Examined drug use patterns among incarcerated African-American juvenile delinquents (n=248). Found that 90 percent of participants had used some illicit mood altering substance, between 30 percent and 46 percent reported daily use, and average age at initial use was approximately 12 years. Alcohol use tended to precede by about five months use of…

Results of 2 studies suggested that 11- and 12-year-old children's appraisals of marital conflict are influenced by the content, intensity, and cause of the conflict; and that the meaning of marital conflict to children is an important determinant of its impact on them. (MDM)

Examined the construct validity of the Middle Childhood Temperament Questionnaire. Factor analysis revealed five factors. The factors of task persistence, negative reactivity, approach-withdrawal, and activity, but not the factor of responsiveness, were determined to have satisfactory levels of reliability. (MM)

The memory, processing speed, and articulation rate of 24 9 year olds and 24 adults were measured. Results supported a model in which individuals execute cognitive processes more rapidly as they grow older. In addition, age contributes to more rapid rehearsal of words, which yields more accurate recall. (BG)

Examined incongruencies between spouses' sex-role attitudes and division of family work and links with marital evaluations and family characteristics. Findings from 153 couples revealed that wives with nontraditional sex-role attitudes but traditional family work roles and husbands with traditional attitudes but egalitarian roles evaluated…

Two experiments studied the role of phonemic information in children's comprehension during silent reading. A sentence acceptability task indicated that readers required more time to read and comprehend sentences with word-initial phonemes (the "tongue-twister effect") than control sentences. When the first task was added to a digit…

Examined attitudes toward Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) issues among 224 fourth grade students. Student responses to 36-item questionnaire revealed that students had good understanding of 3 major modes of spreading AIDS. They perceived AIDS as real and formidable health problem and expressed fears and concerns about AIDS. Findings…

Asserts that children in junior high and middle school may be reluctant to participate in the process of counseling. Recommends that school counselors use therapeutic techniques that actively involve children and excite their imagination. Examines three such techniques that work with middle school students: game play, stories and metaphors, and…

Two experiments examined the question of whether blindfolded young children and congenitally blind children show mental practice effects for blind movements that cross the body midline. Results suggested that young children with sight can show mental practice effects in the absence of visual cues. (GLR)

After 15 boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder were informed that they had taken either medication or placebo, they completed computer tasks, self-assessments, and causal judgments. Boys predicted better performance when told they were on medication. For self-evaluations, medication status and information interacted, with boys…

Mildly retarded preadolescents received equality-rule training, or instruction in which identical or different numbers were applied to identical or different quantities. In tasks of conservation of number, length, weight, and volume, these preadolescents scored higher than did preadolescents who received other types of training. (BC)

Examined career development of 24 preadolescents and assessed how career development was related to their perceptions of their family, self-image, career awareness, interests, and work/family aspirations. Findings suggest that, by age 10, children have thought about their future and can articulate their career and family aspirations. Career goals…

Outlines the mission of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education's Committee on Junior High/Middle School Theatre Programs. Describes the committee's seminars and workshop activities, and mentions ideas under consideration for future projects. Invites readers to join the network of Junior High/Middle School teachers, and calls for articles…

Children as young as eight years of age can discriminate between affect-eliciting statements, differentially rate up to five concurrent emotional responses, and predict response patterns similar to those predicted by adults. During adolescence, there are sex differences in the prediction of secondary emotions. (RH)

To examine education characteristics associated with students' self-concepts, teachers observed 515 preadolescent students in 18 schools. Students with high self-concept were rated by teachers as being more popular, cooperative, and persistent; being leaders and less anxious; and having family support and high teacher expectations. Students with…