Tested a model of family conflict and coercion that linked economic stress in family life to adolescent symptoms of internalizing and externalizing emotions and behaviors. Subjects were 378 seventh graders and their families in rural Iowa. Found that spousal irritability and hostile exchanges over money matters increased the likelihood of…

Discusses a study of 250 high school students who participated in weekly peer support groups. The program was accepted and showed signs of success, helping alcohol and substance users reduce their intake and helping keep potential dropouts in school. Indicates peer support groups can help in early recognition and management of emotional and…

Junior high school students (n=1,510) completed the Health Behaviors Questionnaire in order to determine healthy and unhealthy behaviors and emotions which might identify at-risk students. Results indicate that all of the independent demographic and health-related variables used in this study were important predictors of at-risk status. Discusses…

Proposes a risk/protective theoretical perspective grounded in ecological and developmental contextualist theories. Principles extrapolated from the theory are illustrated with the success of Wisconsin Youth Futures, a campus/community partnership that has built 18 community coalitions to promote positive youth development and prevent behavior…

Preschool-aged children, their older siblings, and mothers in 65 families appraised the children's relationships. Factor analysis indicated that a single factor with good internal consistency and short-term stability characterized sibling relationships. Relationships were appraised positively, and were perceived as reciprocal. Children's ratings…

Compared prevalence and developmental course of problem behaviors in 1,538 internationally adopted and nonadopted Dutch children across adolescence. Found high levels of problem behaviors in adopted versus nonadopted adolescents. Problem behavior increased with age for adopted, but not nonadopted. Concluded that despite much higher levels of…

Reviews and reflects on Hong Kong youth during the past four decades, specifically about their needs and deviant behaviors. Argues that being a youth is not a static and homogeneous stage for all young people. Addresses the implications for education. (CMK)

The efficacy of a mediational model for predicting child behavior problems (N=45 five year olds) from marital discord measures was assessed. Indirect relations between marital discord and both social withdrawal and aggression in the child are discussed. Working models of parents' behaviors are found to guide the child's behavior. (EMK)

Provides teachers with basic information needed to prevent and manage aggressive children and youth, specifically, information on stages of crises (frustration stage, defensiveness stage, aggression stage, and self-control stage), effective strategies for each stage, and prevention strategies designed specifically for public school classrooms.…

Assessed psychometric properties of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ:S-E), a screening instrument for 3- to 63-month-olds. Found that internal consistency was generally high. Test-retest reliability between parents' classifications was .94. Overall sensitivity was .82; overall specificity was .92. Parents reported easy…

Examined psychometric properties of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales with preschoolers. Found that cross- informant correlations were poor for social skills, low for internalizing behaviors, and modest for externalizing behaviors. Parents and teachers rated boys as having more externalizing behaviors than girls. Parents identified…

Investigated the efficacy of positive behavior support (PBS) prevention/early intervention strategies on the rate of problem behavior displayed by elementary schools students during recess. Specifically, this study examined the effects of directly teaching playground-related behaviors and the use of a group contingency to reinforce mastery in an…

This study examined the long-term treatment outcomes for 13 families who had participated in the two phases of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy by examining the effects of treatment phase sequence one and two years earlier. Results suggest this treatment may be successful in achieving long-term gains for most families of conduct-disordered…

A study explored differences in the special education programming of 115 African-American and 115 Caucasian students (grades 3-5). Although a clear pattern was found in variables related to placement restrictiveness, the pattern was similar for African-American and Caucasian students. Variables include problem severity, presence of behavioral…

Examined adjustment problems from late childhood to early adulthood among 500 Swedish girls. Found a diversified pattern of multisyndrome formation in late childhood. The syndrome structure in early adolescence identified externalizing adjustment problems and peer problems. An externalizing syndrome was stable between late childhood and early…