The news media plays an important role in shaping opinions about the character of American society. Through the news, people learn about the prevalence of human benevolence or malevolence. The author conducted several tests to evaluate the effects of news on individuals of various ages and backgrounds. Experimental groups were told that they would…

Expected family lifestyles of young adult men and women were investigated by examining relationships among sex role preferences, expectations for female labor force participation, intended family age, and attitudes toward the provision of child care. Subjects, 715 randomly selected college freshmen, completed a data sheet which combined questions…

This paper critically reviews sociological literature on youth protest. The major objective is to ascertain whether existing perspectives on youth movements are adequate to explain historical change in modern society. Most sociological research on youth activism is predicated on either a family socialization model or a structural functional model.…

Few counseling services are available to or utilized by rape victims, which implies that many women turn, instead, to their social networks for support. Research literature suggests that anxiety is reduced and coping skills are enhanced when a victim uses her interpersonal social network for support. Unfortunately, many women have the same…

Research published in the 1970's indicated that young children expressed extremely traditional attitudes regarding appropriate sex-role behavior. Middle-class children (N=47) between the ages of four and eight were interviewed about their sex-role attitudes in order to determine the extent to which recently changing cultural mores have influenced…

With the resurgence of interest in sex differences research, it is important to use a "confidence interval" strategy in organizing and interpreting material rather than a strategy of statistical significance or non-significance. Investigators are urged to go beyond the reporting of statistical significance and to determine something…

A study is described concerning the ability to recgnize sex bias in language. Thirty-three statements were generated containing statements characterized as sex-biased and sex-fair. It was hypothesized that individuals would have a greater degree of difficulty recognizing sex bias in statements which contained common-use terms or terms with no…

Situational and personal barriers to the educational goals of nonwhite youths in Florida appear to be caused by a variety of subtle and complex factors deeply rooted in the environment of the youths: (1) cultural determinism; (2) attitudes of resistance and antagonism on the part of white teachers and counselors; (3) lack of information on the…

Many factors are contributive to a rise in the rate of remarriage among older adults. Statistical and survey data on the condition of the elderly suggest that: (1) the number of elderly marriages has increased dramatically in recent years; (2) improved health status allows older adults greater socialization and mobility which greatly enhance the…

The study assessed young adults' attitudes toward childlessness and identified certain factors which predict positive or negative attitudes toward childlessness. The author anticipated finding changes in attitudes because of recent social developments such as awareness of world overpopulation, availability of birth control methods, pressure for…

There are two new terms I have coined recently that form the basis for these remarks. The two terms and their definitions are: Vocational Educationism, defined as a bigoted, biased view of vocational education; and Vocational Educationist, defined as a person who is suffering from or afflicted with vocational educationism. Stated in its crudest,…

This study is an attempt to explore systematically language attitudes among the younger and more socially mobile Mexican Americans, to determine what linguistic and demographic variables are correlated with differential language attitudes, and to ascertain to what extent, if any, attitudinal commitment to Spanish correlates with behavioral…

Gay students need and deserve to have teachers (gay or nongay) who will both show them creative, nonneurotic ways of channeling their talents and energies and join in the battle against the ignorance that makes gay people such ready prey to nongay predators. As may be seen from three papers written in a teachers' workshop class on the topic "When…

The effects of Social Darwinism, eugenics, and contemporary political conservatism on the status of advocacy efforts for the mentally retarded are reviewed. Provided are historical sketches of Social Darwinism, which viewed the retarded as members of an inferior race, and eugenics, which argued for sterilization of the "genetically…

Adolescent pregnancy, especially among low income non-white groups, is becoming a matter of increasing concern. Data indicated that pregnancy in the adolescent, especially under age 16, is associated with high incidences of toxemia, anemia, contracted pelvis, prolonged labor, and a high maternal death rate. It is also the largest single reason why…