Available information is reviewed on defining features and diagnostic issues related to autism and related developmental disorders. Controversies over both the boundaries and the heterogeneity within the autism syndrome are evaluated. Diagnostic rating instruments for expediting systematic sample selection are critiqued. (Author/DB)

Evaluates the efficacy of a multisystemic approach to treatment of juvenile offenders and their families. One group of delinquent adolescents received family-ecological treatment, another group of delinquent adolescents received an alternative treatment, and normal adolescents served as developmental controls. Findings support a multisystemic…

Reports on four experiments on pattern perception in four-month-old infants. The first experiment examined preference for patterns varying in structure; the second examined encoding patterns from different subset sizes; and the last two experiments examined changes in the size, position, and orientation of the habituation pattern. (HOD)

Quantifies behavioral periodicities or cycles during face-to-face interaction between three- and five-month-old term and preterm infants and their mothers. Compares the temporal organization of social interaction between term and preterm infants. Spectral and cross-spectral techniques showed the existence of periodicities. Differences were found…

This study compared the occurrence and characteristics of self-stimulatory behaviors of 5 children with developmental delays and 10 nondisabled children (matched for either mental or chronological age). Few differences were found between groups in percentage of time spent in self-stimulatory behavior, the variety of such behaviors, the speed at…

Syntactic processing was explored in nine individuals who stutter (IWS). Grammaticality judgments and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were obtained while participants read sentences, half containing verb-agreement violations, via computer or paper. Judgment accuracy of IWS for the online task, but not offline, was lower, especially for more…

The relationship between abnormal stereotyped behaviors and abnormal focused affections was examined in 20 children (ages 7-13) with developmental disabilities. Results include all children with abnormal focused affections exhibited stereotypes; abnormal focused affects could be studied reliably in this population through several methodologies;…

Prosecuting and defense attorneys across Indiana were surveyed concerning the acceptability of specific behaviors associated with child abuse. Among respondents (n=154) prosecutors had more severe judgments than defense attorneys on 32 of the 42 behaviors. Cognitive dissonance theory is proposed as an explanation for these findings. (Author/DB)

This editorial introduces two articles on Munchausen by Proxy syndrome (the induction of an appearance or state of physical ill health in a child, by the caretaker, and the child's subsequent presentation to health professionals for diagnosis and/or treatment). The severity of the caretaker's psychological disturbance and the serious effects on…

Behavior state and environmental data were collected over a 5-hour period for approximately 66 students with profound disabilities from 21 educational settings. Results showed a strong relation between different state profiles and measures of development and consistency of state patterns across chronological age levels. Results are discussed in…

The methodology of many studies that have identified specific genetic loci for disorders associated with mental retardation is criticized as failing to demonstrate an association between the behavior phenotype and the genetic marker. A more appropriate methodology using a multitrait-multimethod approach is suggested. (Author/JDD)

During the past 20 years, a significant body of literature has emerged focusing on the application of Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration (TPD) to the study of gifted individuals. Although much of this literature is prescriptive, some research reports spanning this time period are available. A perusal of research on TPD's applicability…

The authoritarian/permissive dimension of hypnosis refers to the manner in which hypnotic suggestions are phrased. In the authoritarian mode suggestions imply the subject is under control of the hypnotist; permissive suggestions are phrased to emphasize the subject's own thinking. To compare the permissive suggestions of the Creative Imagination…

Although research has examined the content of alcohol-outcome expectancies and also the role of alcohol use in aggressive and sexual behaviors, few studies have linked the two lines of inquiry. To examine the efficacy of outcome expectancies for predicting actual behavior, 64 male social drinkers, aged 21 to 25 years, completed questionnaires and,…

Noting that considerable research has been conducted in the area of political communication, this paper points out that little attention has been given to direct legislation techniques--means by which citizens participate in the legislative decision making process. To establish a rationale for the study of direct legislation efforts, the paper…