Describes a research study which involved building a theoretical construct to define the primary dimensions of adolescent alienation, and developing and testing attitude scales to measure alienation in early adolescence. Personal incapacity, guidelessness, and cultural estrangement were found to characterize alienation in this age group.…

Children who travel abroad with their parents and attend many foreign schools face some problems in establishing friendships, but learn to adapt to different cultures and environments. (JD)

An assertiveness training curriculum that was an expansion of two previous programs with young adolescents was presented to 22 fifth graders. Results did not show that training facilitated assertiveness on the performance components. Suggestions are offered for designing programs aimed at developing adolescents' assertive behavior in ways that…

This article reviews the components of social validation and how they apply to social skills assessment for people with disabilities. Components include the social importance of the intervention outcomes, the social significance of the goals, the appropriateness of the procedures, and determination of the optimal levels for target behaviors.…

Examined family- and sibling-type differences in sibling relationship quality and links between sibling relationship quality and child behavior problems among 192 families with a 5-year-old target child and an older sibling. Found that sibling negativity was highest in single-mother families. Found that full-siblings were more negative than half-…

Provides introductory comments and definitions regarding the area of social-emotional interventions in schools. Suggests that although there have been significant advances in school-based social-emotional intervention programming, future efforts are needed to help practitioners customize and implement programs effectively across school systems,…

Describes the evolution of adolescence as a developmental stage and several psychological approaches to adolescent development. The discussion covers the need for adolescent literature to address physical, social, and emotional issues, and the need for librarians and teachers to be aware of the available literature. (29 references) (CLB)

Discusses the ways in which nonhostile, self-accepting, realistic humor may be an important coping strategy for children. Offers practical suggestions for parents, teachers, and other caretakers to encourage the development of humor in children. (FMW)

Used peer nomination and self-report instruments to assess relational aggression, overt aggression, and social adjustment for 491 third through sixth graders. Found that girls were more relationally aggressive than boys and that relationally aggressive children were more rejected by peers and reported more loneliness, depression, and isolation…

Adjustment to having a sibling who is gifted was explored with 366 triads consisting of a mother and two children, ages 7 through 14, of whom either one child was gifted, both were gifted, or neither was gifted. Having a sibling who is gifted did not appear to be stressful. (SW)

Found that patterns of associations in adolescent coping and adult adaptation over time differ by sex. Coping and adapting to stress by turning to religion or to friends were found to be sex-specific. Convergence between adolescent coping strategies and traditional gender roles predicted good young-adult adaptation. (TM)

Investigated relationship between School Problem Screening Inventory, Fifth Edition (SPSI) and Bristol Social Adjustment Guides (BSAG) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Findings from 43 junior high school students with behavior problems showed SPSI Behavior Disorder undercontrolled and overcontrolled scores to be moderately…

Discusses the developmental challenges faced by children in wartime and similar circumstances. Reviews studies made in several scenes of conflict from World War II to the present. Adults' political ideologies can be sustaining and supportive but may prolong communal violence and curtail moral development. (DM)

In a comparison of cooperative education and regular students in arts, math, and science (n=267), co-op students reported better social adjustment and attachment to the university and greater commitment to educational goals. Arts students were better adapted to university than others. (SK)

Difficulties with a wide range of social interactions are experienced by children with ADHD. Fifty children and adolescents were tested for ability to recognize the six basic facial expressions of emotion. Results are reported; implications for remediation of social skill deficits commonly seen in children with ADHD are discussed. (Author/EMK)