Examines changes in attitude toward traditional morality accompanying the change from adolescence to adulthood. Finds that while the transition to adulthood involved changes in attitude, these shifts were not consistent in nature. (FMW)

Genetic involvement in specific verbal and spatial abilities and memory and perceptual speed was assessed using 163 adopted and 142 non-adopted 7-year-olds and their biological, adoptive, and non-adoptive parents. Results imply the existence of some genetic continuity from the early school years to adulthood for verbal and spatial abilities. (TJH)

Concluded that type of child care given 140 preschoolers (center-based, family day care, or in child's own home) had no apparent impact on children's sociability or personality maturity, as measured 24 months after the study began. However, the quality of care, family social support, and child gender helped predict personality maturity and social…

Factors influencing 834 Swedish men to participate in organized adult education programs on a life-long basis were studied. Indicators of social origins, cognitive ability, formal youth education, occupational status, job satisfaction, and attitudes toward education collectively explained little of the variation in participation. Factors possibly…

Hmong refugees in Minnesota were studied on three occasions during their first decade in the United States. While there was general evidence of acculturation, psychiatric care seeking, and reduced psychiatric symptom levels, a large subset of Hmong refugees remained culturally isolated and manifested depression, anxiety, hostility, and other…

Examined stress and coping symptoms of 258 children whose parents were divorced. Found that, in the cross-sectional model, avoidance coping partially mediated the relations between negative events and symptoms; while active coping moderated between negative events and conduct problems. In the longitudinal model, significant negative paths were…

Examines changes in the characteristics and outcomes of school dropouts in Australia during the 1980s. Schools recruited more broadly among females during this period, which weakened the association between dropping out and social background. For males, social differences remained entrenched. Both genders experienced steep increases in…

Used an ecobehavioral analysis system in studying a regular and English-as-a-Second-Language classroom to determine the opportunities afforded at-risk language-minority students to acquire and negotiate a second language and academic content. Found a pattern of minimal teacher attention to language development, low student academic engagement, and…

An ongoing longitudinal study of 699 adolescents and their parents, begun when the adolescents were ages 13 to 16, found that, although black families had more single-parent households and lower family incomes than white families, black adolescents had higher abstention rates and lower rates of alcohol abuse and other deviance than white…

This study investigated the relative influence of parent attitudes and behaviors on the scholastic and social adjustment of 720 low-income inner-city black sixth graders in the Longitudinal Study of Children at Risk. Findings suggest that affective characteristics of parents deserve attention in educational reform and intervention efforts. (SLD)

Teachers rated social competence and academic achievement of Bermudian children exposed to various amounts and qualities of day care. Found that quality of care was important to children's intellectual and social development while in day care but not after one to four years of primary schooling. Family background, not day care, predicted primary…

This study compared the learning attitudes of 131 undergraduate medical students enrolled in sections of a course that used a problem-based learning (PBL) approach with 120 students enrolled in sections using conventional teaching methods. Student surveys indicated that the PBL course experience was perceived as a personally more meaningful…

Measured the influence of parental involvement on the academic achievement of 1,714 eighth-grade Mexican American children. Developed and tested a structural equations model which considers and controls for diversity of family backgrounds and values, students' previous achievements, and other factors. Found that parental involvement did influence…

To determine whether either automation or changing demographics may have influenced professorial habits or attitudes in relation to library instruction, a 1982 survey of faculty with additional questions on computerized searching was replicated in 1990 on the same large campus. The survey results are summarized and discussed; the questionnaire is…

Describes the results of a 1991-93 study of censorship in public school libraries in Manitoba that were compared with results from an earlier study. Highlights include who challenged materials; for what reasons; results of the challenges; most frequently challenged titles and authors; and results for urban versus rural schools. (LRW)