Examined developmental differences in children's decision making using an information-board procedure. In Experiment 1, fifth and eighth graders remembered more initial, relevant information from decision situations than second graders. In Experiment 2, visual cues were provided which increased fifth graders' search of relevant information more…

Examined patterns of psychosocial development for white and African-American traditional-age undergraduate female college students (n=218). Differences were found by class level in measures of autonomy with seniors scoring higher than other classes and mature interpersonal relationship scores indicating a gradual increase. In a measurement of…

Presents an overview of the topics of planning and control to provide a context for the articles in this issue of the journal. Considers development across the life span, subgroup variations, and correlates. Also explores potential linkages between planning and control. (MM)

Compared verbal and visuo-spatial working memory (WM) performance under initial, gain, and maintenance conditions for nine age groups from 6 to 57 years to determine if differences were attributable to specific or general processing functions. Found support for a general-capacity explanation of age-related differences, reflecting demands placed on…

Two studies examined developmental changes in handwriting variability. Results indicated that, between 3 and 5 years, the number of grip patterns that children routinely use declines and the variability associated with pen-surface positioning declines. Older 3-year-olds used an adult grip pattern more often and were less variable in pen-surface…

Treatment of sexually abusive youth was initially patterned after treatment of adult sex offenders. Article discusses the important differences in understanding the developmental progression and in treatment approaches that have evolved. Supports developmental perspective for treatment of youth which views abusive sexuality as evidence of deviant…

This study tested the association between mother's early age at first birth and various life outcomes for her children in later adolescence and early adulthood. Data were analyzed from the Rochester Youth Development Study, an ongoing panel study of adolescents enrolled in seventh or eighth grade in Rochester Public Schools in 1988 ("N"=729). Boys…

Adolescents and young adults (three age groups: 12-15, 16-19, and 20-28 years) reported their use of parents, and peers to fulfill attachment functions (proximity-seeking, safe haven, and secure base.) The use of each target figure varied with age and attachment function. Mothers were an important source of security across this age range. They…

This study examined characteristics of human figures representing the self as drawn by 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds and the presence of age or gender differences. A total of 150 children who were selected randomly from day care centers drew themselves on paper with crayons. There were equal numbers of boys and girls in each age group. Human figure…

This paper examines the effect of participation in an Outward Bound course on participant levels of situational fears. Patterns of situational fears were studied with regard to: (1) fears before, immediately after, and 1 year following the Outward Bound course; (2) the intensity of these fears; and (3) relationship of fears to gender, age, and…

Differences in 4- and 6-year-old children's perceptions of their inner social circle, their major sources of emotional and problem solving support, their reasons for choosing a particular source of support, and the types of behaviors they view as supportive in various stressful situations were studied. Mother, father, siblings, grandparents,…

A series of experiments investigated 5- to 17-month-olds' comprehension of adults' direction of gaze and manual pointing behaviors. Findings indicated that a change in the adult's direction of gaze and orientation of head does not seem sufficient to enable the infant to reliably localize a referent when the infant must choose between pairs of…

Development of toddlers' combinatorial skills was examined in the domains of object manipulation, symbolic play, motor imitation, language, and peer interaction. Additionally, task demands that might produce variations in age-related patterns within or between domains were examined. Data were collected in free play sessions and during structured…

To investigate the ability of young children to perceive the feelings of others, 44 preschool children with a mean age of approximately 3 years, 8 months were shown 12 vignettes in which a puppeteer emitting facial and vocal cues twice contrasted all possible pairs of happy, sad, angry, and afraid emotions. Mothers completed a questionniare…

Research indicates that families that adopt have many problems that would have existed even if the adopted child had been a biological member of the family, but that become more complex and intense due to adoption. A psychosocial and psychodynamic perspective toward family life suggests that in the adoption process, child and family pass through…