Discusses a study that examined the perceptions of school life among physically disabled students aged nine to twelve. Also discusses implications for designing more appropriate school environments for mainstreamed physically disabled students. (JOW)

Results of study of 256 adolescents and preadolescents randomly assigned to same-sex grade-level pairs in two social situations--a neutral situation and a "male-appropriate" athletic situation-- showed no differences between sexes in overall amount of touching or proxemics, though girls smiled significantly more often than males. (CMG)

The report of an intensive tour of 11 special summer programs for gifted and talented students includes descriptions of the National Music Camp, Interlochen, Michigan; National High School Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; Governors programs (with a table giving information in 10 categories); and talent searches. (MC)

This guide is a starting point for parents, teachers, health professionals, law enforcement personnel, alcohol retailers, policymakers, and others who are concerned with the well-being of children. It describes three basic prevention strategies and ways they can be applied in the home, the school, and the community, and offers effective,…

To compete in the global information economy, young people today need literacy skills far more advanced than have been required of any previous generation. Strong reading, writing, and thinking skills are essential not only for success in school and the workplace, but also for participation in civic life. Yet many youth lack the requisite literacy…

One study of 9-12 year olds found that only girls showed toy preferences among a variety of sex typed and neutral toys, but that both sexes interacted differently with masculine and feminine toys. In another study, play constructions and stories reflected the gender association of toys provided, rather than child's sex. (AOS)

The effect of a season of little league baseball on the self-esteem of 94 pre-adolescent players was investigated. The Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory and a newly devised Baseball-Self scale were administered. Significant improvements in players' total Self-esteem, Home-Parents and School-Academic scores were found. (Author/PN)

Assesses the extent to which certain key behaviors said to involve perspective-taking (specifically, cognitive and affective perspective-taking, and altruism) were related to friendship as opposed to popularity. (Author/MP)

Examined the existence of friendship and friendship network characteristics among 227 fifth- and sixth-graders who differed in popularity status. Found that all children reported having at least one unilateral friend, while unpopular children were less likely than popular children to have at least one reciprocal friend. (MDM)

Two experiments examined theory of mind in middle childhood by examining changes in the organization of mental verbs of knowing. Found that older children and comprehension monitors placed greater emphasis on the certainty aspects of mental activity than did younger children and comprehension nonmonitors, suggesting that important aspects of a…

Presents a case study of the treatment of a pre-adolescent female survivor of incest. The treatment integrated relational and trauma theory perspectives in focusing on reducing self-blame, preventing further isolation, creating a safe, secure environment, and helping the patient develop positive connections with others and feelings of…

Collected drawings from schooled and unschooled 10- to 15-year olds in a remote region of Papua New Guinea. Found that children attending school drew only human figures. Unschooled children produced a range of drawings from scribbles through transitional forms to human figures. Some children appeared to be able to draw human figures without going…

Administered phonological awareness and phoneme identification tasks to dyslexic children and chronological age (CA) and reading-level (RL) comparison groups. Found no real differences in categorical perception between dyslexic and RL groups; however, more dyslexics (7 of 25) had abnormal identification functions. Results suggest that some…

Eight-, 10-, and 19-year-olds performed a verbal or spatial domain primary memory task. The task was performed alone or in conjunction with a verbal or spatial secondary memory task. In their performance of the primary task, only 8-year-olds showed interference by a secondary task that was based on a different domain from the primary task. (BC)

Studied the perceptions of 165 Mexican American and Euro-American adolescents and their parents about healthy and attractive female body sizes and shapes using a pictorial measure. Results suggest that Euro-American and Mexican American participants report similar preferences for females' body sizes and shapes, but little agreement was found…