Reports two studies of adolescent perceptions of playful and aggressive fighting. Results suggest that some bouts of playful fighting are used during adolescence to settle disputes about dominance and that aggression may be introduced into playful fighting to settle dominance disputes. (LB)

In a study of 112 children of 6-11 years of age and their parents, authoritative/democratic and authoritarian/restrictive factors in parent behavior predicted the child's prosocial behavior and sociometric status. Results support the idea that popular and rejected children have different family experiences. (BG)

Study examined how generalized patterns of social network ties influenced personal choices for leisure behavior. Researchers interviewed 44 people in a small Washington town regarding their participation in 25 outdoor recreation activities, weekly leisure pursuits, and interpersonal relationships. Results suggest network relationships facilitate…

Literature on rape on college campuses is reviewed, beginning with definitions of rape and controversy over date or rape, analysis of the risk of rape on campus, and the actions college administrators can take to reduce the risk of sexual assault. Prevention, legal issues, and campus security safeguards are discussed. (MSE)

This study of two primary-grade students with learning disabilities and behavior problems found that an instructional package incorporating videotaped self-assessment, self-modeling, discrimination training, and behavioral rehearsal helped the children acquire cooperative classroom behaviors and generalize and maintain those behaviors. (Author/JDD)

Choice of leisure activity expressed by students and one parent each from four countries supports a three-dimensional factor structure of leisure dimensions, identified as aesthetic-intellectual, sports, and social-entertainment. Subjects were 642 U.S., 174 French, 243 Danish, and 139 New Zealand college students and their parents. (SLD)

Assigned 48 junior high school students screened for unassertive school behavior to social skills training groups which included modeling only, instructions only, modeling and instructions, and control. Found significant improvements in self-reported assertion and in assertive school behavior for training groups. Trained students were able to…

A microanalytic description of teachers' interactions with children suggests that the sociomoral atmospheres of three types of classrooms differ considerably. Children in the direct-instruction classroom experience an almost totally unilateral relationship with the teacher; in the constructivist classroom, there is more reciprocity and intimacy;…

Children's discourse with peers was examined in relation to speaker gender, partner gender, and age level. Girls' and boys' communication patterns were more similar than different, but gender-related differences with medium to large effect sizes were found. Findings are interpreted in terms of developmental and contextual accounts of gender and…

Social skills and levels of inappropriate assertiveness/impulsiveness were assessed using the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters, with 17 autistic children (ages 2-21) and 17 matched nonautistic children. Significant differences in both appropriate and inappropriate social behaviors were found. Results suggest the importance of…

Twenty-eight children with and without disabilities were observed during free play in integrated early childhood programs, and associations among program quality indicators and children's play were analyzed. The study attempted to predict dynamic/process measures of program quality (teacher behavior) from global and structural measures of quality…

Relations among dominance, sociometric preference, and social behavior were examined in groups of unacquainted first and third grade boys meeting in play sessions. Younger groups with high aggression showed less coherent organization than did others. Dominance was associated with social preference in younger groups, and with leadership in older…

This study involving three autistic and four nondisabled preschool children found that a peer-initiation intervention produced increases in peer initiations and social interactions when the teacher verbally prompted, but not without verbal prompts. When a correspondence training/visual feedback package was implemented, peer initiations and social…

The interactions of three dyads, consisting of one student with moderate mental retardation and one nondisabled peer, were assessed while playing computer games. Results indicated that students (ages 13-14) exhibited more frequent social initiations, higher degrees of game satisfaction, and equal/higher degrees of peer satisfaction while playing…

Argues that one of the most valuable contributions that an internationally oriented education system can provide is to inhibit the development of an overly conformist attitude. Contends that the ability to dissent is essential for healthy personal and societal functioning. Recommends that education about dissent should be made compulsory. (CFR)