Data from Colorado Adoption Project were used to examine hypothesis that association between parental divorce and children's adjustment is mediated by genetic factors. Findings for psychopathology were consistent with an environmentally mediated explanation for the association. Findings for achievement and social adjustment were consistent with a…

Examined environmental and gene-environment processes linking parenting (affect, control, responsiveness) and preschoolers' behavioral adjustment difficulties (noncompliance, conduct problems). Found that estimates of shared environmental variance and mediation were greatest for observational data, and estimates of child genetic variance and…

Background: There has been ongoing interest in the role of intelligence in longer-term educational and occupational achievement and social adjustment. The aims of this study were to examine the extent to which IQ in middle childhood (8-9 years) was prognostic of future outcomes when due allowance was made for confounding personal and social…

Evaluated a family economic stress model that links economic well-being to child well-being among African American and Hispanic children from low-income families, mostly headed by single mothers. Found that lower economic well-being adversely impacted parent's psychological well-being; these parents felt less effective in disciplinary interactions…

Factor analysis of 65 variables relating to personal competence and community adjustment in 336 persons with mental retardation, living in residential facilities of 6 or fewer residents, yielded 8 principal components that accounted for approximately half the total variance. Components included such skill areas as self-care skills, problem…

Three construct scores (academic skills, parent discipline, and parent involvement) and 2 discrete code category measures (positive responses and total positive behavior) were recorded for 39 antisocial and 41 at-risk grade-4 boys. Five resulting regression prediction models produced strong effects in accounting for school achievement, adjustment,…

Compared aggressive, withdrawn, and aggressive/withdrawn children to normative and matched control groups on teacher and peer relationship attributes, loneliness, and social satisfaction from kindergarten through grade 2. Found that withdrawn behavior was neither highly stable nor predictive of relational difficulties. Aggression was fairly stable…

Research on the four prototypic parenting styles has consistently demonstrated their relationship to psychosocial adjustment in offspring from preschool children to high school students. The present study used self-report surveys administered to 2,255 graduating high school seniors (HS) and 419 university freshmen (UF). Students indicated their…

Thirteen author contributed papers are presented from a 1979 conference on disruptive, alienated, and incarcerated youth. Presenters represented fields of education, social work, public policy, and psychology. Included are the following titles and authors: "Juvenile Justice: Where We Have Been and Are Today" (R. Sarri); "Youth as a National…

Based on McLoyd's (1990) model of African American children's development, this study examined the linkages between poverty, maternal psychological distress, marital conflict, the home environment, and children's outcomes among a sample of 805 African American 4- to 9-year-olds whose families were interviewed in 1992 as part of the National…

This study examined the degree to which parent behavior and sibling behavior are differentially related to adolescent adjustment. Using reports from adolescent sibling pairs (41 seventh graders and an older sibling), this study was designed to examine the degree to which parent and sibling behavior (i.e., warm/supportive and hostile) uniquely, and…

The role of British Columbia's rehabilitation programs for socially maladjusted and disturbed youth is described, and attention is directed to provincial policies, factors related to successful outcomes, and program evaluation needs and results. (SEW)

Compared children retained in kindergarten with matched samples of age and grade mates, using teacher ratings as an index of their social and academic skills. Found that retained children showed a reduction in behavior problems, specifically acting-out and shy-anxious behaviors, but only slightly increased competence for task orientation across…

Unsupervised after-school peer contact was examined as a risk factor in developing externalizing problems among early adolescents. Longitudinal findings showed that unsupervised peer contact, lack of neighborhood safety, and low monitoring incrementally predicted grade seven externalizing problems, after controlling for family background factors…

Maintains that schools must help children become adults in the most violent nation in the industrialized world. Discusses four types of youth violence: (1) situational; (2) relationship; (3) predatory; and (4) psychopathological. Concludes that schoolwide prevention programs are essential. (CFR)