The relationship between the age of first coital experience and the sexual behaviors of adolescents in their late teens is examined. Separate analyses are done for females and males and for Black and White youth. Findings suggest that early coital onset has enduring effects and that early intervention is indicated. (AF)

Examines the utility of applying selected elements of the social-learning theory to the examination of youth gangs. Studying ninth-grade public-school pupils, researchers discovered that the social-learning perspective provided insights into gang membership. Group-context offending was related to both social-learning theory and gang membership.…

Overviews the history of Service Volunteered for All (Servol), an organization founded in 1970 in Trinidad and Tobago by Gerard Pantin, a Catholic priest. The organization has evolved into 2 national networks of 150 preschools, 40 life centers for teenage boys and girls, training programs for preschool teachers, and community programs aimed at…

Examines data surrounding issues related to educational attitudes and attainment and teenage pregnancy, nonmarital births, and child poverty. Addresses proximate and root causes of rising U.S. rates of teenage pregnancy, correlations between nonmarital births and educational and occupational expectations, and educational and economic consequences.…

Discusses cooperation between school and public libraries and presents a self-evaluation inventory that can be used for implementation and evaluation by school library media specialists and public library youth services librarians. Highlights include communication; technology and electronic media; sexual harassment; and selection of sensitive…

Qualitative and quantitative studies of a class of 208 urban eighth graders demonstrate that loose-knit peer groups encourage interracial integration, whereas cliques do not. Loose-knit voluntary peer groups created by the social dynamic of cafeteria table hopping provide an opportunity for meaningful cross-race interaction. (SLD)

An age-dependent answer-selection sequence of answers on multiple-choice tests suggested by previous studies was supported using statistical rather than clinical means. Results with 2,810 students aged 88 months through 241 months given a reading comprehension test twice during a 5-month interval support the systematically connected age-dependent…

Compares 20 African-American rites of passage programs for adolescents, and considers the place of such rites for African Americans and their communities in current and future society. The adolescent rite of passage is a supervised developmental and educational process to assist young people in becoming adults. (SLD)

Identifies health risks and other factors that determine the need for health care services among children and adolescents. Recommendations are made to develop reforms through a coordinated care program rather than through competing systems of services. Models for community-based health care monitoring and coordination exist in other industrialized…

Using survey and observational data on 74 2-parent families in a midwestern rural county, 4 important mechanisms are identified that link economic hardship to the aggressive behavior of adolescents. Economic pressure appears to affect the marital relationship, and consequently parenting, through the negativity of fathers. (SLD)

Presents Soviet secondary teachers' opinions on their responsibility to promote student sobriety. Data obtained through surveys show teachers rate the importance of their example second only to parental influence. Concludes that women teachers were more earnest and willing to involve parents in antialcohol efforts. Reveals teachers' views on which…

Analyzes African-Americans narratives of interracial conflict. Concludes that issues of power and authority are imbedded in interracial interpersonal relationships. Explores themes of justice and care in the psychological development of African Americans and in the transmission of race-related morals and values in African-American culture. (DK)

The nine-factor productivity model of science achievement of H. J. Walberg (1981) was tested through structural equation modeling using national longitudinal data on middle-school seventh grade students' science achievement (n=3,116). The better fit provided by a revised model with eight factors is discussed, and implications for educational…

Literature on the prevalence, symptomatology, and etiology of anorexia nervosa and bulimia in adolescents is reviewed. The school psychologist is in an essential position to help the adolescent and family. Assessment, consultation, and intervention strategies are discussed for the school psychologist, and psychological and pharmacological…

Investigation of the roles of pubertal timing and pubertal status on school achievement for 115 boys and 137 girls followed through grades 6, 7, and 8 indicates that late-maturing boys have the lowest school achievement, whereas late-maturing girls have the highest. Followups at grade 12 indicate few long-term effects. (SLD)