The article examines why women and young girls are predisposed to tobacco use, what gender-based variables are at play, what external variables facilitate the initiation of tobacco use, why women continue to smoke, and what intervention strategies can address females and at-risk subgroups. (SM)

Studies alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use by fourth graders in Washington, DC (n=4,675 in 1988-89 and n=4,678 in 1990-91). Lifetime prevalence of self-reported alcohol use, alcohol use without parental knowledge, and smoking more than a puff of a cigarette declined, although marijuana use and cigarette experimentation did not decline. (SLD)

Influences of religion, gender, and social class on attitudes toward school and specific subjects were studied for 1,925 male and 1,837 female 11-year-old primary school students in England. Compared to others, children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds report more favorable attitudes toward school in general but not toward individual…

This study examined background factors in children that influence teachers' ratings on the Classroom Adjustment Rating Scale (CARS). Sixteen classrooms in five schools were selected to include a range of socio-economic and cultural groupings from Inner London, England Primary Schools. Teachers used the CARS and an additional short scale of overall…

This study was undertaken to explore whether incest, extrafamilial sexual abuse, and physical abuse are linked with different psychological or behavioral consequences, and whether abuse affects males and females differently. In 1989, a survey instrument was administered to all 6th, 9th, and 12th graders in 84% of all the public schools in…

Adolescent determination of behavior can be viewed as the result of perceived locus of control. To investigate adolescent perceptions of control in terms of age, loci of control (internal or external), situations (community and home), and direction of control (from or over the environment), 909 adolescents (345 males, 564 females), aged 11-19,…

Investigates the relationship of children's self-understanding to social class, community type (modern or traditional), and teachers' ratings for 73 12 year olds in Reykjavik (Iceland) and 21 12 year olds in traditional villages in Iceland. Children in higher social classes offer more psychological descriptions. The inadvisability of generalizing…

Assessed the significance of distinctive versus shared family realities. Data indicated a divergence of adolescents' and parents' perception of the family in domains that concerned adolescents' emerging intellectual and emotional autonomy. Parents' and adolescents' perceptions converged in regard to domains that threatened family cohesion. (BC)

Reports on a study of the relationship between moral and political consciousness as evidenced by the ideas and words of 20 middle-school children of average scholastic ability. Finds that the socioeconomic conditions of a community influenced the children's perceptions of issues and problems. (CFR)

This study examined the occupational perspectives and preferences of 178 students (ages 9-14 ) from three urban schools; one in a high socioeconomic area; the second in a lower socioeconomic stratum with parents in white and blue collar jobs; and the third in a low-income industrial area where most parents lived in subsidized low-income housing…

Possible gender differences in attitudes toward mathematics were studied between low-achieving and high-achieving fifth-grade students in selected elementary schools within a large, metropolitan area. The attitudes of pre-adolescent children at an intermediate grade level were assessed to determine the effects of rapidly emerging gender-related…

A survey of 2,216 low-SES Mexican American students in grades 4-6 investigated family, social, and psychological risk factors related to substance abuse. Use of major and minor substances was related to respondent score on an index of 11 risk factors. Relationship between major substance use and risk index was significantly greater for females…

A longitudinal study of family patterns of moral reasoning compared relationships between parent and offspring reasoning from early adolescence to adulthood. Consistent patterns were found. During adolescence, parental judgment correlated to offspring reasoning but more so for girls than boys; among young adults, fathers' judgment and education…

Studied sex and acculturation differences in occupational values among 177 Chinese-American fifth and sixth graders. Found money and task satisfaction were very important values, whereas object orientation and solitude were quite unimportant; that the high-acculturation children valued self-realization more than the low-acculturation children; and…

This study examined selected characteristics and behaviors among fifth grade pupils who ranged in age from 11 to 12 years. The sample (N=975) constituted the entire fifth grade population of a moderate-sized city 45 miles from Atlanta, Georgia. The sample consisted of 160 black students and 815 white students, with 511 boys and 464 girls. A…