Discusses factors in developing a school-based alcohol and drug prevention program. Considers issues in collecting reliable data on drug use levels in a school district, getting support for the program, choosing a good program model, selecting and training staff, getting referrals from adults for children who need help, and measuring program…

Discusses the particular consequences of high-risk behavior for adolescent women, including unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, school dropout and poverty, developmental disabilities, and poor school performance. Considers the role of male partners in teenage women's high risk behavior. Describes prevention efforts such as…

Uses a sociometric analysis to explore the differential organization of boys' and girls' peer groups. Finds that boys structure their peer groups by creating a large central cluster composed of smaller integrated clusters, whereas girls form small clusters unrelated to one another. Nevertheless, girls are aware of and sensitive to the status of…

Maintains that the study of peer relations has focused heavily on children's dyadic experiences. Argues that an analysis of children's experiences at the network or group level provides an equally compelling perspective on their relations within their peer system. Shows how the dynamics of peer networks determine social experiences and influence…

Presents a network-assessment technique and examples showing how group experiences affect children's behavior. Compares classical sociometry and the use of composite social maps. Discusses quantifying peer-network information, using peer-network profiles as context descriptors, and identifying change in children and networks. Shows that peer-group…

Presents a conceptual framework to guide understanding of the peer network. Uses this network approach to study changes in younger adolescents' popularity over a six-month period. Reports that changes in popularity are related to the child's initial level of aggression, observable prominence, and the popularity of the child's best friend.…

This document consists of the three 1999 issues of a newsletter disseminating information on the Society for Research in Child Development and providing a forum for important news, research, and information concerning advancements in child growth and development research. Each issue of the newsletter includes announcements and notices of…

Methodological implications of a person-oriented, holistic-interactionistic perspective in research on individual development are outlined, desirable properties of a mathematical model of a phenomenon are discussed, and selected methods for carrying out person-oriented research are briefly overviewed. These methods are: (1) the classificatory…

This chapter discusses the "person approach" to studying developmental processes by focusing on the distinction and complementarity between this holistic-interactionistic framework and what has become designated as the variable approach. Particular attention is given to measurement models for use in the person approach. The discussion on the…

This chapter explores the relationship between childhood aggressive behavior and later adjustment, with a focus on the transition to high school. Pattern-oriented prodigal analysis is used to identify four homogeneous groups, based on stability or change in risk and nonrisk status over time. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

The authors' approach to using pattern-centered analyses and longitudinal data addresses how configurations of personal and contextual factors forecast the educational achievement and attainments of different youth across adolescence. Here, they discuss various types of pattern-centered analyses and provide an empirical illustration of how these…

This chapter focuses on the relationship between popularity and aggression. Subgroups of prosocial-popular, aggressive-popular, and aggressive-unpopular boys from a sample of 286 boys from urban and suburban areas of a major midwestern city are examined in terms of their behavioral and social-ecological correlates. The measures of social…

The study of peers who dislike one another, termed mutual antipathies, is being recognized as an important aspect of a child's social world. An overview of this area and a review of the literature concerning mutual antipathies is provided. Particularly of interest is the type of mutual antipathy known as an "enemy" relationship, and special focus…

Substance use develops along distinct pathways during adolescence. This chapter describes an approach to testing how prevention programs may influence these pathways. (Contains 1 figure.)

This chapter addresses the potential implications of mutual antipathies for children's experiences with the peer group as well as the behaviors and perceptions that may drive dyadic disdain. It raises four questions for consideration: (1) What are the demographics of dyadic disdain?; (2) How do enemy relationships relate to preadolescents' broader…