Reports results of a survey of 89 graduate students using criteria taken from popular literature describing the adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) category. No empirical support is found for the ACOA category as defined in popular literature (no significant differences in how ACOA students and non-ACOA students responded to items that are…

Examined young British and Indian children's ability to distinguish between real and apparent emotion in response to stories involving child-adult and child-child interactions. Found that the younger Indian girls performed better than the younger British girls. Other age, gender, and cultural effects suggest a more social model of the…

Maintains that reading humorous storybooks to toddlers can support their development and learning. A bibliography of humorous children's books is included. (BB)

Evaluated the associations of hypothesized protective and risk factors with assessments of social, literacy, and cognitive competence. Subjects were 117 Head Start graduates attending kindergarten in rural Georgia. Found that caregiver self-esteem, independence-promoting developmental goals, and responsive caregiver-child interactions were…

Argues that a new definition of affect that focuses on the subjective understanding of interpersonal events, can be used to expand models of how observed family behaviors are related to adolescent psychosocial outcomes. A method for examining adolescents' subjective understanding of family behaviors, the video-recall method, is illustrated in a…

Examines development of the concept of commitment in relation to adolescents' choice of a career and romantic partner. Subjects were 163 male and female ninth graders, twelfth graders, and college juniors from public and private schools. Findings support the proposition that the concept of commitment is affected by grade, gender, and type of…

This article reviews literature supporting the relationship of emotional factors and success in reading and writing activities, outlines physical and language behaviors that indicate emotional involvement with success or lack of success in comprehension, and presents strategies that help children understand what they need to do to read and write…

As part of a longitudinal study of psychosocial development, 148 girls and 130 boys were administered a questionnaire about a close friend in their eighth grade school year. The subjects began the study in the sixth grade. Findings on intimacy and emotional closeness are discussed concerning gender socialization and friendship. (SLD)

To investigate differences in adolescents' action orientations in difference contexts, 42 sophomore and 41 senior high school students (41 males and 42 females) in vocational or college-preparatory tracks were studied. Differences between the career-preparation action orientation of the college-bound students and the adult-preparation orientation…

The article examines the social/emotional development of children of substance abusers and relates it to their behaviors at school, offering an alternative perspective for understanding their school behaviors and for helping them. Several implications for teacher education are included. (SM)

The study, with 89 gifted girls in grades 1-12, found decreased self-regard, self-confidence, inner courage, and self-assurance with increased age. Levels of perfectionism, hopelessness, discouragement, and emotional vulnerability rose with increasing age. Findings suggest the need for strong identity information and models and the encouragement…

Discusses the developmental appropriateness of implementing multicultural education in infant and toddler programs. Suggests ways to help bring multicultural education into the infant and toddler classroom. (BB)

Examined relative roles of aggression and other dysregulated behaviors in predicting adolescent peer problems and antisocial behavior. Found that aggression and withdrawal were stable and linked to peer difficulties in elementary school and adolescence, but indicated significant risk for adolescent rejection, victimization, and antisocial activity…

Examined young children's social development of effortful control in a longitudinal study. Found that between 22 and 33 months, effortful control improved considerably, its coherence increased, it was stable, and it was higher for girls. Found that children's focused attention at 9 months, mothers' responsiveness at 22 months, and mothers'…

Chris Mercogliano's book about a free school in Albany, New York, advocates liberating children's life energies from the destructive forces of regimentation, repression, and control on which public education is based. An educational philosophy is needed that pays attention primarily to emotional and interpersonal issues, since academic learning…