The study examined the impact of body mass index (BMI), negative affect, self-esteem, and sociocultural influences in the development of weight and muscle concerns among preadolescent boys. Body dissatisfaction, importance placed on weight and muscles, weight loss strategies, and strategies to increase muscles were evaluated. Participants were 237…

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;…

Examined concurrent and longitudinal relations among adolescents' problem behavior (PB), self-image, and peer relations. Analyses showed age increases correlated with disobedience, school misconduct, substance use, and peer involvement. Longitudinal increases in PB were associated with decreases in positive self-image and increases in peer…

Compared early adolescent involvement with antisocial peers and boys' experiences at age 10. Poor parental discipline and monitoring, peer rejection, and academic failure at age 10 predicted involvement with antisocial peers at age 12. Continuity between boys' antisocial behavior and peer contact at ages 10 and 12 was found. (BC)

Discusses the research methodology of the longitudinal study that makes up this monograph issue. Discusses (1) subjects; (2) experimental procedure; (3) assessment measures of demographic factors, children's adjustment, adult depression, marital relationship, parent-child relationship, sibling relationship, and family interactions; and (5)…

This report on a study conducted in Iceland to determine the relationship between mass media--especially television--and the attitudes of preadolescents and adolescents toward foreign countries begins by reviewing the following topics: (1) the history of television from its start in 1966 to the present in Iceland; (2) the origins of Icelandic…

Examined the influence of school and classroom environmental factors, such as teacher discipline practices and teacher-student relations, on middle school students' motivation. Found that, compared to sixth-grade math teachers, middle school math teachers controlled students more, provided students with fewer decision-making opportunities, and…

Assessed differences in masculinity, femininity, and sex role attitudes in adolescent girls and boys, and the relation of pubertal timing to intensification of those attitudes. Found that sex differences in masculinity and sex role attitudes increased with age. Pubertal timing was unrelated to masculinity, femininity, and sex role attitudes. (BC)

Four years of longitudinal data from 2,153 families with a 5th- or 6th-grade preadolescent participating in a family-focused pediatric primary-care-based prevention program were used to examine whether prevention effects were moderated by positive parenting and/or adolescent gender. Alcohol and tobacco use, internalizing problems, and…

One goal of a longitudinal study of stepfamilies, divorced maternal custody families, and nondivorced families was to assess similarities and differences between family members' interactions at the dyadic and triadic levels across time. Observers' ratings of videotaped spouse-to-spouse, parent-to-child, and child-to-parent behaviors during both…

Assessed Canadian young adolescents' peer relationships as students moved from grade 6 in small elementary schools to middle-level schools offering grades 7 to 12. Found that girls experienced greater instability in reciprocated friendships than boys. Found that girls, more so than boys, lost old friendships and formed new friendships with…

Discusses results of interviews with 11 year olds in a longitudinal study of educational progress. Reports that students were aware of the importance of school work. Describes most students as looking forward to secondary school and the study of more specialized subjects. Reports that children perceived academic success as within their control.…

Height, weight, and triceps skinfold were measured in 1,680 Mexican American children, 10 through 14 years of age, from the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) region of Texas. Study sample measurements were compared to those gathered in 1972 involving LRGV Mexican American children as well as National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference data…

One goal of a longitudinal study of stepfamilies, divorced maternal custody families, and nondivorced families was to assess the quality and functioning of the sibling relationship and to determine the conditions under which sibling relationships become more cohesive or more competitive during family transitions. Relationships between the target…

One goal of a longitudinal study of stepfamilies, divorced maternal custody families, and nondivorced families was to assess the response of children to the experiences associated with stepfamily formation and to identify factors that may buffer children against adverse life experiences or make them more vulnerable to negative outcomes. Children's…