A survey of English elementary school children showed that of the approximately 50 percent who watched films on videorecorders, almost all watched movies generally considered unsuitable for children. This occurred even when children reported watching with parents. Among these were extremely violent and pornographic films. (IS)

"Data Trends" reports present summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. The articles summarized in this "Data Trends" discuss how members of families including children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) are greatly affected in their daily lives and functioning by symptoms…

Bright, controlling, fearful, and highly energetic, active alert children are frequently misdiagnosed as hyperactive or learning disabled. This book offers guidance for the special challenge of parenting the active alert infant, child, and adolescent. Part 1 of the book profiles the active alert child and examines 11 traits that characterize…

In order to highlight the importance of identifying children with elevated blood lead levels, the Illinois Department of Public Health produces its surveillance report to present state and county level data on the number of children screened for and identified with lead poisoning. In Illinois, all children between 6 and 84 months of age must be…

The poverty affecting 14.5 million U.S. children living below the poverty line poses long-term effects, including risks to health, educational achievement, family stability, and employment prospects. This report provides compelling evidence of the substantial costs of poverty among children to our nation's economic well-being, and shows that…

This study examined how children, drawn from K-6 grades in 3 primary schools in southwest Sydney, use computers in their homes and the physical and social environments within which they use them. Key issues explored were diversity of access, range of uses, and factors which influence use, including gender, age, and parental and sibling role…

This article addresses ways that schools and communities can be a protective influence by helping students to overcome the difficulties of destructive home and inner-city environments. Topics discussed include the school as a protective influence, neighborhood organizations that buffer and protect children and teenagers, the protective value of at…

Examines single-parent families headed by fathers. Studied specially constructed child files from the 1960-90 Public Use Microdata Samples data from the Census of Population. Findings showed single-father families generally rare but increasing. Social capital of children's fathers, availability of adults, and children's economic well-being vary…

Tests the effects (in a large field study) of family communication environment and parental mediation of television content on third, sixth, and ninth graders' (1) perceptions of the realism of television content and its similarity to real life; and (2) their identification with television characters. Finds that the parent directly mediates…

Reviews research on children's perspective of their parents' divorce and remarriage. Long-time effects are related more to the child's developmental status, sex, and temperament, the qualities of the home and parenting environment, and the resources and support systems available to the parents and child than they are to divorce or remarriage per…

Takes the position, contrary to that of Sandra Scarr, that the details of socialization patterns are crucial to an understanding of normal and deviant development. Research is cited to support the argument that better than adequate parenting optimizes the development of both normal and vulnerable children and that parents' belief in their own…

Utilizes the Kinetic Family Drawings-Revised (KFD-R) to measure siblings' (N=44) feelings and attitudes toward bone marrow transplants. Data from drawings and discussions with siblings underscore that not all children are affected by stress in the same way. How a particular child responds depends on factors such as life history, personality,…

There are measures that parents can take to help their children through the often distressing process of parental divorce. Describes the empirical literature regarding issues and factors relevant to children's adjustment to divorce. Provides practical guidelines and suggestions likely to help parents enhance their children's adjustment.…

Childhood temperament and family environment have been shown to predict internalizing and externalizing behavior; however, less is known about how temperament and family environment interact to predict changes in problem behavior. We conducted latent growth curve modeling on a sample assessed at ages 5, 7, 10, 14, and 17 (N = 337). Externalizing…

This article presents a qualitative study of six families of children with disabilities and their perspectives on humor. The findings revealed that the families had an understanding of humor that went beyond the generalized humor construct. They embraced both the concept of humor and "other types of fun." Furthermore, the families' attempts at…