Two experiments tested a self-regulation model of risk-taking among third through eighth graders in which inappropriate risk taking is associated with overconfidence, succumbing to dysregulating influences, and insensitivity to outcomes. Found that ability beliefs, preference for thrill seeking, peer nomination, competitiveness, and interest…

Examined the influence of emotion, audience, gender, and age on fifth, eighth, and eleventh graders' reported emotion management, emotional self-efficacy, and expectancies. Found that eighth graders regulated emotion most and expected the least maternal support. Children expressed greater self-efficacy and regulation for sadness than for anger.…

A descriptive analysis of low female employment in central Appalachia draws on 1990 census data. Potential contributing factors addressed include poverty, age, disability, occupational and industrial structure, rurality, and family structure (especially the presence of children). Research conclusions suggest the interplay of contributing factors.…

Spatial aptitude tests designed for elementary school children were given to third-grade students from both suburban and rural schools in Pennsylvania. Results were scrutinized by the declared favorite subjects of the participants and organized by gender. Students who preferred science and mathematics did better on spatial tests than students who…

Longitudinal study from early through late adolescence investigated gender differences in relation between internalizing symptoms of depression and anxiety reported by adolescents, and emotional distress and marital discord reported by mothers. Found that gender differences emerged in midadolescence, by which time parental disturbances were…

A rural Canadian secondary school developed a cross-age peer-assisted summer program to improve academic achievement and career awareness. Although there was no significant improvement in math grades for female participants, 91 percent of students claimed the program helped them in their present courses. Other outcomes included improved academic…

A study examined attitudes towards teenage motherhood among 25 Navajo reservation residents, including 8 teenage mothers, their mothers, and 4 teenage fathers. Findings indicate that teenage parenting was discouraged despite the matrilineal nature of Navajo society, men were frequently absent from family life, single maternity was preferable to…

Examined whether relationships between high school students' educational and career aspirations and their parents' educational levels differed. Students' mathematics achievement, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status were also examined. Interviews indicated that relationships between parental factors and student variables differed by mother…

Investigated body figure preferences, eating disorder symptomatology, and role concerns in 142 Australian Caucasian adolescent girls in private single-sex and private coeducational schools. Reasons girls in the single-sex school had a thinner ideal figure and displayed more eating disorder patterns than those in the coeducational school are…

Describes an empirical study that investigated how well people in the information science field perform as judges of document relevance, topicality, and utility for information needs that they did not originate. Results are compared to the actual users' judgments, and the effects of experience and gender are explored. (Contains 17 references.)…

Processes through which interethnic relations and identity are constructed were studied among French, Italian, and Haitian adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. The research demonstrated a marked evolution in attitudes and strategies from the first to the fifth year of high school, with gender and social class playing different roles within each ethnic…

Investigates the relationships between participating in traditional extracurricular activities and the academic achievement levels of minority male and female students in poor urban schools. Figures from a national database (24,355 eighth graders) show that in almost 50% of cases, male participation in extracurriculars was associated with lower…

Tests the hypothesis that, owing to sex differences in prior knowledge and interests, the topic of a text is an important factor explaining sex-based differences in student scores on foreign-language tests. Results indicate that differences between the sexes in prior knowledge contribute to sex differences in foreign-language reading…

Examines the representations of mental functioning in terms of images and stories of gender relations. Suggests that the rational pole of the mind is often stereotyped as "hard" and "masculine," while the nonrational pole is considered "soft" and "feminine." Reviews evidence suggesting that these dynamics…

Underlines the importance of investigating development within concrete thinking. Points out the importance of taking seriously the need for epistemological pluralism respecting and rewarding the labor-intensive methods of inquiry that embody the kind of concrete, contextual thinking researchers try to understand. (AA)