A study examined the basis of "theory of mind" (ToM) reasoning in 20 native signers (ages 4-8) of British Sign Language. Children and their siblings were given a measure of the quality of sibling relations. Sibling quality as perceived by siblings predicted children's ToM score over age and referential communication. (Contains…

Discusses the overprediction of minority students' college grades in studies using test scores and high school grades. Describes a study of 790 fourth-year undergraduates, analyzing both academic and nonacademic measures to see if more accurate predictions could be obtained. Reports that the addition of nonacademic constructs resulted in better…

Discusses the role of friendships in children's development. Examines the meaning of the term friendship; the roots of friendship development; the role of parents, teachers, and siblings; and concerns about children's choices. Suggests that positive attitudes, when established early in life, can affect physical and mental health and the quality of…

Examined 128 children for contributions of biomedical risk conditions, SES, and HOME scores to prediction of intelligence, and association of extreme scores on HOME and SES to intelligence-test performance. Found home environment was the most important predictor of intelligence at all ages, with SES showing a smaller effect beginning at age 5.…

Describes a study conducted at Rutgers University (New Jersey) that observed 24 graduate students' relevance judgments during information retrieval. Discusses implications for finding relevance dimensions, the measurement of relevance, thesaurus construction, evaluation of information retrieval, and variables affecting relevance judgments. (LRW)

A study of 177 low-income children (ages 3-30 months) investigated the relationship among neglect, failure to thrive (FTT), and cognitive functioning. The cognitive performance of children who had been neglected and were FTT was significantly below that of children who had only one of the variables and typical children. (Author/CR)

Examines aggravated and sexual assaults among 240 runaway and homeless adolescents (RHAs) in Des Moines (Iowa). Results suggest RHAs are at risk of life-threatening situations on the streets due to aggressive and abusive parents. Additionally, street life situations have significant impacts on the probability that RHAs will be victims of…

A study involving 1,235 residents of Sonoma Developmental Center found 3 residents had hepatitis C virus infections, and 633 had past or current hepatitis B virus infections. The prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection rose rapidly with longer residence in institutions. Hepatitis A virus infection had occurred in 494 residents. (Contains…

Examined predictability of observed parent-child interaction from preschool to middle childhood among 283 mother-child dyads who were welfare recipients enrolled in a job training program. Found that interaction in middle childhood could be predicted from observed interaction 4 years earlier. Families with greater risk factors tended to show more…

A study compared perspectives of 78 teachers in inclusive schools and 84 teachers in non-inclusive schools. The inclusion teachers had significantly more positive perspectives regarding inclusion. The groups differed regarding how well prepared their school was for inclusion, concern with teachers' roles, and concern with the effect of inclusion.…

A study investigated the extent to which child maltreatment victims (n=61,693) and perpetrators (n=39,143) were reported for different types of maltreatment over time and service variables associated with recidivism. There was substantial cross-type recidivism at both the child and perpetrator levels, with neglect being the most common recidivism…

In South Carolina, 10,169 individuals with mental retardation were served by the state disability agency and 22.7% were employed during 1997-2000, with 68% keeping their job for more than 1 year. Food service, manufacturing, disability services, grocery, and retail companies employed the majority of those who worked at least 3 years. (Contains…

Reports on a study of the proportional representation of women administrators by ethnicity from 1991 to 1997 in a sample of 1,030 two-year colleges. States that Hispanic-serving, urban, California two-year colleges and the percentage of women faculty of color entered as significant positive predictors of change in the representation of women…

To determine academic performance and retention patterns, 229 African American freshmen men were surveyed about their adaptation to college using cognitive and noncognitive measures. Statistically significant relationships were between high school grades, high school rank, and several noncognitive variables and students' academic performance and…

Investigates two constructs integral to adolescent development, continuing parental attachment and social support, to assess whether the constructs are differentially related to indices of adjustment following a romantic relationship breakup. As hypothesized, hierarchical regression analyses showed that current attachment levels were related to…