Examines adolescents' knowledge of the detrimental effects of smoking on pregnant women and fetuses and its relationship to efforts to quit smoking with a sample of pregnant adolescents (N=71). A three-group randomized intervention design -- Teen FreshStart, Teen Freshstart with buddy, and usual care control -- was used. Results show that…

Examined correspondence between conceptual and empirical dimensions of student alienation. Responses from 2,056 secondary school students revealed basic correspondence between multidimensional conceptualization of alienation and empirical dimensions articulated by students. Such correspondence strengthens confidence in concept of multidimensional…

Investigated differences between male and female offender and nonoffender youths (N=117) in social perspective-taking. Subjects completed the Defining Issues Test three times--as self, teacher, and police officer. Results indicated 14- and 15-year-old offenders and nonoffenders do not differ in perspective-taking ability across three social roles.…

Investigated responses of menarcheal age females to menarche. Results from 95 girls indicated that premenarcheal girls thought menses was more debilitating than did postmenarcheal girls. Subjects who had been menstruating longer considered menses natural event but denied its effects. Found no significant difference in overall self-esteem and…

Examined sensitivity to an imaginary audience, shyness, group dependence, and self-concept in 328 adolescents. Found that ninth-graders were higher in group dependence and were more sensitive to an imaginary audience than either seventh or eleventh graders. Subjects highly sensitive to imaginary audiences projected shyness, which increased with…

Recognizes concern that today's adolescents, including early adolescents, may be making important life choices such as parenthood before they are developmentally ready for such roles. Deals with pregnancy in adolescents and modes of responding to this phenomenon by those in the counseling and other helping professions. (Author/NRB)

Examined the relationships between adolescent drug use (N=145) and perceived parent attitudes and behaviors. Relationships between parental use of drugs and adolescent use of the same drugs were moderate and roughly equivalent across drugs. Parental use of marijuana was strongly related to the adolescent's use of harder drugs. (JAC)

Examined the relationship between religiosity and unmarried adolescent fatherhood in unwed Black adolescent fathers (N=43) and nonfathers (N=50). The results indicated that the fathers were more likely to be responsive to nongroup modes of institutionalized religion, whereas the nonfathers' religious involvement was likely to be within…

Examined parental drug use and parental attitude toward adolescent drug use in 106 drug-using and 96 nondrug-using adolescents. Results confirmed that adolescents who use drugs are significantly more likely to have parents who use drugs, or have permissive views about drug use. (JAC)

Examined the perception of liberty and authority in 950 Senegalese adolescents. Results showed that although a majority of the respondents accepted authority in principle, they had a keen sense of their own freedom as it affected the freedom of their society as a whole. (JAC)

Examined visual status and adolescents' self-images. Findings from 15 adolescents with visual problems and 15 adolescents with normal vision revealed significant differences in dimensions of perceived self-concept between groups. On Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, visually impaired subjects had significantly lower Total Positive scores,…

The development of a caring value orientation was investigated in four age groups: grades 6, 8, 10, and 12. Subjects (N=1,247) completed a questionnaire designed to measure preference for more caring personal values. Findings are discussed in terms of theories that hypothesize gender differences in world view. (Author/EMK)

Investigated marijuana knowledge, attitudes, use, and peer pressure among Canadian adolescents. Results indicated that peer pressure is not pervasive, that it can be resisted, and that it is not stigmatizing to not use drugs. (BL)

Identified predictors of birth control knowledge resulting from interactant or noninteractant communication styles in 100 adolescents who read a magazine on human sexuality. Data suggested that the interactant style was most beneficial for new learning. Gender and the presence of siblings in the home were important moderators. (JAC)

Questions claims that teenage pregnancies are generally unwanted, based on a study of 123 school-age mothers. Found that love was associated with becoming pregnant more than with starting sexual activity. Most respondents who were in love at the onset of pregnancy were hoping to marry their sex partners. (JAC)