This booklet discusses child abuse, targeting pre-teenagers and teenagers. It describes what child abuse is, why it happens, and what a teenager can do about it. These topics are covered: (1) definition of child abuse and types of child abuse; (2) differentiating between child abuse and discipline; (3) sexual abuse; (4) family types of child…

The "Contemporary Health Series" covers critical health and family life topics in a sequence of modules with two curricular divisions: "Into Adolescence" for middle school teachers and "Entering Adulthood" for high school teachers. This module presents a six-lesson curriculum for grades five through eight to provide students with the information…

Assessment is an essential process for Physical Education program planning. This is especially true for children with special needs, such as children with Down Syndrome. The ultimate aim of assessments is to enable an informed and intelligent progam of planned activites. For children with Down Syndrome, there are no clear data on their overall…

While research findings suggest that self-concept and perceptions of classroom environment may be interrelated, there is little empirical evidence to validate the existence of such a relationship. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between fourth- and fifth-grade students' self-concept and their perceptions of classroom…

Some researchers argue that all relaxation techniques produce a single relaxation response while others support a specific-effects hypothesis which suggests that progressive relaxation affects the musculoskeletal system and that guided imagery affects cognitive changes. Autogenics is considered a technique which is both somatic and cognitive. This…

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)