Examines videotaped excerpts of treatment sessions from an intervention study to explore the changes occurring during social skills training and their relation to treatment outcome. Children who received social skills training displayed more conversational skills and received more positive peer support than children who were not coached.…

The social adaptation of mainstreamed mildly retarded children was assessed. Results indicated that mildly retarded children were very much rejected by their peers. In comparison with nonretarded classmates, they reported significantly more dissatisfaction and anxiety about their peer relations. (PCB)

Considerable stability was observed on measures of acceptance, rejection, preference, and impact in a one-year longitudinal study of sociometric stability and friendship choice consistency in an early-adolescent peer group. Findings provided new information about patterns of stability in early adolescent peer groups and revealed the need for…

The effects of classroom climate, organization of instruction, and class racial composition on the interracial friendliness of students in desegregated classrooms were studied. (PCB)

Examines the development of, and interrelations among, three types of autonomy during the transition from childhood into adolescence: emotional autonomy in relationships with parents, resistance to peer pressure, and the subjective sense of self-reliance. (HOD)

This study observed 65 friendship/acquaintance dyads, half of which involved one child with learning problems, among preadolescent children during play. Unlike friendships between children without disabilities, friendships involving a disabled child were marked by limited collaboration and shared decision making, a low level of cooperative play…

Using longitudinal data on 101 sixth-graders who participated in the Pennsylvania Early Adolescent Transitions Study, the following two hypotheses were tested by means of path analysis: (1) the goodness of fit between a child's temperamental characteristics and the temperamental preferences held by the peer group is instrumental in determining a…

This paper reviews the literature concerning attitudes of fifth and sixth grade students to provide background information for instructional designers and scriptwriters from the Skills Essential to Learning Project, which develops television/film series and related print materials for different grade levels to enhance the teaching of thinking…

Reports on study in which 81 high school students were interviewed about group stratification and its impact on individual adolescents. Finds many students labeled as "nerds" in middle school were able to improve their self-concept and reconstruct themselves as "normal" in high school. Contends expanded range of school activities and more diverse…