Three studies were conducted to examine variables that facilitate or hamper interaction between disabled and able-bodied college students. In study 1, 100 able-bodied Ss completed two adjective checklists identifying socially desirable and undesirable characteristics; a second group of 94 abled-bodied Ss were tested using another set of traits.…

Children in grades one through six evaluated same-sex classmates in terms of sociometric nominations (three children you "like best") and sociometric ratings (a six-point scale ranging from "like very much" to "like very little"). In addition, each child performed a recursive version of each of the tasks (i.e.,…

A public school in Brooklyn, New York, has developed a system in which handicapped children are integrated into the life of the school. Special education classes are paired with nonhandicapped classes. They share a variety of activities, including presenting assembly programs or plays, going on joint field trips, and sharing appropriate physical…

Grounding their efforts on results of previous research, investigators have sought to improve peer relationships of unpopular children through direct instruction in social skills. Generally, such interventions have been effective in promoting specific outcomes. For example, skill-training programs improve children's ability to form colleague…

To investigate the relationship between perceived self-competence and other variables affecting the successful adjustment and achievement of students, 400 fourth through seventh graders were surveyed using the Perceived Competence Scale for Children (PCSC), the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), which consists of two scales,…

Presented is the case history and interdisciplinary approach used with a partially sighted 8-year-old girl including vision training, large print instruction, and regular class placement. The viewpoints of the optometrist, the child's parents, the educational consultant, the principal, the regular classroom teacher, and a resource room teacher are…

The paper examines the literature on public attitudes, professional attitudes, and peer attitudes toward the mentally retarded. Discussed are methodologies for attitude change through physical contact, knowledge exposure, and a combination of social contact and knowledge exposure. It is concluded that studies in the area of changing attitudes of…

The effects of a naturally occurring situation on perceived similarity of physically disabled students were investigated with 466 able bodied university students. Within each of three samples (segregated dormitory, integrated dormitory, and integrated roommate), half of the individuals were randomly selected to rate a same-sex able bodied person…

The current study examined peer nominated non-aggressive rejected children on their levels of social reasoning, anxiety, goals and perceptions of self-efficacy, and communication styles when collaborating with another peer. Sociometric measures were used to identify 15 average and 10 non-aggressive rejected 5th and 6th grade children. Pre- and…

Although considerable research exists on the behavioral characteristics of low-accepted children, few studies have examined gender differences in the types of behavior which distinguish between low-accepted children and their better-accepted classmates. This study examined the relative power, for each gender, of different behavioral…

The paper describes three strategies featuring a microcomputer to promote the integration and acceptance of students with disabilities among their nondisabled peers. The first strategy is a cross-age tutoring program in which disabled, learning disabled, emotionally disabled, or mildly retarded students demonstrate computer use to nondisabled…

Girls and boys develop different value systems during early adolescence. For girls, popularity with peers assumes high priority, while for boys popularity seems to be secondary to other values established in childhood. A study was conducted to examine the relationship between popularity and adjustment, as measured by self-image, for adolescent…

One hundred and sixty-eight elementary students with and without handicapping conditions participated in a study to determine the social integration of students with mild to moderate disabilities who are academically mainstreamed for at least one period daily. Ss were asked to photograph what they considered illustrative of their schools. A…

Many clinical observations of child witnesses of violence have been made, yet there has been little systematic research on the relationship between observing violence and perceived self-competence. Possible correlates of observing wife battering in the self-perceptions of young children were examined by administering the Pictorial Scale of…

The study examined the effects of training 209 regular class elementary school students and their 12 emotionally disturbed classmates about handicapping conditions. Investigated were normal students' attitudes toward emotionally disturbed students, and the self esteem of emotionally disturbed students. Data gathered prior to and at the conclusion…