Purpose: To examine smoking initiation in a group of adolescents at risk for developing substance abuse. Methods: Fifty-nine adolescents (25 control and 34 at risk adolescents) participated in a longitudinal study of behavioral and cognitive predictors of development of substance abuse. Aggression, conduct problems, hyperactivity, impulsivity,…

This paper focuses on the tangled web of obesity and exercise as it relates to subjective well-being. Many overweight individuals have low levels of subjective well-being as a reflection of "anti-fat" biases and sociocultural considerations. Since exercise helps balance the energy intake-output equation and is associated with mood benefits,…

This study compared the emotional and behavioural adjustment of a group of 33 intellectually gifted adolescents with a matched group of 25 adolescents of average ability, using the Behaviour Assessment System for Children. It is the first study to comprehensively examine the psychological adjustment of intellectually gifted adolescents using both…

Sociodemographic variables, social support, and physical health have been used previously in a few predictor models of loneliness and psychological distress in late life. The present study, however, was designed to test the hypothesis that self-efficacy beliefs of elderly persons are significantly stronger predictors of loneliness and…

Conduct disorder is a childhood disorder that is often resistant to treatment. Current treatment methods often focus on separate interventions for each environment that the child or adolescent is exhibiting antisocial behavior. Additionally the focus is on the behavior of the child and often does not focus on the family unit or the biology behind…

Obesity among children and adolescents is a major public health concern affecting the physical and emotional health of youth while increasing their risk of reduced quality and duration of life. Schools and communities have begun to galvanize to address this epidemic and need quality empirical information to guide their policy, programming, and…

A new assessment scheme--the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START)-- presents a workable method for assessing risks to self and others encountered in mentally and personality disordered clients. This study aimed to demonstrate (a) prevalence and severity of risk behaviors measured by the START, (b) psychometric properties of…

This ongoing investigation was concerned with why some children were labeled gifted while others of identical measured ability were not. Each labeled "gifted" child was matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES) with two others in the same school class. The first matched child had an identical Raven's Matrices raw score, and…

Perceptions of social support from family, non-family adults, and peers were examined in relation to the psychopathology reported by 220 suicidal adolescents (152 females) during a psychiatric hospitalization. Results of regression analyses showed that, among females, family support was negatively related to hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and…

In this study, the Resilience Scale for Adolescents (READ) was developed with confirmatory factor analysis and cross-validated factor model. The results show that the READ has sound psychometric qualities and that it measures all the central aspects of the psychological construct of resiliency. (Contains 4 tables.)

Data collected from a sample of over 200 elementary school children from Tennessee were used for studying their perceptions of the future. An interview guide-questionnaire provided information regarding children's perceptions along the following three different dimensions: how children perceived their own personal future; how they perceived…

Estimates indicate that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been sexually abused as children. These statistics may be underestimated based on anecdotal information relayed by many therapists who specialize in working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Effects of childhood sexual abuse have far reaching implications for the survivors' abilities…

The impact of divorce upon the children's adaptation has increasingly become a topic of concern in developmental research. This study investigates how specific coping resources (self-efficacy, self-esteem) vary according to age and as a correlate of developmental level in children from divorced and intact homes. Researchers also examined the…

This study examines economic and social stressors and their effects on the parenting styles and adolescent adjustment of African American families. It systematically characterizes and explains the nature of some of the chronic economic and social stressors experienced by poor African American families as they affect parenting and adolescent…

This paper explores what is meant by "thinking" in a target language. Factors that determine both unplanned and planned use of more than one language for thinking are discussed, and empirical data from a mini-survey and from personal language learning and language using experiences are presented. The role of target-language thinking in improving…