Age at which sexual molestation starts has implications for prevention education and theories regarding etiology of child sexual abuse. For a sample of 365 adults molested as children, average age of onset was 7.5; average age at end of molestation was 13; duration was usually one year or more. (Author/JW)

Conditions which call for the discovery of a problem were introduced to fifth graders in a divergent thinking exercise. Significant relationships were found between responses to personal drawings and creative attitudes and values, but not intelligence. Findings indicate that freedom to discover and solve problems appears to be the primary…

Excessive physical loading may disrupt normal osseous development and inflict injury. This is particularly applicable to young female gymnasts, for whom the injury rate is astonishingly high at advanced levels of competition. There is a need for a more extensive database using a longitudinal approach. (MT)

Surveyed over 700 12-year-olds and their parents concerning their attitudes toward the ensuing teenage years. Their reponses support in large measure the developmental tasks expounded by Robert Havighurst: the need to achieve independence, their concern with social relationships, and the acceptance of physical appearance. Parents' concerns about…

Explored early socialization of beliefs and attitudes toward menarche in 258 adolescents, aged 11 to 14 years, male and female pre- and postmenarcheal, from southern Italy. Results showed a consistent lack of accurate information by a high percentage of subjects, both male and female; negative beliefs were held only by girls, boys tended to ignore…

This study examines the relationship between vulnerability factors and recidivism of juvenile offenders. Four factors are identified which distinguish recedivists from nonrecidivists in a sample of 96 first offenders matched by age and sex. Results are discussed from an epidemiological and early intervention perspective. (Author/BS)

In a longitudinal sample of three- through 11-year-olds, age-appropriate versions of the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) were administered. Uncorrected for attenuation, MFFT error scores were more consistent over time than MFFT latency scores for both girls and boys. Implications of results for validity of MFFT as a measure of cognitive…

Reports a study in which the letters F, G, and K were presented in normal and backward versions, in varying angular orientations, in left and right visual fields. (Author/NH)

Children from divorced families did not have more household or childcare responsibilities than other children, but they did assume a confidant role with their mothers more often. They also rated themselves lower in social competence. Maternal employment decreased the children's participation in athletic activities and involvement with friends.…

Describes a school-based primary drug prevention program for 11- to 13-year-old youths. Suggestions for designing developmental skills-oriented programs in rural communities are offered. (Author)

Corrects errors in "A Developmental Study of Learning Disabilities and Memory" by Stephen J. Ceci (Volume 38, Number 2 1984), pages 352-371. (AS)

Assessed sexual maturation and sociosexual behaviors in 101 nine- to 11-year-old low and middle income Black children. Data confirmed that girls were more advanced in sexual maturation than boys. Results of a self-report behavior scale indicated sexual behavior was related to physical development in boys but not girls. (JAC)

Examines the effects of word duration on memory span in subjects of different ages. Concludes that developmental increases in short-term memory span can be explained in terms of increases in speech rate. Suggests that increases in speech rate with age reflect increases in the speed of articulation of individual words. (Author/AS)

Age differences in memory performance have been ascribed to corresponding differences in the effectiveness of mental memorization procedures. A comparative assessment of opportunity and capability hypotheses is evaluated with reference to results of previous studies of procedural maintenance and transfer following instruction, using a sample of…

Differences among female tutors (n=80), aged 9 to 11, were examined in two ways: (1) using contrasts between same-age and mixed-age tutors; and (2) with separate contrasts, for the 11-year-old tutors, according to the ages of their tutees. (PN)