Used retrospective reports of family-of-origin cohesion, degree of difficulty in separating from family, and other factors to predict depressive symptoms, social anxiety, and perceived social support during the transition to college. Results demonstrate that family-of-origin experiences affect all three aspects of young adults' college adjustment.…

A longitudinal study of 80 toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergartners found that children who entered early in low quality care had the most difficulty with peers in preschool. Lives of parents who used low quality care were characterized by complexity and use of less appropriate socialization practices than those used by other parents. (RH)

Study examined the relationship between adolescents' perceived social support and self-reported (mal)adjustment indicators among predominantly at-risk, Hispanic students. Results indicated significant relationships in the expected direction between overall social support and clinical and school (mal)adjustment indicators. Parent and classmate…

Continues a previous five-year follow-up of preterm and full-term children by studying the continuity in their intellectual and emotional development. Prematurity was predictive for school adjustment at ages six and seven only when regression was performed on the preterm group, but failed to be predictive when mixed groups of preterm and full-term…

Examined construction of different predictive models for readiness for first grade, using data from prekindergarten screening. Found 45.6 percent to 75.9 percent of the children correctly classified. Results indicate that less emphasis should be given to collecting historical screening data and that many social/emotional problems may go undetected…

Examined the relationship between Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children scatter and school competence measures for 101 boys at risk for psychiatric disorder. Results suggested that the mean scatter variable is significantly higher in the high-risk group than in the intelligence test standardization sample. (Author)

A study with 317 college freshmen found that the utility of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory to predict academic achievement, beyond that which could already be predicted by student background and entry-level variables, was quite limited. (MSE)

Examined the effects of peer support and parent involvement on the cognitive and social development of 63 preschool children enrolled in rural California Head Start programs. Found that parental involvement in school was predictive of gains in learning skills and classroom behavior, whereas mutual friendships predicted gains in social play and…

The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory was given to 156 early entrants at the University of North Texas. The inventory successfully identified 90% of students who subsequently had academic problems (based on first semester college grade point average). Successful and unsuccessful participants differed in concentration and attention, ability…

What difference does education make for young adults' engagement in politics and social issues? This study is part of the OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) project on "Measuring the Social Outcomes of Learning" (SOL). It discusses relevant international research, with special attention to studies in the Nordic…

Children's adjustment and achievement in first grade is crucial to subsequent long-term school success. This study investigated characteristics related to kindergarten and first-grade children's social competence and school adjustment: (1) associations between personality characteristics and social competence; (2) the contribution of social and…

This study tested the ability of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) to predict attrition for first-time, full-time freshmen at a predominantly white, medium-sized, liberal arts, denominational college in the southeast. A random sample of 100 students were surveyed of which 84 returned usable questionnaires (57 females, 27 male,…

While research has suggested numerous problems and adjustment difficulties faced by international students attending colleges and universities in the United States, cultural differences may be barriers for international students in their seeking and receiving help for such problems. This study was conducted to examine whether certain noncognitive…

Assessed children's satisfaction with alternative child care. Seventy-seven children, ages three to six, from six child-care centers participated in the Child Care Game Assessment. Found that children's satisfaction regarding teacher interaction was closely related to family stress events. High maternal education levels predicted more positive…

The College Life Task Assessment Instrument (CLT), a 35-item questionnaire, assesses college student performance in 7 life-task domains important to college life. Reliability and Validity results demonstrate the CLT's ability to predict freshman and cumulative GPA, freshman and cumulative credits earned, academic, social, and personal-emotional…