In early years' (primary grade) classrooms in Australia repeated patterns are commonly explored as an early introductory activity to mathematics. Most young students have an extensive knowledge of and exhibit success in copying, continuing, creating and transferring patterns into other media. By contrast, research indicates one of the most…

This document contains a workbook to help young people between the ages of 11 and 15 handle the stress in their lives or the stress of their friends. Throughout the workbook, there are cues to users when it is time for them to stop and record their feelings. The workbook discusses symptoms of stress, situations that cause stress, reactions to…

Differences in visual-ocular function, particularly optokinetic nystagmus (OKN), were compared with 40 learning disabled and 40 normal children (8-12 years-old). No significant differences were found between groups on the variables tested (refixation saccades, smooth ocular pursuit, spontaneous nystagmus, gaze nystagmus, and OKN). (Author/DB)

In a study of the effect of task demands on attention allocation, 20 9-year-olds and 20 13-year-olds were presented with a primary and a secondary task. Subjects were instructed either to respond to the primary task or to respond to both tasks. Overall, findings indicate that ability to allocate attention in accordance with task demands improves…

A cross-sectional and a longitudinal study were conducted to answer questions about (1) the development and nature of premenstrual adolescent girls' expectations about menstrual symptoms, (2) expectations for and beliefs about menstrual symptoms as they relate to the actual experience of menarche, and (3) sources of information about menstruation…

Several studies have shown that children with learning disabilities (LD) have difficulty in inhibiting irrelevant information, which generates endogenous interference from working memory. Other inhibition capacities have not yet been investigated, however. This article reports on an experiment examining the capacities of children with LD to…

An accumulating body of literature has shown a link between early pubertal maturation and internalizing problems, particularly among girls. Our knowledge is, however, limited with regard to what accounts for this association. Based on a hypothesis that early maturing girls have heightened stress sensitivity that increases the risk of internalizing…

There is little information about, and understanding of, how children from families living in poverty experience school, as opposed to children from better-off families. This paper is based on the views of children aged 5-11 in schools across Northern Ireland, UK. It argues that family poverty impacts on every aspect of a child's experience of…

This paper challenges some of the assumptions about our understanding of and approaches to literacy. Crucially, it provides evidence hitherto missing from the body of research knowledge: children's own perspectives on literacy opportunities accessed by children themselves. Reading proficiency is pivotal in education, providing a platform on which…

Ethnic identity has been linked to a number of healthy psychological outcomes for African American adolescents. The levels of conflict and cohesion in the family environment have also been found to be predictive of adolescent mental health. This study examined whether the ethnic identity and levels of conflict and cohesion in the family…

This study tested a mediation model of neighborhood influences on children's externalizing behavior. In the proposed model, neighborhood disadvantage, ethnic heterogeneity, and low residential stability affect children's behavior indirectly through their impact on neighborhood social processes, which in turn influence parenting and deviant peer…

The main objective in the present study is to examine the effect of gender on primary school students' construction of elaborative backward inferences during text processing. A total of 333 children, aged 10-11 years (n = 158 girls and 175 boys) participated in the study. Each participant completed a backward inference test. The results indicate…

In research evaluating sexual abuse prevention programs, knowledge measures are typically used to assess the program's success. In other areas of research on child safety skills, however, skills are typically assessed through behavioral measures such as role-plays. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and acceptability of a set of…

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among youths. Comparatively few studies have studied recent trends over time, or examined rates and characteristics of service contact in well-defined national samples. Methods: Data on general population suicides and mid-year population estimates were used to calculate suicide rates (per…

Objective: To explore at-home and away-from-home eating patterns influencing Asian, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white preadolescents' intake of calcium-rich food from a parental perspective. Design: Individual semistructured interviews. Setting: Home or community site. Participants: Convenience sample (n = 201) of self-reported Asian (n = 54),…