Tested on preschoolers a goal-confidence model for older children that predicts achievement behavior during failure. Found that individual differences in achievement goals emerge very early. Children appeared to have developed a mechanism for selecting learning opportunities prior to formal school experience. (AA)

Used peer nomination and self-report instruments to assess relational aggression, overt aggression, and social adjustment for 491 third through sixth graders. Found that girls were more relationally aggressive than boys and that relationally aggressive children were more rejected by peers and reported more loneliness, depression, and isolation…

Obtained peer nominations, teacher reports, and self-reports for 423 sixth and seventh graders. Compared to sociometrically average status students, neglected students reported higher levels of motivation and were described by teachers as being more self-regulated, more prosocial, and better liked. Aggressive-rejected, but not submissive-rejected,…

In three experiments, three- and four-year olds were asked to map relative size from one array of objects to another, map relative size to relative proportion, and map relative size to a variety of perceptual dimensions. Children were able to make relational mappings based on size when spatial positions and concrete representations of size of…

This document consists of the three 1998 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 provides announcements and notices of…

Discusses how communal norms, which emerge gradually across childhood, are a product of social exchanges characteristic of relationships with family members and friends. Distinguishes between communal and exchange relationships. Reviews theoretical and empirical work on adults' use of communal norms and speculates on their developmental…

Discusses how friendships are transformed from equality-based exchange relationships during early childhood into need-based communal relationships during adolescence. Builds upon thesis that developmental changes in friendships can best be understood using both deep- and surface- structure levels of analysis. Examines cognitive representations of…

Argues that apparent incompatibilities between social exchange and developmental perspectives can be resolved by using evolutionary theories to extend the logic of social exchange. Discusses the implications of an expanded evolutionary perspective on social exchange and development, proposing that developmental context and genetic relatedness may…

Uses a developmental perspective on social interaction to trace gender differences in adulthood to relationship patterns that emerge in childhood. Summarizes results of: (1) experimental studies and naturalistic studies of workplace interaction in mixed-sex task-oriented groups; (2) same-sex interaction; (3) adult friendship; and (4) heterosexual…

Describes a conceptual framework for analyzing parent-adolescent communication about sex and birth control, and reviews the pertinent literature. Notes directions for future research. (Author/SD)

Reports on the measurement of sex-related communication and its improvement in recent years in the following ways: more differentiated self-report measures, the use of multiple reporters, the situating of sex-related communication within the context of general communication, and the use of innovative measures such as observational methods and…

Discusses the difficulties experienced by fathers in carrying out what they accept as their parental responsibility to communicate with their children about sexuality. Includes examples from interviews with fathers, their wives, and their adolescent children. Finds that fathers' difficulties result from conflicts between traditional masculinity…

Explores teen-initiated communication with parents about same-sex attraction, coming out, and adolescent sexuality. Reports the findings of a qualitative study on teen and parent reactions as well as a number of strategies which emerged that may help maintain healthy relationships in the face of developing sexuality. (Author/SD)

Describes different approaches used to increase parent-child communication about sexuality and summarizes studies that have measured their impact. Focuses primarily on the impact of programs on parent-child communication, but also summarizes the limited research on the impact of such programs on adolescent sexual behavior, or on other determinants…

Documents the impact on America's social policy of developmental psychologist Edward Zigler's knowledge, presence, and advocacy. Describes Zigler's lifetime efforts and his influence on public policy for children's full development including his work for Head Start, the Office of Child Development, and on-the-job training in policymaking. (Author)