Examined differences between regular education (N=74) and emotionally disturbed (N=27) early adolescents with respect to self-concept, body image, and selected uses of clothing. Found emotionally impaired were less likely to use clothing to influence mood than were regular education students. Results lend credence to importance of self-concept in…

Examined the selection, care, and purchase of clothing by adolescents to determine the extent these practices are performed independently or influenced by others. Developed Clothing Practice Profiles for subjects (N=541) in three age groups. Results revealed increasing frequency of independent activity in all three clothing practice areas as age…

Administered instruments measuring adolescents' dress concerns, body satisfaction, and eating behaviors to 751 adolescent girls. Items measuring clothing interests, body satisfaction, and eating behaviors were conceptually independent; clothing factors showed little or no correlation with either body satisfaction or eating factors. (Author/NB)

Compared behavior of college students who wore costumes on Halloween with those who did not. Findings from 805 females and 448 males surveyed over 5-year period revealed significant associations between dressing in costume and drinking alcohol and between masquerading with group and using marijuana and other drugs. Found no significant…

Surveyed high school students (N=184) to establish relationships between use of and attitudes toward used clothing and attitudes toward the ecology and economy. Results showed that as use increased, attitudes and economic and ecological concerns also became more positive, although 50 percent of the students disliked wearing used clothing. (JAC)

Explored role of dress through observation and interviews of high school students. Examined adolescent dress in relation to public, private, and secret self. Obtained data on descriptions of various social types: average, punks, freaks, and nerds. Extreme social types appeared to offer valuable reference points for average adolescents in…

Tallied graduating college students (N=1,843) who displayed personal adornment in addition to their traditional academic garb. Found that degree conferred, sex of recipient, and year of graduation were related to the frequency and forms (political and nonpolitical) of adornment. Indicated that personalization of graduation attire followed patterns…

A vignette depicting date rape was presented to 352 male and female high school students. The vignette was accompanied by either a photograph of the victim dressed provocatively, a photograph of the victim dressed conservatively, or no photograph. Subjects who viewed the photo of the provocatively dressed were more likely to indicate that she was…

Studied 600 British consumers to determine the role of uncommitted purchasing power. Results indicate clothing consumption tends to be age oriented rather than class oriented. Fashion behavior among the young is determined by the excitement motive while older women are more economical. (JAC)

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between adolescents' perceptions of the role clothing plays in the occupational world and the occupations to which they aspire. (Author)

Authors gathered evidence that visual assessment of another individual precedes decisions to associate with that individual. Girls in this study made appraisals of the dress of fictional girls and then made subsequent judgments about whether or not they would be willing to have these girls as friends and whether their group would accept the girl…

Studied evaluative dimensions of how recruiters and future employees (students) view the importance of appearance. Examined differences of focus (students versus recruiters), sex, and occupational area. Respondents recognized appearance as an influence on an individual's effectiveness. Generally, extreme styles were deemed unacceptabe. (Author/RC)

Explored possible gender differences in clothes-shopping behavior among adolescents. Findings from 387 college students revealed that: parents financially assisted sons and daughters equally; there was no gender difference in shopping frequency; mothers more frequently shopped with sons than with daughters; fathers rarely shopped with any…

Investigated dress and body markings of 100 hospitalized and never-hospitalized adolescent psychiatric patients using in-depth interviews. Found that hospitalized patients had higher incidence of self-scarring, but other individual expressions of appearance did not differentiate two groups. Suggests that dress and appearance observations,…

Research evaluates the part that clothing plays in the interaction of peer groups. Attention was focused on examining the relationship between opinions about clothing and movement from social isolation to social acceptance. (Author/RK)