Factors influencing the psychological impact of menarche include age at time of first period, social factors, amount of preparation, and cultural factors. (Author/MP)

Examined whether aggressive boys, relative to nonaggressive boys, demonstrate hostile biases or general deficits in social perception. Found that aggressive boys demonstrated hostile biases, but not general deficits, in intention-cue detection relative to average-status boys. Aggressive groups proposed aggressive responses much more frequently…

Examined blood cortisol levels, at three 6-month intervals, for young adolescent outpatients in relation to psychological measures derived from patient interviews preceding clinic visits and observed stress behaviors during visits. Found that adolescents in the increased cortisol reactivity group reported more behavior problems and depression…

Detailed the profiles and performance of three 11-year-olds as the basis for discussing the practical implications of inserting contexts of well-developed and less-developed individual interest into expository text and mathematical word problems. Discusses the importance of teacher support as students work with contexts of well-developed…

Examined factorial validity of tasks designed to measure cognitive processing in each of Luria's three functional units. Fourth and fifth graders (N=112) were administered nine experimental tasks chosen or developed according to theoretical components of planning, attention, simultaneous, and successive processes. Obtained general support for…

Results suggest that adolescent values can be used to illuminate the facets of social competence in adolescence. Supports Ford's (1982) definition of social competence, which requires that explicit value judgments be made prior to defining social competence for any given group or setting. (RH)

Self-reported data from 375 early and midadolescent school children in a city in Siberia (Russia) indicated a prevalence of child abuse at 28.9%. Of these children, 3.8% suffered injuries that required medical attention. The need for additional research and development of a system to identify and manage child abuse in Russia is noted. (Author/JDD)

Examines the impact 4 pragmatic skills (requesting, turn taking, responding promptly when spoken to, and maintaining the logic of the conversation) have on likeability, as seen by 10-year-old girls. Finds that display of pragmatic competence resulted in higher likeability and more positive descriptions. (SR)

Examined disagreements between 9 and 10 year olds as a function of friendship status. While children played a board game, conflicts occurred more frequently among friends than among nonfriends. During conflicts with friends, girls tended to use assertions accompanied by rationales, whereas boys tended to use assertions without rationales. (MDM)

Presents interviews with two mothers of depressed children. Interviews mother of 11-year-old boy diagnosed with depressive disorder at age 8, who is receiving treatment for her own depressive disorder. Also interviews mother of 12-year-old boy who was interviewed himself in previous article. Mothers describe the difficulties they face in parenting…

Introduces this theme issue on middle childhood and early adolescence. Notes the importance of the 9- to 14-year-old developmental period and the need for research into these years. Suggests several research areas that need to be explored. (LPP)

Surveys of 19 summer camps in the East and Midwest asked directors, staff, and campers to identify what camp was about. The highest ranking outcome for all three groups was social competence. The extent of agreement among the three groups' opinions varied widely across camps. Plans for a national study of youth development outcomes in camps are…

Examined whether gender differences in affiliative aspects of dyadic conversations occur because girls are more oriented than boys toward goals focused on others. Found that high-affiliation conversations and mutual-participation goals were more prevalent in female than in male and mixed- gender dyads. Mutual-participation goals mediated gender…

This study examined gap choices and crossing behavior in children and adults using an immersive, interactive bicycling simulator. Ten- and 12-year-olds and adults rode a bicycle mounted on a stationary trainer through a virtual environment consisting of a street with 6 intersections. Participants faced continuous cross traffic traveling at 25mph…

This paper examines the literature regarding preadolescent (ages 9-12) psychiatric disorders, mental health problems, substance abuse disorders and the ecology of risk and protection. The paper is divided into three primary sections. The first section addresses the challenges in defining and applying disorders for preadolescents. The next section…