Being older rather than younger than most of one's classmates is presumed to provide benefits to students throughout elementary and secondary school. The present study investigated this age status hypothesis among students before and after the transition to middle school in sixth grade with respect to school strain, self-esteem, and grade point…

Fifteen boys and 15 girls were interviewed during their seventh, ninth, and twelfth years about a friendship dilemma in which the protagonist had to decide whether to keep a promise given to a friend or to accept an invitation from a third child. Interviews assessed descriptive and prescriptive aspects of the differentiation and coordination of…

The relationship between altruistic behavior and popularity found in young children becomes much less defined with older children. In a paired-comparison procedure, 144 children from two elementary schools ranked the relative attractiveness as a potential friend of four fictional children described as altruistic, prosocial-aggressive, good at…

Examined the influence of age, social class, and maternal employment on changes in nutrition knowledge and dietary quality following a nutrition education program for 10- to 13-year-olds. Results indicated that nutrition knowledge but not dietary quality were increased by the program. (JAC)

This analysis of 12,266 responses to the 3 Self-Description Questionnaires (which measure dimensions of self-concept in preadolescence) examined age and sex effects during preadolescence and early adulthood and alternative operationalizations of the proposition that self-concept becomes more differentiated with age. Well-defined factor structures…

Analyzes what is known about how children's judgments of their intellectual competence and their definition and criteria for evaluating competence change with age and experience in achievement contexts. (PCB)

Surveyed 547 11-year-olds concerning future hopes and worries. Re-surveyed subjects 3 years later and conducted interviews with 152 of the now 14-year-olds. Worries about employment and nuclear war appeared to predominate throughout adolescence, while proportions of students worried about unemployment, own mortality, lack of money, and Acquired…

Examined school entrance age effect on academic achievement and social-emotional adjustment among 137 fourth graders. Found that differences between 73 oldest and 64 youngest subjects, identified in first grade, persisted in part to fourth grade. Younger subjects scored lowest in mathematics and oral and silent reading comprehension; were slower…

Explored adolescent age and gender differences in patterns of emotional self-disclosure to parents and friends among 174 junior high school students. Found that girls exhibited greater emotional self-disclosure to parents and peers than did males, and that emotional self-disclosure to friends was greatest among older adolescents. (Author/NB)

The authors measured memory for individual features (objects only or locations only) and the combination of those features (objects and locations) in 9-, 12-, and 21-year-old students with a "yes" or "no" recognition task. Analysis of recognition memory performance (d' scores) revealed that although age differences existed in memory for individual…

The Cambridge Sibling Study sought to investigate the structure of sibling relationship changes as children grow up, and the patterns of individual differences in these relationships in middle childhood and adolescence. It followed a group of siblings from 43 families from the preschool period through middle childhood and early adolescence. Four…

This document contains the results of the Health Related Behaviour Questionnaire which was administered to 20,218 students between the ages of 11 and 15 years in schools in England in 1992. The preliminary sections of the report explain the questionnaire and the survey, list the Schools Health Education Unit's databanks, describe the 1992 sample,…

Investigates how Turkish children of different ages discuss a conversation they have witnessed during a televised dialog between two Sesame Street characters. Findings reveal that there is a developmental change in children's ability to use appropriate linguistic means to orient their listeners to the different properties of a conversation. (17…

Examined stability and change from middle childhood to middle adolescence in participants' perceptions of their friendship-making ability and their friends' deviant behavior. Although perceptions were not highly stable over 5 years, participants perceived their friendship-making ability as greater during childhood than during adolescence;…

Surveyed 416 Nigerian students ages 10 through 16 to examine levels of reproductive health knowledge. Television ranked first as students' sources of information on reproduction, pregnancy, birth control, and AIDS. Older children indicated more knowledge than preteenagers, girls more than boys, and students living in dormitories more than those…