Latchkey children and susceptibility to peer pressure: An ecological analysis.

Data on adolescents' after-school experiences and their susceptibility to peer pressure were derived from surveys administered to a heterogeneous sample of 865 adolescents in Grades 5–9. Consistent with the findings of previous studies, the results show that Ss who reported home after school were not significantly different from those who were supervised by their parents at home during after-school hours. However, when a 2nd sample of latchkey children (n?=?594) was studied to include greater variation in after-school experiences, Ss who were more removed from adult supervision were found to be more susceptible to peer pressure to engage in antisocial activity. Ss who were home alone were less susceptible to peer pressure than are those who were at a friend's house after school, and those who were at a friend's house, in turn, were less susceptible than were those who describe themselves as "hanging out." Moreover, latchkey Ss whose parents knew their whereabouts and those who had been raised authoritatively were less susceptible to peer influence than were their peers, even if their afternoons were spent in contexts in which adult supervision was lax and susceptibility to peer pressure was generally high. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

IFN-tau suppresses both the autoreactive humoral and cellular immune responses and induces stable remission in mice with chronic experimental allergic encephalomyelitis

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare attitudes toward violence and weapon-carrying among seventh-grade students in three dissimilar U.S. communities. A second focus was to determine students' understanding of their parents' violence-related guidance and behavior. METHODS: Five hundred sixty-seven seventh-grade students (48% male, 46% white, 35% African-American, 13% Latino) completed a self-administered questionnaire in May or October 1991. RESULTS: Thirty-four percent of the students had fought at least once, and 7% more than four times during the previous month. Also, within that period, 5% had skipped school owing to fear of violence. Students whose parents used nonviolent disciplinary techniques fought less frequently than those whose parents relied on hitting and more violent disciplinary methods (p < 0.001). Fighting was significantly more common among students who believe their parents want them to fight if insulted (p = 0.001). Students who reported that they try to stay out of fights usually succeeded (p = 0.001). Those students who more frequently participated in and observed fighting were more likely to carry a weapon (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Fighting is a frequent occurrence in the lives of seventh-grade students. Students' understanding of their parents' attitudes and behavior correlate strongly with violent behavior. While many students feel that weapons confer safety, those students who actually carry weapons are much more likely to fight.     

Children with peer adjustment problems: Sequential and nonsequential analyses of school behaviors.

Compared the behavior of 48 4th- and 6th-grade boys with positive (P) and negative (N) peer status in a naturalistic school setting. N Ss differed more from P Ss in the older sample than in the younger sample. N Ss also showed an excess of playful aggressive behavior, suggesting a deficit in aggression socialization. Sequential analyses provided general support for the reciprocity hypothesis, which posits that individuals tend to match the affective quality of a response to that of the previous response. Peer interactions beginning with negative and neutral responses, however, progressed differently for N and P Ss. Whereas negative exchanges with P Ss became neutralized over time, negative exchanges with N Ss tended to persist in a negative manner. Paradoxically, N Ss showed a greater tendency to respond in a friendly positive manner after receiving neutral peer contacts than P Ss. The utility of sequential analyses for identifying interaction patterns that might contribute to the development of maladaptive behaviors and the importance of social systems-oriented intervention strategies are discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Boys with peer adjustment problems: Social cognitive processes.

30 4th-grade and 30 6th-grade males with positive (P) or negative (N) peer status were asked to generate alternative solutions to hypothetical problems, evaluate possible solutions, describe self-statements, and rate the likelihood of possible self-statements to investigate the hypothesis that maladjusted Ss (N peer status) would lack specific social cognitive skills. Hypothetical problems were presented in interviews that emphasized situations involving acts of aggression. Interviews were conducted in 2 parts, involving knowledge of interpersonal problem-solving strategies and attributional style assessment. Results indicate that N Ss generated fewer alternative solutions, proposed fewer assertive and mature solutions, generated more intense aggressive solutions, showed less adaptive planning, and evaluated physically aggressive responses more positively and positive responses more negatively than did P Ss. Data support the notion that boys with social adjustment problems are deficient in the cognitive problem-solving skill of generating multiple alternative solutions. Findings suggest that differences in knowledge and/or attitudes concerning normative social behavior may contribute to the more negative behavior patterns observed in socially maladjusted boys. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent–parent separation.

Assessed the effect of adolescent–parent separation on the relationships between parents and their sons entering college. Two groups of parents and adolescent sons were tested. One group consisted of 104 adolescents who were to leave home to board at college. The 2nd group of 138 adolescents remained at home and commuted to college. Each group was tested first while the boys were still in high school and again after they began college. Those Ss who boarded at college exhibited increased affection, communication, satisfaction, and independence in relation to their parents. This indicated that the initial separation of leaving for college facilitates a boy's growth toward the developmental goal of becoming functionally independent of his parents while retaining strong emotional ties to them. Increases were also found in mothers' affection and some fathers' dependence. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy and the development of guilt in children.

Semiprojective stories describing explicit wrongful acts were shown to 72 1st-, 3rd-, and 5th-grade boys and girls. Ss then were asked how they would feel if they were the wrongdoer, why, and then to complete the story. Coded interview responses indicated that Ss who had received prior encouragement to empathize with the victim exhibited more intense guilt than those who had not. Developmental changes in Ss' reasons for guilt paralleled those of moral judgment studies; older Ss exhibited victim-oriented concern and relied on internal justice principles; younger Ss feared detection and punishment. Boys also reported more intense guilt feelings than did girls. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social-cognitive and behavioral characteristics of peer-rejected boys.

Identified 13 rejected and 13 popular 3rd- and 4th-grade boys using sociometric nomination measures. Playground observations and interview assessments of social problem solving were administered during the winter and spring. Rejected Ss both exhibited and received more aversive behavior than popular Ss. Although no status differences in the overall rate of interaction were found, rejected Ss exhibited more onlooker behavior and solitary play than the popular ones. No differences in the frequency of alternative solutions to hypothetical social problems were found between status groups. The solutions of rejected Ss were, however, less effective and more aggressive than those of populars. Chosen solutions of rejected Ss were also more likely to be ineffective and aggressive than those of populars. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imitation in the interest of social influence.

Tested the possibility that imitation may be used as a means of social influence among 40 5th- and 6th-grade boys and girls. One member of each pair served as the model and the other as the S. Ss who were given an induction designed to motivate them to influence the model imitated the model significantly more than Ss who received no induction. Looking and smiling at the model was positively correlated with imitation for the social influence Ss, but not for the control Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sibling relationships on preschoolers' behavior at home and at school.

Observed the social behavior of 34 36–64 mo olds (17 males and 17 females) both in their homes and in their preschools to determine the patterning of interactions among siblings and the consistency in children's interactions with siblings and peers. Results show that at home, preschoolers with older siblings received more aggressive and prosocial behavior than did preschoolers without older siblings; they also played frequently with their older siblings. Preschoolers with younger siblings were more dominant in their interactions than were preschoolers without younger siblings, but they displayed certain types of verbal behavior less often, probably because their young siblings had limited language skills. Indicators of sibling status were not strongly related to behavior at school, but girls who did not have any brothers spent more time unoccupied or as onlookers. Few of the correlations between home and school behaviors were significant, but Ss who were more aggressive toward siblings and Ss who were more often onlookers or unoccupied at home showed similar behavior with peers. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A performance model for academic achievement in early adolescent boys.

Tests a model for conduct-related school failure in young adolescent boys. In this model, family characteristics and child antisocial behavior serve as predictors of school adjustment and academic performance. Ss were 206 youths and their families, followed from the 4th through 8th grades. Results indicated that low parental academic achievement was associated with ineffective discipline practices and child antisocial behavior in the 6th grade. Ineffective discipline had a direct and negative effect on boys' 7th-grade academic engagement. Boys' academic engagement, in turn, had a direct and positive effect on 8th grade academic achievement. A smaller direct effect of parental achievement on child achievement was also found. Results are discussed in terms of research on parental influence on academic success and life span models of the development of antisocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disruptive school behavior and concepts of social convention in early adolescence.

Studied 22 7th- and 8th-grade students who had engaged in disruptive behaviors that involved violations of classroom regulations and defiance of authorities and 20 nondisruptive students. Both groups were administered an interview assessing concepts of social conventions, within a sequence of developmental levels. Disruptive Ss were reinterviewed 1 yr later, and behavioral records were reassessed. Disruptive school behavior was partially related to thinking (Level 4) characterized by rejection of conventional regulation; this preceded systematic conceptions of the role of conventional regulation in social organization (Level 5). At 1st testing, a greater proportion of disruptive than nondisruptive Ss displayed Level 4 thinking. One year later, 13 of the 20 originally disruptive Ss no longer displayed disruptive behavior. All Ss disruptive at Time 2 had not changed to the next level whereas the majority of those no longer disruptive shifted to the next level. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The generalization effects of parent training across stimulus settings

Five parents of nonverbal children were trained in two home settings to modify antecedents and consequences to their children's vocalizations. Generalization effects of the parent training on both the parent's and children's behaviors under different stimulus conditions were investigated using multiple-baseline designs. Increases in parent prompting and reinforcing their children's vocalizations generalized only minimally to a new setting in the home where parent training had not occurred. Child increases in vocalizations produced by the parents in the training settings did generalize to this new setting in the home. There was minimal generalization of child vocalizations to a free-play setting at school. In a formal speech session conducted by a behavior specialist at school, only one child showed definite increases in acquisition rate as a function of the parents starting to train the sound at home.     

Social desirability, expectancy, and success-failure-oriented behavior in children.

Investigated success-failure-oriented behavior of children with high and low social desirability (SD) characteristics. It was expected that high SD Ss would give overly cautious bids and would adopt a failure avoiding pattern on J. B. Rotter's level of aspiration task. Results from 87 8-13 yr. old boys in either normal public school, day school, or residential centers for the disturbed support the hypothesis. Of Ss receiving the Epstein Need of Approval scale of SD, nondisturbed Ss had significantly higher scores than disturbed Ss, indicating a stronger SD tendency for nondisturbed Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting during the second year: effects of children's age, sex, and attachment classification

70 2-parent families with 12-month-old infants and 67 2-parent families with 18-month-old toddlers participated in the study. Mothers and fathers participated in separate interviews and filled out questionnaires on family and child behaviors. Mothers and their children participated in the Ainsworth Strange Situation, and the families were observed for a total of 4 hours in their homes. Families were compared on composite measures of family environment variables, parents' perception of their children, and on process variables from home observations. Family differences in environmental stress and marital adjustment showed no effects for attachment classifications, although parents of 12-month-olds reported greater marital adjustment and more pleasure in parenting than parents of 18-months-olds. Both mothers and fathers reported that children classified as resistant were more difficult on several temperament measures. During home observations, 12-month-old children received more positive responses from mothers, and 18-month-old children received more instructions and directions from both parents. Insecure boys (both avoidant and resistant) received the least instructions and directions from both parents, but insecure-avoidant girls received the most instruction from fathers.     

Socialization of achievement: Influence of mothers' need for approval on children's achievement cognitions and behavior.

Investigated the effect of mothers' need for approval (nApp) on children's expectancies for success and persistence during failure. 90 5th-grade boys and girls were asked to complete 4 puzzles, 3 of which were unsolvable. Ss stated their expectancies before each trial, before the first and last trials, or before the last trial only. On each trial children's persistence was measured. In addition, nApp of the children's mothers was measured with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Gender differences in expectancies were found only for children with high-nApp mothers, with boys stating higher expectancies than girls before both the first and last trials. With regard to persistence, differences between groups emerged only for children with high-nApp mothers. No gender differences were found. Implications of these results for parental socialization of achievement are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mealtime behavior and parent-child interaction: a comparison of children with cystic fibrosis, children with feeding problems, and nonclinic controls

Examined the role of family interaction factors in dietary compliance problems reported by parents of children with cystic fibrosis (CF). The family mealtime interactions of children with CF, children with feeding problems and nonclinic controls were observed, and parents monitored children's eating behavior at home. Parents of children with CF reported more concern about feeding problems and recorded more disruptive mealtime behavior than parents of nonclinic children. Observational data showed children with CF to display overall rates of disruptive mealtime behavior not significantly different from either comparison group. Mothers of children with CF were observed to engage in higher rates of aversive interaction with their child than did mothers of nonclinic controls. Fathers of children with CF reported lower marital satisfaction than fathers of controls. Both mothers and fathers of children with CF reported lower parenting self-efficacy than non-CF families. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Behavior problems among young children in low-income urban day care centers

The purposes of this study were to describe: (a) the frequency and correlates of behavior problems among a sample of 2- and 3-year-old children from low-income families as seen by their parents and day care teachers, (b) the degree to which parents and teachers agree about the children's behavior problems in their respective contexts, and (c) family characteristics that distinguish toddlers with behavior problems both at home and at day care from the rest of the sample. Parents of 133 toddlers from 10 Chicago day care centers completed measures of child behavior problems, child behavioral intensity, parenting self-efficacy, discipline strategies, and stress. Children's day care teachers also completed a measure of child behavior problems. Parent-reported behavior problems were associated with higher child behavioral intensity, greater parent stress, lower self-efficacy, and discipline strategies characterized by irritability, coercion, and inconsistency. Parent and teacher ratings on child behavior were correlated for boys' behavior problems only. Parents reported more child behavior problems than teachers. Approximately 8% of the children were rated as having behavior problems at home and at day care. Although most of the children are functioning well, many of these parents and toddlers are engaged in highly stressful and coercive relationships.     

Visual and haptic training and cross-modal transfer of reflectivity.

98 3rd- and 4th-grade boys were individually administered the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) and the Haptic Matching Task (HMT) in one session. Both are match-to-sample tasks measuring the dimension of reflection–impulsivity, the MFFT in the visual modality and the HMT in the haptic modality. 30 Ss classified as impulsive on both tasks were seen for 2 additional sessions during which they received either reflective scanning strategy training or control procedures and retesting on the 2 tasks. Ss who were visually trained decreased errors only on the MFFT and increased latency on both tasks. Ss who were haptically trained decreased errors and increased latency on the HMT and also on the MFFT. A hypothesis combining task difficulty and motivational and attentional level is offered to explain the asymmetrical transfer of training on errors. It is suggested that the haptic training procedure might be useful with blind Ss. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher preparation and student achievement: An experimental comparison of microteaching with a traditional approach.

Compared student teachers given microteaching and traditional observation treatments with a no-preparation control group. 192 7th-grade Nigerian boys, blocked into 4 mathematics ability levels in each school in an urban, suburban, or rural setting, were randomly assigned to 36 teacher trainees. They were then blocked into 2 mathematics ability levels and randomly assigned to the 2 treatment groups and the control group. ANOVA revealed that Ss taught by student teachers who were trained through microteaching achieved significantly higher mean mathematics scores and demonstrated significantly higher frequency counts of participation in classroom activities. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infants at social risk: Relations among infant maltreatment, maternal behavior, and infant attachment behavior.

Fifty-six 12-mo-old infants, including 10 maltreated infants, 18 nonmaltreated high-risk infants, and 28 matched low-income controls, were videotaped in naturalistic settings at home with their mothers for 40 min and were observed 2 weeks later in the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Maltreating mothers were rated higher than nonmaltreating mothers on covertly hostile and interfering behaviors toward their infants at home. Maltreated infants were more avoidant of their mothers in the Strange Situation than nonmaltreated infants. Correlations between maternal behaviors at home and infant behaviors in the Strange Situation revealed that mothers whose infants displayed resistant behavior on reunion were rated at home as less verbally communicative and mothers whose infants displayed avoidant behavior on reunion were rated at home as more covertly hostile. Infants showing mixed avoidance and resistance were more likely to have extremely uncommunicative mothers than were infants who showed avoidance alone. Use of the behavioral rating scales for avoidance and resistance produced clearer findings than use of the final attachment classifications. Reasons for the discrepancies between analyses of classifications and analyses of behavior ratings were identified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)