Processes through which interethnic relations and identity are constructed were studied among French, Italian, and Haitian adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. The research demonstrated a marked evolution in attitudes and strategies from the first to the fifth year of high school, with gender and social class playing different roles within each ethnic…

Data from 877 3rd, 7th, and 11th graders substantiated the multidimensionality of academic self-concept, as based on the Shavelson model, but yielded no support for increasing differentiation across age. Data also determined minor deterioration of hierarchical structure for early and late adolescents but no progressive pattern of weakening across…

Examines the patterns of individual adjustment changes in a sample of 99 early adolescents during an ecological transition from elementary school to middle school. Shows significant changes in adjustment as indicated by increased psychological distress or decreased academic achievement. Examines gender differences. Presents implications for…

Some children with autism and learning disabilities also have aberrant behaviours that are difficult to regulate and stressful for both the child and family members. This case study concerns experiences of 10 parents from five families before and 2 years after entrusting their 10- to 11-year-old child with autism to a group home. Hermeneutic…

We examined the psychometric properties of a German translation of the Child Global Report version of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ). A total of 1219 German school-children (644 boys and 575 girls), ages 10-14 years participated in the study. The APQ was subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Exploratory factor…

The aim of this study was to show how general models of text production can account for argumentative text planning. It focuses in particular on retrieval process in 11- to 18-year-old children. Various experimental situations were designed to promote different ways of retrieving ideas from long-term memory. Essays written by students were…

Background: Recent studies reported ADHD-like symptoms and cognitive deficits in pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). Because work in dementia documents improvement in executive function deficits with the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil, the authors reason that similar benefits could be obtained in PDD. Method: The authors describe…

Background: School physical education is available to most young people and provides a structured context for physical activity participation. Regular physical activity during childhood can confer acute and long-term health benefits. From this health perspective one of the goals of physical education is for students to take part in appropriate…

This study investigated differences across four countries in the amount and nature of above-average ability and average-ability pre-adolescents' everyday life, scientific, moral, spiritual and religious questions. The participants (N = 975) of this study were fifth-and sixth-grade elementary school students from different schools in Finland (N =…

This study drew on four cycles of longitudinal data from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth to examine the academic and behavioural trajectories of youth between 10 and 15 years of age as a function of maternal age at childbearing. The analyses controlled for several family characteristics and examined the mediating…

This study examined loneliness, social support, and help-seeking behavior in children, ages 9 to 13. Participating were 330 fourth to sixth graders from middle and low income families from the Montreal, Canada region, who completed two questionnaires measuring feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction and help-seeking. Independent…

Intended for parents, teachers, or anyone whose contact with children requires an effective relationship, this handbook provides a collection of communication strategies and activities to improve positive relationships with children, particularly younger and older adolescents. Part 1 deals with techniques for communicating effectively with…

This study examined the effects of adolescent pubertal status, adolescent gender, parent gender, and conversation topic on parent and adolescent affective expression. Subjects were 85 adolescents in fifth through ninth grade who participated in 2 separate 8-minute conversations, one pleasant and one unpleasant, with their mother and father…

This study investigated the effect of parent involvement on the academic achievement of middle school students and examined the role of parent and student gender in that relationship. The study also explored the effects of out-of-school activities on eighth-grade students' academic achievement. Data were derived from the National Educational…

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine friendships of early adolescents in a culturally diverse fifth grade class in an urban elementary school in the southeastern United States. The study described and interpreted the experiences of being a friend and having a friend in a culturally diverse classroom. The approach was grounded in…