Validates a behavior inventory that was developed to measure the physical and psychological abuse of women by their partners. For the study, 100 men and 78 women were divided into groups of abusers/abused and nonabusers/nonabused. Significant differences between the abusers and nonabusers groups' scores supported the instrument's soundness. (RJM)

Psychometric properties of a laboratory paradigm for measuring stealing, property destruction, and cheating were explored, and the viability of the construct of covert antisocial behavior was studied in 98 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and 78 comparisons. Psychometric and ethical issues in assessment of covert behavior are…

Examined the effects of activity period duration on preschoolers' play with playdough and blocks. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests showed significantly more constructive and dramatic play, and less functional play, at the end of the play period. Differences between the quality of play in block and playdough centers were found. (Author/BB)

This study investigated whether 13 young children presented with anatomically correct dolls would exhibit behaviors that professionals (n=14) could agree on to determine the child's abuse status. The study concluded that experienced professionals agree poorly with each other about a child's abuse status and that sexually anatomically correct dolls…

A survey of 164 female members of the Texas dental association and 62 junior and senior students at the 3 Texas dental schools investigated sexual harassment experiences with patients and colleagues, reasons for tolerating such behavior, and the manner in which the offensive behavior was handled. Results and implications are discussed. (MSE)

One aspect of ethological methodology, behavioral categorization, is applied to the study of young children's social behavior in preschool classrooms. Studies are reviewed and recommendations for future use of ethological methods, with specific reference to categorizing children's play, are offered. (LB)

Presents results of a study of cultural differences in causal attributions and self-serving bias. Reports more self-serving attributional bias among U.S. than Finn students. Suggests that cultural differences in self-serving bias may result from differences in need to protect self-esteem, coping mechanisms, and cultural differences in coping with…

The study compared the classroom and playground behaviors of 95 Australian elementary students with mild disabilities and 95 matched students without disabilities. Although many similarities in behavior patterns were observed, children with disabilities interacted and played less with their peers, engaged in more solitary play, and initiated more…

This study compared the interactive behavior of 20 cocaine-using mothers and their neonates with a control group of drug-free mothers and newborns. Cocaine-exposed infants were asleep or distressed for significantly longer periods, and cocaine-using mothers spent significantly more time disengaged from, and passively looking at, infants than did…

This article reviews and critiques the literature on the effects of participation in aerobic exercise on psychological/behavioral variables for persons with mental retardation and associated disabilities. Findings suggested that participation in an exercise program produces immediate, but not durable, benefits in the psychological and behavioral…

A review of the use of psychotropic medications for people with developmental disabilities is presented. Results suggest that prescribing drugs based on topographical features of the problem behavior, without considering the function the behavior serves for the individual, contributes to variability in clinical response. Functional analysis of a…

The authors of EC 609 935, a paper comparing characteristics of children with high functioning autistic disorder (H-F AD) with those of children having mild disabilities, reflect on difficulties in accurately identifying and programming for H-F AD children. Educators are urged to evaluate such students in terms of learning style, behavioral…

In this Netherlands study, 41 deaf boys (ages 6 to 11) were compared to hearing children using the Child Behavior Checklist. The deaf boys appeared to have more internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems but were no more often disturbed than their hearing counterparts. Younger deaf boys showed more behavioral problems than older deaf…

Ninety female undergraduates' perceptions of videotaped portrayals of no, subtle, or explicit sexual harassment (SH) are studied. Each video portrays a male teaching assistant correcting a female student's paper. Subjects perceive SH in videos containing SH but do not explicitly label it until they are cued to do so. (SLD)

Using a connectionist framework, it is possible to develop models exploring effects of biologically relevant variables on behavior. The ability of such models to explain schizophrenic behavior in terms of biological disturbances is considered, and computer models are presented that simulate normal and schizophrenic behavior in an attentional task.…