At study sites in Rochester (New York), Denver (Colorado) and Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), three research teams studying the impact of family disruption on juvenile delinquency have interviewed approximately 4,000 participants at regular intervals for a decade, recording their lives in detail. Findings to date indicate that preventing delinquency…

Impulsive second grade, inner-city children, were trained to improve their search strategies on visual discrimination tasks. Groups with training improved their search strategies, while the untrained control group did not. (ST)

Israeli kibbutz and city children aged 8-11 years were compared on cooperative-competitive behavior. City children from the U.S. were also included in one of the comparisons. Kibbutz children were more cooperative than either Israeli or U.S. city children. (ST)

Describes a school gardening program involving the classroom, homes of the children, and special tracts of land throughout the city. (DM)

The use of meaningful and suitable stories to develop in white suburban children a sense of tolerance for and identification with black urban children is discussed. (CK)

Studied perceptions about the perceived masculinity and femininity of kibbutz male adolescents of 79 Israeli adolescents, half of whom were urban and half of whom were raised on a kibbutz. Kibbutz targets were generally seen as more masculine. Exceptions and differences among urban and rural adolescents are discussed. (SLD)

Developed pilot instrument to examine differences between adolescents who have attempted suicide and others. An 86-item questionnaire was administered to 25 suicide attempters and 57 nonsuicide attempters. Found significant differences for each of 3 domains (family environment, social environment, self-perceptions) and for 55 questions. Used…

Recounts an interview with the Hughes brothers, who are twin black men who produced the film "Menace 2 Society," which is a film about urban delinquency and crime among black adolescents. Their comments include thoughts on racism, media stereotyping, being black in America, and their experiences with Hollywood. (GLR)

Describes an under-recognized target population for adolescent pregnancy prevention: the younger sisters of childbearing teens. Data from several studies highlight several potential prepregnancy-risk characteristics that are particularly present in this group. These young women have disproportionately higher rates of early pregnancy and…

Describes a 20-year program of research on the Nurse Home Visitation Program, a model in which nurses visit mothers beginning at pregnancy and continuing through the children's second birthdays. Summarizes results of two randomized trials and concludes that the use of nurses as home visitors is key to program success. (SLD)

Reports the knowledge levels about reproduction, contraception, and sexuality of more than 600 young teenagers from 7 cities. Data show subgroup variations in knowledge levels and explore which variables predict greater knowledge among these adolescents. Findings show disturbingly low levels of information among adolescents. (SLD)

Describes the "Philosophers Gang," a program to introduce philosophical inquiry to elementary school children in an urban San Francisco, California, school. The success of the sessions demonstrates that Socratic dialogue can be a fertile way for children to develop their critical thinking skills. (SLD)

Studied rates of somatic complaints and the association between stress and somatic complaints for 1,030 low-income urban adolescents in grades 6 through 8. For both boys and girls, somatization was the most commonly reported internalizing symptom, and heightened rates of urban stress predicted heightened rates of somatic complaints. (SLD)

Explicitly political research methodologies must be considered and incorporated into urban education in order to address issues of race, class, and gender equity. Draws from research on homeless children. (Author/MM)