WISC subtest scores of children from rural mountainous cultural areas were higher for performance skills (object assembly, picture completion) than for verbal skills (information, similarities), suggesting that social and economic deprivation influence verbal comprehension abilities more than perceptual organization skills. (RL)

Studies regarding status aspirations among Mexican-American youth have presumed that life goals are integrated and congruent. An alternative line of inquiry is suggested which questions these assumptions and specifies types of conflicts that may arise among occupational, educational, and familial orientations. (Author)

Results of a study designed to distinguish between attitude development of rural disadvantaged high school students enrolled in exemplary special vocational programs and those enrolled in nonvocational general programs showed that disadvantaged vocational students exhibited more positive attitudes toward self and other school social relations and…

Points out that the realistic concern for and knowledge of rural students in their own particular contexts help to motivate students in a composition classroom. (MB)

Surveyed 4,859 rural adolescents to examine the relationship of peer group influence and psychosocial identification with frequency of drug use. Results strongly supported the importance of peer influence and role models in predicting illegal drug use. (JAC)

This paper presents a framework for assessing the economic and social costs of drug abuse in rural areas. The first section considers definitions for three key sets of concepts: (1) what is rural, the great diversity within rural contexts, and how to distinguish rural from urban; (2) the nature of social costs, as they affect communities as well…

This paper uses regression and matching techniques to evaluate Indonesia's Social Safety Net Scholarships Program. The program aimed to prevent large numbers of children from dropping out of school as a result of the Asian economic crisis of 1998. It was expected that families would find it difficult to keep their children in school and that…

Rivenbark's revision of Jourard's Self-Disclosure Questionnaire was administered to black, white, and Mexican American ninth graders. Females reported more disclosure than males. Whites reported the most disclosure and Mexican Americans the lease. Males favored the mother as disclosure target. The least favored disclosure target for all groups was…

Graduates of compensatory early childhood programs in Knox County, Kentucky demonstrated few differences when compared with matched subjects in first grade. (WY)

Indicators of normative traditionalism were derived from 1947 and 1970 attitude surveys of adolescents from 68 Pennsylvania high schools. Rural-urban character of the areas was indexed by 1950 and 1970 census materials. Although 1970 normative climates were more permissive, findings suggest continuing utility of rural-urban distinction in dealing…

Appalachian State University of North Carolina, which draws mostly from nearby rural areas, has opened the Appalachian House in Washington, DC as a temporary residence and research center for faculty and students. The urban location of the house provides students with experiential learning opportunities not previously available. (JMD)

Described is a fund-raising project successfully undertaken by a Young Farmer organization in Virginia; students cleared tree-covered land in return for the use of the acreage to raise crops of corn and rye. Profits were used to send members to national conventions. (AJ)

Analyzed the relationship between elements of child welfare and an index of social well-being in Minnesota counties. Found that all except two rural counties and only two urban counties had negative social well-being scores. Counties with low social well-being scores tended to have larger numbers of child welfare recipients. Findings suggest that…

Tested relevance of risk-factor model for predicting drug use among rural seventh graders (n=235). Nineteen of 20 risk factors were significantly related to at least 1 category of drug use. Subset of 10 risk factors was significantly associated with prevalence and frequency of use of cigarettes, beer and wine, hard liquor, marijuana, and other…