Discusses two books, "The Young Unicorns" (M. L'Engle) and "M.C. Higgins, The Great" (V. Hamilton), that give honest portrayals of life. Suggests each will stimulate preadolescents to examine their own lives. (ARH)

This reprinted 1985 article with a 1988 update discusses the identification of underachievement, especially in gifted children. It describes the Achievement Identification Measure, a parent report that measures certain underachievement characteristics including the ability to cope with competition, responsibility, self-control, positive…

Offers information from a study of anorexia nervosa patients, discussing the behaviors and attitudes that characterize this group. Considers related social, cultural, and environmental factors. Suggests that educators voice concerns to the disturbed student and his/her parents in a simple and frank manner and encourage seeking professional medical…

Provides a foundation for future experimental research on the origins in mother-infant interaction of sex differences in the development of a separate sense of self. Suggests that sex differences in the experience of a separate sense of self begin to emerge in early infancy and that mothers engage in different types of contact with sons and…

Discusses various elements of self-directed education for lifelong education: the nature and essence of self-instruction, self-instruction and the development of personality, motivation for self-instruction, forms of self-instruction, and participation in self-instruction activities. (CT)

Data for this study of 108 young adults from the New York Longitudinal Study include measures of temperament derived from two sources: interviews conducted with subjects' mothers when the children were 3 and 4 years of age and measures of Type A behavior derived from interviews with the subjects during young adulthood. (Author/NH)

Examined similarities and differences in like-sex and unlike-sex parent-adolescent modeling. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories were administered to 59 emotionally disturbed adolescents and their mothers. Results showed that the mother-daughter profiles were very similar but the mother-son profiles were dissimilar. The mother-daughter…

Outlines the program of Bethany Baptist Academy, a fundamentalist religious K-12 school in the Midwest. The school socializes the students to think and behave according to the dictates of its religious doctrine. (MD)

Presents data from a survey of the effectiveness of middle school programs in 34 states. The data show that changing to middle school organization results in student achievement gains, decreased discipline problems, enhanced personal development among students, and other positive effects. (MD)

Investigated the impact of developmental concerns on 140 college students' self-disclosure using an instrument based on Erikson's psychosocial theory of development. Results indicated two developmental issues were found to be significant predictors of willingness to disclose problems to fathers and to same- and opposite-sex friends. (Author/BL)

The relationship between sex role orientation and psychological adjustment was assessed in a study of college students. Androgynous subjects had higher adjustment scores than those with masculine or feminine orientation. Suggests that findings about the relationship between sex roles and adjustment may be closely tied to the expressive or…

This article contains ideas to help parents and teachers create environments that encourage a positive self-image. These activities help the child feel special and capable with a sense of belonging. (DF)

Examined the relationship between father acceptance, father control, and personality adjustment of 72 college women. As expected, both paternal behavior dimensions were positively related to the daughters' level of personality adjustment, suggesting authoritarian fathers have daughters who rate themselves as better adjusted. (JAC)

A classification of the sources of motivational conflicts found in college students seeking counseling for vocational problems was reported and applied to 82 vocational counseling cases. The major classification categories emphasize personality development and treat successive choice points as transitional periods in a continuous process.…

Reports on action initiated by the FFA to develop a program for agricultural students' personal development. (MU)