This surveillance report, prepared by the Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System (AEDS), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), presents trends in underage drinking by youth aged 12-20 years between 1991 and 2003. This is the first of a series of reports to be published biennially on underage drinking and related attitudes and risk…

Adolescence is a critical time for the development of self-identity; a time which often changes enthusiastic and assertive 8- and 9-year-old girls into 11- and 12-year-old girls with poor self-images and little faith in their abilities. To better understand this process, this study investigated the relationship between hope and general…

A comparative study of parent-child interaction and its relation to children's intellectual achievement is presented in examining the question of cultural continuities in cognitive development. Problem-solving behavior of fifth graders with their mothers from urban settings in Peru and the United States (N=64) was videotaped. In contrast to…

This study considered differences in induction of biological properties between children and preadolescents based on differences in stimuli processing in these two groups. Two experiments tested predictions that young children, but not preadolescents, base their inductive inference on aggregating information from different sources rather than…

Overviews research on the role of cliques among youth and on the symptoms and treatment of attention deficit disorder (ADD). Implications for camp include encouraging positive friendship groups among campers, reinforcing constructive group development, educating staff and parents about ADD, and providing a structured camp environment that has…

This study observed 65 friendship/acquaintance dyads, half of which involved one child with learning problems, among preadolescent children during play. Unlike friendships between children without disabilities, friendships involving a disabled child were marked by limited collaboration and shared decision making, a low level of cooperative play…

Analyzed correlates of social problem solving in 63 2-parent families with a preadolescent. Structured interviews were held when child was about 9.5 years old, and again 2 years later. Found a substantial decline in the quality of family problem solving during preadolescence associated with changes in the participation and affective behavior of…

A study examined the psychometric properties of the Social Anxiety Scale for Children--Revised (SASC-R) in a sample of 159 predominantly Dominican and Puerto Rican fifth- and sixth-grade students from New York City. Findings provided initial support for SASC-R reliability and validity in Hispanic children. Convergent validity was supported by…

Preadolescents, college students, middle-aged adults, and older adults described a problem and a goal for solving that problem. Interpersonal elements of problem descriptions and goals were coded. Interpersonal elements of problems were most salient for females and middle-aged adults. Subjects reported interpersonal goals when other people were…

A high school sophomore describes his summer job at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum where he worked when a rock found in Antarctica was determined to have come from Mars. He identifies with the enthusiasm of preteen day-campers for scientific learning and is flabbergasted by the nonchalant reactions from scientists to the possibility…

Presents research on children's understandings and use of time; findings suggest that time spent with family cannot be seen as separate from time spent with friends, at school, and on their own. Argues that the quality/quantity time conundrum needs replacing by fuller and more representative accounts of the varied aspects of time that matter for…

Draws on a study of the ways in which moral and practical dilemmas of punishment are debated and deliberated upon in discussions among children. Focuses on one aspect of the children's talk, namely the mobilization of themes and images that seem to have their origin in the more or less remote past. (Author/KB)

Reports on a study in which music teachers were asked about their design of music tasks in the classroom and factors that affected those decisions. Presents another study that investigated the effects of friendship, gender, and previous musical experience upon the processes and musical outcome of children's collaborative compositions. (CMK)

Describes development and implementation of human sexual curriculum course for seventh graders in a rural school district. Claims student participation rates substantiate community acceptance of program, and after the first year of the program the pregnancy rate dropped. (ABL)

Evaluated alternative treatments for children (N=112) referred for severe antisocial behavior. Assigned children to one of three treatments: (1) problem-solving skills training (PSST); (2) PSST with in vivo practice (PSST-P); or (3) client-centered relationship therapy (RT). Found increases in prosocial behavior in PSST and PSST-P children while…