Analyzed "if" sentences in conversations in the homes and preschools of four-year-old children. Parents and teachers used "if" more often than did children. Children and parents did not differ in the proportion of "ifs" that had the linguistic properties of a conditional premise. (BC)

Examined the effects of age at entrance to first grade on success in elementary school, using a set of demographic, social, and early experience variables as covariates. Concluded that entrance age was a far less powerful predictor of academic achievement than were socioeconomic factors. (Author/GR)

Presents results of an analysis of a collection of statements about God written by German students between 16 and 22 years of age. Examines results from a psychoanalytic and cognitive-developmental perspective. Also considers the ways in which adolescents talk about the relationship between God and the church. (BB)

Examined effects of the age of adult female strangers on the affective behavior of 60 Japanese toddlers. The first study investigated the importance of the age discrepancy between mothers and female strangers aged 23 and over 65. The second study compared toddlers' reactions to mothers, men and women strangers the mother's age, and men and women…

Explores developmental needs of adult students from age and gender perspectives, reviews implications, and makes recommendations for adapting academic and student services to accommodate those needs. (Author)

This study found that 16 preschoolers with Down's syndrome attained higher age equivalents and standard scores in "socialization" than did 16 preschoolers with autism. Adaptive age equivalent was positively related to chronological age for children with Down's syndrome in all domains, but only in "communication" for children with autism.…

This study of 501 children and adults found that subjects with mental retardation or borderline intelligence were less proficient at identifying facial expressions of emotion than were children of average intelligence. Among individuals with mental retardation or borderline intelligence, recognition increased with intelligence quotient. Among…

Examined nonpersistence among 83 nonpersisting students using Tinto's model and compared retention risks for traditional-aged and nontraditional-aged students. Found that traditional- and nontraditional-aged students showed same risk factors for dropping out: both had parents with low educational levels, attempted to combine education with…

Information about adulthood that evaluators need to consider as they help others grow is presented as a series of templates of development and change. Examples are given of growth receptivity at different ages and positions in life. In self-development evaluation, the individual might write an Individual Development Plan. (SLD)

This study found that 420 regular elementary and 359 special education teachers were similar in use of procedures to assist students with low achievement. Peer tutoring received the highest mean score by both groups, followed by cooperative learning. Differences in teaching practice are analyzed by age, grade level, and degrees obtained.…

Examined relationship of perceived harm of drugs, age, and reported drug use through analysis of free associations of students from elementary to graduate school. Results showed how subjective meanings and system of mental representation, including those characteristic of drug users and nonusers, evolve as function of age. Perceptual and…

Examines whether feminine or masculine gender role behavior is associated with lower academic achievement in general as well as in mathematics and whether these relationships increase with age in a sample of 333 boys aged 6 to 10 years. Variations are only marginally correlated with school achievement. (SLD)

Examined extent of loneliness among midwestern adolescents (n=156) in relation to depression, self-esteem, family strengths, parent-adolescent communication, age, and gender. Found that subjects had high loneliness scores and that older adolescents were lonelier than younger adolescents. Found significant relationship between loneliness and…

Used a cross-sectional natural language database to investigate the parent-child conversations of 3-, 4-, and 5-year olds. Found that 4-year-olds and, to a greater extent, 5-year olds reliably used explicit contrastives. All the children regularly elicited mentalistic responses from their parents and, in some cases, these parental responses were…

This study examined use of psychotropic drug treatment with 488 children and youth. It found that younger children, girls, and those with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder were more likely than adolescent males with conduct disorders to receive medication. Stimulants, tricyclic antidepressants, and neuroleptics were the drug types most…