This paper examines fertility patterns of women in two different types of marital unions (monogamous and polygynous) in 16 sample villages of eastern Nigeria. Results show polygyny tends to reduce fertility through the intermediary of a comparatively wider age differential between the polygynists and their wives. (Author)

This study utilized an axiomatic approach to develop a middle-range theory of premarital sexual intercourse. Using an unanalyzed data base of 336 never-married coeds in a southern state college and in a southern medical complex, 15 propositions were either statistically significant or in the stated direction. (Author)

The behavior of an autistic child (5 years old) was observed in three settings, over approximately 6 months. (Author/SBH)

A two-step procedure is proposed for detecting behavioral patterns in observational data in evaluation research. Latent class analysis is used to derive a classification of single observations at the variable level. The second step uses the probabilities that each observation falls into latent classes to derive behavioral preference scores. (SLD)

Reviews lessons learned from research in Antarctica with relevance to understanding human behavior in other isolated and confined environments. Outlines four distinct characteristics of psychosocial adaptation to such environments and discusses some of the benefits for individuals seeking challenging experiences. (Contains references.) (SLD)

Examined the relations between aggressive problem-solving strategies and aggressive behavior and the intervening role of social acceptance in that relation in early and late adolescents. Subjects were 1,655 11- and 17-year-olds in Finland. Results show that aggressive problem-solving strategies were significantly, but not very highly, associated…

Used self-report diaries (N=38) and descriptive family care scenarios (N=30) to highlight behavioral, cognitive, and emotional components of family care and generate researchable questions surrounding the interplay of gender and expression of care. Results indicated, although family members held idealized notions of family care, their behaviors…

Explored use of guided imagery for revealing a client's phenomenal patterning in undergraduates (N=9). Found sequences of inclusion and exclusion behavior within the guided images were related to self-report data as a way of formulating initial descriptions of personal involvement patterns. (Author/ABL)

The research on nine women incarcerated for the death of a child found a recurrent pattern of child abuse prior to the fatality. The women provided warning signals by alerting others to the abuse incidents at the same time as they attempted to rationalize and minimize the abuse. (Author/DB)

Examined meaning and maintenance of friend relationships among 41 male and 74 female older adults. Men and women tended to agree on characteristics of friend; gender differences emerged when they differentiated between "friend" and "close friend." Older women were more likely than older men to consider friends made earlier in life as still part of…

It is proposed that for deduction tasks for which the necessary information is provided verbally, the heart of deduction for untrained participants involves repeatedly reencoding the problem, a behavior referred to as verbal reasoning. Model theory accounts of deduction behavior are consistent with verbal reasoning. (SLD)

The definition of mental disorder in the third edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-III-R) explains that a disorder is harmful and represents a dysfunction, but it fails to capture the idea of dysfunction. Ideas for increasing the conceptual validity of the definition are presented. (SLD)

Paralinguistic behaviors, including speech rates and turn-taking behaviors, of five-year-old boys who stutter (n=11) and boys who do not stutter (n=11) and their fathers were investigated. No significant differences were found in comparisons of the two groups of fathers or of the two groups of children for any of the paralinguistic behaviors.…

Developed scale to assess routinization (tendency to maintain daily events of one's life in relatively unchanging and orderly pattern of regularity) among older adults. Findings from over 200 older adults revealed 2 underlying factors: Having Order and Routine in daily living and Disliking Disruption. Evidence was found for validity of the 20-item…

Compared patterns of use and attitudes toward alcohol by college athletes (n=71) and nonathletes (n=75). Analysis indicated minimal differences existed between drinking behaviors of athletes and nonathletes; the more negative attitudes of athletes toward alcohol consumption did not result in drinking behaviors distinct from nonathletes.…