Used stepwise discriminant analysis on calibration sample (n=135) of juvenile inpatients to determine which variables best distinguished violent inpatients. Cross-validated model on 123 subjects. Violent subjects were more likely to be younger males with family history of criminal behavior and extensive discord. Violent subjects showed differences…

Examined Israeli adolescents' responses to impending unconventional warfare by administering Nuclear Threat Index to 269 junior high school students 2 months prior to Persian Gulf War. Younger adolescents and females reported more activity, pessimistic thoughts, and concerns than older adolescents and males, respectively; and "internal"…

Recent research supports Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development" theory; children receiving peer assistance can stretch their learning beyond their individual accomplishment. A study of a multiage classroom revealed three strategies used by children working together to solve math problems--modeling, tutoring, and pairing/sharing…

Interviewed 62 families that had recently placed their mentally retarded children about their experiences. Placements generally followed gradual build-up of child-related stress. Parents reported high satisfaction with placement and positive family adaptation following placement. Family experiences generally were not related to child's age, level…

Using a 1987 sample of 526 undergraduates, this study examines changes in student alcohol use, alcohol abuse, and attitudes toward drinking over their college careers. The maturation of attitude and behavior observed in females was not seen in males, for whom college may represent a period of protracted adolescence. (SLD)

Reviews developmental literature on cognitive gender differences; and compares past and present trends in gender differences, by age, from standardizations of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales and the California Achievement Tests. Decreases are found in gender differences for adolescents but not for adults. Implications are discussed. (SLD)

Explored possible link between development of moral reasoning/behavior and metacognition. Examined awareness of moral processes involved in moral reasoning and behavior in 139 adolescents in grades 7, 9, and 12. Found number of significant moral metacognition-reasoning-behavior correlations. Findings support notion that specific types of metamoral…

Reports on a survey of high school students in two school systems. Information was obtained on patterns of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, indices of AOD use for grade and gender, and relationships of indices to individual, family, and social competence/adjustment risk factors. (SM)

A study used the Three-Interval Forced-Choice Test of Speech Pattern Contrast Perception (THRIFT) to examine sensory-level speech-perception performance under the input modalities of hearing alone, speech-reading alone, and the two combined in 44 children (ages 5-10). Within each condition there were significant influences of age on performance…

Three studies explored age changes and individual differences in preschoolers' sustained attention in different contexts. Found that changes occurred earlier for play and television viewing than for reaction time tasks. Results suggest that children have stable tendencies to sustain attention but that attention varies with task demands and…

Assessed developments in the theory of mind suggested by changes in the organization of cognitive verb extensions during elementary school years. Found three major changes with development: increased understanding of the role of memory in input functions, increased interrelatedness of memory- and comprehension-related verbs, and increased…

Examined knowledge about medicines and perceived benefit among 101 children, ages 7 and 10. Found that medicine knowledge was explained using age, educational environment, and degree of internal locus of control as significant predictors. The negative effect of internal locus of control predicted perceived benefit. Retention of drug advertising…

A study investigated whether the phonological properties of visually represented words routinely influenced the process of lexical access. Subjects were 40 college students and 40 fourth graders. Results provide little support for the claim that the phonological attributes of words are used standardly to achieve lexical access. (Author/MSE)

Analysis of French spoken by French girls aged 11-12 years found that, unlike older counterparts, theirs shows variable linguistic behavior on the phonological level that suggests avoidance of vernacular forms, the "sociolinguistic gender pattern." However, one speaker's discourse shows manipulation of conversational tone comparable to adult…

Examined mothers' and preschoolers' emotion talk for age- and gender-related patterns in use of labels and explanations. Found that children used emotion words mainly in labels. Boys' emotion talk increased with age. The youngest girls had more emotion talk than same-age boys. Mothers used more explanations than labels with boys but similar…