This article discusses word definitions within the context of language development in school-age children and adolescents. It explains the importance of the ability to define words, reviews the growth of word definition during school years, describes standardized tests, and offers suggestions for expanding the normative database for word…

Describes a pilot group developed to address the traumagenic stigmatization, powerlessness, betrayal, and sexualization that characterize victims of sexual abuse. Treatment modules developed within this framework focused on: group cohesiveness, discussion of specific abuse experiences, coping strategies, sexuality, victimization prevention, and…

Longitudinal study investigated how economic crisis and value change in society affect family life and the development of preadolescent girls. Economic difficulties together with value differences between the parents had a negative influence on marital happiness, which in turn led to lower nurture and higher parental hostility towards the…

Focused on mental health and protective factors in early adolescence. Significant relations between coping strategies and mental health were found, which are different according to gender: girls invest in more social relations, negative feelings, and consumption habits; boys often use sense of humor, or practice a hobby or sport. (JBJ)

Provides direction for developing appropriate, meaningful social studies instruction for the middle school. Identifies characteristics of early adolescents that have a direct relationship to curriculum design and the selection of appropriate social studies instruction strategies. Offers National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)…

Summarizes and discusses results of the longitudinal study that comprises this monograph issue. Results concern: (1) marital, parent-child, and sibling relationships in families with single and remarried mothers; (2) the relationship between parenting style and adolescent adjustment; and (3) the relationship between marital transitions and…

From fourth graders rating their classmates, assigned 296 children sociometric classifications of popular, neglected, average, controversial, or rejected. Five years later, 267 of classified children were evaluated on academic performance, social behavior, and psychological adjustment. In general, children classified as rejected or controversial…

Discusses perceptions that sixth graders and their parents have about their relationships. Sociable children were more likely to agree with their parents about the supportiveness of the relationship than were withdrawn or aggressive children. Mothers of withdrawn or aggressive children, and fathers of aggressive children, felt less supportive than…

Results of a study of children's performance on pseudohomophone naming, similarity judgment, and lexical decision suggest that training in pinyin, a system for spelling Chinese words in Latin letters, helps child readers pronounce unfamiliar words, and makes them more responsive to visual information but less precise in word recognition.…

Studied the relationship of parental reasoning complexity to parental behavior during parent-child interactions, and the effect of this relationship on children's social cognitions. Results indicate that parental reasoning complexity is related to parental behaviors of restrictive control, authoritative control, and support, which, in turn, are…

Parents rated their children on two behavioral rating scales that were designed to evaluate problem and antisocial behaviors. When rating only one child, parents agreed in rating sons' behaviors. Differences were found in mothers' and fathers' prosocial behavior ratings of daughters. When parents rated one child of each sex, no differences in…

Discusses mathematical tasks, classroom environments, and means of assessment that might encourage mathematical growth for middle grades students. Proposes a curriculum emphasizing mathematical connections, reasoning, and problem solving. Describes shifts in the culture of the mathematics classroom that support students' development of…

Middle school students need support in transitioning from childhood into adolescence, and a realignment of families, schools, and communities is important. The 1989 Carnegie Council Task Force report recommends re-engaging families and communities to help middle school students. The paper discusses how to enhance family and community involvement.…

Analyzed effects of counseling-education classroom intervention program, based on Values-Clarification method. Intervention was designed to enhance pupil self-esteem, classroom climate, and internal locus of control, which are all components of affective education. Found significant improvement in two of three variables (classroom climate and…

Twelve papers on the emergence and maintenance of severe clinical depression and depressive symptoms during adolescence are presented. Topics include parental influences, epidemiological data, depressive and negative affect, hormonal effects, preadolescent symptoms, sex differences, longitudinal studies with rhesus monkeys, suicidal ideation,…