A Texas volunteer program designed to prevent child neglect and abuse also stresses promotion of the public's awareness of its responsibility to report suspected cases. (Author/SE)

Blacking out every school in the San Antonio, Texas, district has reduced utility costs by $90,000 and cut vandalism costs by 31 percent. (Author/MLF)

Preventive discipline in early childhood programs is discussed in terms of the importance of establishing class routines and rules, making smooth transitions, helping children learn to work in groups and to work independently, and understanding the definition of a good disciplinarian. (DB)

Reviews epidemiological studies of adolescent cocaine use. Attributes increased cocaine use among adolescents to lower prices and availability of crack. Identifies risk factors for initial cocaine use as male gender, use of marijuana, lack of social connections to family and school, peer influences, and psychopathology. Suggests targeting…

Suggestions are presented for designing indoor and outdoor tennis facilities that will inhibit vandalism. Recommendations include using high-quality materials that will be difficult to damage, adopting and posting rules for court use, and constructing self-contained power sources. (CB)

Examines the limitations of existing models that explain fear and reactions to crime. Develops and tests three models: avoidance reactions, protective reactions, and collective reactions, which combine elements of the other two. (Author/LHW)

Pleads for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of suicide and suicide prevention, arguing that suicide is at once universal or generic (biologically or developmentally), and specific (culturally). Illustrates argument that much is known about suicidal dynamics already and that a multidisciplinary approach is the preferred one. Includes…

Two constantly appearing claims in most playground accident suits are improper supervision and lack of warning to the users. This article discusses legal implications of improper signage, explains use of symbols, and presents general sign guidelines to ensure proper safety measures. (MLH)

School computer files are vulnerable to theft and tampering, especially if computers are linked through networking or time-sharing to other public and private databases. This article suggests basic steps and guidelines to ensure that only authorized people are allowed in the computer room and that the hardware stays put. (MLH)

Process analysis provides a way to analyze the antecedents, stages of response, and consequences of injury-risk situations. It may aid scientists in conceptualizing these situations and provide additional methods of assessing intervention strategies. Examples of such an assessment system and a discussion of its advantages are presented. (VM)

Describes a study that examined the effectiveness of a tobacco and alcohol prevention program delivered to sixth and seventh grade students by minimally trained classroom teachers. Results indicated that the program reduced the onset and prevalence of tobacco use but not alcohol use. (JOW)

Combating the teenage substance abuse problem will require total school and community effort. This article presents guidelines for school action, including recognizing alcohol's dominant role in our society, dealing with mixed messages to youngsters, debunking myths about adolescent alcohol use, using available resources in new ways, and creating…

Defines contextual therapy as therapeutic synthesis of family (relational), biological, and individual (psychotherapy) methodologies. Translates the ethics of "relational responsibility" into intervention methods and strategies. Explores consequences of the therapies as a common denominator for the three philosophies. (Author/ABB)

The study investigated specific linguistic abilities/disabilities of 15 children with conductive hearing loss and a history of middle ear dysfunction. Results found significant deficits in verbal intelligence, word recognition, and receptive syntactic skills substantiating the finding that conductive hearing loss due to otitis media is deleterious…

Recent reviews indicate the most promising substance abuse prevention approaches available today are those that focus primary attention on the psychosocial factors promoting abuse initiation. Two of these approaches are described and discussed. (MT)