This study examined the interaction of 3 schemata on overall reading comprehension in 95 first-year English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) college students: language skills, content knowledge, and rhetorical structure. The results indicated that content schemata best predicted EFL test comprehension, although all three schemata contributed in some…

Analysis of data from 138 women, infants, children participants who completed Child Abuse Potential Inventory showed mothers with higher educational attainment appeared less likely to be abusive regardless of such factors as low income, single parenthood, or large family size. Mothers who did not complete high school were at greater risk for…

Investigated intergenerational transmission of violence among college students in dating relationships (n=380). Severe abuse by his father predicted a man's violent behavior. Witnessing marital violence predicted a woman's liberal attitudes and a man's conservative attitudes. Discrepancy in attitudes toward women and particularly a woman's liberal…

Frequency of participation and levels of interest in more than 60 leisure pursuits were measured by questionnaire administered to 1,248 Australian adolescent high school students. Sex was major predictor of participation in sports and vocational activities and of interest in sporting and gregarious activities. Age, school location, ethnicity and…

Analysis of the Attitudes toward Disabled Persons scale administered to 89 British Columbia (Canada) students in grades 8 and 10 found that (1) female students had more positive attitudes than male students; and (2) grade level and degree of contact were not strong or consistent predictors of attitude. (Author/DB)

Discussion of the development of educational radio programs highlights one particular program, "Kid's Corner;" introduces a method to identify and classify the attributes from the radio program; discusses those attributes which were shown to relate to children's judgments of appeal of the program; and suggests implications for…

Investigates the relationship between type of reading instruction and reading comprehension. Uses predictor variables including IQ, group, race, and comprehension pretest score to predict comprehension score. Finds that the dependent variable was not significantly related to method of reading instruction, and there was no interaction effect…

Describes an experiment conducted at the University of Goteborg (Sweden) that investigated social and cognitive differences in communication and recall in face-to-face communication versus computer-mediated communication. Prior experience in computer-mediated communication is examined, and spoken and written communication are contrasted. (18…

At 4-year followup on 110 Mexican-American adolescents in a drug abuse prevention program, association with deviant peers was strongly predictive of alcohol and drug use and criminality, whereas parental influences were minor predictors. Low school satisfaction was related to greater drug use, particularly for females. (Author/SV)

A path model of lifelong education was developed using longitudinal data from a cohort of 671 Swedish men. Instead of a reduced gap between initially poorly and well-educated people, a cycle of accumulation exists, in which the quality of earlier educational experience predicts the quality and quantity of subsequent participation in adult…

This literature review discusses gender differences in psychosocial determinants of adolescent smoking. Studies show that external pressures (e.g., peer and parental smoking) are important for boys and girls, although their influence may be moderated differently by age and type of smoking behavior assessed. Gender-specific components of…

Longevity of 12,543 Down's syndrome clients of the California Department of Developmental Services was examined. Findings indicated that predictors of survival were not different from mortality-related variables in the general population. Lack of mobility or poor feeding skills were better predictors of early death than variables associated with…

Describes a study that examined student attributes and achievements in previous Open University courses to determine what effect they had on the drop-out rate and achievement in a project work course. The use of partial order structuple (scalogram) analysis (POSA) is explained, and the results for occupation and previous course performance are…

Assessed academic locus of control, self-esteem, and geographical distance from home (actual and perceived) as predictors of college adjustment in 88 female college freshmen. An internal academic locus of control, a high level of self-esteem, and a perception that the distance from home was "just right" were related to four dimensions of college…

A discussion of research needs on physicians' choice of specialty looks at methodological problems identified in the literature and suggests six areas for further development: distinction between career preference and career attainment; multiple predictors; larger samples; more specific specialty subdivisions; longitudinal approach; and testing of…