While evidence exists that a person's peripheral temperature responds to his state of arousal or stress, it also responds to other environmental factors. Wrist temperature has been found to vary with ambient temperature, and to increase during the school day. Before wrist temperature can be established as a valid measure of anxiety, stress, or…

Observing that plot and character changes in the daytime television serials has increased the teen and preteen share of soap opera audiences, a study compared demographic, personal experience, and attitudinal variables among adolescent soap opera fans, occasional viewers, and nonviewers. Data were collected from 230 students in the classrooms of…

In this study, a nine-lesson curriculum designed to teach 10- to 12-year-olds to become more critical consumers of violent television programs was developed and evaluated. Data from an experimental field study conducted immediately after the intervention showed that children perceived violent television programs more critically, and the gap…

This report surveys the basic research on how children understand and respond to television advertising messages in order to determine whether regulation is necessary. The implications of the research findings for likely marketplace developments in an unregulated environment are discussed, and it is concluded that there is no sound basis to expect…

Research and numerous model programs suggest that sport plays an important social role. Particularly among youth, sports and professional athlete role models help deter juvenile delinquency. An overview is presented of current efforts to involve young people, particularly inner-city black youths, in athletic activities. A majority of sociological…

The document examines the roles of peer relations and parent monitoring in increasing children's risk of developing a deviant network of friends. Subjects were approximately 200 boys and their families. Boys were assessed in school and interviewed when 9-10 years old and when 11-12 years old. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the…

This study used data from the Berkeley Guidance Study (1954) to identify children with a pattern of temper tantrums in late childhood (ages 8-10) and to trace the continuities and consequences of this behavioral style across the subsequent 30 years of their lives. Life course continuities in behavioral style were found for both sexes. (Author/BN)

A mixed-ability sample of 280 11- and 12-year-olds was used to investigate mathematical creativity and identify characteristics typical of pupils with mathematical creativity. Hypotheses concerned with overcoming fixations and divergent production were clearly supported only for the highest attaining group. Mathematically creative students…

Contrasts effects of developmental characteristics of peer interaction partners on three preadolescent students with severe developmental disabilities observed while playing with (1) children of similar age and comparable diagnosis, (2) nondisabled children of similar age, and (3) chronologically younger but developmentally similar nondisabled…

Preliminary results of an extensive study of 50 native Yugoslav students who migrated to Denmark but still attended mother-tongue classes indicated that most had mastered the Danish language and used it with their peers and most learned their native language from their parents and continued to use it with them. (Author/CB)

Longitudinal data regarding three children's learning of English as a second language in a classroom setting support the hypothesis that the distribution of grammatical variants in learner speech is sensitive to linguistic context. Results suggest that the learners acquired the target language variants in "pronoun contexts" before "noun contexts."…

Assigned 60 children of divorce to experimental or control conditions, with experimental subjects participating in group counseling intervention. Comparison of two groups revealed that participation in group counseling appeared beneficial for enhancing self-concept and internal locus of control among elementary school children experiencing…

Investigated reactions to humorous feminist slogans in these groups: (1) males and females (N=20) over 30 years old who were feminists or strongly sympathetic; (2) female and male undergraduates (N=39) with various levels of sympathy; and (3) 6th, 8th, and 10th grade academically gifted students (N=62). Results suggest gender and feminist sympathy…

Examines proposition that relations between children's aspirations and measures of cognitive performance and learning environments differ as a function of children's attitudinal orientation. Data were collected from 516 Australian children, 11 years old during the initial survey, and 16 at the follow-up. Results suggest that the proposition is…

A study of sex-role identification partly confirmed two hypotheses: (1) the social relationships of late childhood have attributes which encourage the feminine stereotype rather than the masculine stereotype; and (2) children of both sexes who attest to masculine characteristics feel higher levels of discordance than those who attest to female…