Conceptualizations of developmental trends are driven by the particular method used to analyze the period of change of interest. Various techniques exist to analyze developmental data, including individual growth curve analysis in observed and latent frameworks, cross-lagged regression to assess interrelations among variables, and multilevel…

In the current study, based on a sample of 1,873 adolescents between 11.4 and 20.9 years of age from the first 3 waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we investigated the longitudinal effects of future orientation on levels of and developmental changes in problem behaviors, while controlling for the effects by impulsivity;…

Analyzing problem-behavior trajectories can be difficult. The data are generally categorical and often quite skewed, violating distributional assumptions of standard normal-theory statistical models. In this article, the authors present several currently available modeling options, all of which make appropriate distributional assumptions for the…

In this study children between the ages of 3 and 6 years were each presented with six number problems in which length and density were varied according to the proposed composition rules. (Authors)

This longitudinal study with 62 children and adolescents examined the validity of the consolidation/transition model in the context of moral reasoning development. Results of standard statistical and Bayesian techniques supported the hypotheses regarding cyclical patterns of change and predictors of stage transition, and demonstrated the utility…

A developmental model of paranoid behavior is proposed which includes among its postulates the expectation that sons who have maintained an open style of adaptation to aversive maternal control will be less tolerant of ambiguity than will sons who have adopted a closed style. (Author)

Examined analytic methods for describing children's social risk. Found that the individual-risk-variables approach provided better overall prediction of developmental outcomes at a particular age. The risk-factor approach provided good prediction of developmental trajectories with moderate to large sample sizes. The risk-index was useful for…

Results of this study demonstrate that constraint-seeking conceptual strategies can be trained in children as young as 6 years of age. (Authors/CB)

Four experiments are described in which observational learning was found on multidimensional conservation tasks. (MB)

In this study boys were exposed to a televised verbal peer model who conformed to or deviated from a prohibition rule. (Author)

Results showed that reversal shift was easier than extradimensional shift and that relative shift difficulty was unaffected by instructions, in contrast to findings with college-age subjects. (Authors)