Forty-three percent of troubled youths in residential programs received weekly visits from their case managers in the welfare department or juvenile court. Following a procedure of writing post-visit thank-you letters to case managers and their immediate supervisors, weekly visitations increased to 78 percent of the youths. (Author/JDD)

Comparison of effects of two roles (peer monitor or point earner) during an independent mathematics seat work peer intervention on the behavior of three low achieving fifth graders found students demonstrated comparable improvements in appropriate task behavior during both roles with no clear improvements in assignment completion or accuracy rate.…

Analyzed observational data on nonverbal behavior in small groups to assess whether such behavior significantly changed within or across group meetings. Results showed that kinesic limb movements, posture, eye contact, and body orientation significantly changed across five group sessions. Discussion relates results of nonverbal behavioral changes…

Reports on a movement conducted by social workers to decrease the infection of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome by changing human behavior through public education. Stresses that the focus is to draw attention to behavior modification. (RT)

Studies the effect of sustained silent reading (SSR) on recreational reading habits after termination of instruction. Finds that SSR students read more than those not in the program, and that SSR has no impact on above average readers, great impact on average readers, and little impact on below average readers. (RS)

This article defines accountability in the physical education profession, describes problems related to pursuing accountability, and describes basic steps necessary to achieve change in the organic, psychomotor, cognitive, and affective behaviors of students. (IAH)

Examined two mechanisms of change under paradoxical interventions (reactance and increased sense of self-efficacy) with procrastinating college students (N=49 and N=58). Measured study time and perceived self-efficacy before and after treatment. Under paradoxical interventions, subjects higher on initial reactance benefited more from therapy than…

Proposes a cognitive-neoassociationistic model to account for the effects of negative affect on the development of angry feelings and the display of emotional aggression. Summarizes psychological studies that indicate that attention to one's negative feelings can lead to a regulation of the overt effects of the negative affect. (FMW)

Reviewed 18 journals with behavioral psychology, clinical or counseling psychology, school psychology, and special education emphases. Results indicated that behavioral journals published most empirically based parent training articles, followed by clinical or counseling psychology, special education, and school psychology journals. Parents with…

To help reverse the underachievement pattern in gifted students, educators should seek out less-evident indicators of strengths and abilities, incorporate those abilities into the classroom curriculum, recognize evidence of a sustained will to learn, and be realistic and optimistic about signs of improvement. (PB)

Evaluated were the effects of a parent training program consisting of verbal instruction, modeling, and feedback on the affection and responsivity of three developmentally handicapped mothers towards their children. Results indicated substantially improved parenting skills which generalized to nontraining settings and were maintained over a 3-18…

Emergency medicine residents at William Beaumont Hospital are evaluated quarterly by the nursing staff. The nurses discuss each resident and reach consensus on each evaluation item and copies are given to each resident. Although the residents' attitudes have not been favorable, overall their behavioral interactions have improved markedly.…

Summarizes and critiques 16 studies involving the cognitive and behavioral effects of aerobic exercise on children in both schools and clinical settings. Concludes that few studies concurrently measure physical and psychological changes that may accompany exercise in children and suggests methods for further investigation. (SW)

A solution-focused therapeutic approach to processing adventure experiences shifts the focus of debriefing sessions from problem to solution, helps clients recognize exceptions to their problem behavior, and sensitizes clients to seeking positive behaviors versus avoiding negative ones. Techniques include clients' rating of their own abilities on…

Examined effects of directed art activities on behavior of two preschool children and one kindergarten child with disabilities. Results indicated that directed art activity had larger effect than control condition on social behavior of two children, whereas control condition generated little effect. Neither art activity had measurable effect on…