A study involving 23 mothers of children with deafness and 23 controls investigated the impact of child deafness on stress, social networks, and social support satisfaction. When children were 22 months, mothers of children with deafness expressed more stress, however at ages 3 and 4, stress was comparable to controls. (Contains references.)…

Alumni directors were asked how they share career network responsibilities with the career office. Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Career Connections, a program that draws on alumni to help students plan their careers, consists of workshops for alumni and students, brings alumni speakers, and a mentor program. (MLW)

Gathered data on arcade use in adolescents (n=460). "Regular" arcade visitors varied sufficiently from the more "casual" visitors in their orientation to, and experience in, arcades. Regular visitors were more likely to score positively on indices screening for addiction. Raises questions about children's access to potentially…

Illuminates the nature and direction of social comparison research using a sample of 168 Dutch individuals. Some of the findings revealed uncertainty and frustration related to a need for social comparison, a desire more for information than affiliation about similar others, and the influence of health problems in evaluating one's situation. (RJM)

This article synthesizes current empirical evidence for the interaction between stress level, stress modification, and drug abuse. The authors analyze 13 research studies of women; and they profile consistencies and inconsistencies in the findings, provide critiques of key methodological issues, and examine implications for future research,…

Examines gender differences in social network (SN) development from early to middle childhood and the relation of network characteristics to school competence through mothers' reports of the SNs of 38 sons and 37 daughters. For girls, SN characteristics correspond to teacher ratings of social competence in school. (SLD)

Support from community recreation staff facilitates successful transition and integration of persons with disabilities from hospitals or schools to communities. Functional independence requires leisure activity skills, choice-making skills, social and friend-making skills, and support networks. The article examines research on integrated community…

Analysis of 65 high-risk adolescents admitted to psychiatric inpatient units found that social support was a protective factor in cases of family violence experienced as either a victim or witness. However, social support did not appear to buffer the maladaptive effects of community violence, although there was a generally insignificant…

Studied the relationship of African American adolescents' fears of calamity, kinship social support, and neighborhood social capital to aspects of depression. Results with 160 urban adolescents indicate that those with neighbors who looked out for them and who were interested in them were less likely to be depressed than those whose neighborhoods…

Using a socio-ecological perspective, examines the influences of adolescents' social networks, personal resources, and environmental risks on adolescents' behavior problems across three samples of youth (N=155). Findings show that social support can operate as a protective agent or as a risk factor, depending on other characteristics of subsystems…

Explores the relationship between antisocial behavior and social resources in a two-year longitudinal study of 100 high-risk adolescents (N=146) in a residential foster care facility. Risk factors and protective functions of variables are discussed, along with theoretical implications and methodological problems. (EMK)

Examines the extent to which network unconventionality relates to school violence in an inner-city sample of adolescents. Results suggest that school violence is related to unconventional social network characteristics, independent of the effects of individual deviance. Suggests that attempts to reduce school violence might focus on increasing…

The growing importance of multiple-income strategies in the changing rural Appalachian economy is discussed via a case study of a network of female home-based machine-knitters. Social networks are an important part of the knitters' recruitment and training process, promote leadership development, and help overcome some of women's economic…

Thirty students with learning disabilities (LD) in inclusive third-to fifth-grade classrooms and 60 educators were interviewed regarding social support at school. While students with LD felt part of a social network, many reported socially related loneliness. Results indicate a discrepancy between students' and teachers' choices of preferred…

A study involving 72 Puerto Rican mothers with children with mental retardation living at home found better maternal well-being was predicted by larger social support networks, greater satisfaction with social support, and more minor children living in the household. Mothers faced many socioeconomic challenges and were in poor health. (Contains…