This literature review addresses studies of speech, language, and communication skills evidenced by children diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects. Concomitant physical, behavioral, intellectual, and learning patterns are reviewed, and symptoms presented by alcohol-exposed children are compared to those seen in other…

Reviews recent long-term outcome studies concerning the psycho-educational functioning of children who were born with very low birth weight (2.20 to 3.31 pounds). Findings indicate that these children develop without problems in some, but not all, areas. The areas most consistently affected were neuro-motor and mathematics. (Author/CR)

A study compared 13 children (ages 5-7) with autism and 13 typical children on their ability to match videotaped still, dynamic, and strobe emotional and non-emotional facial expressions with photographs. The children with autism did not perform significantly worse than controls on any experimental conditions. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

The participants in this study were adult males (N = 111) who were accused of various sexual crimes against children 16 years of age or younger, and who were evaluated at a state forensic facility in a large Midwestern state. This study examined the relationship of Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) scores to type of child sexual offender (same…

Current practice for assessing children and adolescents rely on objectively scored deficit-based models and/or informal assessments to determine how maladaptive behaviors affect performance. Social-emotional assessment instruments are used in schools and typically provide information related to behavioral and emotional deficits, but provide little…

This study evaluated the frequency of coarrest in female victims who utilized 911 for intimate partner violence (IPV) and any patterns or circumstances that increased the likelihood of coarrest. All cases of police-documented IPV where a female IPV victim was arrested in conjunction with the perpetrator were included. Each incident report was…

The Cross-National Study of Coping Styles and Achievement was designed to develop a conceptual system for describing effective coping behavior in several cultures; to develop measures of coping style and coping effectiveness which would be uniformly applicable in the various cultures; and to determine the relationship of such coping behavior to…

This monograph describes how to conduct simulations that allow individuals to experience what it is like to have deafblindness. It begins by discussing the philosophy and benefits of simulations and explains the two different types of simulations. The first type of simulation gives a generic overview of the impact of deafblindness on learning and…

Giving specific attention to the debate on the advantages and disadvantages of joint custody, this article proposes multilevel-multivariable life cycle guidelines for future child custody research. Critical issues are discussed, empirical questions raised, and salient variables examined for both the divorced family and the social system.…

Investigated latency-age children (N=11) who attempted or threatened suicide. Discovered common characteristics including: (1) suicidal parents; (2) a major family crisis; (3) excessive parental demands; (4) lack of satisfying relationships; (5) paradoxical death attitudes; and (6) positive strivings to stay alive. Developed a model for predicting…

Finds that extraverted children did better than introverted children on both a nonverbal coding task and simple and complex verbal fluency tasks. Notes that anxiety influenced girls' performances on the more complex verbal fluency task, but did not alter boys' performances. Compares these findings to those of similar studies of adults. (RL)

Staff (N=40) at a residential facility for 67 children with severe mental retardation rated their most- and least-preferred children on a list of child characteristics. Traits that distinguished the two groups included physical attributes, mood, behavior, and social qualities. Small children were more preferred than large children, and some…

A study using a widely used clinical assessment instrument examined whether eight children (ages 9-19) with Asperger syndrome had a greater number of attention deficit symptoms than controls. Evidence of an attention deficit, as measured by a computerized test of attention, was seen in a majority of the subjects. (Contains references.) (CR)

A state (California) database of 78,603 individuals with mental retardation receiving state services was examined to determine relations between behavior problems, residential placement patterns, and other characteristics, and the likelihood of being dually diagnosed. Extrapunitive maladaptive behaviors, cognitive abilities, and social skills were…

This study of risk characteristics of 100 Illinois children/adolescents with emotional/behavior disorders admitted to programs to prevent the need for residential placements found that most of the children were in single parent families; almost 85% had average or above average intelligence; and almost half were exposed to divorce, poverty,…