A 24-item short form of the 96-item Developmental Behaviour Checklist was developed to provide a brief measure of Total Behaviour Problem Score for research purposes. The short form Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC-P24) was chosen for low bias and high precision from among 100 randomly selected item sets. The DBC-P24 was developed from…

Successful music education programs pay special attention to the national standard components and are generally able to service at-risk students with music classes that, when consistently attended, serve as venues for building self-esteem and social skills as well as improving behavior. However, not all at-risk students receive music instruction.…

The Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, is examining the characteristics of children receiving preschool special education, the services they receive, their transitions across educational levels, and their performance over time on assessments of academic and adaptive skills. PEELS…

Social and behavioral problems can interfere with a child's acquisition of age-appropriate skills, which may lead to antisocial behavior in adolescence and adulthood. Thus, determining how best to support positive skills during early childhood is critical. Using data from the first three phases of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth…

Exposure to alcohol in utero is considered to be the leading cause of developmental disabilities of known etiology. The most severe consequence of such exposure, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), is characterized by a distinct constellation of characteristic facial anomalies, growth retardation, and central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. Some…

This handbook serves as a practical guide and reference manual for teachers on maintaining classroom discipline. Divided into three parts, part 1: "Understanding Discipline in Art Classrooms", the nature and complexity of discipline problems is examined. In part 2: "Preventing Discipline Problems," suggestions are given for management practices…

Adding to prior literature on adults' and children's appraisals of stressors, this study examined relationships among children's negative cognitive errors regarding hypothetical negative divorce events, positive illusions about those same events, the actual divorce events, and children's post-divorce psychological adjustment. Subjects were 38…

This study investigated whether the "Big-5" structure (a 5-factor model used to capture variance in adult personality) can be obtained from parental ratings of 4-year-old children using traditional markers of this structure that are derived primarily from research on adult personality. The study also examined whether Big-5 markers can be…

This study examined the effects of marital violence on children's relationships with parents, peers, and teachers. Forty-eight 4-year-olds and their parents participated in two laboratory sessions: one with all three family members and one with the child alone with several unfamiliar peers. Half of the marital couples were physically violent,…

This paper applies principles of situational leadership theory to the management of student behavior problems. First, it summarizes situational leadership, noting the theory's premise that leaders must consider two important factors to gain acceptance and compliance in managing people--the maturity level of the individuals and the nature of the…

Based on the principles of child psychologist Dr. Haim Ginott, this book explores how the language of their responses affects parents' interactions with their children, often negatively, and how positive changes can lead the way to easier parenting and a more amenable home environment, and build self-esteem, inspire confidence, and encourage…

This study examines whether there is disproportionate discipline of minority students in Michigan's public schools and assesses the enforcement efforts of State and Federal agencies to ensure equal educational opportunity in this regard. The extent to which minority students were being disproportionately suspended and expelled was studied, as were…

Conflict management has become an integral part of a headmaster's tasks. Headmasters are not required to suppress or resolve conflict, but to manage it. Since 1976, conflict in black schools has increased, and headmasters have had to manage serious and dangerous situations. Unfortunately, there has been little research in conflict management in…

This study examined the prevalence and clinical correlates of sexually inappropriate behaviors in all youth treated at a tertiary care public sector psychiatric hospital over a 5-year period. A retrospective chart review was completed on 499 subjects. Subjects were grouped in four mutually exclusive categories: no inappropriate sexual behaviors…

Tactics to deal with growing violence in schools have usually relied on removal of the offender by suspension or placement outside of the mainstream classroom. However, educators and psychologists are considering the prevention of violent behavior as both a more humane and cost-effective response to the problem. The relationship between school…