The program involved each adolescent receiving 10 weeks' consecutive training. The results suggested that individualized training was superior to standardized training. Skills important for making friendships were included in the program, and provision was made for meeting the needs of both impulsive and unassertive adolescents within group…

Comparisons were made between male and female adolescents from urban and rural groups representing middle and upper socio-economic groups. The females from rural settings were found to suffer more depressive symptomatology and poor self-esteem. Hostility was detected more in males from either location. Possible clinical relevance is discussed and…

Studied the influence of parenting, personality, and school adjustment on early adolescent substance use in 1,023 middle school students. Findings indicate similarity in etiology of early adolescent substance use across gender and ethnicity; the importance of examining multiple domains of influence on adolescent substance use; and the need to…

Explored relationships between three dimensions of temperament (surgency, negative affectivity, and control) and several patterns of behavior for 80 children aged 6 and 7 years. Found that surgency correlated positively with aggression and negatively with guilt and shame. Negative affectivity correlated positively with aggression, guilt and shame,…

Correlation of 82 academically gifted adolescents' personality scores with scores for identity exploration revealed that youth who were actively exploring (according to Erik Erikson's ego identity theory) exhibited the following psychological portrait: inner confusion, agitation, dissatisfaction, unhappiness, periodic spells of depression,…

A growing body of research focuses on resilient children--those who have persevered in the wake of terrible experiences and gone on to do well in school. Researchers suggest that school boards should become committed to raising academic standards; encouraging volunteers to serve as mentors; and keeping extracurricular activities. (MLF)

A cross-validation study is reported in which personality and cognitive ability variables were evaluated as predictors of 2 separate performance criteria for 450 Master of Business Administration students. Personality variables are found to be related to academic success when characteristic modes of behavior play a role in academic performance.…

This study examined parental reports of dissatisfaction with boys of fathers without a history of substance abuse and those fathers with such a history. Higher dissatisfaction ratings by both mothers and fathers and other indicators of dysfunction were found in the families in which fathers had a history of substance abuse. (LKS)

Examined the usefulness of a multiple-stage screening procedure in identifying youth experiencing elevated levels of anxiety. Children in grades 4-7 completed a 3-stage screening procedure. Results paralleled outcomes for when the procedure was used to recognize depressed children. Concludes that multiple-stage screening can identify children…

Girls who had been sexually abused (n=68) or had alleged being sexually abused (n=68) exhibited sleep problems, fearfulness, emotional and behavioral changes, concentration problems, and sexual curiosity and knowledge. Girls known to have been abused were more self-conscious, fearful of being left alone, and had more nightmares than the allegedly…

Argues that feminist psychologists not only do not have a uniform position on the issue of gender differences, but that many have argued for large gender differences. The article contends that meta-analyses indicate great variability in the magnitude of gender differences across different behaviors. (GR)

As part of a project aimed at developing an adolescent health education program, 100 subjects aged 12 through 13 and 16 through 17 were studied to determine the possible relationship between self-esteem, value of health, and positive health behavior. Both factors were found to be significantly correlated with certain dimensions of health behavior…

This essay argues that the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system does not appear to be related to emotion regulation processes in children, although individual differences in emotion processes related to negative emotion temperaments appear to be associated with individual differences in HPA reactivity among normally…

Variables associated with sexual abuse were examined among youth, ages 5 through 18, with severe mental illness. Review of 499 patient records revealed abuse as an isolated event in 62 cases, intermittent abuse in 61 cases, and chronic abuse in 150. Sexual abuse was associated with inappropriate sexual behaviors, substance abuse, and posttraumatic…

Examined hypothesis that cognitive misers (CM)--individuals low in the need for cognition--forego effortful message scrutiny with a presumably truthful communicator. Results showed that CMs depended more on message scrutiny when a knowledgeable source is of questionable honesty than when the source's honesty is clear. Other factors are discussed.…