Used a Jewish Rating Scale and Piagetian scale to investigate the influence of intellectual growth on ethnic self-definition and the meaning of Jewishness to Jewish children in Israel. Found a high positive correlation between children's age and the mode of their definition of their Jewishness. (Author/BB)

Reports on a longitudinal study of four toddlers and the relationship of the development of moral awareness to maternal communications. Concludes that a 17-18-month period is a crucial transition period and calls for research into the relationship between emotional development and moral awareness. (CFR)

Replicates Jessica Davis' study of the U-shaped aesthetic development curve in a cross-cultural setting. Examines whether a similar U-curve is evidenced in Chinese aesthetic development. Presents results that suggest that Chinese aesthetic criteria do not produce a U-shaped evaluation of artistic skills. Discusses limitations of the study. (DSK)

Compares adolescents from East Germany who experienced an educational system offering little choice with adolescents from West Germany who experienced more leeway to investigate career maturity. East German adolescents reported more career maturity. Person-related variables predicted career maturity in both groups; family and peer context were…

Suggests that parenting is a societal construction, and that construction includes multiple messages from policymakers, popular media, researchers, and educators that too many parents are either incompetent or unwilling to parent effectively. The paper suggests that Erikson's psychosocial theory of the individual life span can guide consideration…

Studied influence of close friends, parents, and individual characteristics on adolescent drug use. Found similarity across European-, African-American, and Chinese adolescents in high-sensation-seeking and low-authoritative parenting associated with higher rates of drug use. Close friends had influence on Chinese and European Americans.…

Analyzed individual developmental trajectories of disruptive behavior problems (DBP) between 3.5 and 6.0 years for children of adolescent mothers. Found that DBP decreased with age. Boys and children of more depressed/anxious mothers exhibited higher levels of DBP. Maternal negative control was associated with level of DBP and change rate, and…

Examined developmental differences in parental availability and child dependency in late childhood and early adolescence and their association with peer relations. Found that children's perceptions of mother's availability and boys' perceptions of father's availability did not change with age. Dependency decreased with age. Positive friendship…

Describes factors affecting the life-span achievement of 15 highly accomplished African-American women. Participants perceived that civil-rights and affirmative-action polices opened doors if they were already qualified. Findings suggest cultural strengths plus high ability enabled simultaneous acknowledgment of discrimination and application of…

Used panel study of representative community sample to compare volunteer and nonvolunteer adolescents and identify effects of volunteerism on development. Found that volunteers had higher educational plans and aspirations, grade point averages, academic self-esteem, and intrinsic motivation toward school work than did nonvolunteers. Volunteerism…

Proposed and investigated model that examined direct relationships between athletic identity and college student development, moderating effects of gender and year in school on these relationships, and mediating effects of socialization factors for recreational athletes. Found significant relationship between athletic identity and Lifestyle…

Examines the representations of mental functioning in terms of images and stories of gender relations. Suggests that the rational pole of the mind is often stereotyped as "hard" and "masculine," while the nonrational pole is considered "soft" and "feminine." Reviews evidence suggesting that these dynamics…

Underlines the importance of investigating development within concrete thinking. Points out the importance of taking seriously the need for epistemological pluralism respecting and rewarding the labor-intensive methods of inquiry that embody the kind of concrete, contextual thinking researchers try to understand. (AA)

Explores the hostile reception following the publication of "A Young Girl's Diary" in England in 1921. The diary, consisting of a Viennese teenager's humorous and irreverent observations, faced charges of immorality and uncertain authorship. Postulates an alternative reading focusing on the young girl's negotiations concerning knowledge…

Analyzes the significance of competing contexts (physical, historical, political, cultural, economic, sociological, and legal contexts) in the development of personal and social education in Hong Kong. Compares Western and Chinese (especially Confucian) views and values related to personal and social education and the development of understanding…