Presents a comparison between service learning and composition, suggesting that both lead toward action and engagement with the social world while presenting possibilities for growth and failure. Describes a first-time service learning participant's experience with a second grader to explain the complicated and constrained position of the service…

Examined relations between children's temperament, ability overestimation, and accidental injuries. Found that watching peer failure on physical tasks was related to conservative ability judgments for same task. Surgency/Undercontrol was related to 6-year-olds' judgment accuracy and to 8-year-olds' decision times. Ability overestimation was…

Research on the communication, language, social, and emotional development of people with autism is reviewed, concerning individuals who either are nonspeaking/limited speaking or use speech as their primary mode of linguistic communication. Research needs for longitudinal studies, investigation of early developmental patterns, and subgroup…

Using a sample of 445 female and 260 male college students, this study investigated the experience and expression of anger and gender, gender role characteristics, and several mental health variables. Gender did not uniquely contribute to the prediction of any of the mental health variables, nor did it moderate the relationships of these variables…

During the 1930s, a worldwide depression created a fear of communism and a "law-and-order" mentality. The 1990s, by contrast, are marked by a social void in which guilt is ascribed to no one. As recent TV commercials show, dispensing reasonable consequences in response to negative actions is viewed as socially backward. Too often,…

Addresses barriers to family and community self-sufficiency. Asserts social workers need to understand the worldviews and values underlying political definitions of self-sufficiency to have a greater influence on social policy. Describes a more appropriate definition of self-sufficiency. Illustrates its usefulness with an example of community…

As state legislators, school boards, and the public at large become more receptive, home-schoolers are gaining access to more resources, including those at public schools. Researchers disagree over home schooling's effects on academic achievement and social development. Home schooling could be an important resource for studying how children learn…

A study involving 639 Chinese gifted students (grades 4-12) found that intense emotional involvement, perfectionism, unchallenging schoolwork, multipotentiality, and parental expectations were relatively common adjustment problems. Poor interpersonal relationships were not. Results also indicated that conventional intelligence increased…

This study modeled physical and psychosocial aspects of home environment and personal characteristics in a cumulative risk heuristic. Found that elevated cumulative risk was associated with heightened cardiovascular and neuroendocrine parameters, increased deposition of body fat, and higher summary index of total allostatic load. Replicated…

A study examined developmental changes in symptoms retrospectively in 28 verbal children (ages 7-20) with autism. Findings indicate a significant improvement in three main domains. Improvement occurred in more symptoms in the social rather than the communication domain, and for more communication symptoms than the restricted interest and…

The Autism Behavior Checklist measured autistic symptoms in 15 girls (ages 11-16) with Rett Syndrome (RS) and 14 with severe mental retardation. Girls with RS scored higher on the Sensory and Relating subscales. There were no differences on the Body and Object Use, Language, and Social and Self-Help subscales. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Assessed the role of attention processes as mediators between family environment and school readiness, analyzing data from 1,002 children and their families participating in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Found that sustained attention partially accounted for the link between family environment and achievement and language outcomes.…

Examined the relationship between parenting style and drug use in adolescents. Data was gathered from a sample of 846 Norwegian adolescents ages 15-20 years and their parents. Found that the combination of a low level of caring and high level of protection by parents, conceptualized as "affectionless control," was associated with drug…

Consumer satisfaction and social validity were measured during a double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of risperidone in treating aberrant behaviors of persons with developmental disabilities. A survey showed all 17 caregivers felt participation was positive. Community members (n=52) also indicated that when on medication, the 5 participants…

Used prospective longitudinal design to ascertain whether different types of behavioral inhibition were stable from toddler to preschool age, and whether inhibited temperament or parenting style predicted children's subsequent social/behavioral problems. Found that traditional and peer-social toddler inhibition predicted socially reticent behavior…