Studies the relationship between Chinese beliefs about adversity and psychological well-being in 229 economically disadvantaged families. Results showed that adolescents with stronger endorsement for positive Chinese beliefs about adversity generally displayed better psychological well-being and school adjustment and less problem behavior.…

This paper investigates some characteristics of families with disruptive children and depressed mothers, and compares the observed behaviors of disruptive children of depressed and non-depressed mothers. Differences observed suggest that, while children of depressed mothers employed a similar range of disruptive behaviors to other disruptive…

Investigates the extent to which attitudes, family, and environmental correlates are associated with the escalation from nonviolent to violent offending among incarcerated youths. Beliefs that power equates safety and a violent home environment were salient in understanding escalation in offending behavior, and prior criminal victimization was…

Identifies difficult patron issues in academic libraries from the librarians' perspectives and offers solutions to try and prevent them from becoming problems. Topics include labeling academic library users; eliminating sources of conflict between faculty and library staff; and conflicts between students and library staff. (Author/LRW)

Examined the link between mother-son positive synchrony and child and best friend antisocial behavior in middle childhood. Found that positive synchrony observed at age 8 related to measures tapping parenting, parent-child conflict, child social information processing, and child and best friend antisocial behavior. Associations between synchrony…

Investigates sources of variation in parents' assessment of parental stress and the effects of early institutionalization. Participants included 109 mother-father pairs who adopted children from Eastern Europe. Significant differences between mothers and fathers were obtained on child- and parent-related stress. Results indicated that children's…

Describes a nine-month study conducted in an urban middle school to attempt to reduce the level of aggression of a small group of seventh graders by assigning them a positive role as mediators to fifth- and sixth-grade disputants. Pretest and posttest measures of self-concept and teacher's perception of problem behavior showed dramatic…

Forty-nine foster children with behavioral problems who were referred to therapy were compared to 19 normal children in foster care. Results found that the age of the child when placed in care, the number of placements, and the type of placement affected the need for therapy. (CR)

Frustrated by her ninth graders' misbehavior with a substitute teacher, a high school English teacher shelved her recriminations and engaged miscreants in a problem-solving exercise examining the incident. Establishing a protocol to talk about problems openly, without fear of retribution, made a big difference. Boys admitted to some poor choices;…

Coping strategies used by 84 sexually abused children ages 7-12 were evaluated along with related symptoms and factors. Avoidance behavior was associated with fewer behavioral problems but greater sexual anxiety. Internalization was associated with increased guilt, and active/social coping was associated with no symptoms or benefits. Expressive…

A survey was conducted to catalog the assessments used by 125 practitioners to evaluate the problem behaviors displayed by clients with mental retardation. Results indicate most practitioners rated functional assessment procedures as extremely or very useful. Findings are discussed with emphasis on the difficulties in conducting functional…

A study examined 391 adult referrals to a mental health clinic serving individuals with mental retardation to explore the relationship between referral source and referral reason. Externalizing behaviors were found to be the most common referral reason; however, referral reason did vary as a function of referral source. (Author/CR)

The effects of two levels of exercise (walking versus jogging) in suppressing the self-stimulatory behavior during academic programming of a 5-year-old boy with autism were examined. Decreased physical self-stimulation and "out of seat" behavior were found only for the jogging condition. Sharp reductions in these behaviors did not return…

A study compared the sandplay behavior and pictures of 26 children (ages 10-11) who had experienced sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse and 26 typical children. The children who had experienced abuse had difficulty staying within the boundary of the sandbox, displayed more regressed play, and presented more disorganized pictures. (Author/CR)

For pairs of full siblings, half-siblings, and cousins, analyzed maternal ratings of children's behavior problems at three times between ages 4 and 10. Found that nonshared environmental influences were substantial at each age but did not contribute to continuities in children's problem behaviors. Results favor a liability model that relates…