Although many factors may influence the initiation of drug or alcohol use, the perception of risk associated with these behaviors also varies by gender, age, and type of drug. Understanding the different patterns of risk perceptions that emerge during adolescent development may help to better target health communication messages and increase the…

This study explored at-risk boys' and girls' self-perceived social support. Participants were 141 female and 310 male, 8- to 12-year-olds from low-income neighborhoods; 54% of the sample is Latino. Using items from the four subscales of Harter's (1985) Social Support Scale for Children, factor analysis was used to explore differences in the…

The current paper reports of language production in 15 Hebrew-speaking boys, aged 9;0-13;0, with fully methylated, non-mosaic fragile X syndrome and no concomitant diagnosis of autism. Contrary to expectations, seven children were non-verbal. Language production in the verbal children was studied in free conversations and in context-bound speech.…

The impact of a six-week indoor wall climbing on the perceptions of self for children with special needs aged 6-12 years was explored. Participants (n = 46) were randomly assigned to the intervention (girls, n = 4; boys, n = 19) and control groups (girls, n = 5; boys, n = 18). Belayers' and children's perceptions of efficacy were measured using…

"Selective mutism" is the term used to describe a disorder in which a person speaks only in restricted stimulus situations. Examination of single-subject research concerning selective mutism reveals the most popular and successful interventions to instate speech involve a combination of behavior modification procedures. The present research…

Previous work has shown that school achievement is lower in children living in poor neighborhoods. In this study, the authors hypothesized a role of neighborhood social capital. Data on 11-year-olds were obtained from the baseline measurements of a family cohort study (n = 328). The data had a cross-level structure: neighborhood level, school…

Objectives: To longitudinally describe prosocial behaviour development from childhood to adolescence, using multiple informants within Canadian and Italian samples. Method: Participants in Study 1 were 1037 boys from low socioeconomic status (SES) areas in Montreal, Canada, for whom yearly teacher and mother reports were obtained between the ages…

Numerous policies have been proposed at the local, state, and national level to restrict youth access to violent video and computer games. Although studies are cited to support policies, there is no published research on how children perceive the uses and influence of violent interactive games. The authors conduct focus groups with 42 boys ages 12…

This study explores the emergence of a criminal career in adulthood. The main hypothesis tested is that late criminal onset (at age 21 or later) is influenced by early factors that delay antisocial manifestations. The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) was used to examine early determinants of criminal behavior. 400 Inner London…

The authors analyzed delinquent development from age 12 to 32 in 270 male offenders who underwent residential treatment for problematic behavior and delinquency in a Dutch juvenile justice institution. Stable personality and background characteristics were measured on admission. The development of offending was examined on the basis of conviction…

Research has shown a positive correlation between time spent on homework and learning. However, students often engage in off-task behaviors to escape the demands of homework. Youth with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) are especially likely to engage in off-task behaviors. Effective interventions to increase on-task behavior during homework…

This study used archival data on a sample of 186,492 referrals from a southwestern state Juvenile Probation Commission to compare the characteristics of 5,439 male Black, Hispanic, and White juveniles with sexual behavior problems on the five most common sexual offenses in the data set. The characteristics of 181,053 juveniles of the three races…

This study investigated the roles of respondent, perpetrator, and victim gender on attributions toward a 10- or 15-year-old victim and an adult perpetrator in a hypothetical sexual abuse case. It was predicted (a) that female respondents would be more provictim and antiperpetrator than men, (b) that 10-year-old victims would be deemed more…

The roles of age, social intelligence and parent-child communication in moderating the association between digital game playing and direct and indirect aggression were examined in 478 Finnish 10- and 13-year-old schoolchildren based on self-reports. The results confirmed that digital game violence was directly associated with direct aggression,…

This study explored multifaceted associations between children's aggressive behaviours and loneliness feelings by identifying sub-groups of children with different individual profiles, and also examined whether profiles associated differently with children's quality of close relationships with mothers and peers. Participants were 145 non-clinical…