Discusses a school-based prevention program initiated to reduce alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use among adolescents. Investigates changes in reported ATOD use from 1987 to 1991. Significant decreases were found for use of most drugs with the exception of alcohol. Involvement in problem behaviors was the most salient risk factor whereas…

Examined whether children's cognitive biases moderated impact of stressful divorce-related events on adjustment in 9- to 12-year olds. Found that endorsing negative cognitive errors for hypothetical divorce events moderated relations between stressful divorce events and self- and maternal-reports of internalizing and externalizing symptoms for…

Module provides information to enable individuals to facilitate one- to two-hour training sessions appropriate for teachers, other professionals, and parents. It contains information relevant to advocating for children and youth who exhibit challenging behaviors. The module: (1) defines advocacy; (2) examines why advocacy is important; (3)…

Examines the assumption that a high level of autonomy within a context of attachment provides the best constellation for psychosocial adjustments with adolescents (N=400). Results show that attitudinal, emotional, and functional autonomy were connected with attachment to father, mother, and peers to predict indices of psychosocial adjustment:…

Study suggests that the Computer-Assisted Parenting Program may positively affect parent-child functioning. Computer group parents maintained their levels of involvement with their children, and increased limit setting during the 8-week course. Results may be related to animated computer-user interactions' emphases on child behavioral monitoring,…

A review of research on the adaptive behavior of persons with both mental retardation and autism/pervasive developmental disorder finds the performances of these dually disabled individuals to be particularly poor in the domain of social skills/socialization and somewhat less poor in the communication domain. In addition, autistic mentally…

Examines the prevalence, developmental course, and predictive power of child mental health problems for young children in general and low-income, diverse populations in particular. Notes discrepancies between Head Start agency-level data, national estimates, and intensive studies of similar populations. Describes new collaborative federal…

Examined behavior problems of African American children attending Head Start in violent neighborhoods. Found Child Behavior Checklist externalization scores significantly higher than standardization sample; higher percentages of boys than girls had severe internalizing problems; higher percentages of girls than boys had severe externalizing…

Discusses Harmonium Inc., a community-based agency that counsels adolescents who are at moderate to high risk of developmental defeat because their behavior either threatens their health or jeopardizes their future. It is designed to assist these adolescents using a collaborative, strength-based counseling model built in the integrative capacity…

This introductory article discusses social contexts that help promote either student success or student failure. It explores the effects of family, peers, neighborhood and community, and school on student learning and achievement. The content of following articles is described. (Contains references.) (CR)

Describes a curriculum for self-management which is based on self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and positive reinforcement. Discusses how the classroom teacher administers reinforcement for appropriate classroom behavior and teaches the correct use of self-monitoring and self-evaluation procedures. Focuses on self-managing behavior and academic…

Discusses ways in which to equip youth with anger management and social skills. Focuses on cognitive distortions, primary and secondary thinking errors, equipment for managing anger and correcting thinking errors, and correcting thinking errors in individual therapy. Illustrates how thinking errors can be identified and corrected in individual…

Examines the extent to which Scottish children, parents, and teachers exhibit within- and between-group consensus, both in their perceptions and relative judgments of different forms of child prosocial and antisocial behaviors, and their responses to such behaviors. Significant between-group differences are discussed in the context of teaching…

In 1995, Texas adopted the Safe Schools Act, designed to allow disruptive students' removal from class, while ensuring a safety net for students who otherwise might evolve into undereducated criminals. Participating staff report successes with individual students who function better in the disciplined environment of an alternative educational…

Evaluates the effectiveness of one-year participation in a program of volunteer-facilitated peer support groups conducted in a southwest Texas high school. Results of program evaluation by participants (N=118) indicate that the program was highly accepted even though two-thirds of the students had initially felt uncomfortable in the group.…