Examination of data from 1985 visits by 110 runaway and 655 non-runaway youth to an outpatient medical clinic reveals that runaway youth are at greater risk for a wide variety of medical problems and of health-compromising behaviors including suicide, depression, prostitution, and drug use. (Author/BJV)

Summarizes conclusions from research on sex and age differences in moral reasoning. Finds men focused on rights and women on responsiblity, and older adults better able to articulate their moral positions though no longer engaged in moral growth. Suggests changes in the content and pedagogy of moral education. (DMM)

Studied effects of factors on group discussion participation, observing 218 subjects in four-, five-, or six-person mock juries discussing mandatory retirement case. Visibility and size were main predictors of who spoke first; first-to-speak, age, and sex were predictors of participation in first minute. Total participation was affected by age,…

Four experiments examined the spelling capability of students in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and college. Results suggested that reading unit size increases with age and reading ability. Younger children, like adults, unitize common words, and unitization of less common words increases as word configurations become more familiar. (RWB)

Two experiments investigated perceptual primacy of dimensional and similarity relations in stimulus classifications of younger and older subjects. Results support a differential-sensitivity view of perceptual development which asserts that individuals at all ages primarily perceive and use separate relations. (RWB)

A sample of twin boys and their mothers was followed up from age 2 to age 9. Mothers' responses to interview questions were compared across these two ages in order to assess mothers' perceptions of continuity or change in given behaviors. Results indicated substantial continuity in mothers' reports of the presence or absence of given behaviors.…

Studies analyzing children's response time to detect word targets revealed that six-year-olds and younger children generally did not show the response time advantage for accented target words which adult listeners show, providing support for the argument that the processing advantage for accented words reflects the semantic role of accent as an…

Reviews research on the developmental roots of nurturance in young children. Examines child characteristics (age, sex); characteristics of the nurtured object (infants and their behaviors); and aspects of the nurturing situation (adult involvement and encouragement). Implications for furture research and child care practices are suggested. (BB)

Drinking patterns and alcohol-related problems were studied in 164 Anglo and 149 Mexican-American male regular drinkers. A combination of acculturation and generational status measures indicated the heaviest drinking patterns and the highest prevalence of both alcohol-related problems and escape drinking motives among the least acculturated…

Examines the implications of temporal separation for children's developmental differences in inferences drawn about an individual's characteristics after observing multiple instances of that individual's behavior. Also tests two competing hypotheses about how young children process information separated in time. (HOD)

Describes program design and presents undergraduate students' opinions of computer tutorial--"GROWTH"--used to replace teachers in mastery learning experience. Student reactions were favorable to the program, which stimulated small tutorial group formation. Although females and younger students had more difficulty answering program…

Examines the engaged rates of children in kindergarten to fourth grade for differences and makes some assessment of attention span as it relates to engaged rate and achievement. (HOD)

To investigate age-and ability-related differences in the effects of explictness reversibility, and clause order on children's comprehension of causal relationships, three experiments were conducted at grade levels three, five, and eight. Students read text in one of four formats. Several age differences, but no ability interactions, were found.…

Decoding and comprehension skills were assessed for Turkish and American first and third graders. Twenty students in each group were tested on a pseudoword vocalization task and on a paragraph comprehension task. The data suggest that languages with more regular letter-sound correspondences lead to faster acquisition of decoding skills. (Author/BS)

Influences upon attitudes towards aphasic children were studied when ordinary children (ages nine-14) were given explanations of, or had direct contact with, motoric aphasic children and explanations of their handicap. Attitudes of children exposed to daily contact were less negative and attitudes were more negative with decreasing age across…