Many children who are born into poverty face increased challenges. But different factors can ameliorate such risks and some findings on resilience and protective factors are reported in this paper. The data are based on the Parent-Child Project, a 22-year study of high-risk children. The focus is on protective factors identified in the first three…

Much research has focused on the concept of resilience, which is defined as the process of, capacity for, or outcome of successful adaptation despite challenging circumstances. To examine resilience in school children, small group interviews were conducted with 9-12 year-old children (N=125) drawn from five primary schools in South Australia. The…

A Media Studies program enhances the goals of formal schooling by providing every student with knowledge and skills to wisely select, access and use the communications and information tools they will need to be responsible citizens in a free society. All students deserve a good media education. This paper provides a model to address this need…

This paper discusses the results of a study that investigated the effectiveness of the New Jersey Youth Incentive Program (YIP). The YIP program grew out of earlier private and public efforts and reflected national trends in the reform of mental health services for children. Cutting across most of these programs is the underlying principle that…

This study compared mental health and developmental service use by 89 young children under the age of six in either foster or kinship care (care by family members other than the biological parents). The study specifically compared usage of: (1) services in the specialty mental health sector; (2) services in the specialty developmental sector; and…

Identifying risk and protective factors that serve as predictors of substance use is essential for developing effective prevention programs. Inconsistency in the data about the role of religion and spirituality as a protective factor for African Americans continues to exist. In this study, data were collected from 511 African American youth, ages…

The following essential elements of programs that prepare physicians to care for at-risk children effectively are described: (1) active participation in children's care; (2) effective service programs for learning; (3) comprehensive, multidisciplinary, flexible, and intensive programs; and (4) program evaluation. The policy implications in…

Even though rape is the crime they fear most, women hold strong beliefs that their personal risk for sexual victimization is lower than the risk for other women. Victimization shatters illusions of invulnerability, and results in feelings of vulnerability, suggesting that sexual victimization should decrease women's perceived invulnerability for…

Earlier practices in the teaching of literature offered one standard of success and one method of lesson delivery for everyone. This did not make it possible for students to reach their individual potentials. The resulting idea of attending to the individual formed the basis for ability grouping. However, placement into lower groups resulted in…

The lives of poor minority city residents demonstrate the diversity, multiple potentials, and vulnerability to external structures. In spite of the stereotypes of failure and the very real problems of the urban poor, there are many strengths among the so-called urban underclass and there are aspects of life that are successful and productive. In…

This paper, first in a series of special reports concerning disability and the family, presents a review of the relationship between abuse and disabilities, arguing that roughly 25 percent of all disabilities are caused by child or spousal abuse. A national survey revealed that 12 states have legislation addressing these issues, and the paper…

The report summarizes findings and recommendations of a Virginia Department of Education Task Force concerning the establishment of comprehensive hearing screening programs in Virginia's public schools. Special emphasis was on findings of Project HEAR (Hearing Education and Resources) which found that mass hearing screenings could be conducted in…

This paper, a session proposal for a rural and small schools conference, reports on a project undertaken by 166 parents and staff of South Carolina's Target 2000 Parent Education Program to assess the effectiveness of the program's design and implementation process. The main research question studied concerned what were found to be the most…

Despite 30 years of anti-poverty programs in the United States, poverty in the United States has intensified. One such program, Head Start, demonstrated that it is possible to enhance the educational outcomes of poor children. Updated and improved, Head Start has the potential to become a more successful weapon against poverty. Inadequate funding,…

Adolescents comprise a substantial proportion of the at-risk population for sexually transmissible diseases (STD's) and AIDS. This study examines the link between sexuality education programs and student receptivity in Western Australian secondary schools. The researchers ask the question, "Given the same exposure to similar content and…