Discussions of bullying generally ignore the fact that bullying may be a cover for racism. A three-stage process is suggested for development of antiracist practices in the context of bullying. The first step toward finding out what is happening in schools is to clarify the language used about it. (SLD)

Studied the structure and psychometric properties of a self-report measure of adolescents' helping behavior within the family. Factor analyses yielded four internally consistent subscales for the Sibling Helping Scale and five for the Parent Helping Scale, all of which were conceptually related to inventories reflecting family support among…

Examines the phenomenon of the"first time"--a teenager's first date, first job, first sexual experience. Since these experiences are imbued with an inordinate amount of emotional investment, they offer an alternative understanding to adolescents' emotional underpinnings and clarify why many adolescents experience stressful times during this stage…

This introduction to a special section provides the basic definitions and presents the measurement approaches and data analytic techniques that are collectively referred to as chaos theory. The conceptualization and assessment of unstable behavioral disorders can be strengthened by incorporating elements of chaos theory. (SLD)

Two firsthand accounts from verbal high-functioning individuals with autism (a 27-year-old man and a 13-year-old boy and his parents) are presented. Five salient themes are identified: sensory processing, memory, stereotypical behaviors, social interaction, and empathy. Multichanneled sensory processing appeared in both subjects as did a detailed…

A three-level model explains the emergence and maintenance of rhythmic stereotypy and self-injury in disabled individuals: Level 1, internally regulated rhythmic behaviors; Level 2, stereotypy and self-injury as adaptive responses to understimulating or overstimulating environments; and Level 3, stereotypy and self-injury as learned behaviors to…

Examined the incidence of "romantic" dyads, same-sex friendship dyads, and cross-sex friendship dyads in preschools and day-care centers. Behavior patterns that characterize these dyads are described. It is maintained that results suggest that there are romances between preschoolers. (BG)

Professionals (n=201) working with child sexual abuse victims rated the normalcy of various behaviors with anatomical dolls for children ages two to five. Respondents agreed that overtly sexual behaviors were abnormal for nonabused children, but ratings of ambiguous behaviors varied depending on respondent's profession, gender, and years of…

Family functioning of 411 incarcerated male juvenile delinquents (aged 12-16 years) was studied using the Family Environmental Scale. A typology of family social environments was developed using cluster analysis. Delinquents with the most serious behavioral difficulties come from family environments with few strengths and openly expressed conflict…

This study examined the effectiveness of the Behavior Summarized Evaluation to discriminate 58 autistic from 58 nonautistic mentally retarded children. The measure clearly separated the two samples with between-group differences highest on four items indicating the most particular pattern in autistic children was the association of autistic…

Interactional patterns of 64 institutionalized persons with severe/profound multiple developmental disabilities revealed that they learned meaning through the understanding of situational events with others. Three behavioral patterns are differentiated: interference, participation, and ambiguity. Professional understanding of the social and…

Research on women's dental health and on differences between men's and women's dental health issues is reviewed. Factors specifically influencing women's health, including medical, economic, social, psychological, and behavioral factors, are also examined. It is argued that the clustering of risk factors for women indicates a need for more…

The opioid antagonist naltrexone was administered to eight adults with severe or profound mental retardation and self-injurious behaviors. During naltrexone administration, there were fewer days with frequent head-banging and self-biting. Experimental subjects were also found to sleep significantly less than controls both before and during…

Career behavior and occupational choices of deaf children in Nigeria were studied for 20 secondary school students. Results show that they would like jobs in which they are not disadvantaged by their disability, that their attitudes toward work are positive, and that salary is an important factor in occupational choice. (SLD)

Despite the fact that gay and bisexual male college students know about safe sex practices, they are often not using them, according to a recent survey. The study of about 20,500 blood samples on 35 college and university campuses shows a high rate of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, with men 22 times as likely as women to test…