Assessed the association of parental discipline and monitoring with early conduct problems of 123 children in a highly disadvantaged, African American sample. Analyses indicated that, after earlier conduct problems were controlled for, coercive parent discipline and poor parental monitoring at age 4.5 predicted age 6 conduct problems. Associations…

Investigated relation between pubertal timing and alcohol use among junior high school students in Norway who were followed up 2 years later. Found that early timing of puberty correlated with number of intoxication incidents and number of units consumed on each occasion and, to a lesser degree, with frequency of alcohol use. Correlations were…

This article addresses the process by which children and adolescents cope with severe acute stress of parental loss from causes other than divorce or death. Participants were 60 children and adolescents from a residential treatment facility. Most had experienced neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, and their parents had their parential…

In this final article in the series of 3 on "Raising a Child with Epilepsy, Coping with Guilt," readers will discover how culture attacks the emotional well being of parents of children who have epilepsy. Guilt, like fear and stigma, unconsciously influences childrearing decisions for the worse. However, in the case of guilt, most of the damage…

In the pathway of discouragement, there are two significant indicators that things have gone awry. First, there is an escalating "disconnect" among the adults who are involved in the life of the young person. Second, the problem solving gives way to discouragement, anger, and punitive consequences. For some children the trajectory lasts over his…

Background: Existing evidence points to a substantial rise in psychosocial disorders affecting young people over the past 50 years (Rutter & Smith, 1995). However, there are major methodological challenges in providing conclusive answers about secular changes in disorder. Comparisons of rates of disorder at different time points are often…

Background: Extensive research has identified risk factors for problem behaviour in childhood. However, most of this research has focused on isolated variables, ignoring possible additive influences. The purpose of this study was to examine whether risk factors for problem behaviour act in a cumulative manner, and to investigate whether cumulative…

Background: Cross-national studies describing the psychopathological characteristics of arrested adolescents are virtually non-existent. Such studies are important because they have implications for national policy on arrest, case-management, and future research. Method: To address this issue, self-report surveys administered to representative…

Background: Twin studies of childhood behavior problems support the conclusion that individual differences in impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention are largely due to genetic influences. Non-genetic variation is due to environmental influences that are unique to the individual, and possibly to rater contrast effects. In the present…

The authors discuss the problems of children's foster care in Lithuania in the context of European dimensions. The article consists of two parts. The first part presents the main changes in the children's care system in Lithuania. The first part reveals the discussion of the paradigm of children's foster care in both the Western and Lithuanian…

Discrete trial training (DTT) is a well-established intervention for teaching skills to children with autism; however, few published guidelines are available for determining whether a child's rate of learning a particular skill is satisfactory and, if not, what to do. We assert that progress within 8-10 teaching sessions usually is evidence of…

Task persistence, measured by a composite score of independent teacher, tester and observer reports, was examined using behavioral genetic analysis. Participants included 92 monozygotic and 137 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs in Kindergarten or 1st grade (4.3 to 7.9 years old). Task persistence was widely distributed, higher among older children,…

The aim of the study reported here was to establish whether the behavioural profiles of children with high-functioning autism (HFA) come to approximate the profile of children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) over time. The parents of 21 children with HFA and 19 children with AS, all aged between five and 11 years and matched on chronological and…

Effective child-behavior management is an important characteristic in facilitating positive parent and child interaction. The current study examines the impact of a behavioral parent-training group methodology on problem behaviors and goals for a single mother and two young boys. Results indicate that the procedures were valuable for enhancing…

This study involved a comparison between 30 children with Learning Disabilities (LD) and 30 typically developing peers, regarding their ability to resolve interpersonal conflict problems. It was hypothesized that the groups would show significant differences along the following parameters: (a) understanding of the components of the problems; (b)…