Mothers of 49 kindergartners and 54 second graders told their children 2 stories about distressed persons to obtain children's emotional, physiological, and prosocial responses. For kindergartners, mothers' perceptions of children's emotional reactivity were positively related to their use of positive facial expressions, whereas mothers'…

The report of the National Research Council's committee on mandatory retirement in higher education is summarized, and related issues are discussed briefly, including trends in faculty retirement age, factors in retirement decision making, faculty productivity and age, and implications for tenure. (MSE)

Reviews research on the determinants and the effects of parents' attributions. The evidence suggests that parents do form attributions for their children's behavior; these attributions vary in predictable ways across judges (mothers versus fathers), targets (age or sex of child), and behavior outcomes (positive or negative); and attributions…

Among a longitudinal cohort of 400 employed males, illicit drug use had a positive impact on wages up to age 28-29 and a negative impact by the mid-30s. A life-span perspective emphasizes differential short- and long-term impacts of education, training, and job changes on users' and nonusers' incomes. Contains 57 references. (Author/SV)

Junior women faculty (n=22) were paired with senior women colleagues as part of a mentoring initiative in a faculty development program. Participant perceptions before and after the program were analyzed for implications in three areas: roles and responsibilities, sense of fit, and personal security. (Author/MSE)

This study examined scientific problem finding behavior in 40 gifted rising sixth graders participating in a 1-week summer residential program. Some correlations were found between ability to form hypotheses and creativity. Comparison with a previous study done with ninth graders found significant differences between groups. No differences were…

Examined the mathematical beliefs and achievement of 62 elementary school students from a school at which teachers were participating in a project to improve mathematics teaching. Found that students who enjoyed mathematics were also confident of their math abilities and that there was little correlation between parental support and student…

Examined the conceptions of freedom of speech and religion held by 48 adolescents and young adults, using a structured interview containing assessments of civil liberties in general, in straightforward applications, and in conflict with other social and moral concerns. Findings indicate that sophisticated conceptions of civil liberties emerge by…

Investigated the maintenance and generalization of Individual Education Program (IEP) objectives. Comparison groups and 25 children with mental retardation from early intervention programs completed previously achieved and closely related tasks pertaining to color, shape, number, and size. Found variability in maintenance and generalization for…

With federal aid, the University of Georgia at Athens has developed a program that increases senior faculty involvement in undergraduate instruction. In a year-long seminar, senior faculty members work with junior faculty, teaching assistants, and campus faculty development staff to improve introductory-level instruction. (Author/MSE)

Eighty gifted and 80 nongifted African American, Latino, Filipino, and white elementary school students were evaluated through information processing tasks. There were large differences on all four tasks, two depending on speed of processing and two not dependent on speed, as a function of grade and gifted program membership. (SLD)

Investigated the developmental processes that lead from a literal interpretation of idiomatic expressions to the ability to comprehend and produce them figuratively. Results showed that younger children are more literally oriented than older children, who in turn are more idiomatically oriented, and that children of both age groups found it more…

Adolescents (n=650) rated 10 activities involving drug and alcohol use, unprotected sexual intercourse, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol in 6 domains concerning risk to self or others, pleasure, control, peer approval, and parental disapproval. A factor analysis of the items revealed three second-order factors: inherent danger,…

Three major demographic trends (immigration patterns, dissolution of the traditional family structure, and the emerging age profile of the United States population) and three social trends (socioeconomic polarization, growing importance of the Pacific Rim countries to American trade, and new communications technology) are examined as they affect…

Examined the relative role of parent-child relationships, family stress, and disease factors in predicting behavior problems in children with epilepsy. Found that children's self-reliance correlated with parent-reported behavior problems, whereas expression of affect related to teacher-reported problems. Overall, parent-child relationship factors…