Investigated the motivational nature of the Motive to Avoid Success (MAS) in a sample of 105 fifth- to eighth-grade females who participated under noncompetitive and competitive conditions. Results did not substantiate the motivational nature of MAS. MAS did not predict performance in a competitive situation. (Author/JAC)

Data from early adolescents and parents revealed traditionalism of female sex role attitude development influenced by maternal employment, father's sex role attitudes in interaction with time spent with daughter, and chronological age; traditionalism of male sex role attitude development influenced by mother's sex role attitudes in interaction…

Examined whether 52 middle school students who received free or reduced-price meals suffered lower general or area-specific self-esteem than did 52 students who did not receive such benefits. Also examined whether self-esteem varied by grade level. Using Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, found no significant differences for either group…

Tested model of middle school science and mathematics achievement with national probability sample of 3,116 seventh grade students. Collected data from students and parents over three time periods in seventh and eighth grades. Concluded that, although prior achievement had dominant influence in schooling process, other variables including parental…

Conducted 4-month participant/observation and 52 interviews with sixth and seventh graders. Identified six categories that students viewed as being their responsibilities for learning: doing work, obeying rules, paying attention, learning or studying, trying/making effort, and responsibility as something given or taken. (Author/NB)

Notes that, although literature on middle school teaching focuses on developmental stresses of young adolescents, it rarely offers specific ways to respond to student behaviors associated with these changes. Delineates the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional motivations behind typical early adolescent behaviors and then offers middle school…

White, Mexican-American, and Black preadolescents (N=157) completed Tuckman-Lorge Old People Scale and contact questionnaire to examine preadolescent attitudes toward elderly through analysis of race, gender, and contact variables. Found only one variable studied, race, was significantly related to attitudes toward elderly. White preadolescents…

Tested the role of social support from parents and peers as a mediator in the relationship between an adolescent's self-concept and residential relocation. Analysis of mobility and self-concept in a sample of 205 students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades indicated that social support attenuated a negative effect of mobility on specific…

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)

Investigated smoking and tobacco-chewing habits of sixth and seventh graders (n=433). Students reported own tobacco use, perceptions of use among peers and friends, parental socioeconomic status, and other variables. Results indicated one-third of respondents had used some form of tobacco at least once. Norm perceptions and best friend's habits…

Analyzed differences in school behavior and achievement among students (n=530) in grades six through nine from intact, reconstituted, and single-parent families. Students from intact, two-parent families had fewer absences and tardies, higher grade point averages, and fewer negative and more positive teacher behavioral ratings than did those from…

Questioned kindergarten children through college students to determine verbal and nonverbal behavior that "earned" significance. Findings could be categorized meaningfully in regard to who was significant, what they did or said, how this affected self-esteem, and how subjects reacted to feedback. Format was effective with groups of…