When the educational system in Ontario, Canada, moved toward a child-centered philosophy, the onus for failure was placed on the child and his or her home environment. This philosophy penalized children from working-class and non-English-speaking homes. Arguments in the nature-nurture controversy are reviewed. (PP)

Studies in the 1960s showed that school reform has little effect on reducing achievement differences associated with social background. More recent studies have indicated that schools can be effective for disadvantaged students if systematic efforts are made to develop effective leadership and improve the teaching-learning process. (SK)

Standard test results have suggested that Chicanos are less intelligent than Anglo Americans. In the contemporary educational milieu, this means that Chicanos are thus offered educational and occupational opportunities that demand less complexity, less abstraction, and less intelligence, in turn, limiting the Chicano's possibilities for achieving…

This essay provides an overview of the controversies surrounding intelligence: its definition, its genetic or environmental basis, its relationship to achievement and learning ability, cultural factors, and the use of intelligence tests in the schools. This article is part of a theme issue on intelligence. (SJL)

A model-fitting analysis of the covariance structure of an intelligence quotient (IQ) data set is reported using a model that considers additive and nonadditive genetic parameters and shared and nonshared environment parameters that permit different estimates for different types of relatives. The use of LISREL for such purposes is reviewed. (SLD)

Mental illness has a catastrophic impact on the family, subjecting its members to severe burden and life stress. In addition, families are often implicated in the origins of the illness by themselves, society, and mental health professionals. New alliances with clinicians are helping to support and destigmatize these families. (AF)

Neutral summary of "The Bell Curve" (Herrnstein and Murray) by a former student of Herrnstein. Focuses on the emergence of a cognitive elite in the United States; relationships between IQ and poverty, educational attainment, unemployment, divorce, illegitimacy, welfare dependency, parenting competence, criminal behaviors, and voting;…

This article suggests that "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life" (Richard Herrnstein, Charles Murray), a controversial book about the relationship of intelligence to social class, has exposed a wide chasm between two major paradigms concerning the forces that shape human behavior, and that the debate has…

Considers factors that may be involved in changes in the socialization process at puberty, and examines some central findings from the literature on pubertal changes from a socialization perspective. Pubertal maturation is expected to be accompanied with socialization problems in terms of unclear and different expectations to the developing…

Key components of human behavioral genetics and Sandra Scarr's work of the past two decades are critically reviewed based on scholarship in animal neuropsychology and clinical and educational psychology. Scarr's opinion that interventions to enhance intellectual development are ineffectual for children from abuse- and neglect-free backgrounds is…

A multivariate hierarchical model of specific cognitive abilities was fitted to data from 196 adopted and 213 nonadopted children from the Colorado Adoption Project and 120 of their siblings to assess genetic influence on specific mental abilities. Genetic effects occur in middle childhood that differentially influence mental ability scores.…

Social behaviors among girls (ages 6-16) with fragile X (n=8) or Turner syndrome (n=9) were examined to address the role of family environment versus biological determinants of social dysfunction. Compared to their sisters, subjects had lower IQS and higher rating of social and attention problems. (Author/CR)

A reply to Plomin's critique and some criticisms of Munsinger's review of adopted child literature are presented. Selective bias in adoptee samples, implicit assumptions in models that lead to heritability estimates, and problems produced by lack of an accepted model of environmental transmission are also discussed. (Author/RD)

Reviews research on the heritability of intellectual factors, personality factors, and psychopathology. Discusses the importance of investigating within-family environmental differences in order to understand the environmental origins of individual differences in development. (Author/BJV)