer support program for alcohol abuse prevention illustrates that reader-generated recommendations may have more usefulness and impact than do evaluator-generated ideas. (SLD)

Administered psychosocial scales based on concept of social bond to measure alcohol use among 466 college seniors. Found that three psychosocial scales used accounted for 81 percent of variance in current alcohol use. Perceived Parental Approval of Teenage Drinking and Drinking Standards had moderate effect on alcohol use, but Tolerance of Minor…

Duquesne University (Pennsylvania) has established a chemical dependency peer intervention program with a strong education and prevention focus which involves identifying, motivating, referring for treatment and aftercare monitoring of impaired pharmacy students. The program includes a required student seminar. Student response to the seminar and…

Compares adolescents from East Germany who experienced an educational system offering little choice with adolescents from West Germany who experienced more leeway to investigate career maturity. East German adolescents reported more career maturity. Person-related variables predicted career maturity in both groups; family and peer context were…

Reports the results of five years of analysis examining the impact of the service of the Youth Support Project, a systems-based approach to improving the functioning of youths entering the juvenile justice system and their families (N=95). Results indicate that relationships exist between the various blocks of predictor variables and the different…

Studied influence of close friends, parents, and individual characteristics on adolescent drug use. Found similarity across European-, African-American, and Chinese adolescents in high-sensation-seeking and low-authoritative parenting associated with higher rates of drug use. Close friends had influence on Chinese and European Americans.…

Two experiments tested a self-regulation model of risk-taking among third through eighth graders in which inappropriate risk taking is associated with overconfidence, succumbing to dysregulating influences, and insensitivity to outcomes. Found that ability beliefs, preference for thrill seeking, peer nomination, competitiveness, and interest…

Examination of the prevalence of substance use among low socioeconomic status elementary and middle school Mexican American students identified with (n=150) or without (n=150) learning disabilities found no difference in substance abuse rate between the two groups. Risk factors for LD students included susceptibility to peer influence and…