An overview of the literature on childhood depression precedes results of a study of 192 regular class students (grades 4-6) in Alberta, Canada, in which diagnostic measures were used to predict aspects of depression. Among findings were that self-esteem and family stability variables significantly predict depression in children. (Author/JW)

Used Holland high-point code and Self-Directed Search scale scores to predict benefit from a self-help career counseling intervention for 52 students undecided as to career. Participants with realistic, investigative, or conventional high-point codes showed greater changes in vocational identity when compared with participants with artistic,…

Examined differential relationships among well established psychosocial correlates when predicting several dimensions of adolescent alcohol consumption (N=1,720). Factor analysis revealed three dimensions of use: recent drinking, lifetime drinking, and drunkenness. Results suggest that drunkenness is best predicted by peer influences and tobacco…

Examined relationships among client's race, the type of problem for which a client is seeking counseling, and the client's preference for counselor characteristics. Results indicated that the patterns of preferences for counselor race did not seem to differ between black and white participants on the basis of type of client concern. (Author/ABB)

Found low intercorrelations among social involvement, academic achievement, and occupational aspiration in a national sample of Black undergraduates attending predominantly White, State-supported universities. Suggests that future research on Black student success should explore factors internal to the person, institutional characteristics, and…

This article finds the empirical review of the intellectual effects of family factors by Lala Carr Steelman wanting because (1) it is selective and incomplete; (2) it ignores systematic aggregate effects; (3) it imposes linear analysis on nonmonotone relationships; and (4) it disregards most of the confounds identified by Steelman as crucial.…

The author responds to criticism by R. B. Zajonc on a review of the extant literature on the intellectual consequences of sibship size and birth order. (Author/LMO)

Male and female junior high school students were administered the recently published Computer Aptitude, Literacy, and Interest Profile, and their composite scores were compared to cumulative mathematics subscales of the Stanford Achievement Test, Advanced Form E. Results showed that mathematics achievement was significantly associated with…

Explores the relative contributions of global vocabulary and specific attribute knowledge to the metaphorical comprehension of fluent and less fluent adult users of English. Results indicate that, for both groups, specific attribute knowledge was a better predictor of metaphorical interpretation than global vocabulary knowledge. (Author/CB)

Accuracy-disabled and rate-disabled young Canadian readers were compared to children who were "fluent normal" readers. Children in the latter group decoded at the same level of accuracy as the rate-disabled subjects but at a significantly faster rate. Specific deficiencies of each of the disabled groups were identified. (Author/RH)

The effects of sample size, number of variables, and population value of the congruence coefficient on the sampling distribution of the congruence coefficient were examined. Sample data were generated on the basis of the common factor model, and principal axes factor analyses were performed. (Author/LMO)

Iowa State University explored the reliability of the Educational Testing Service's Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) and an in-house tool as a good predictor of acceptable classroom performance by nonnative English-speaking teaching assistants and studied the relationship between the assistants' background characteristics and…

The article describes a series of studies that was implemented over a five-year period to validate a teacher selection system which demonstrated important relationships between measured teacher verbal and quantitative ability and quality of classroom instruction. The need to validate personnel interview and essay techniques is discussed.…

The contribution of passage variables, question types, and format variables to reading comprehension was assessed for 50 successful and 50 unsuccessful readers. A three-stage conditional regression assessed the predictability of 20 predictor features on item difficulty scores. The location of response information and stem length accounted for…

Ridge estimates (REs) of population beta weights were compared to ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates through computer simulation to evaluate the use of REs in explanatory research. With fixed predictors, there was some question of the consistency of ridge regression, but with random predictors, REs were superior to OLS. (SLD)