The reported problems of today's Australian adolescent are identified and described, and the effects of age and sex on these problems are assessed. Relationships between peer acceptance and sex role identity are investigated; whether changes in sex role identity occur during adolescence is discussed. (Author/GK)

Interviewed Australian and Canadian mothers about the assignment of either routine or specially requested household work to their 9- to 14-year-old sons and daughters. Found that routine work was positively correlated with older children's concern for family members. There was no correlation between household work and prosocial behavior toward…

Presents data on patterns of language use by Italians living in Australia, focusing on the maintenance of Italian and Dialect under the impact of widespread shift to English. Data from self-report surveys suggest differences by gender, age, and region of origin and note that the position of Italian, though more limited, is somewhat more solid than…

A normative study of 230 children (aged three to seven years) from Sydney preschools and primary schools was carried out to study the development of sustained attention (vigilance) and inhibition in children. (MP)

Preschoolers' negotiations were studied for the purposes of linking two lines of research previously treated separately and extending the analysis of children's negotiations beyond the first move. A total of 24 boys and girls between 3.5 and 5.5 years of age were individually required to provide both requests and refusals in a controlled context.…

Telephone interviews with families (n=4,689) in New South Wales, Australia, found the prevalence of stuttering in the overall population was 0.72% with highest rates in children (1.4) and lowest in adolescents (0.53%). Male to female ratios were 2.3:1 overall. Incidence estimates ranged from 2.1% in adults to 3.4% in older children. The…

Investigates the links between adolescent risk-taking and personality, as conceptualized using the Five-factor Model of personality (N=459). Results reveal that risk judgments, personality factors, age and sex were significant predictors of risk behaviors; however, the personality factor of significance was found to differ depending upon the risk…

Overall, daughters leave home when about two years younger than sons, and a higher proportion of daughters leave home for marriage than for other reasons. For each sex, the average age at leaving home is youngest when the reason for leaving is education or a job, and oldest when the reason is marriage. (Author)

Examined attitudes of young adolescents towards personal and impersonal types of authority by administering reliable measures of attitudes toward personal and impersonal authorities to three samples of adolescents. Student attitudes were relatively pro-authority and did not differ by gender. Results provided little support for view that attitudes…

Compared heart rate reactivity (HRR) in a wide age range of 128 male and female students. Used mental arithmetic under timed and competitive conditions as the stressor. Findings showed no significant differences in the HRR of men and women suggesting that college stress management programs should be evenly aimed at women and men. (Author/PVV)

In two studies, mothers and fathers rated the ease of making a work request of a partner or child, and children commented on making a work request of a parent or sibling. Analysis of responses yielded four types of task groups: male, mothers', mothers' and children's, and open. (BC)

Assessed Type A behavior pattern for 122 teenagers who had heart rate measured during rest and presentation of mental arithmetic stressor under timed and competitive conditions. Examined whether sex, age, task performance, and behavior pattern predicted heart rate reactivitiy. Found no significant main effects for behavior pattern, sex, or age;…

Both structured and free response questionnaires were given to 600 Australian children (100 each of 6-, 7-, and 8-year-old boys and girls) on perceptions of their parents. The free response questionnaire asked children to complete sentences beginning with the phrase "Mothers are" or the phrase "Fathers are." The structured…

The principal aim of this study is to provide information on the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs by Queensland school children, and survey their attitudes toward and knowledge about alcohol and drugs. Various questionnaires were presented to a large sample of students from grades six to twelve. Some results were: (1) from grade six to twelve…

Two studies are reported which investigate sex, faculty, and age (academic year) differences in the study methods of students at an Australian university. The young students, the male students, and the students enrolled in science-based faculties appeared to be most in need of study methods counseling. (Author/SJL)