Examined determinants of occurrence and outcomes of premarital pregnancy. Found cohabitation, being black, poor grades and high peer activity in high school, use of illicit drugs other than marijuana and dropping out to be associated with increased risk of premarital pregnancy. Premarital births were overrepresented among blacks, as were abortions…

Combined data from Coleman's 1961 Adolescent Society survey and 15-year follow-up study of early status attainment of respondents. Found parents' effects on children's educational aspirations and attainments due to modeling and defining influences. Defining effects exceeded modeling effects in strength; proportion of parental influence due to…

Reports correlations between the High School Personality Questionnaire and various indices of school achievement and compares the validities with prior studies. Uses three achievement scores: self-reported high-school grades, parent-reported high-school grades several years after the testing, and college grades several years after the testing. The…

Verbal prompting and graduated physical guidance procedures were found to substantially increase independent and social play in two interrelated experiments with eight profoundly mentally retarded adults. Independent and social play remained in the subjects' repertoire for 12 months following termination of programmed maintenance. (Author/JW)

A follow-up study examined what eight preservice physical education majors saw in a 15-minute games lesson with fifth-grade students. Analysis indicated that, unlike the first study where student teachers recorded statements about pupils or pupils and the teacher, current student teachers recorded statements about the teacher, the pupils, and the…

Studied whether pubertal age affects reports of psychosomatic symptoms among 14- to 16-year-old girls. Considered whether differences in dating and alcohol use might be mediating factors in the relation between pubertal age and psychosomatic symptoms. Subjects were 935 Finnish eighth-grade pupils who completed questionnaires three times during a…

A 10-year follow-up study was conducted for 169 gifted children who originally participated in a 1974-1979 research project at ages 5-14. The students had appreciated firmness and two-way communication with their teachers. Reactions upon entering university life varied. Academic or social problems were often attributable to factors separate from…

The study reviewed findings on the postschool adjustment of 160 behavior-disordered students who graduated from special education programs in the state of Washington between 1978 and 1986. Among findings were that 17 percent were involved in postsecondary programs, and 60 percent were currently employed. (JW)

Conducted 3-year evaluation of Nebraska students (N=130) to gauge long-term influence of initial preventive alcohol education intervention developed around inoculation model. Results suggest that after 3 years, frequency of risky alcohol-related behavior between experimental and control students was not significantly different. Assessment of…

A sample of 16 older mentally retarded persons (mean age, 61 years, mean IQ 62), who were originally studied in 1960-61 following release from a state hospital and subsequently followed up in 1972-73 and 1982, were reexamined. Independence, social competence, and zest for life had increased. (Author/DB)

Scores on the Holbrook Screening Battery, administered at age four, correctly predicted 89 percent of good readers and 75 percent of poor readers in a sample of 116 eighth graders. Characteristics differentiating good and poor readers included birth history, family history of learning disability, speech delay, and socioeconomic status. (Author/DB)

Regular classroom teachers (N=212) who took a course on mainstreaming felt that learning and physically disabled students were easiest and behaviorally disordered students were hardest to mainstream; and that the course provided a useful knowledge base on mainstreaming and was more useful than inservice training and contact with other…

Using a seven-month follow-up study of 1983 graduates (N=346) from a large, public university, compared the employment situation of men to women and of 1979 to 1983 graduates. Results indicated women were not employed in their fields, less satisfied, and earned less than men. Alternative career counseling strategies are discussed. (BL)

Results of a five-year follow-up study of training and certification of special education administrators revealed that the greatest change since 1979 was in the number of state offices requiring special education coursework or demonstration of competency in special education as part of the general administrative credential. (Author/JW)

Follow-up studies of doctoral graduates at Ohio State and Michigan State are compared. The survey considered alumni perceptions of guidance committee activities, course work, comprehensive examinations, and dissertations. (Author/MLW)